On a seemingly ordinary summer day, timid Alice Gardner crosses paths with Kai Anderson, a notorious figure in their small town. As serendipitous encounters bring them together, they find themselves irresistibly drawn to each other, driven by a mutu...
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Alice could hardly tolerate the heat. Whenever and wherever she rolled her body on her bed with tangled sheets, she would end up getting basked under the sun.
It was the most uncomfortable thing ever.
And so she struggled to stay asleep and ended up begrudgingly dragging herself out of bed before it irritates her any longer.
The air-conditioning was of no help at all either. Alice was sure that she cranked the timer up 'till ten a.m. last night but it stopped working before seven. She became too lazy to set it back up again since it was still a bit chilly at that time, but now that the sun is clearly up and bright, she regretted that she didn't do it sooner.
Her shift at the café starts at one in the afternoon, so she still had time to wander about.
Alice took a shower accompanied by the loud song of the cicadas. They always do that during summer, she noticed.
She was drying her hair with a towel whilst walking downstairs, and when she took sight of her friend Esther, she immediately smiled at her.
"Good morning."
Esther laughed and her laugh reminded her of her grandmother. Father side, that is. She had never met any relative from her mother's side. Not even a single one.
"Eggs and bacon! Yum!" She smiled softly.
"Just how you like them."
They made a deal to do things alternately since they're living under the same apartment. When Esther cooks, Alice will wash the dishes, something of that sort.
While she ate her breakfast, her phone vibrated on the table. She got a message from her friend Tamara, informing her that she's gonna pay her a visit at the café later.
"What are you up to?"
Alice eyed the laptop Tamara brought along while setting a cup of Americano on her table.
"Advance reading Financial Accounting. You know how it is."
"Huh . . . " Alice mumbled.
"Didn't you have a report given to you by your professor?"
"It's due a week after start of school, but I'm working on it."
"He's too nice." Tamara frowned.
Her eyes were glued unto the screen as she clicks away.
"I won't disturb you anymore then." Alice said when she saw how busy her friend was.
Alice was about to leave her friend be when Tamara lifted her head to say something, "Heads up! Those dudes on the table near the door there? They're totally checking you out." She winked.
"As if." Alice mouthed as she walked away and back to the workstation.
While no one was in line yet, she let her mind linger as she scanned the whole place. And when her eyes landed on the spot Tamara pointed out, she saw that familiar red head she had been crossing paths with lately with his friends.
They momentarily made eye contact and it ended too soon when someone approached Alice, ordering hibiscus tea.
Maybe Tamara was right, because she noticed that the whole time he was there with his friends, he had been stealing glances at her.
