A mouthful of the cream-coloured, hot liquid streamed down my throat before it was given a chance to burn my mouth. The bitter taste made me shiver and goose bumps rose along my skin. I glanced around the small, heart-warming café, on a street corner in the heart of the city. Small, circular oak tables were neatly placed around the spaces of the café with low, matching chairs pushed beneath them. Directly in line with the front door, the counter sat at the back of the café with a metal, cash register at the end, next to a wall. On the other side of the counter was a large, glass case, showcasing different cupcakes and cookies. Behind the counter were a variety of machines and appliances for making several kinds of drinks; from coffees to milkshakes. Scattered across the walls of the quaint café were unique sculptures and paintings of food or drinks. A medium-sized, wooden, modern clock hung on the wall behind the café counter. The hour hand remained pointing to the number eight, the minute hand pointing to the number three, and the seconds hand constantly ticked round the clock.
A sweet, elderly woman was perched on a stool behind the counter. Her small, round glasses rested on the edge of her nose as she occasionally turned another page of the book that she was engrossed in. Her hazel eyes flicked from side to side in concentration as she progressed through the worn book. Strands of grey hair escaped the bun at the back of her head and lightly fell around her wrinkled face.
Before finishing the last of my latte, I looked around the deserted café once more. I picked up my bag, threw it onto my back and headed for the door.
"See you later, Carol."
The elderly woman glanced up from her book and returned the warm smile on my face. "Have a nice day, dear." She gave me a small wave before returning to her book.
I pushed the wooden door open and immediately, a gust of cold wind attacked my body. Fumbling with the zip on my jacket, I tightly hugged it around myself in an attempt to shelter from the harsh weather. My leather, black shoes were silent against the tiled pavements as I made my way down the street and made a turn. After two more minutes of walking, a rusting gate in front of two long, ageing buildings came into view.
Following others in the exact same uniform, I made my way up the steps and along the path as I became closer to a door at the front of one of the buildings. Fragments of peeling paint littered the ground nearby the worn, metal door and the tough glass was scratched and clouding. Frantically, I fought to unzip my jacket and pulled it from my body in order to cram it into my bag in time before I reached the heavy door. As it was yanked open, tens of teenagers, similar age to me, piled through the small gap and were greeted with warmth and shelter from the foul wind.
A small, blonde girl squirmed her way through the crowd from inside the building. Her light, blue eyes shone as she pushed herself through the tight spaces between each person. The small girl abruptly stopped in front of me.
"I'm so glad that you're here." She gently gripped my wrist and led me out of the dispersing crowd and down a corridor. "Have you got what I asked you to bring." For a second, she glanced back at me, her cheeks red with embarrassment and her eyes staring into mine, awaiting my reaction and answer.
I quietly chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, Jess. Stop worrying." She let out a sigh of relief and visibly relaxed.
We reached another door with a silver metal slide engraved with a stick-woman on it and walked inside. In front of a large mirror, we placed our bags over two sinks. I reached into my bag and pulled out a small, black pencil and handed it to Jenny. She turned back towards the mirror and I understood why she needed it. Around one of her blue eyes was a neat black line drawn onto her eyelids yet there was nothing around her other eye.
"You only put eyeliner on one eye?" I asked, my voice cracking into a laugh. At my question, her cheeks reddened more and my suspicions were confirmed. "What made you forget to do the other?" I couldn't contain my laughter any longer and it echoed throughout the bathroom.
"Shut up, Bay. I just forgot okay." She huffed. "So, did you do the homework due today?"
"Nope, I forgot about it."
"Miss will kill you." She chuckled, "and she'll kill me too."
I returned her amused smirk with a shrug and watched her as she drew a thin black line over her top eyelid and then under her bottom lid.
"Thanks Mel." Jenny handed me back the eyeliner pencil and I placed it back into my bag.
"It's okay. Let's get out of here, there's a weird smell."
She scrunched her nose, "yeah, I can smell it too. Go, go, go." She pushed me towards the door and we rushed down the corridor.
