Chapter 2

June 1 1990

The sun was beating against James' head. It was one week since he had his encounter with Rachel, of whom he thought was the most beautiful girl on the planet.

'PEARLS CAFE' the sign read. Well, James thought, this must be the place.. and with that, he walked in.

Rachel looked much more beautiful than when James last saw her. She had her hair tied back in a loose ponytail, she wore mascara and a bit of lipgloss that, even though it was barely visible, it made her look even more kissable. She wore plain flats, and a vintage dress. No one else would look as good as she did at that very moment. James noticed that she was reading a book, Little Women, so he was careful not to disturb her. I want to do everything perfect for her, thought James. I want to be her knight in shining armour.

James walked up to the counter. Well, he thought, if I want to be her hero then I guess I would have to start by buying her a coffee.
"Hello, welcome to Pearls, how are you today?" the cheery lady behind the bar beamed at James.
"I'm trying to impress a girl, so I'll have two cappuccinos, please."
"Coming right up!" the lady said, flicking her eyes over to Rachel, then back to James. "May I ask, is it the girl over there reading?" James couldn't hide his emotions, so he blushed.
"Sorry, dear. I didn't mean to embarass you. But if it is Rachel, she's one of our regulars. Comes in every day at this time to get a latte."
"Can I have two lattes instead? I'm sorry, its just that she's my first love and I don't ever want to lose her."
The lady smiled and handed him two lattes, and James gave a generous tip to the lady.

Rachel looked up from her book to see James staring at her. He gave her the latte and sat down.
"Well, Rachel," he smiled. "Its nice to see you here!" Rachel blushed.
"Hey James. Oh, I can't make you pay!" Rachel throws her money onto the table.
"No problem," said James, pushing the money back towards her. "But next time, you're paying." He gave Rachel a delicate smile.
"I would like a next time" said Rachel.
"Tomorrow? Same time, same place?"
"Sure."

They talked for a while, got to know each other. Rachel was 19 and she loved to swim. She also liked drawing, and when she pulled out her sketchpad to show James, his mind was blown. She was pretty and talented. She had never been in a relationship before, and she lived with her father. Her mother moved to Sweden last year, because she and Rachel's father had an argument. Rachel had always disliked her mother, so this didn't really bother her.

James told her about him, as well. He is 21, and had a job at the local theatre. His dream job was to be a food critic, and he was good at running. Rachel looked awestruck when he told her about all of the sponsored marathons he had done. He lived with his best friend Clive, and he had never been in a relationship before either.

"I had fun today James," Rachel smiled. " I like you. You're a nice guy."

And for the second time, she walked off.

Reviews

[Terpsichore]

The story line has promise, but the grammar, punctuation and syntax, (sentence construction,) are a bit all over the place and you are mixing your tenses. it makes the read a little confusing and rather detracts from the whole.

With a little work this could be quite good. T

[Sarah Egerton]

I've just noticed this now, thanks for telling me.