1 Coffee and Chill

18th of January 2016 (9:05 A.M.)

Amongst the depressing pile of scattered law textbooks that formed a city on the floor, empty cups of coffee and noodles on the desk, an open laptop that flickered a fan fiction site, Harry Potter posters that covered the wall, and a ruffled bed; there lived a girl that wanted change.

Emerging from the rubble of her bed, a hand sluggishly searched for the crying Mandrake alarm clock. As much as she loved the damned memento, mornings for Bonnie Kwon just wasn't as light as they were eight years ago.

Eight years ago, she'd spend every night at home finishing homework that were at most fifteen to twenty pages long. Eight years later, she's in her own apartment - still finishing homework that were at least thirty pages long.

She rolled up to the side of the bed, lowered her feet on the rug and slowly got up, reaching for her unusual vintage-looking wired glasses at the side table. Plain white brick walls, wooden floor panels, basic kitchenware, bathroom with a tub, and a quaint sofa for two, her studio apartment was as mediocre as the days she spent living in it; only redeemed by the fact that she had it all to herself. Lonesome as that may sound, she enjoyed her alone time reading cases with the occasional fan fiction breaks; a cup of hot coffee always nearby.

Sunshine filtered through the draped curtains as she poured her first cup of Joe – the first and only thing she looked forward to every morning albeit a snowy grey weather or a smouldering bright one. Coffee for her was like a best friend. It was there throughout her first year in law school – cheering her on during sleepless nights; walked with her from sunrise to sunset along the streets going to different classes, and at times even become a warm hug after a gruesome day.

At the bustling age of 23, she found herself at a standstill. Once upon a time she dreamt of becoming a lawyer, climbing up to the top while fighting for justice. But the longer she spent studying and reading the mountains of books and winning lists of mock trials, the more she got anxious on what the future will hold outside the walls of her studies and careers. Having a successful job was peachy and all but is by no means a reason to let life pass you by. And so as she raked her fingers through her straight bobbed hair, covered her plain white top with her denim-blue sweater and laced her jet-black oxfords, she stepped outside; hoping to find something more.

2:20 P.M.

"Bonnie."

"Hey Bonnie." She snapped her newly painted fingers. Mint-green like her patched up Converse.

"Yes Kaye, I'm still not going. Thank you for checking for the fourth time."  Bonnie kept her gaze outside the classroom window, eyelids heavy under her glasses from finishing another fan fiction the night before.

"Yeah but c'mon!"

Leaning over, she whispered. "It's a frikin homo party. Shouldn't that be enough? Besides, it's just few blocks away from your place."

Admittedly, she did enjoy exploring the ever growing, ever colourful gay section at her usual website. She won't however, admit becoming more and more like them. Those sexually charged queer girls can go enjoy themselves in those pages as she would always say.

They can stay in the encoded texts of moaning dialogues and fingering paragraphs – descriptive being an understatement. She didn't have anything against them or any gender identities out there in the wide world, in fact she supported the LGBTQ+ community; minus attending Pride Marches, wearing specific rainbow themed items and participating in other activities. Other than that, she has two thumbs up for them.

"I just don't see any point in going, ok? Yeah, I like reading queer fics. But only to that level.   Besides, we have our first few readings for the month so I'd at least like skim them."

"Few?" Kaye patted a pile of books as tall as her while sitting.

"Exactly why we should start now. It's our second year, Kaye. Ever think you ought to get used to this much by now?"

"Oh fuck off, genius. If you're telling me this pile of shit doesn't scare you, like even for a bit, then I have bad news for you." She slumped back to her chair.

Bonnie shrugged in response, carefully packing the allegedly scary pile of books in her paper bag before waving goodbye to the red head who glowered at her while slowly shaking her head in exaggerated disappointment.

The Arbiton Law School stretched smack-dab at the heart of the bustling metropolis, sheltering around at least 500 students each year. With a ten-year running streak for the best international law school, one can't help but label the students who emerge from the facility as no less than top-notch. Since the year 1933 it houses a graduate's collection of famous actors, infamous politicians, renowned authors and lawyers – either much hated or well respected. Surprisingly, the campus itself wasn't a cut above the rest in terms of aesthetics. With only a giant marble fountain in the center as a landmark, students tend to stay outside the walls of campus to diffuse into the dynamic city.

3:05 P.M.

