Teach Me | H.S

Chapter 1

2 years later

*Isabella's POV*

And as if the weather knew that I had to walk to work, it began to rain. And when I say rain, I mean torrential downpour that will have me soaked before I reach the bottom step of the apartment building.

I stood on the inside of the door and watched the tarmac change colour from light to dark grey as the rain pounded the street. Perhaps if I glare at the clouds long enough the rain will stop, then again perhaps a unicorn will magically appear at the door and fly me to work, above the clouds where I won't get wet. Neither of which look likely to happen as the rain begins to fall even harder.

Sighing, I wrap my scarf tighter around my neck, lifting it slightly so that it covers my mouth and force the heavy doors open. The smell of wet tarmac filled my nose and the rain plastered the hair to the back of my head. Keeping my head hung low, I ventured out into another busy London Monday morning. I hated Mondays. They were at the top of my list of things I hate, along with blocked noses, greasy hair and being woken up before 9am on a weekend, unacceptable!

Luckily the Cafe I worked at was only a few streets away, near Hyde Park but not too near that we had to deal with a constant inflow of visitors. I finally gave up on walking gracefully though the streets of London and sprinted the rest of the way, dodging executive office workers in expensive suits and clueless tourists ambling along the road, heads buried deep in a city map.

In half the time it would have taken me to walk, I entered (ungracefully) into the Cafe. At once I was greeted by the smell of freshly baked muffins and coffee. An old man sat at one of the window seats, a newspaper was lying on the table, held down by a cup of tea to prevent the pages from being blown over by the draft from the poorly positioned air conditioner. Olivia was busy behind the counter, brewing fresh cups of tea and coffee for the customers who were destined to enter any minute now.

Olivia and I had never got on. Or personalities were very different and that often led disputes over petty things during our lunch hour, the latest being who was a better singer: Michael Jackson or Justin Bieber, and I would die before she made me like even one Justin Bieber song! We never let our disliking of one another get in the way of our work however. We simply greeted each other in the morning and said goodbye at night, getting on with our work in between.

"Good morning Olivia" I deadpanned, no emotion evident in my voice as I continued our tradition of simple greetings.

"Hi" was the only answer I received, if anything she said it with less emotion than I had. I trudged through to the employees break room and hung my coat on the rack, next to the radiator in the hope that some of the heat emitting from the machine would dry the item of clothing in time for me to head home. There is nothing worse than putting on wet clothes after a long day at work (number 13 on my list of things I hate).

After hanging up my jacket and throwing my long brown hair into a bun on top of my head, I grabbed my apron and ambled back towards the Cafe, tying the straps as I went. Olivia was still fiddling with the coffee machine when I returned, eyebrows furrowed as she tried to read the warning being displayed on the LED screen.

"It's out of water, you will need to refill it before you can make any more coffee" I mumbled, organising the pastries in the display counter so that the most presentable were at the front, encouraging the customers to buy them.

"Oh... right... thanks" she stuttered as she filled the machine with the recommended volume of water. We had made the mistake of over-filling the machine once before and watched helplessly as boiling coffee flowed continuously out of the nozzle and all over the floor with no way of ceasing it. We were held back for 2 hours after closing time to clean up the mess, forcing me to endure Olivia rambling on about what happened on the latest reality TV show she was obsessed with, something to do with a wedding...who knows.

The bell dinged as someone opened the door to the Cafe. I straightened up my apron and dusted the flour and icing sugar, which had fallen on me from the cakes, to the floor.

"Hi, how can I help you?" I asked, trying to sound as upbeat and friendly as I could on this horrible morning. I looked over the counter and was met with the most beautiful pair of forest green eyes. The light from the shop seemed to reflect in them, giving them a glittering effect. His hair was long and curly, held back by the hood of his grey hoodie, although some curls still managed to peek out the sides, glistening from the water droplets which had fallen on them. His lips were beautifully shaped and a rosy pink colour which seemed to draw me to them.

His eyebrows were furrowed as he stared at me, his lips slightly parted. He did not blink, nor did he order anything. He simply gaped at me for a few short moments then hurried out the Cafe, disappearing into the crowded streets on London.

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So this is the first chapter! I hope you like it. If you do please vote and comment what you think, I would love to hear your feedback!

Much love <3