[indent] [/indent][h3][hr][color=DarkOliveGreen]Everly[/color][/h3][hr][indent] [/indent]
[color=DarkOliveGreen]“I’m heading out!”[/color] Everly waved her apron at Tim, who responded with a shout of acknowledgement before his attention was again wrapped up by the hectic kitchen. After the sun rose, the first employees had slowly trickled in, and the early bird customers were fast on their heels. With the rising sun, however, came the eventual ping of the alarm Everly had set back during the early AMs, knowing full well how lost she got in planning and testing menu items, lost in the clatters and sizzles of the kitchen that gave her a strange comfort, filling some nondescript emptiness she didn’t know existed and couldn’t begin to describe.

But, despite the mysteries of the world, life went on, and so did Everly’s tidy schedule. Class was slated for the morning, and the thirty minutes before her first were allotted for transportation she didn’t need. Instead of taking the bus, though, she headed home, disappearing through her office into her bedroom. The muffled sound of the shower running greeted her when she arrived, so back through the mirror she went, exiting and entering her apartment again noisily, keys jangling in her hand.

[color=DarkOliveGreen]“[i]I’m home![/i]”[/color] Everly dropped her keys on the kitchen table, knocking on the bathroom door as she passed it on the way to her room. [color=DarkOliveGreen]“[i]Breakfast is on the table, and I’m leaving in five minutes![/i]”[/color]

“[i]Okay![/i]” Emily’s voice was muted and covered, but it still brought a smile to Everly’s mouth when she registered the American tilt in the Thai—something her sister managed to pull off better than Everly, who had the traditionally flat tone she’d picked up from her mother.

[color=DarkOliveGreen]“[i]‘Okay?’ How about a hug instead?[/i]”[/color] Everly said as she changed into clothes that didn’t smell of the smoke and oil that saturated Chinese kitchens. [color=DarkOliveGreen]“[i]Well?[/i]”[/color]

“[i]Fine,[/i]” Emily appeared at her door just as Everly poked her head through her tee. “[i]Were you up all night again?[/i]”

[color=DarkOliveGreen]“[i]Were you?[/i]”[/color] Everly kissed Emily’s forehead, not minding the moisture that seeped into her clothes as she pulled her sister close. [color=DarkOliveGreen]“[i]Bye[/i] Noongsaaw, [i]love you.[/i]”[/color]

“[i]Love you,[/i]” Emily echoed in her slightly exasperated tone as Everly bolted out the room with a grin, which slipped from her face as she locked the front door behind her, chewing the inside of her lip. She hated hiding things from her sister, hated the thought of not being as open to Emily as Emily was to her.

But, more than she hated hiding the truth, more than she hated the ‘white lies’ she told, she hated the look Emily gave in the recurring nightmares she had—the look Everly herself resonated almost painfully with. 

The look of betrayal.

[hr]
Classes weren't that bad, seeing as Everly hadn’t slept a wink, but she knew it was the adrenaline carrying her through the morning. She’d elected to take all her classes in the morning precisely because of her sleeping habits. Lingering behind the clarity she forced on herself, however, was the haze that came with failing to rest, but she pushed through. After all, there was no sleep until after class, and she didn’t much feel like trying with all her fresh case studies and assignments. Those kept her busy through late morning, and by the time she exited the library, the sun was well on its way across the sky, With the passage of time, though, had gone the vague ache of hunger that she’d chosen to ignore since hours earlier, and though the last thing she physically felt like doing was trying to stick food in her mouth, she knew she’d do well to.

A passing student caught Everly’s eye—or, rather, the coffee they were holding did. Caffeine was a bad idea, she knew, but she didn’t much care for trying to sleep anyway. She hadn’t finished her readings, which were due at the end of the week, and she also had to update the Golden Harbor’s budget for the week, seeing as she now had a definite number to do so. As such, coffee really didn’t sound bad, and she rounded a corner to the bathroom, where she stepped onto the sink and ducked out of a window on a quiet street on the edge of the Arido Valley. 

Everly’s destination—a quaint little coffee shop called the ‘Woven Roast’—was a newer discovery of hers. She’d originally seen the sign when heading to the dojo, and she hadn’t given it much thought. The name, however, had resurfaced in her mind when she was pinned down on the mat by an older, more bullish member that seemed more intent on proving that he was above rolling with a woman than he was in training. As the lack of oxygen slowly reached her head, all Everly could think about was what a preposterous name the ‘Woven Roast’ was, given that it seemed to be a coffeehouse. Did it play host to a weekly knitting club, or was the owner just trying to be unique in some outlandish way?

Everly’s redirected frustration—because all it took for someone that much heavier than her to win was maneuver so that she was forced to bear their weight, and she hated how cheap but effective the tactic was—nominated the coffeehouse as its unfortunate target, and she was back in front of the shop later that night, stifling the ache of her bruising forearms with a mixture of annoyed acknowledgement that she’d been too rushed to notice what was clearly visible now that she was looking. The Woven Roast had a seamstress’ touch that was made blatant by a mannequin behind one window, clad in some chic, boho-style Californian outfit that Everly tended to associate more with locals than herself. 

The shop had already closed its doors that night, but when Everly returned during normal hours, she found that the place held a slew of small niceties: a quiet and comfortable space, a friendly atmosphere, and the just-right ratio of the smell of coffee grounds to fresh air. While the owner, Taylor, had been a bit too enthusiastic for Everly the first time she’d gone, Gabriel, the other barista, was much more pleasant to be around, his lack of immediate warmth—or even conversation—allowing Everly the headspace she needed to pull out her books and fit in a bit of studying over coffee. Still, with a few visits came an eventual acceptance, then slight admiration, of Taylor’s cheeriness. Everly could never imagine herself with the same perkiness, but she dropped by sometimes to remind herself that there were still people out there who offered optimism and kindness even to strangers, however fruitless the might endeavor seem to her. 

It was on days like this, when Everly was neither tired nor not, that she liked to drop by and sit in, holding a mug and listening to Nicole prattle on about one thing or another. The girl had been quick to pick up on Everly’s unwillingness to share, and though she’d tried at first to pry, Everly had never entertained her offers. Rather, she kept a cordial distance, revealing what surface details she would to any interested parties: that she was attending the local college, had moved over from winter-battered Minneapolis, and co-owned the Golden Harbor in another part of town. Such details she was comfortable with, since failing to reveal them meant possibly tripping up over details from one person to another. Instead of trying to craft multiple stories for herself, she liked to keep things simple and save herself the headache.

Opening the door to the shop, Everly was a bit surprised to see another customer, but she proceeded in anyway. Worst case scenario, she’d finish it quickly and cite her job as an excuse. 

[color=DarkOliveGreen]“Hello, hope I’m not interrupting,”[/color] she said, smiling and setting her bag down on a corner table before approaching the register. [color=DarkOliveGreen]“Could I get an Americano, or whatever’s fresh?”[/color] A few times, she’d opted to let Nicole brew whatever the girl felt was right, and Everly had been pleasantly surprised with the results. [color=DarkOliveGreen]“To go,”[/color] she added, fetching her credit card when she spotted the man’s laptop and charger. He was going to be here a while, so Everly might need to use her excuse after all, seeing as he was likely a regular. Everly had already made the acquaintance of a few loyal customers of the shop, and while they weren’t all people she’d want to see again, she liked to think she gave people the benefit of the doubt—or at least that much when she was waiting for her coffee.

[color=DarkOliveGreen]“And feel free to continue your conversation. I’ll probably head out soon.”[/color]

[hr]
[@chukklehed] [@Lord Wraith]