This is me trying

With a sigh, Ariana closed her laptop and stretched. The crackling of her spine told her that she had been sitting on this chair for far too long. Her eye glanced at the clock in the library. It was already seven o'clock, and the library would be closing in an hour. Maybe it was better to go. She slipped her laptop and books into her bag, put on her long coat and slung her bag around her shoulder. With a quick stride, she walked to the exit of the library, nodded kindly to the elderly lady behind the desk and walked out of the library. Despite the fact that it was already seven o'clock, the streets were still quite busy. That was logical: this was London, a busy metropolis. Would it ever be quiet here? Her eyes glanced around the neighbourhood. With a smile, she looked at a familiar logo above a coffee shop. Starbucks. After spending a few hours in the library, she could use a shot of caffeine. Without hesitation, Ariana started walking towards the coffee shop.

When Ariana opened the door, the smell of caffeine and sweets invaded her nose. The coffee shop was not crowded, only three people in front of her. When it was Ariana's turn, she ordered a honey almond milk flat white, in size grande, and a chocolate biscuit. While she waited for her order, she observed the people present in the shop. Her eyes slid to a boy in the coffee shop, he was alone and attractive. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Then her eyes glanced at the employees, who were all hard at work. She turned and stared out through the large window, observing the shoppers.  "Ariana?" was then heard from behind the counter. Ariana turned around and gratefully took her order. She put the mug of coffee and the chocolate biscuit down on the counter and grabbed her bag.

And suddenly she froze. Her wallet, containing her credit card and money, was not in her pocket. She felt herself getting warm. In her mind she went to all possible places. And suddenly she remembered. Last night she had gone out and put her wallet in one of her handbags. When she had gone to the library, she had not taken it out again. Ariana swallowed for a moment and looked at the staff member. "I think...I forgot my wallet in my dorm room" Ariana said slightly panicked. The employee's hands, which had been busy keying things in on the cash register, froze and he looked at her. "That's a problem...can you pay in another way?" Ariana dug a little deeper into her purse and into her pockets, but her phone was probably still in the handbag as well. Panic began to rise and she looked around. She could not just walk away, then she would look like a fool. But what could she do?

FIND WHAT YOU LOVE AND LET IT KILL YOU His eyes widened as they strayed to the bottom left of his computer screen. It was seven o’clock already, and he was still in his office. Reading through papers of the students he was supervising generally took up quite a lot of his time, mostly because he found it the most boring task there was. He had finally gotten in some kind of flow, however, reading through the pages while tracking down spelling errors, faulty references, and inaccurate information. Apparently, he had gotten into it so much that he had worked for two extra hours. Then again, it wasn’t as if he had much to come home for. Not at all. Once there, he would cook himself dinner and… well, that was it. He had no one to come home to, nothing much to look forward for. Working seemed like a suitable alternative. At least that way he was doing something useful with his time. But he supposed that it was time to go home, since all the university buildings were supposed to close soon anyway. On his way home, however, he decided to make a quick stop at Starbucks. He felt pretty tired all of a sudden, which was definitely something an overpriced cup of coffee could fix. Fortunately for him, it wasn’t too busy. While waiting in line, he checked his phone for a bit. Not that he received many messages these days anyway. He then ordered a plain black coffee, which he supposed shouldn’t take too long to make. Once again, he was preoccupied with his phone, until something seemed to not go entirely according to plan in front of him. The girl in front of him had forgotten her wallet. She anxiously patted herself and her bag down, looking for something that clearly wasn’t there. Nor would it magically appear the more stressed out she got. Pensively, he bit his bottom lip, until she looked around in a way that made him feel kinda bad for her. “I’ll pay for it,” he finally caved, walking up to the counter. “Just ring it up with mine.” The employee did as he was told, after which Asher paid for both their orders simultaneously. He waited for his singular black coffee to arrive, after which he nodded at the girl. “Enjoy.” It wasn’t as if he would have spent the money any better anyhow.

☰ code made by kahlua of caution