As Lexi stepped out of the ferry terminal, she looked out at the city she loved. She had lived in Staten Island, New York her whole life, just a ferry ride away from Manhattan, the Big Apple. She loved visiting the city, but lately she went more often and brought her camera to take more pictures. She usually ended up taking anywhere from fifty to a couple hundred pictures, but only really liking about ten or fifteen.
Lexi began walking forward slowly, trying to decide where she wanted to head today. Thinking about heading into Battery Park for her little photo shoot, she turned to cut around some orange cones surrounding a construction area. When she turned, she caught a glimmer of sunlight shining down on the trees in such a way that she knew she needed to capture the image. Focusing her camera on her point of interest, she snapped a couple shots.
On her third shot, Lexi caught someone’s head in her shot as they were walking by. She looked up from her camera as she waited for them to pass by. When they just stood in front of her she opted to go around them and head into the park. But as she stepped past the two people Lexi heard the man say, “Excuse me, miss. Can I ask you something?” Lexi looked up to see the man, who was actually just a tall teenage boy, looking right at her. He looked distracted, and the girl with him seemed confused as to why he was talking to her.
“Um, sure.” She replied, tentatively. The boy stepped toward her and asked in a polite tone, “My friend and I were hoping there was a Starbucks nearby, but we can’t find any. I figured there would be one on every corner, but I must be missing it. Do you know where we might find one?”
Lexi smiled at the two tourists and answered him. “Sometimes they are kind of hidden. There is a Starbucks about half a block from here, up that way.” She pointed up the block toward a tall office building, like many others around it. “It’s under those offices, by that cluster of trees.”
The girl smiled wryly as the boy chuckled to himself. “A Starbucks under some offices by some trees… That could mean anywhere in this city,” he muttered.
Lexi giggled as she realized how true that was. “Do you think you could show us? I’ll treat you to something warm when we get there.” The boy tempted Lexi with his offer. Although she didn’t know these two strangers, she was drawn in by the boy’s charm and familiarity. The light wasn’t going anywhere right away and she was a bit chilly. “Sure, that sounds great.” She agreed. “My name is Lexi by the way. What’s your name?”
The teenage boy and girl exchanged surprised glances. The girl finally spoke up, asking curtly, “You don’t know who we are?”
“No I’m sorry, should I? I mean, you look kind of familiar.” Lexi blushed, thinking they had met before and she had not remembered.
“Yes, you should.” The girl muttered with a scowl. The boy interrupted, “No, it’s okay. It’s no big deal.”
“Um, okay… So…” Lexi tried to fill the awkward silence between her and the two strangers whose names she still didn’t know. “Shall we walk and talk?” Lexi offered as she pointed in the right direction. “Lead the way,” the boy replied with a nod as he followed Lexi up the block. “By the way, I’m Trevor.” The boy held his hand out for Lexi. “And this is my friend, Michelle.” “Nice to meet you both,” Lexi grinned, relieved.
“So I take it you guys are just visiting?” Lexi asked as they strolled down the street. Trevor looked to Michelle before they both nodded and Trevor replied, “Yeah, we just want to see the sights.”
“Oh cool. Where are you from?”
“Pennsylvania, originally, now california.”
“Really? Why did you move?” Lexi wondered.
