[h1][i][b][color=bc8dbf]Kassidy MacGrath[/color][/b][/i][/h1] "Happy Birthday, Kassie. " Susan smiled and hugged the daughter that looked exactly like her from her red hair to her gray eyes. Despite occasional arguments between mother and daughter, they fared well with just the two of them. "Here." She handed the her a gift wrapped in blue paper and tied with a pink ribbon. Kassidy grinned. "Thanks mom. I think I know what this is." She tore open the paper and found herself staring at hard bound book about the different types of coffee, how to roast them and how to prepare it a hundred ways. She chuckled. "Yes, I'll be striving to become the best barista in the world." She flipped the pages and savored the distinct smell that new books had. "We'll celebrate in the weekend, okay? It'll be a double celebration. You graduation and your birthday. I'm sorry to be asking you to stay in the cafe tonight but I really have to meet our suppliers." Susan smiled apologetically. "It's a pretty slow night anyway and Zoey is here." "It's okay, mom. I don't mind.." Kassidy said as she read a page on Kopi Luwak or Civet Coffee. "Wow. Poop." She commented absent mindedly. The older woman noticed the distracted look on her daughter's face and chuckled. Everytime the girl got a new book, she almost always instantly buried her nose in it. She got up from her chair and walked out of the kitchen and into the cafe. Cliffside Cafe had been passed down her mother's family. Through out the years, the family had kept the cozy feel of the cafe with its hand crafted bookshelves filled with books that the customers can take to their tables, soft comfortable couches, hand crafted and hand painted wooden tables and several landscape paintings done by Kassidy's grandfather. When Kassidy had been around 5 years old, she had insisted on decorating the cafe with star shaped stained glass lanterns and now several of it hung from the ceiling casting rainbows all around. On one side of the cafe, overlooking the cliff, were glass panes that served both as its walls and windows. Outside were several tables and chairs underneath bright, big beach like umbrellas that has Cliffside Cafe printed in bold letters on it. Susan walked over to a beautifully carved table by the wall and ran a hand lovingly on its surface. It was the most recent addition to the cafe, crafted by Kassidy's father, who was a carpenter. "Mom, I---" Kassidy came out of the kitchen and her eyes fell on the longing, sad look on her mother's face as she ran a her hand along the smooth dark wood of the table. She knew that her mother had been greatly affected by her father's absence. They had been so in love before Kassidy came along. In the back of her head, she always wondered if her mom blamed it all on her. He had been a soft spoken, kind man but everything had changed when he didn't get the son he always wanted. Kassidy's hand shook at the thought of her father. The idea of him coming back made her heart thump rapidly and painfully in her chest. She turned her eyes abruptly towards the door as it chimed, expecting to see a brown haired man with bright blue eyes and a dark frown... When she saw a girl from school, she let out a relieved sigh. She watched the girl wobble in trailing blood after her. She would have come forward to help but she saw Zoey going to the back to get the first aid kit. "I'll see you later at home, honey." Kassidy caught the wistful look on her mother's face as she passed by on her way out. She looked back to Kassidy and gestured towards the bloody trail as if to tell her to take care of it. Kassidy nodded automatically, went to the back to get a mop and a bucket and proceeded to take care of the bloody mess. [h1][i][b][color=6ecff6]Sam Spark[/color][/b][/i][/h1] [I]Meanwhile down the street...[/i] Samuel walked through the night. He liked it better to go outside when it was late, as not many people were out then. He didn't like the shadows though, they could scare him easily, but it was better then walking into a mass of people. He couldn't stand his parents at the moment, (which he blamed on late puberty) so he went out into the dark with his trusty hoodie over his head. He walked past a cafe and noticed he was a bit thirsty. normally he wouldn't go inside a strange cafe, but it didn't seem very busy so he thought 'why not?' and opened the door. A small chime made people notice he entered, which startled him a bit, but he shrugged it off as soon as he saw what made the noise. He saw an empty table in the corner, and sat at it. He looked around, trying to avoid eyecontact as much as possible. He recognised some people from his school, mostly girls. He didn't actually know that well though, as he usually tried to avoid contact with others. Maybe they knew him because of him being a bit awkward, but not much more. [h1][i][b][color=bc8dbf]Kassidy MacGrath[/color][/b][/i][/h1] Kassidy had just finished cleaning up the floor when the door chimed again. She jumped, her mind still on the thought that her father might walk in any time. She looked towards the door and sighed in relief when she saw that it was someone else from school. The boy who always wore a hoodie. Sam something... She had seen him around school several times but she never saw him interact with anyone and preferred to keep mostly to himself. She took the now bloodied mop and bucket back into the back room and then came out again. Seeing as how Zoey was still busy tending to Maren, she made her way to the table where Sam say. "Hey." Kassidy flashed him a bright smile. "What would you like to order?" Before the boy could answer, the door chimed again and Kassidy jumped. She looked back and saw twins enter. She shrugged and turned back to Sam. But something about the night sky caught her attention and she peered out the window. A strange light spread across the sky in a mix of red, yellow and orange. [h1][i][b][color=6ecff6]Sam Spark[/color][/b][/i][/h1] Sam saw the girl from his class, who apparently worked at the cafe, walk towards him. [i]Come on Sam, you know she is just coming to get your order. Just relax and tell her what you want.[/i] He said to himself, while trying to control his breath. As she asked what he wanted, he was about to respond when the door opened again, which startled him. He tried to forget about them, and ordered a cola, then saw the light outside, filling the sky in bright colors. [i]WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?![/i] He thought, panicking a bit. He tried to stay as calm as possible, but couldn't help sinking back into his chair as he instinctively tried to make himself smaller.