Finding Serenity

Obsidian Brew

4 years later...

April, xx13

Rena walked into her new job. It was a coffee shop near her apartment in Florida. She had moved down here after graduation, well almost a year after because she was waiting for someone. Someone who never showed up. On her 18th birthday her grandmother gave her a box, a gift from her mother. In it was a letter, keys to an apartment, keys to a car, and the sheet music to her song. The last song she played on stage.

So here was Rena in a new city, hundreds of miles away, starting a new job. Even though she was a little nervous about it all, she was excited too. She just hoped maybe she could make some friends. Friends to fill the emptiness inside her.

"Hi Rena! Glad you could make it in so early! Are you ready to start training?" her manager said in a cheery voice. Her manager was a very pretty woman, tall, slender, blue eyes, and long white hair. The bangs were pulled up in a small ponytail on top. Her name was Miranda or Mira for short.

"Let me introduce you to the team really quickly," they walked into the back where Rena saw a few more people.

"This here is our trainer Lacy." Mira introduced a pretty blonde girl with brown eyes. She had her hair pulled up in pigtails.

"Hello! Welcome to the team! We're happy to have you here!" Lacy said with a cheerful smile.

"These over here are the boys Greyson and Nathan. They fight a lot but don't let that fool you. They are the best of friends." Mira chuckled.

"Hey! I'm not his friend! He's a dumb pervert." the one known as Nathan yelled. He had pink spikey hair and big eyes.

"Yeah? Well at least I'm not a brainless idiot!" Greyson shot back. He had black shaggy hair and his eyes almost looked as black as his hair.

"You wanna go?! Let's settle this!" Nathan shouted back.

Suddenly a tall woman with scarlet red hair popped up from around the corner. "If you boys insist on settling it, settle it on your break OUTSIDE!"

Mira giggled as the boys straightened up and shut up. "This is the other manager Ezra. She keeps the boys in line."

"It's nice to meet you all, I'm Rena. I'm excited to work with you." She introduced herself.

"Well, ready to get started with training?" Lacy asked.

"Of course," Rena answered with a small smile. They all seem really nice. Maybe this won't be so bad.

A few months went by and Rena was feeling like she finally had friends. The group she worked with were all so close they seemed like family, and best of all they treated Rena like one of their own.

She had come to learn that they had all been "adopted" by an elderly man who they all called gramps. He ran a center for homeless children, giving them a place to stay and helping them either get back on their feet or setting them up. He owned this coffee shop and had the kids from the shelter run it. They needed a little extra help which is how Rena found the job and applied.

She found she loved the atmosphere and she began to smile just a little bit more.

One thing she wasn't too sure about was a couple of guys that would come in almost every day. Keiko was a honey blonde boy with light brown eyes. He wore red studs in his ears. He always had a huge smile on his face. He reminded her a little of her childhood friend, except that he seemed to be a big flirt with all the girls, though he did seem to have a soft spot for her.

His friend, Touma, who preferred to be called Azul, was the polar opposite. He had dark black hair that was obviously dyed. His eyes were a bright blue. Had a lot of piercings and the attitude of a delinquent. How these two were friends, Rena had no idea.