^^mansion dining room^^
I wake up and immediately open my laptop. I click on the new message, which is a response to my email last night.
It's a little after eight now, and we're meeting at nine. I get dressed and do my hair, then walk downstairs to find the three of them standing in the empty kitchen. "He responded. We're meeting at Stoked at nine."
"Alrighty then," Ashton says. "I'll go get ready." The three of them go upstairs and get dressed before coming back down. In the meantime, I call a cab to pick us up. I really should go get my car.
We're at the shop a bit early, but that's okay. Michael and Ashton grab a table while Calum and I get some food and coffee.
We get the warm breakfast and coffee and sit down. "How are we gonna find this dude?" Calum asks with a mouthful of his sandwich. "We don't even know what he looks like."
"I guess we wait for an eighteen year-old looking guy to walk in," I say.
We wait twenty minutes, until it's past nine, and no man who looks eighteen walks in here. "Maybe we should ask her," Michael says, pointing to a girl sitting alone at a table, staring at the ground. "She looks about 18. Maybe she knows him."
"We can try." The four of us get up and go to the girl. "Hi," Calum warmly greets.
"Hello," the girl calmly replies with a strait face.
"Do you happen to know someone by the name of Carter BeLieu?" Ashton asks.
Her face lights up slightly. "Oh, that's me."
"Oh," Ashton says, a bit taken aback. "Would you excuse us for just one moment?" She nods slightly before the four of us turn our backs to her.
"I thought it was supposed to be a dude!" Calum whisper yells.
"Yeah! If there's a girl living and working in our house, media is sure to blow up," Michael points out.
"Remember the ad?" I remind them. "Anything helps? This girl needs us. Look at how shy and lonely she is. We're her only hope, and we can't let her down."
"He's right. We can't just give her the opportunity and snatch it away like that," Ashton backs me up.
"Okay," Calum and Michael say before we turn back to her.
"I'm Luke," I introduce myself. "I was the one who emailed you last night. Come, sit at our table," I tell her. Her table is too small to fit five of us, and our food and coffee is still at that table as well.
She follows while the boys introduce themselves. "Would you like something? Coffee? Tea? Breakfast?" I offer.
"No thank you," she nervously says, slowly rubbing her hands repeatedly down her thighs.
"Are you sure? It's on me."
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
"English breakfast tea, please." She gives a small smile that I return before walking to get the beverage. I grab a pot of hot water, the tea leaves, and the white ceramic tea cup and saucer. This shop has all the cute eat-in amenities like real glass dishes and cups. And the foam gets swirled in your coffee.
I return with the tea, placing it in front of her. I then sit down in my seat. "You all look vaguely familiar," she comments. "Have I seen any of you before?" She tries to recall if she's seen us. "Oh, I've got it! I've seen you on an album cover. Are you a band?" We nod. "I've heard a couple of your songs on Pandora. I really like them."
