The day drags on until lunch. Jessie has a doctor's appointment during lunch, so I have a whole hour to kill by myself. I decide I need something to drink. I head to the local coffee shop which is a few blocks away. Ben's Coffee Shop has been here for years. The café is owned by Ben Watson, who is about 50. I get in line and look at the menu. Easter is near so they have holiday specials; I decide on a strawberry and peach smoothie. When it's my turn to order, I decide to also spring for a lemon poppy seed muffin. I pay and grab my stuff; when I turn around I run into someone, spilling my smoothie everywhere. The first thing I think is, 'Oh ----! I'm wearing my favorite purple shirt and now it's probably ruined.' My muffin hits the floor and I bend down to grab it only to have it being handed to me. I look up. The hand belongs to a guy with gorgeous mint green eyes and milk chocolate colored hair. He is looking at me apologetically.
I stutter out, "I'm so sorry, I'm such a klutz!"
"It's okay, not the first time it's happened, trust me."
I can tell by looking at him that he's a high school student as well. We stand there drenched in icy smoothie for a few more seconds longer. I grab some napkins for us as we move off to the side.
I ask, "Are you new around here? I haven't seen you around."
"Um, yeah. I just moved here from Portland a few days ago. Timpas is such a beautiful town. I really like it so far. I started school today, actually."
"Ah, so you're a newbie. I could give you a tour of the few hotspots in town some time if you want. I owe you that much since I spilled smoothie all over you."
"Yeah, I'd like that. I'm Alec, by the way." He extends his hand to mine and shakes it.
"I'm Lilia."
"Nice to meet you Lilia; even under the circumstances." He laughs, showing off an amazing smile. I smile back.
"So would tomorrow work for you? We could meet up after school?"
He pulls out a piece of paper and writes something down. "That sounds great. Here's my number, give me a call sometime soon so we could set up a time."