Devotion

one ﾒ party girl

ANGELICA

As soon as my professor dismisses the lecture for the hour, I hurriedly pack up my things. You'd think that I was in a rush for a meeting, but I just need to study.

I have a process: after class, I go home and study until I feel too tired. So that's exactly what I'm doing at the moment. Studying is always my top priority, plus I'm trying to avoid the huge groups of college boys in any way I can.

I stuff my pencil case, glasses, and notebooks into my tote bag before standing up, instantly making a map in my head for the quickest route out of this huge ass building. I swear I can never get out of here like I want to since I'm in the heart of New York.

Yep, I go to Columbia University. It's a hassle, but I love it here sometimes. When a huge gap big enough for me to go through is made, I squeeze past everyone who is still packing up to leave. My head bows down at my Cartier watch, checking the time to see that I have approximately 15 minutes to make it home to study.

With it being 6:00 p.m. in the evening, my body is exhausted from sitting through back-to-back lectures. I walk outside, finally leaving the Leonard N. Stern School of Business and into the busy city.

My braids hit against my back as I walked, trying to find a damn taxi. "Shit!" I whisper and yell to myself as I move quickly across the street. Taxis and cars honk as I jaywalk across the street. "Sorry!" I say to the cars, frantically moving out of the way.

By the time I get to the sidewalk, I'm out of breath. I sit on a random bench with my tote bag held up by my shoulder in agony, catching my breath. "I really need to work out," I whisper to myself, my head bowing down.

I catch my breath after ages of sitting there before sitting back with my hands on my knees. Once I regain my composure, I stand up and head into my all-time favorite cafe.

The cafe is small but always full of workers, customers, and life. Every day, I come around here about fifty times a day just to live in the atmosphere, visit my dear old friend, Mr. Larry, and sometimes study if I'm in the mood to look at people.

I looked around to see if I could scope out Mr. Larry, but I couldn't see, so I had to pull out my glasses. I immediately see him and walk over, stealing a stool to sit down. He stands there with his glasses perched up on his nose bridge as he stares at his phone attentively.

Plopping down on the seat, I grab the old man's attention. A smile arises on his lips when he sees my face. "Well, if it isn't the Birkin baby." He smiles, grabbing a mug for me and making my order.

I smile at his nickname for me before watching him make the order. "It is me, and my fault for not coming yesterday. I had to study for my economics exam," I say to Larry. He understands my hard work.

He waves off my apology as he sets the mug down in front of me. "Nonsense. Don't apologize for being great." I cradle the mug, sipping the iced coffee. "Besides," he begins, "if it makes you feel better, your annoying best friend always pays me a visit to update."

I nod. "You mean, Lei?" LeiLani Bardot, aka, my best friend

"I mean, LeiLani, yes. She's a talkative one, isn't she?"He asks, starting on another person's order while focusing on me.

Eventually, he goes back to work, leaving me alone in my thoughts. The cafe is busy today, and I can't help but wonder why I leave this place. I see it as a second home. Everyone who knows me knows that this place has been my baby since the French Revolution.

The door rings, indicating someone has walked. My body turns at a weird angle to see who came in, but it's just my fraternal twin brother, who is a pain in the ass. I groan, turning back around to avoid his presence.