On the afternoon of January 18th, Bonnie decided to take a different route going to her usual coffee shop; a longer route. She turned right just before Ellison's Bookshop, into a narrow alley lined with stores that closed down. As she approached the end of the alley, she spots a cute coffee shop – red door and a wooden sign that says "Coffee and Chill". A great name if only it didn't remind her of a certain innuendo that's been trending as of late. Either it was built before it trended or they have a good sense of green humour. Nevertheless, Bonnie opened the bright red door, ringing a small bell. Coffee but no 'chill'.

The unmistakable smell of coffee wafted around the red bricked walls and wooden floors; a good sign that people came and bought what they had to offer. Vinyls, photographs, old concert tickets arranged and framed, an acoustic guitar with a rainbow sticker on the body, a pair of sandals, cassette tapes stuck together, and what seemed like a gum that was encased in a glass frame littered the walls. Hipster? Or just plain weird?

She eyed a couch in the corner beside the window. It looked like a good spot to conduct a survey as an older couple was conveniently sitting between her and the manned counter.

"Cappuccino please." She handed the crisp new bill as the man-bunned waiter stuck a sticky-note on the edge of the shelf and gestured for her to seat herself.

It was quaint. The alley, being a road less travelled, offered an escape from the busy main street. She scored the place a generous nine over ten; a point deducted by the coffee-brown couch that seemed to be made of Styrofoam.

4:00 P.M.

Skimming through the slab-thick textbooks, she pinched the bridge of her nose in nausea. It wasn't the sheer amount of words that got to her but rather the realization of spending almost all of her free time again in reading and studying every single term littered in those dull pages. As she closed the last book in the pile, her gaze wandered around the dimmed café, skimming through the people that went around. A man-bunned counter guy, a bearded one wiping empty tables, sassy-looking waitress with red frames reading a book near the counter, and a pink haired punk chic with a nose ring working on the brewer. As usual, her brain got to work in pairing the selected few. 'Man-bun' to 'Pink Punk'; 'Werebear' to 'Ms. Red'. Werebear being the sub to Ms. Frames who in all honesty seemed like she could make anyone her sub. Pink Punk put up a strong front but was actually a softy and always ended up crying whenever she fought with Man-bun. Somewhere in the corner of her eye, just behind the empty Mason jars lined on the shelf, she spots someone. Long tousled brunette hair swept to the side, draping just a bit as she hung her head while being scolded by who seemed to be the manager. The newbie.

A little after spotting her, the newbie plodded back to her post. The girl noticed Bonnie's peering gaze and proceeded to re-enact an exaggerated version of the manager's scolding – hand puppet and all. Cheeky. Bonnie simply shot her an amused smile and turned her head towards the window, hoping to avoid getting caught again.

4:40 P.M.

"Hey." The newbie greeted as if they knew each other, placing a glass of water on her table.

"Oh. Hi." She replied, unsure what was up.

"Sorry 'bout the scene earlier. Grand Duchess got her panties on a bunch. Can't even grab a bite of the apple I bought for lunch."

Bonnie chuckled. "No it's alright. I guess it comes with the whole 'I should act more superior' script."

"More like the menopausal script." They snickered.

"Oh, you're studying law?" The newbie eyed the large book as Bonnie nodded. She raised her brows and gave a half-smile. "Well good luck. For whatever good that'll do you."

What did she mean by that? Did she look like a hopeless student? Or was studying law hopeless in itself?

"Thanks?" Her brows furrowed as she took a sip of water.

The girl waved goodbye and proceeded back to the counter, chatting up Ms. Frames. A few minutes passed and the two hurriedly marched towards the door.

"For fucks sake hurry up, woman." Ms. Frames shouted at the newbie who now wore a sleeved-up red flannel and boots to go with her shorts.

"Oh please, you don't even know where the venue is."

"26th Felkin's Building, asshat."

The newbie simply flipped her off as the door closed behind them. Bonnie stared at the two, her eyes now wide in sudden recognition of the said place. An all too familiar building located just a few blocks away from her unit. They can't be. As the two passed her window and disappeared in sight, Bonnie reclined against the firm couch and reassessed her earlier pairing. Ms. Frames and The Newbie were dating. She grabbed her stuff and exited the seemingly more interesting than before café. The city lights began their usual flickering all across the usual streets and buildings as Bonnie Kwon smiled to herself having discovered her new favourite coffee shop.