The Definition of Evil

Chapter 1

1. Lenora

"Double double with a vanilla and espresso shot?" I call out into the room, not needing to. I already knew his order off by heart, but still needing to do it for show. I work at a small hole in the wall coffee shop in Toronto. It's not a great job, but I need the money.

"My, my Lenora, such strong words? Are you flirting with me? Ready to confess your undying love?" Adalius asks while running a hand through his black hair, being his annoying self as usual. I roll my eyes as I hand his drink to him. Adalius looks like one of those really tan european models, except he hides it by wearing those glasses of his. He has nice dark brown eyes, he's lean and a bit taller than me. But it doesn't help that he has a long scar down the right side of his face, down to his neck. He's got the more bad boy kind of look going on.

"Don't make me lose another job by throwing your coffee all over you, Adalius. I would really like to keep this one."
"You hate this job and you know it. Getting you fired should be a blessing to you."

"What are you talking about?" I say, very innocently, twirling one of the blonde streaks in my hair, "Don't you know serving coffee to all you ungrateful assholes is my dream job? What so ever lead you astray?"

"Laying the sarcasm on a little thick there don't you think. Someone around here might take you seriously, like me," Adalius replies, making his brow furrow as if he was thinking very hard. The gesture sends a pang through my heart as it reminds me of my brother. He would make the same furrow when he was trying to understand all the ramblings out of my mouth.

My brother and I both had red hair, but mine has blonde streaks in it and his gold. My eyes are blueish-green and his were blue with bits of silver, making them shiny. He always had such soft skin, making him burn easily in the sun, me on the other hand always tanned, and still do now. I miss his shiny eyes, but he's gone now.

Stop it Lenora, you're just making yourself more upset. With that thought, I immediately pushed Bastian from my mind, but that didn't erase the feelings of pain and loss that come every time I think about him.

Adalius picks up on my somber mood right away, and quickly changes the topic of discussion. Being best friends for a long time makes it easy to pick up on each others emotions. He's been my best friend since I graduated from the Academy, almost five years ago. It surprises me every time I think about how long it has been.

"So don't you have other orders to fill," Adalius interrupts my thoughts. Realization dawns on me and I look to the other baristas who are trying to keep up with me gone talking to Adalius. I rush back to the counter and continue making coffee, receiving dirty looks from my coworkers.

After spilling coffee on my hands about a dozen more times, and making hundreds of coffees, my shift is finally over. Adalius meets me at the door of the back entrance to the generic coffee shop and begins to walk me back to my apartment. The sun peeks out from behind the clouds, lighting up the ground in front of me and the buildings overhead. I hear the click of a lighter as Adalius flicks it on and off. He doesn't smoke, but is a habit of his. The familiar sound is comforting.

"So I'm having this party tonight," Adalius begins, which doesn't surprise me at all. Adalius is one of the most popular guys I know, not to mention the hundreds of parties he has every year. "You should come. You never come to any of my parties," he says on a whine.

"Are you really that surprised?" I ask. Adalius knows I'm not a party person at all. I hate interacting with people my age. They are all idiots, jerks, or airheads. It is extremely irritating to hold a conversation with someone, other than Adalius of course. Not to mention that keeping up a double life is exhausting.