café au lait

Quirks of Esme Dior

Esme loved reading. She loved running too. Yes, yes. Those two R's were stereotypically supposed to R-epel each other.

Yes, the R in repel was intended to be a pun.

'Hashtag-pun-intended,' Esme thought with a grin.

It was a lovely morning. It wasn't too sunny and it wasn't too cold either. Light, low grey clouds drifted over the sky and a soft purple mist, like amethyst lingered in the atmosphere like a ghost.

Esme ran through the park with a vigor, panting but still pushing herself forward. Her thighs and abdomen cried out in protest but she ignored the pain.

The odd thing was that she relished in the feeling of her screaming muscles. She decided it was masochism.

She pressed pause on her iPod and leaned against a large oak tree just to catch her breath. She took a swig of water and felt her heart hammering against her chest.

God, she felt deprived of oxygen.

She checked her watch. 10:03 AM. She sighed and trekked back home slowly. Esme went jogging every other day and it was not to lose weight or anything like that. She felt that exercise was a good form of control. Her aching muscles and racing heart and breathlessness were the only thoughts that passed through her head when she ran.

'The lesser the thoughts passing through your head, the less complicated stuff gets,' was her logic.

She plonked her nearly empty bottle of water and iPod on the kitchen counter. She grabbed a dish rag and wiped the sweat of her face. She then realized something was wrong when her eyes started watering and her skin started burning. She sniffed the rag. 'Turpentine,' She growled.

"MOM!!!" She screeched. Her mom immediately came running down, bouncing down the stairs taking two steps at a time. "Yes honey?" She asked innocently.

"Why the hell is there turpentine on the kitchen counter?!?! You do realize you could poison us by using it to wash dishes or clean the counter!"

"Sweetie you do realize you can smell turpentine from a mile away. It's your fault."

"I DRIED MY FACE WITH IT!"

"Well at least it wasn't an acid splash!"

They both stared at each other, dead in the eye for three heartbeats. Then they simultaneously burst out laughing. Their little spats were really amusing and petty. That's their own unique form of mother/daughter bonding.

"But seriously though, mom, can you not leave chemicals around. Please?" She begged. Her mum took her request with a wave of her hand and headed back to the studio. Esme then checked the clock and soon rushed to the bathroom to shower.

She then threw on some casual clothes and grabbed her messenger bag and headed out of the door.

-PAGE BREAK-

When Esme walked into Starbucks that Sunday afternoon, it was empty. There wasn't even a person at the cashier. Esme found it really disorienting to be the only one there. She plonked her stuff onto her favourite spot in the cafe: a window seat close to the corner of the café. She figured she'd just wait it out until someone came to the register.

She shoved her earbuds in and turned up her volume to 2/3. When her jam came to it's climax only then she noticed a presence across her. She looked up to find the guy, Alec, across her.

"Hello Esme," he began with a grin, tossing his head slightly to push his shaggy fringe from his eyes.

"Hi," Esme replied politely.

Alec sat down on the unoccupied seat opposite her. "Mind if I join you? It's pretty dull down here and I'm on my lunch break."

"I thought you're supposed to be at the counter?"

"Well it's empty so whatever."

Esme rolled her eyes at his playful tone but beckoned him over. Besides, company wouldn't be too shabby.

"So," Alec started. "What are you listening to," he said gesturing towards her iPod. "Sovereign Light Café, Keane." She swiveled her screen towards him.

"No way. I love Keane."

"Me too. They're awesome aren't they? What's your favourite song?"

"Somewhere we only know."

"I love it too!"

"What do you think of Thirty Seconds To Mars?"

"TELL ME WOULD YOU KILL, TO SAVE A LIFE?

TELL ME WOUKD YOU KILL, TO PROVE YOU'RE RIGHT?

CRASH, CRASH, BURN

LET IT ALL BURN

THIS HURRICANE'S CHASING US ALL UNDERGROUND!"

Esme sang happily.

Hurricane was her all time favourite song by 30stm. She listened to it when she was happy. She listened to it when she was depressed. And besides, the music video? Jesus Christ, man.

Alec burst out laughing. God this girl was hilarious.

"Do you really want

Do you really want me?

Do you really want me dead?

Do you really want me dead?

Or alive to torture for my sins?"

It was Esme's turn to start laughing. "YES!" she squealed in an-almost-bimbo-like-fashion. "I do want you Jared Leto!" At this point they couldn't stop giggling like little kids.

That hit them off immediately. They spent the next hour simply chatting about bands and movies and found they had actually plenty in common.

"Favourite movie?" Esme started.

"Jurassic Park. Yours?" Alec countered.

"A Streetcar Named Desire. It's actually a play."

"I know. Tennessee Williams. I love that play."

"Me too. Vivienne Leigh is the most perfect Blanche DuBois. No one could've played the role better."

"Don't forget Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski."

"Don't even get me started on him. He's-

"SO HOT!" They said simultaneously and they both burst out laughing.

Their conversation then came to a comfortable standstill until Alec broke the spell.

"You know what Esme?" He started. "I like you. You are cultured. And that's saying A LOT. I need to have more of these discussions with you. May I have your number?"

Esme smiled and gave it to him without hesitation. She wasn't concerned if he was hitting on her or not. Because if he was, she'd stand her ground and voice her opinion on the matter. And also, it didn't sound like he was interested in her. He seemed interested in her. If that made any shred of sense whatsoever.

"K," she said in a typical white girl voice. She drinks Starbucks for gods sake and reads John Green. She was already on the verge to a white-girl hipster.

Alec grinned. "So we shall continue this conversation later. My shift started already."

"Wait when?" Esme asked worriedly.

"An hour ago," he shot back wickedly.

Esme laughed and gathered her stuff. "Well see you Alec, take care. And nice having a real conversation other than 'whipped cream?'" Esme smirked and walked out of the café smiling and laughing.

'This could be the start of a beautiful friendship,' They thought simultaneously, without the knowledge of each other.