The air smelled of the aroma of freshly cooked food as I walked towards the outdoor restaurant. It was quite a sight to see. The black railing around the perimeter of the restaurant blocked random people to be able to get in.
Just as I walked forward to the entrance, my girlfriend, Trisha, gave this place a nasty look. I kind of appreciated her not saying much about it yet, though.
A small girl, maybe even younger than my kid sister at home, stood at the gate. She was half my height, and so skinny, it might have been that she didn't get to eat anything for days. Her eyes, as tired as they can be, looked up at me, calmly.
"Hello," She greeted, opening the small railing door which led into the restaurant. She had a natural smile on her face, but it seemed like the little curve could disappear any second.
"Hi," I replied. Eyeing the restaurant, I stepped inside as my shoes hit the concrete floor. This place was quite small. The area we entered was filled with tiny round tables, with chairs that looked like it could fall over at any second. Not much people were here, I would say less than fifteen. To my right was where the counter was to order and get our food from. Fairy lights dangled from the top of the counters. And right beside that, in the furthest corner was a mini playground where a few parents took their kids to. More people were there than where the actually eating tables are set up.
"Do you want to go order first or sit?" I asked Trisha. Instead of replying, she didn't even bother looking at me. Trisha marched to a random table that was empty and contained two chairs. I followed behind. I knew she was probably mad at me. We both took a seat as I tried to speak up.
"This place isn't that bad now, is it?" I asked. Trisha placed her bag on the table and gave me a furious look.
"Bad? It's horrible. We should be at some sort of fancy restaurant. Not some cheap outdoor one." She tried explaining. She looked at me disgusted.
"But we always go to restaurants like that. I thought it would be nicer to come out here. You know, enjoy the wind that this world offers to us for once?" I tried to say something that would make it seem like it was a decent place. But I know Trisha likes more high maintenance things. Not some outdoor restaurant at some random area of the city. But then why do people have to be so picky?
"What's your point, Sabbir? You just ruined my night. I could have gone to get dinner with my friends, instead." Trisha spat the words out.
I never understood how we both got together in the first place. Our personalities don't match. I remember when I first talked to her, we were both in school, when she asked for help. We were barely friends back then, but when Trisha and I ended up in the same university doing the same course last year, something in us just clicked. I know we are opposites when it comes to random things, but something about Trisha just always calls out to me. I just don't know if it is the same mutual feeling coming back to me or not. She could be quite sweet sometimes.
"Do you just want to eat something? I heard the food here tastes great." I said.
"Later," She mumbled and reached her hand into her bag and got out her phone. I watched as she ignored me by being on her phone. I sighed. My phone didn't seem to interest me at that moment. So rather, I leaned back in my chair and looked around the restaurant. That's when someone caught my eye.
Only a few feet away from our table was another identical table, except with more chairs. There sat three people, two girls, and a guy. One of the girls and the guy's back faced me, so I couldn't see them properly. But just right beyond my eyesight was the third person. The other girl.
She sat looking at the other two she had as company, as words came out of their mouths, I'm guessing. I examined her features. She was probably a few years younger than me. Her eyes stood out the most. They were big and round, filled with hope in them. She had small plump lips that were formed in a smile as her eyes were giving full attention to the other two. Whatever they were talking about seemed to interest her a lot. She had silky long hair, dark and thick, that fell in locks, framing her face.
