BROOKLYN HEIGHTS | Margot Robbie

CHAPTER ONE

Brooklyn Heights was an affluent neighborhood in the New York borough of Brooklyn. With a population of over 22,000 people and filled with the homes of notable celebrities like Matt Damon, Penelope Cruz, Keri Russell and Sarah Jessica Parker, a neighbourhood like this wouldn't likely be the home to a small comic book store owned by a woman who struggled to pay her bills from week to week. It was though.

Situated on a non-busy street in the neighbourhood was Galaxy Comics, a store generally frequented by teenage boys on their way to and from school along with their rich parents. It wasn't too big of a store but it was filled with as much comics and nerdy memorabilia as it could fit. There were two rows of tables on the store filled that had boxes on them filled with single issue comics organised in alphabetical order. The right wall was covered in book shelves containing collected edition books but at the front of the store on the wall was a display shelf showing all of the new issues out. In the right corner was an area with couches and a coffee table for anyone to be able to sit and read. On the back wall were shelves containing action figures and statues for sale along with some that weren't. The store was the perfect geek hangout but for some reason, it didn't make as much as Willa Thacker would like.

Willa owned the store and had for about a year and a half. She lived in the apartment above it. She had purchased the apartment prior to owning the store to live in with her now ex-fiancée (other referred to as 'The-Bitch-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'). Said ex-fiancee had left Willa only two months before their planned wedding, heading off with a woman who looked like the gorgeous lovechild of Charlize Theron and Naomi Campbell to travel the world, leaving behind Willa with an apartment and an expensive engagement ring. Willa had pawned the engagement ring and when she had earned enough money from her boring job as a personal assistant at a large company in Manhattan, she combined it with the money from the ring, the many refunds she got from her cancelled wedding and purchased the shop. Not long after that, realising she still had to pay bills, she decided to get a roommate to help with the money situation and maybe even work in Galaxy Comics.

Along came Archie Anand. He was a little annoying, a bit of a slacker but he was willing to help out and him and Willa became good friends throughout it all. He worked part time in the comic store to help Willa out along with working part time as a bartender at a small bar down the street.

Archie was as big of a comic book fan as Willa was. Their whole apartment was filled with geeky merchandise and they often spent hours debating about superheroes, old movies and anything else they could argue about. It irritated their friends to no end and they would often remark how they basically argued like they were a married couple - even though Willa is gay. But despite all of the bickering, Archie had become one of Willa's closest friends and someone she could always count on to be there for her when she was down.

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Mornings in the Thacker-Anand household had it's usual routine. Willa was normally up first. She would make herself coffee and something to eat - normally toast - then proceed to have her breakfast while catching up on the news either by television, social media or a newspaper. While she was eating, Archie would wake up. He would immediately pour himself a larger cup of coffee than Willa before he would lounge on the couch. When both had finished their coffee and breakfast, they would begin to get ready for work. As their apartment luckily had two bathrooms, they would both shower and brush their teeth in their respective bathrooms then get dressed and head out of the apartment to go downstairs to Galaxy Comics.

On the day prior to the meeting, that was how their morning began. It was normal. Willa did not know what would happen to her the next day.