"Oh, the soup does contain crab, so I wouldn't recommend it due to your allergies", said Anvi.

The customer—a man in his late twenties, with dirty blonde hair and the most intense green eyes, frowned.

"Aw, man!
It looked really good", he said.

"Well, it's known for it's tangy flavour, and if that's something you're interested in, they serve really good lime muffins here", said Anvi.

The man screwed his face up in disgust. "Lime muffins?
That's disgusting!
What kind of place is this?"

Noticing the man shouting at Anvi, Bolin hurried over to them, putting on his best smile.

"Hi there!
Is everything ok?"

"No!
She's tryna get me to eat lime muffins", said the man.
"Is that sh*t really all you have on the menu?"

"No, we have a lot of options!
We have a tangy vegan curried–"

"Are you thick or something?
I said I don't want that sh*t!"

Bolin's eyes widened, and this was the first time Anvi had seen him look so taken aback.
She assumed that he was used to customers like this, but Bolin seemed like a really gentle soul, so this sort of thing was bound to upset him.

"Most of our desserts are tangy, so why don't I grab the desserts menu for you, and you can choose which one you fancy?", suggested Anvi.

By this time, the man was aware that he had attracted negative attention, as many of the other customers scowling at him.

"Sure, that's fine.
Just hurry up."

Anvi nodded.
"I'll be right back."

Bolin gave Anvi a small smile as she walked away, and Venn stepped towards her as she approached him.

"You handled that very well, Anvi. You're quite the professional."

Anvi smiled.
"Thanks.
Just can't believe he called Bolin thick."

Venn sighed.
"Sadly, we get customers like that often. But Bolin's far tougher than he appears."

"I'm glad.
He seems like a cool guy, and he doesn't deserve to be treated like that."

¤¤¤

Tabitha played
'Can't Help Falling In Love'
on the keyboard.
Her fingers danced along each key, and she played with ease.

Jace stood in his door way, his eyes firmly fixed on Tabitha's face. Unbeknownst to Tabitha, she smiled as she played, each note melting into the others to form such a beautiful song.

Jace smiled fondly as he watched Tabitha.
He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the door frame, letting himself get lost in the music.

When it came to an end, Jace clapped.
A startled Tabitha jumped slightly, making Jace chuckle.

"How long have you been standing there for?", asked Tabitha.

"Long enough to hear your insane keyboard skills", said Jace.

He walked towards her.
There was something different about the way Tabitha watched Jace approach her.
They maintained eye contact with each other, the charged atmosphere surrounding the pair.

When he finally reached her, he leaned in closer, making sure not to look away from her.

His voice was low and husky, the hairs on the back of Tabitha's neck standing up as he spoke.

"You know, there's something really attractive about a girl who can play music."

Tabitha chuckled.
"Well, dancers and musicians go hand in hand, don't they?"

Jace chuckled.
"That's right."

The door opened, and Sutton, Luka and KJ walked in.
Sutton had a large bag in her hand, which she placed on the kitchen counter.

"Alright, I think we should think of a good song to perform", said Luka.

"Agreed.
What kind of vibe are you going for?", asked Sutton.

"Well, I wanted to go down the classical music route, but I feel like a more upbeat style would be good for a band", said Luka.

"If classical music would show off your skills more, we should do that", said KJ.

"No, I like the idea of doing something upbeat.
I want to be able to have fun, you know?"

"Totally", said Sutton.
"Do you have any songs in mind?"

"Well... there is one song.
My Mum found it one day, and she became so obsessed with it.
She played it every day.
It quickly became our 'feel good' song", replied Luka.

"That kind of emotional connection could be really good for the auditions", said Tabitha.
"I mean, that's what music is all about."

"What's the song called?", asked KJ.

"Don't Lose Sight by Lawrence."

¤¤¤

With only two hours left of her shift, Anvi had managed to impress Venn multiple times throughout the day.

"You've been great today, Anvi", said Venn.
"Keep up the good work!"

"Thank you, Venn.
I will!"

When Venn left, Bolin rushed towards Anvi's side, a smile on his face.
He held his hand up, and Anvi gladly high fived him.

"He's never normally that happy!", said Anvi.
"You really impressed him.
You kept your cool today, and not many people can do that."

"Well, I had you to help me out."

Bolin smiled.
"No, that was all you.
I'm glad we spent so much time together though!"

"Me too!
I have a feeling this job is gonna be so much more fun when we're together", said Anvi.

