Rule Number 1:76Please respect copyright.PENANAXmWsTt86EW
In the case of preventing falling in love, keep your distance to any and all possible suitors
76Please respect copyright.PENANA85bWtu5JA0
THREE YEARS LATER
"VIOLA ALYSSA REEVES IF YOU DO NOT TURN OFF THAT ALARM RIGHT NOW YOU ARE DEAD TO ME!" a scream rung through the small apartment, waking up anyone in the building who hadn't been awake already. 76Please respect copyright.PENANA6tlMJqADIv
"Okay okay, no need to shout! I don't know why it keeps ringing, I turned it off like twice now!" Viola yelled back, holding her alarm clock in her hands, turning it around, trying to find the fault in the damn thing. It was old, probably ten or more years, but it had worked fine for all that time, so she hadn't felt the need to buy a new one. Until now, when it rang every five minutes despite having been turned off already. Multiple times. She was very close to throwing it out of the apartment window and letting it fall all seven floors down. But she wouldn't, she wasn't someone who littered like that. Yet she couldn't put it in the trash either, what if it rung again and she had to dig it out amidst all the other garbage? No chance.
"You have to do something to it, it's driving me nuts! Clocksmith or garbage disposal, I do not care, but if I hear that one more time I think I'll have to jump out that window myself," Mina, Viola's loyal and lovely roommate of three years informed her, walking into their tiny kitchenette, scrunching her wet hair with a towel.
"That's a bit dramatic, but yeah, I need to figure out what to do with this thing. I took the batteries out so it shouldn't make any more noise now, but I need to figure out what's wrong with it. Too bad I'm not majoring in this category of nerdy stuff or I'd fix it myself," Viola sighed, putting the clock down on the table. It was pretty, a vintage sort of style of clock, but right now its beautiful outer shell could not make up for the annoyance it had caused.
"Yeah, it's a real shame. Listen, I would love to chat more about your alarm clock and all but I have a job interview to go to. It's that ice cream shop I told you about, the one with the cute interior," Mina explained, throwing her towel in the hamper as she spoke. She was the type of person who was so beautiful you couldn't find a way to describe it properly, words couldn't possibly be enough to explain it. Her hair was dark and long and framed her face perfectly, eyes twinkling in an enchanting way even if there was not much light, and a smile that made it impossible not to smile along with her.
"Oh yeah, good luck with that, I hope you get it! I'll keep my fingers crossed. I have to leave for class soon too. I left some breakfast for you in the fridge if you want it," Viola said, getting up from her seat and making her way to her room. She heard Mina yell out a muffled "Thanks!" as she closed her door and got dressed for the day.
She was late. Dropping off that stupid clock took more time than she had initially thought, as she'd gotten lost walking around and looking for the clocksmith's shop. She was already annoyed and embarrassed when she walked into class and her sore mood amplified by a million when she saw him.
She didn't even remember what his name was. Anthony? Nathan? Andrew? But it didn't matter, all she knew was that she hated his guts. Even now, when she had walked into class late, disrupting it ever so slightly with the sound of the door opening, he kept smiling, grin never faltering, not even for a second. His eyes stopped on her if only for a second and it made her blood boil. God, he was so annoying.
She kept her head down as she made her way into an available seat, one that was luckily far away from The Guy. Yeah, learning his name would give him too much credit. She should ignore him. She totally should. But his presence was so irritating.
Digging out her laptop as silently as she could, she took a deep breath and tried to focus on the lesson, shooting the professor an apologetic smile. She absolutely despised being late. She felt embarrassed and small, even though most people in the class probably didn't even care. But she did, she cared quite a lot.
She took notes diligently, though she couldn't shake the feeling of anger she'd felt when she saw her self-proclaimed arch nemesis. True, they'd never talked, only exchanged a few accidental glances in the time they'd studied at this school. But she was so bothered by everything he did. She was always disturbingly aware of his presence, and it irked her to no end. There was just no way he was that happy all the time, and on top of that super good at his studies, kind to everyone and still had the time to do what- rescue baby kittens? Not a chance. Something was definitely off about him. She just couldn't figure out what it was. But she would, she promised herself.
Class finally came to an end, and she tried to pack up as soon as possible. She made her way to the front of the class to apologize to the teacher for her tardiness- and of course he had to go there too. To talk about what? How great of a guy he was, or how he had just saved a family of five or-
"Miss Reeves? Can I help you?" the professor's words brought her out of her train of thought. "Oh, yes, so sorry, I just wanted to apologize for being late and disrupting the lecture like that. I'd also like to ask more about the course paper if you don't mind," she explained, acutely aware of The Guy next to her. Was he looking at her? Wait no, why should she even care if he did? She focused hard on the professors answer to her, though she couldn't help but feel annoyed by the way the dude was just... standing there next to her. Maybe he wanted to hear about the paper too? She really had to stop being so affected by his mere existence. 76Please respect copyright.PENANA4RznGs8qZy
"Ah, yes, thank you, I understand it much better now, thank you so much, professor," she finally said after hearing her professor explain the assignment to her. She could've sworn she heard the boy next to her huff at her. Amusedly? Mockingly? In any case, it made her mad. Balling her hand into fists, she smiled and made her way to the door. He sucked.
