Anna

Chapter 1: The Coffee Shop

I slammed my fist on the bleeping alarm clock and groggily rolled over. Monday mornings are the hardest of all and they only got more difficult after I moved out of home. Mum and I never really got along and she didn't seem to care when I packed up my belongings and closed the door behind me. I haven't heard from her or anyone else since. In saying that though, it probably has something to do with the fact that I deleted my social media accounts and threw my old sim card into the ocean before I left.

All I know is that I managed to enrol into an online course and self motivation is not something that I have ever been good at.

I rolled back over and stared at the red numbers on the battered old clock. 6:15. I seriously need to get up if I am going to get anything done before I go to work.

I pulled my long hair up into a floppy bun on the top of my head and rubbed my eyes. I really need to learn that bedtime is a thing and I should probably try and learn how it works.

As I padded out to the kitchen, a yellow envelope slipped under the door. Great, it's rent week. I ignored it and continued over to the coffee machine flicking the little red switch.

"Oh hey Normie!" An enormously furry head popped up from inside the sink, grumpy as ever. He purred excessively as I scratched his ears. Normie is my whole world and one of the few precious belongings I brought with me. He did not enjoy riding in my backpack as I hitch-hiked 900 kilometres up the coast. Needless to say it was a long journey for the both of us.

The light on the coffee machine flicked off and a rich smell filled the room as my mug almost overflowed.

"It's going to be a good day, don't you think Normie?" he made a noise in reply as I sat at the small table that I scavenged from the side of the road just after I moved into this place.

I managed to cram in some study before I had to leave for work. I kissed a protesting Normie on the head before grabbing my keys and closing the door. I lived in a relatively nice neighbourhood that mostly consisted of working class people, very down to earth. I lowered my sunglasses over my eyes and turned up the music in my ears, keeping a steady pace to the beat.

A few people were walking on the street as I rounded the first corner onto the main road. There was a young lady in fitness gear, pushing a pram as she jogged in front of me. A group of tradesmen worked together, pasting a vinyl sign onto the front of a new shop and laughing at each other's profanities. A young man walked on the opposite side of the road, he wore a button up shirt and frantically ran a hand through his dark hair as he picked up his pace. He looked up to check for traffic, crossing the road promptly after. He huffed as he moved past me and turned into a café on the next corner, where I work.

As I entered the small business, I smiled at Mel, my boss as I passed her and threw my stuff into my locker. An apron with my handwritten badge hung from a hook on the wall and as I tied my apron I noticed the young man sitting in the front corner of the shop, facing the window. His right leg was bouncing up and down, balanced on the ball of his foot. He tensed as another man entered the café, older with grey hair. They shook hands before the new man sat down and placed a laptop onto the table. Business meetings were something we saw on a regular basis in this café, but I've never seen someone so nervous for the meeting. Must be important.

"Anna can you please start at the register so Sammy can go to lunch?" I smiled and nodded at a flustered Mel as she took two coffees and a brownie over to an elderly couple holding hands over the table.

The five hour shift dragged as people came and went. It was a good two hours before the two men left from the table near the window and a large man with his daughter replaced them. Her pigtails swung in the breeze from the fan on the wall and she giggled sweetly as her father tickled her and ordered two milkshakes and a slice of cake, which they shared.

Of all the hobbies I have enjoyed over the years, people watching has always been my favourite.

I finished up my shift and hung my apron before exiting into the late afternoon. The sun was setting slowly and an almost-purple light filled the air. As I rounded the corner onto my street a figure appeared from behind a large tree. As I got closer, I recognised it as the young boy from the café, he was pacing nervously as he spoke into the phone at his ear.

"Thank you." He huffed, hanging up and leaning his back against the tree. He sighed as I approached and looked up at me as my footsteps got closer. He smiled politely as I passed. Just before I got to my front door I had the feeling that someone was behind me. I turned to find no one there except the boy leaning on the tree with his head back and his eyes closed, clearly still stressing about something.

Not my problem I thought as I rattled my keys in the front door. The stupid key never seems to work.

"Hey!" A voice startled me as the lock finally clicked open. I turned to see that the boy was making his way toward me.

"Uh, hey?" I was tempted to go inside and lock my door behind me but I decided that it wasn't a very good way to start or end a conversation.

"Can I use your phone? Mine just died." He pressed the button on his phone a few times to make his point. When the screen never lit up I sighed and reached for the phone nestled in the bottom of my handbag.

"Make it quick," I said, handing it over. "I don't have much credit." He nodded punching in a few numbers. Pacing the footpath just out of earshot he delved straight into conversation. Trusting that he wouldn't run off with my crappy, decade old phone, I turned back to my house, kicked my shoes, and dropped my bag onto the kitchen counter. Normie meowed, hungry for his dinner. "Me too boy, me too." Patting his head I climbed up onto the counter to get the just out of reach can of cat food. As I grabbed the can, I felt Normie's force push my legs out from under me and the last thing I remember before I blacked out was the sharp pain in my ankle as I fell onto the hard, tiled floor.

***

My head pounded as I woke up. The first thing I noticed was Normie sitting grumpily on my chest, staring right into my soul. The second thing I noticed was that I had awoken in someone else's bed. The sheets were a soft, baby blue cotton and the blanket on top was a light grey. The only thing in the room that I recognised, other than Normie, was my pillow under my head in it's bright, galaxy printed pillow case.

There was a soft knock at the door before a boy with dark, almost black hair entered carrying a plate and a glass. I soon realised that it was the boy from the café who borrowed my phone right before...
"What happened and why am I in your house?" I interrogated. He smiled down at the plate in his hands. "What!?" I demanded. He looked up at me, still smirking.

"Well your best friend overhere," he nodded at Normie, "thought that he would try to help you retrieve hisdinner, which ended in you falling and him growling at me when I tried to helpyou. The only way he let me leave your place was if I took him with me... In abackpack." He gave Normie a spiteful look as he placed the plate on one of thebedside tables and shooed him off my chest. "You should eat this, you didn'tget to have anything yesterday; you were out for a whole day." I sat up.
"I what?"
"You were out for a whole day" He gave me a sincere look as before turning tothe door. "There's some clothes in the wardrobe I thought you might like... Ikind of forgot to grab some from your house so I just bought some." I gave himanother disbelieving look with a mouth full of toast. He laughed and closed thedoor behind him, still chuckling as he moved away from the room.