A trio of young adults entered the Baked Potato, and Anvi felt like she was in a movie, because everything seemed to slow down.

The girl in the centre had tanned skin, and perfect round lips that glittered from the lip gloss that coated them.
Her raven hair rested on top of her shoulders, allowing for her collarbones to be on show.
Her eyebrows were thick and arched, with not one hair out of place.

Her eyes widened when she saw Anvi, a smirk appearing on her lips.
She approached Anvi, and plastered a sickly sweet smile on her face.

"Anvi?
Wow, fancy seeing you here!
How long has it been—two years?
You haven't changed a bit."

Anvi just froze in place, unable to formulate any sentences.
She tried to open her mouth, but her lips wouldn't budge—which was probably for the best.

"You know, I wasn't going to order a lot, but now I think I will", she said, before looking Anvi up and down.
"I mean, judging by your clothes, you clearly need the money."

The girl and her friends laughed, their obnoxious laughter piercing through the air, making Bolin frown.

The trio made their way to a table, and Anvi just stared at the empty space where they once stood.

"Who was she?", asked Bolin.

Anu Ramakrishnan—former best friend of Anvi.
The pair had been friends since they started secondary school, at the age of eleven.
During their final year of secondary school, the newly sixteen year old girls began to argue more, and Anu changed for the worse.
If her complete personality transplant wasn't enough, Anu also decided to ditch Anvi in favour of some new friends.

As a result, Anvi spent most of her college years alone, having had her confidence and trust shattered by someone she once called a sister.

"Uh, Anvi?
The table over there needs assistance", said Venn, pointing to Anu's table.

Anvi frowned.
"Oh.
Can someone else go?"

"Everyone else is busy."

"But I... I really don't want to."

"What do you mean you don't want to? It's your job."

"I know, it's just–"

"I'll go", offered Bolin.
"I'm free anyway."

Venn sighed as Bolin walked away.
He turned to Anvi, shaking his head at her.

"I thought you were supposed to be a good employee", he said.

Anvi frowned.
"I'm sorry."

As Venn walked away, Anu approached Anvi, her sickly sweet smile morphing into a smirk, with a cold glare to match.

"What happened to making something of your life, Anvi?", she teased.
"I swear you applied for that really fancy Uni in England?
What happened?"

Anvi opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"I know what happened.
They didn't accept ya 'cos you're too thick."

Anvi felt her face heat up, and she suddenly became paranoid that people were looking at her.

Anu laughed.
"Some things never change, hey Anvi?
I think this'll be my new favourite place to come after class."

¤¤¤

Tabitha suggested an improvised jam session to find their groove as a band, and now the roommates were playing together and dancing around the room.

Well, KJ was still stood in his place, but even he couldn't resist a good head bop as they played.

"I wanna dance with somebody!", sang Luka.

"I wanna feel the heat with somebody!", continued Sutton, dragging out the final syllable in 'somebody.'

"Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody", sang Tabitha.

Jace twirled around, before waving his hands in the air, completely abandoning his drums at this point.

"With somebody who loves me!", he finished.

Just then, the door unlocked, and in walked a dejected Anvi.
Her shoulders were slumped as she dragged her feet along the floor.

"Are you ok?", asked KJ.

"Just tired", she replied.

"Oh.
We can stop playing if you'd like?", asked Luka.

Anvi shook her head.
"No, no you don't have to.
I'll just... wrap a pillow around my head or something."

"Are you sure you're ok?", asked Sutton.

Anvi exhaled, her breathing shaky.
She rubbed her hand across her forehead, frowning as she did so.

"I just need some sleep."

-----

Hi!

The band Lawrence is one I've only started listening to recently, and it's not the usual style I listen to, but there's something about their music that just makes me so happy. I definitely recommend checking their music out!

Things seem to be going well for the band so far, but it's very early days. Do you think they'll be ready in time for the auditions?

There's clearly a mutual attraction between Tabitha and Jace, but is it deeper than just physical attraction?

A familiar face from Anvi's past is sure to cause trouble! It's clearly bringing up some sad memories for Anvi, but will her roommates be there to help her when she's at her lowest?

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

Also, I've decided that I'll be doing the synopsis parts at the end of each chapter. I'll mark it like this— SYNOPSIS, just in case you want to read it before you read the chapter, but don't want to get spoiled by the questions at the end.

ruesbennett

LeMystical-Puffle

1-800-ISAACLAHEY-

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