"Alexander! Sorry to have kept you waiting, what did you need, boy?" Oh no. The professor had just called him by his first name? They're on a first name basis? He must be a suck up too. He would be one. She'd been totally off-base with the name thing too. But the more she thought about it, the name did suit him.
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The rest of the school day was uneventful, she'd gotten an email from the clocksmith about her clock, telling her it'd be done in 48 hours, and to pick it up whenever she had the time. Classes came and went, she quickly dropped off her book bag at home before going to work. 76Please respect copyright.PENANAG9lP6pt4K6
She didn't particularly hate her job, but if she was asked, she definitely wouldn't say she adored it either. Being a barista could be fun, for sure, but the amount of rude customers she had to serve, the amount of fake smiles she had to give in a day, the amount of classmates she saw because the shop was so close to campus- all of it too much. But it was for sure better than sitting in an office eight hours a day and typing away on a computer, looking over mind numbingly boring documents, and going home and then repeating it all again the next day. And her coworkers were nice, too, so that was a big bonus.
The sound of bells signaled that someone had come into the store, and Mina strode in, placing her bag down on a stool under the island next to the register. "Hi, how'd your interview go?" Viola asked as she started making her roommates regular order ready. Iced caramel macchiato with extra caramel, whipped cream and some chocolate chips on top. Sugar with sugar and some sugar on top, essentially, but it was incredibly delicious.76Please respect copyright.PENANAXbkIlX2vX4
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"I'm starting to think I'm never going to find a good job, Vee, I'm serious. I walked into that shop, so ready to nail this interview and get this job, and guess what? The interview was cancelled. They didn't even think to like, I don't know, inform me about it? Someone else got the job, so they didn't need any more help, but forgot to tell the other candidates. Oh, when I tell you I was so mad I almost kicked down the blackboard in front of the shop! I didn't, of course, but I seriously considered it for a second there," Mina ranted, grabbing a chocolate chip cupcake from the display stand. Viola had long stopped trying to tell her she wasn't supposed to do that. She always paid for the things she took anyways. 76Please respect copyright.PENANA8skvK7xIiT
"That sounds awful, Min, I'm so sorry. Do you know who got the job instead?" Viola asked, handing the finished drink to her friend.
"Some dude from our school, don't remember his name, Alex or something, Andrew, maybe? No it had to be Alex," Mina muttered, digging into her cupcake after taking a sip of her drink. 76Please respect copyright.PENANALaDPgTJrHL
Viola froze. Alex? It couldn't be him, could it? Her blood ran cold. But Alex was a common name, and he might not even be the type of person to shorten his name. Yeah, it must be someone else. And what if it was him? What could she even do? March into the ice cream shop and inform the manager that they had to fire their new recruit because she hated the new guys guts because she- what? Got a bad feeling when she was around him? Yeah, no way.
So she just smiled sympathetically at her friend and brushed the thought off. "I'll help you look for something else," she said, "I hear the bookstore around the corner is hiring." She took someone else's order and prepared it, watching Mina enjoy her own order from the corner of her eye.
"Do you think I'd be fit to work at a bookstore? Sure I like to read- or did anyway, I haven't read anything in a while. But is that enough? What do people even do there? Are you only suggesting this so you can use me for the employee discounts? If so I am incredibly hurt," Mina said pointedly.76Please respect copyright.PENANAn8w1Hr8TlY
"Of course not, dumbo, I'm only throwing suggestions out there. I'm sure there's something else out there that's fit for you," Viola hummed, a trace of amusement in her voice. If nothing else made her happy, Mina sure knew how to do it just by being herself. She was so grateful for her existence. "Yeah, thanks. I'll try to find something. I'm going home now, do you want anything from the store?" the shorter girl said, lifting herself off of the stool she'd sat down on. Viola shook her head and bid her farewell. 76Please respect copyright.PENANAUrhGXrwPMl
She only had around an hour of her shift left, and thankfully the café was relatively quiet. She let out a sigh. Not much longer. The shop door opened, bell chiming once more to alert her of a customer's entrance. 76Please respect copyright.PENANA81RP8kSy1R
"Welcome, what can I do for you toda-" Viola started, freezing when she looked up to see him. Her customer service smile almost faltered and turned into a scowl before she caught herself.
"Hi, just a small coffee. To go, please," he said, a small plastered on his face (obviously) as he placed his order.
"Of course, and can I get your name, sir?" Viola asked, jaw tightening ever so slightly as she spoke. She hoped he hadn't noticed. Maybe he'd demand to speak to her manager and then demand that she was fired.
"Oh yeah, it's Alex," he responded, smile never leaving his face.
"Great," she replied, voice slightly strained, "coming right up." 76Please respect copyright.PENANAKhRjy6z87I