Phantom's Spark (Book Two of the Phantom series)

How To Pull At My Heart

Harumi's POV-
I had agreed to meet up with Nya at the coffee shop right off Bradley Boulevard. When I walked into the shop, it wasn't the slightest bit crowded. Nya wasn't there yet, as I was the sole being in the room, save for the lone barista.
I walked up to the counter and ordered a lemon tea.
The women's name was Jyn (her nametag read that name in a messy scrawl) and she was about as tall as I was. Jyn was wearing a grey t-shirt underneath her red apron, and had brown hair tied up in what they call a messy bun. Her green eyes unsettled me, they seemed to know what I was hiding.
"Isn't a little warm for a scarf?" Jyn asked me.
I pulled the scarf higher up around me. The scarf, a nice, Royal-class quality one, was composed of hand-painted green silk with red and white patterns. I had chosen the very shade and color of the fabric so that it would hide my natural Apithian markings.
"It... a good scarf is never out of season." I added to the Lie and flipped my hair for the diva queen effect.
Jyn, who had already turned to start making my tea, just nodded. "Mmhhmm. You waiting for anyone?"
Jyn had caught me off guard. "Umm... oh, yes, actually. I'm waiting for my friend."
I glanced at the door, which, to much of my own dissatisfaction, remained shut.
Jyn spun around. She placed the  cup of tea on the counter, making a firm cusp sound.
"That'll be fourteen credits." Jyn said.
I pulled out the money and handed it to her. I mumbled a hurried 'thanks." And sat down at a table near the window. The window, of course, was the optional choice. I could keep watch for Nya and avoid Jyn thinking that I was trying to cling to her.
Time passed. I drank my tea before it started to get cold. The cafe remained empty, and I watched as Jyn pulled out her phone and sat on the counter. "Hey, Cass." She said into the device. "Whassup.- yes, I'm coming to the date tonight. Yes. YES. No, I'm not going to bring Kay. Y'know, if you want to bring Kay, you bring Kay. Fine. Fine. It's fine. We'll invite the rest of everyone while we're at it. Sure great."
Jyn hung up and shot me a look that clearly said. 'Boys. Aren't they great?"
I made eye contact with Jyn for a second, then jerked my head to gaze out the window more. Out of the reflection in the glass I could see Jyn get back to her work. I sighed.
I started to fold an origami swan out of a napkin a found on the table, when I heard the familiar revving of a motorcycle engine coming near me. My face lit up, literally, when Nya came into view. I quickly rearranged my scarf.
As Nya walked into the shop, a bell chimed. Jyn looked up from cleaning the coffee grinder. "Can I help you?" She asked in a rather sassy way.
Nya smiled. "Yeah, I'd like an iced coffee with a shot of vanilla in it. Ooo... can you make it a double! With whipped cream?"
Jyn seemed stunned, but nodded. She looked over her shoulder and called to me as she crafted the beverage. "This your friend?" She said.
I nodded and blatantly said yeah. Once Nya received her strange connection, she sat down in front of me.
"Hi Harumi! How's it been?"
I placed a hand to my temple. "It's been rough. With all that's happening with Seliel and Skylor being gone... not to mention the speech I have to give..."
Nya putter hand on mine. "It'll be okay, Rumi."
I smiled. Nya was always there for me, even when I was possessed by the crazy maniac death god. We had made a pact to not speak of what went on back there. I made a vow not to think of it.
Nya took a sip of her beverage. "Let's focus on the one thing we can actually improve on, since we're neither doctors nor necromancers. What's the speech about?"
I looked to the side. "The speech." I had been dreading the senate speech and putting it off. "It's about making Apithian refugees legal citizens."
I caught a glance of Nya's surprised expression.
"Any ideas?" I shyly asked.
Nya pondered the statement. "Well, something along the lines of 'all living beings deserve rights may work, but then... HEY!"
Nya stood up, alarming both me and Jyn.
"What if you visited the internment camps where Apithians are being held! Get some live footage! Show those bastards the truth!"
I felt my Apithian markings glow with excitement. "Yes!"
I thought of Jitaku, how she could help me. Her family and she lived in the slums of the internment camp. They would know.
"Thanks for the idea, Nya," I said, packing up my belongings. I turned to Jyn. "The tea was great.
As I stepped out of the dark coffee shop and into the sun, for the first time since the Elite, I felt courage.

A/N: I like this chapter. Yeah, I stuck Jyn Erso into the story.... this is what you get when you read stuff by a Star Wars nerd. Hehehe