Ready Or Not - CITRUS

Prologue

Mei Aihara had a feeling her entire life was about to change.

As she sat on the steps outside the business school at NYU, evidence of dusk fell gradually around her. The sun dipped. The sky pinked. The air crisped and the temperature dropped. The outline of the moon loomed faintly overhead as she exhaled, feeling the weight of the thick folder in her hands. Heavy, which was fitting, as it contained the intricate details of her would-be future.

She'd been sitting on those steps for the better part of two hours, watching coeds crisscross the sidewalk, perhaps heading out for dinner or to the library to get in the last cramming session before finals week. All the while, she battled within her own head, vacillating back and forth between logic and risk.

Earlier that day, she'd been offered her dream job, everything she'd been working toward. Upon graduation in two weeks, she would be a junior account executive at Sabu and Sons Advertising Agency on the Upper West Side. This should be the happiest day of her life.

Unless she changed her mind, that is.

Sabu and Sons was an older, well-established firm with a fantastic reputation and, let's face it, large amounts of money. She'd completed her third interview with them just that morning. By lunch, they'd ushered her into the conference room and presented her with a lush starting offer, one she knew her parents would endorse. And that was important, as her family had standards to live up to. The Aihara name came with a certain set of expectations, not to be downplayed. But for whatever reason, in a move atypical of Mei, she had this ever-growing urge to go with her gut for once.

As a result, the gnawing in her stomach didn't seem to be going anywhere, and she couldn't shrug off the recently formed idea that played constantly in the back of her head any longer. Without giving it any more thought, for fear she might lose her nerve, she flipped open her phone and dialed her friend Harumi's number.

"Mei?" Harumi said upon answering. "Hang on a sec. Just need to...pay for my coffee...so I can leave. Thank you. Keep the change," she heard Harumi say distantly. "And I'm done. The coffee champion of the world. What's up?" she said with an uptick in volume and energy. She'd called Harumi because Harumi was the rock in their group of four friends. And it was her voice Mei needed to hear first, to keep her courage up, to propel her into this giant leap. "Mei, Hey, you still there?"

Mei gulped in a breath and tucked a strand of her long black hair behind one ear. "I'm here. I need to call a Midnight Chocolate. For tonight."

A pause. "Whoa. In the midst of exams? This must be important. Yeah?"

"It is. Will you call Himeko and Matsuri? Let's meet at my place." In addition to Harumi, she knew their other two best friends would be there in a heartbeat. Midnight Chocolate was a practice the four of them had stumbled onto their sophomore year of college when they'd first bonded over a late-night dinner of chocolate waffles in the Village. It had pretty much cemented their four-way friendship forever. Late-night discussion and chocolate were a powerful combination, and the girls relied on the coupling to solve any and all of their major life crises. When someone needed to talk something out, Midnight Chocolate was the way to go. No questions asked.

"No worries. I'll call them right now," Harumi said. A pause. "Hey, you okay?"

Mei smiled as a series of butterflies flew circles in her stomach. "I definitely might be. And Harumi? Come with an open mind tonight, okay?"

"Will do."

As Mei walked back to her apartment in the Village, darkness hung in full effect all around her. The night felt like it was bursting with possibilities, and she couldn't help smiling at the proverbial list. She tucked the envelope containing the job offer into her Italian leather attaché, which her father had purchased solely for the interview, and ruminated on what he'd say if she pulled an about-face now. Regardless of what happened, his opinion mattered to her. She looked up to him and treasured their relationship. He was her mentor, friend, and parent all rolled into one. Would he understand if she set out to do something reckless that just might pay off in the end? She shook her head, unable to consider that right now. As she climbed the steps to her apartment, she evicted the recriminations from her mind.