Sunday, March 4, 2007

A Coffee Break During Moving

Now that I've moved to Quantico, I suppose I could finally introduce myself. My name is Adhara McCain. Please, what ever you do, don't ask me about my name, it is derived from Arabic عذارى ('adhara) meaning "maidens". This is the name of the second brightest star (after Sirius) in the constellation Canis Major. I don't know why my parents named me that, but hell, I've lived with it this long.

Which leads me into my second paragraph. I'm 23 years old. I grew up in Seattle, Washington with my parents, David and Elizabeth McCain. I have two younger brothers, twins Lucius and Uri. I swear, my mother had a thing for names. We grew up in what some could call the upper-middle class. Which meant that we got cars for our birthdays but we had to have a job to maintain those cars. We grew up a suburb of Seattle, dog included. We're a pretty normal bunch, us McCain's. But however I was always the odd one out.

My parents, like any other parents had high expectations for their children, especially their first born. They wanted me to be a successful businesswoman, but no matter what, I never lived up to those expectations. We fought constantly, but then again, what family doesn't fight? Nevertheless I was not the daughter they wanted, I guess. Whenever I was younger I remember doodling all over my math homework, and I'd get in trouble for it because my parents said that doodling was for people incapable of getting their point across. It showed in my school work though. While I excelled at anything linked with the arts; creative writing, art, and music, I lacked in knowledge in math, science and history.

So this is how I wound up on my own, here in this small little Starbucks in Quantico, Virgina. I finally got enough cash and enough courage to move out on my own. I wanted to be far enough from my parents that I wouldn't have to visit them at least enough, but close enough so that I would only have visit like once or twice a year. I also wanted to be close to a city, and well, Washington DC is close enough.

So I'm sitting in a booth with my laptop and my white chocolate mocha chino with extra whipped cream. I'm people watching. In fact two young men are walking in the cafe right now. One is a muscular black male, my he's quite a stud, but not really my type. I don't really go for looks. I go for intelligence and sincerity. That's what gets my heart pounding. The Handsome Devil is accompanied by a skinny white male around my age. Oh look at those glasses, quite darling really. I shall call him Slim. They are both wearing a weapon. Most people can't tell if some one's carrying, but I can. I was born and raised in Seattle. I wonder if they are cops or something. They pass by me, Mr. Handsome smiling at with a devilish smirk. I wonder whats up with that.

They order their drinks when I pick up pieces of their conversation.

"Hey Reid, did you see that girl with the laptop." The Handsome Devil asked Slim.
"Yes Morgan." Slim replied back.
"She looks about your age," HD told Slim suggestively.
"Morgan, really I don't-" Slim said. Here I immediately smiled. Aww he's shy, I thought to myself.
"Reid, seriously, you need to get yourself a girl, or something. You're stressed out."
"SPENCER, DEREK, YOUR ORDER'S UP!" The Barrister yelled as I took a sip of coffee.

The two were heading toward the door as I set my coffee down on the table. I wish I'd seen it coming, but I'm not that cognitive as an artist. Slim's shoe laces had come untied, and just as I made eye contact with the young man in glasses and flashed him a smile, the poor lad tripped over his laces, knocking my table, causing my coffee to become air born, and add to the puddle of coffee on the floor.

"Oh my goodness, let my help you out there, darling." I said to Slim rushing to get up. Great, I thought, my southern drawl and my tendency to talk like a Huddle House waitress attacked me.
"No, no, it's alright, it's my fault really." Slim said.
"Nah, hun, It's my fault, I left the coffee right at the edge," I told him. "No harm, no foul. My name's Adhara McCain." I smiled my brightest smile, which I'm known for.
"Spencer Reid. Look I can get you another drink if you'd like..." Spencer started off.
" There was just a swallow left in that. Don't worry about it." I said. At that, HD came back with a barrister and a mop to clean up the mess that Spencer's drink left.
"Reid, we'd better get going." HD told Slim.
"Okay okay," Spencer said, a little glum that he wouldn't be getting coffee after all. I had an idea. I rushed through my purse and got out an ink pen. I grabbed at Spencer's hand and jotted down my cell phone number.
"I'm new in town, just finishing the moving process actually, and I'd like a tour of Quantico. So lets make a deal. Next time you get the urge for coffee, call my number, you supply the tour and I'll supply the coffee. Sound like a plan to you?" I asked Spencer. Look at me go, I'm asking him on a date just like five minutes after I met him.
"That actually sounds like a good plan to me, Adhara." Spencer said, smiling back. "I've got to head back to the office, but I'll give you a call if I have some free time."
"Sure, that would be lovely." I said. As the two gentlemen walked out the door of the Quantico Starbucks, I heard HD say, "We'll I be damned, Reid just got a phone number."
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

People should read this.