Our Fate Is Sealed

03| Dangerous Connections

After ensuring Yasmin's safe arrival, Nolu decided to spend her first morning reading at a coffee shop. She had always seen people in movies get their favourite caffeinated beverage and settle in at one of the tables to read for the day. She only had the morning, then her college classes would start, but it as good a time as any to get this Wishlist item out the way. 

The Viking cafe buzzed with the usual sounds of clattering trays, chattering students, and the coffee machine rumbling in the distance. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee permeated the air. As Nolu navigated the crowded space, her attention was caught by the intriguing sight at the coffee station. There were some words she wasn't sure she could pronounce, and so many drink combinations she wasn't sure she'd ever think of putting together herself. She wondered how people were able to decide which was their favourite without sampling the whole menu first. After a minute of standing near the counter and staring at the very vast menu options. She sighed in exasperation.

"Welcome to the Viking cafe, what can I get going for you?" A girl not much younger than Nolu stood behind the counter with a genuine smile on her face, clearly not yet disillusioned with life.  Her name tag had Betty written in the neatest penmanship Nolu had ever seen, and she was sure the barista was the kind of girl to press her underwear with how pristine she looked. Nolu really couldn't come to a decision, so she thought she'd ask for the nice girl's advice.

"Uhm... What coffee order would you recommend a non coffee drinker?" She knew she wanted coffee but her family had always said it was like drinking manure, and no child of royalty would be caught drinking manure. She had wondered what the difference between coffee and fertilizer was in their eyes, considering how crops grew and that they ate from the royal harvest everyday.

"Well, we have caramel macchiatos which are caffeinated, sweet and not strong. Or maybe a vanilla latte, to dip your toe into the coffee world." She pointed at 2 drinks on the big screens behind her and they both looked great, nothing like manure.

"Let me get the... medium vanilla latte, please." Betty smiled and started typing at the register. Nolu opened her bag, looking for her card.

"Make that two Bella, with almond milk." A dainty manicured hand carrying some kind of bank card passed by Nolu's peripheral, followed by it's skinny to place a credit card on the counter. Betty looked annoyed at the presence of this new stranger. She turned to see who the arm she had spent some time analysing belonged to. Her her entire body was as manicured as her hands. The young woman looked scarily similar to a young Sara Paxton in Sydney White and it made Nolu uncomfortable. For a split second there was a scowl on the new presence's face, before she plastered her fake smile back on. 

"I can pay for my own coffee." Nolu said handing the girl a $5 bill. She wanted no part of whatever was about to happen. It was drama far more pressing than this that caused her to come to this country in the first place.

"It's a Welcome to Portland State coffee." She said handing back the money. "I'm Emberly. Head of Gamma Gamma Phi, and the person you want to know around here." 

"Hi Emberly, thanks for the coffee." Nolu reluctantly put the money back in her bag and walked away. Betty smiled again at the clearly dismissive tone to her gratitude. 

"You're Noluthando Malakhiwe." The blonde bombshell followed after Nolu, who now stood at the pick up station. She turned in shock, does everyone around here look up exchange students?  "You should really think about posting photos of yourself on insta." Nolu hoped this girl was a theatre major because she was putting on the performance of a lifetime.

"I do have pictures of myself on Instagram, but I like the focus to be on nature." She had gotten in trouble for making the account in the first place, so obviously there wouldn't be a plethora of high quality pictures of her in royal attire around the castle. She did spend a lot of time looking at other girls her age post photos of their cafe study dates, hikes, traveling and even day to day musings. Especially when she was preparing to run away, she wanted to know what to expect out there, thus far her research has been almost useless in the world.