Paws & Pours Shop

Chapter 2

A few weeks had passed since Maya moved to Boston. The university semester had already started a week earlier. She had become friends with two girls, Martha and Aisha. Over the past few weeks, Maya continued exploring the area with her new friends and bought new clothes and stationery, realizing that what she had brought with her initially wasn't enough.
One morning, as she was following her usual path with music playing through her headphones, she started smelling coffee. "Hmm? Is that coffee I smell? There shouldn't be a coffee shop around here," she thought. Turning around, she noticed a small place with a sign that read "Coffee Shop" and a smaller sign that said "New Opening." Maya's eyes widened in surprise, awe, and happiness. She walked closer to the notice and saw that the new coffee shop was opening that very day. She mentally noted to visit the coffee shop after her afternoon classes.
Maya arrived safely at the university and started looking for Martha and Aisha. After a few minutes, she found them talking with each other. Seeing them like that made her smile. Maya walked over to them.
"Hey, girls, how are you?" Maya said with a smile.
Martha was the first to reply. "Hey, Maya! You finally arrived. We were waiting for you."
Aisha just nodded and said, "True, true," also smiling.
"Martha, Aisha, as I was coming to the university, I saw a new coffee shop opening today. Do you guys want to check it out with me?" Maya asked, excitement evident in her voice.
Aisha was the first to respond. "Sorry, Maya, I can't today. I still haven't finished unpacking the last boxes, so I need to finish today. How about we go tomorrow?"

Martha continued, "Yeah, let's go tomorrow. I also can't today, as I need to help my parents with the bakery."
Aisha and Martha were both the same age as Maya.

Aisha had moved from Mauritius to follow her dreams, which aligned with Maya's. She wasn't very tall but not short either. Aisha liked to wear bracelets and had her wrists adorned with them. Her dark brown hair complemented her deep brown eyes, which could captivate anyone. Her skin, a beautiful shade darker from her Mauritian heritage, was complemented by her love for fashion. She always prepared her outfits the night before. Aisha's full lips were always painted red, and her white teeth shone brightly. She was also studying Korean and English, sharing a subject with Maya.

Martha, originally from Italy, had moved to Boston at the early age of six. You could clearly see her Western features. Martha had brown hair styled in a wolf cut and big, puppy-like brown eyes. Her high nose and full mouth added to her charm. She was shorter than Aisha and also had a subject in common with Maya: Chinese.
"Alright then, let's go together tomorrow. I'll grab a quick coffee on the way home," Maya replied with a smile.
They all went to their classrooms. The first subject of the day was Korean, so Aisha and Maya went to class together. They entered the classroom, and the teacher hadn't arrived yet. Their Korean teacher, Mrs. Park, was a lovely woman in her 50s. She was Korean and this was her first year teaching at the university. With short black hair, almond-shaped brown eyes, and a youthful appearance, she looked much younger than her age. Her skin was flawless, a testament to her skincare routine. She was slim and not very tall, but she exuded warmth and care for her students, always making sure everyone understood the material.
Today, Mrs. Park finished explaining the Korean alphabet, known as Hangul (한굴). The Korean alphabet consists of 24 basic letters: 14 consonants (ᄀ ᄂ ᄃ ᄅ ᄆ ᄇ ᄉ ᄋ ᄌ ᄎ ᄏ ᄐ ᄑ ᄒ) and 10 vowels (ᅡ ᅣ ᅥ ᅧ ᅩ ᅭ ᅮ ᅲ ᅳ ᅵ). Additionally, there are 19 complex letters, including 5 tense consonants (ᄁᄄᄈᄍᄊ) and 11 complex vowels (ᅴᅬᅢᅱᅦᅤᅨᅪ ᅯᅫᅰ).

King Sejong the Great and his scholars created the Korean alphabet in the 15th century. They aimed to provide a simpler writing system than the complex Chinese characters used at the time. As Maya wrote her notes, the lesson ended, and she headed to her last class for the day: Chinese.
Maya met Martha, who was also heading to the Chinese class, and the two entered the classroom together. The teacher for this class was Monica, an Italian in her late 30s who taught written Chinese. Monica had blond, curly hair, brown eyes, and a high nose. Despite her age, she had a youthful appearance and no wrinkles. Not very tall but slim, she clearly took care of her health.
Today, Monica was teaching about the history of Chinese characters. Chinese characters, or Hanzi, are the oldest continuously used writing system in the world. Unlike the Roman alphabet, Chinese characters illustrate meaning rather than sound, which means learning to read Chinese requires a lot of memorization. Characters usually consist of two components: one phonetic and one symbolic. The phonetic component indicates pronunciation, while the symbolic component signifies meaning.
For example, the character 姐 consists of two components: the symbolic component "女" (female, woman) on the left, and the phonetic component "且" (pronounced "qie") on the right. The character means "big sister."
The lesson ended, and Maya prepared to head to the coffee shop. With music playing in her ears, she made her way there. Upon arrival, she turned off her music and entered the shop. The bell above the door jingled as she walked in.