art girl :: cth

prologue

the dusty rose was a homely little cafe situated in san francisco. located on a strip of road next to the golden gate bridge, it was a popular place for the tourists to stop for a meal. many different people came and went, but today there was someone who caught miss wendler's eye.

"now, who is that girl?" miss wendler, the manager, asked after she set down the towel that was usually swung over her shoulder. she then pointed at at the very last table, where a lone girl sat, huddled over a notebook of some sort.

calum looked up from the sink, and his eyes grazed over the noisy crowd. the girl seemed pretty disconnected from the world, eyes and hands concentrated on the paper she was hung over. he shrugged in response, as he never saw the girl before.

"you should go ask if she wants something to eat. tonight's a special night, everything's half off!" miss wendler laughed, patting his shoulder.

"but miss, i thought i was in charge of the dishes." he said, chewing on his lip. he looked down at the soapy china plate which rested in his hands.

"just go ask her. she looks hungry," miss wendler chuckled and shook her head. she slung the towel back over her shoulder and left the kitchen.

calum complied. he removed his gloves, shoved them in his pocket, and pushed the kitchen door open, which led out to the dining tables. his eyes searched for the girl, finding her after a couple seconds. her frizzy dark hair and glowing olive skin stood out from the eurocentric features of the people around her. he pulls out his small notebook for taking orders and walks up to her table.

"miss, would you like anything? some food? a drink?" calum asked. he tapped his pen on the notebook as he waited for a reply. the girl looked up from her book, eyes gliding over calum's figure.

"maybe an iced tea," she replied. her voice practically dripped when she spoke, her foreign accent thick like honey. calum smiled at her accent.

"any sugar or add ons to that?" calum began scribbling her order down on the sheet of paper.

"yeah, i'll have some sugar on the side and...do you guys have toast?"

calum chuckled. "yes, we do have toast. would you like some?"

she nodded, and sat her pencil down for the first time since they began talking. calum glanced down at the notebook. it was a drawing of a girl with sleek, short hair, smoking a cigarette. the girl had berry red lips and was wearing a green sweater.

"wow, that's amazing."

she blushed furiously and spoke, "thank you."

calum looked away from the drawing, and back at her. her cheeks were still rosy, and her full lips curved into a shy smile. "can i get your name for the order?" he questioned, resting his hand on the wooden table.

she toyed with the pencil she'd rested on the table, and her voice finally piped up again. "luana." she noticed his puzzled face as he attempted to write it down on the paper. she rested her fingertip on the notebook and brought it to the table. in her swirly handwriting, she spelled her name out for him, and he grinned so deeply his dimples showed.

"your name is beautiful," he chimed, walking back towards the kitchen, and handing the slip of paper to one of the cooks there.

within minutes, her food and drink was ready, and calum took the opportunity and decided to serve her food himself. he held the tray in one hand, and the sugar packets in the other, making his way to the table in the back, where luana was still sitting, but this time there was more art utensils littering the table.

calum set the plate with her toast down in front of her sketchbook, and the iced tea next to it. he then sat inside of the booth next to her and rested his head in his hand. he was watching her draw. her hand danced across the paper like it was a ballerina, flicking this way and that. the lines created by the graphite were just as delicate as her motions. he noticed her face began to take on a peachy hue as he continued watching, so he chuckled. she looked up.

"what are you looking at?" luana muttered, as she met his eyes with hers. her eyes held the most beautiful deep brown, reminding him of a hot chocolate on a cold, winter day. before he could get lost in them, she turned towards her food and grabbed a piece of toast. she closed her sketchbook and munched down on the slice.

"do you think i can look at your notebook?" calum asked, eyes wandering around the table where the art supplies lay. she shook her head.

"maybe another time..." she stole a look at his name tag, "...calum." she stuffed the sketchbook back into her backpack, followed by the rest of the various pencils and pens scattered about. she looked back at calum, realizing how close the two were. she scooted a little bit to the left, but it wasn't noticeable.

"can i have a box?" she inquired, notifying calum that she had to leave. he nodded, and left the table, but quickly returned with a styrofoam box and cup to hold her food and drink in.

"until next time, luana."

"until next time, calum."

and on that note, calum walked back towards the kitchen to resume his dishwashing, secretly watching as she paid at the register, sashayed out of the restaurant, and hearing the bell jingle as the door opened and closed.

and at that moment he thought;

he had to see her again.

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ok hey this is the prologue of my first book so HIII!

my name's isabella, which you either did or didn't know, and i enjoy writing and putting my emotions and feelings into my pieces. i hope you guys enjoy this little snippet of the story, and hopefully you get how they will bond and where the two stand and stuff like that in the future when everything gets more detailed.

please comment some feedback and what you think about this "chapter"!

anyways, i love you guys

~bella