NOTE: When I quit the game, I noticed that a few of the pictures I thought I'd taken actually hadn't been taken! I was very annoyed; stupid fraps. There aren't very many pictures for this chapter, I hope you all don't mind!CHAPTER TWO.
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“Thank-you!” Natalie beamed as she walked into a large Café, grinning at an elderly woman who’d held the door open for her. Natalie made her way over to the service counter and ordered a ‘large Caffé Latte with no cream’ before heading over to her usual spot in the corner, where there were numerous large sofas and full-length windows to watch the passers by. She let out a sigh of contentment as she fell back upon the nearest sofa, snuggling deep down into the seat. Natalie grinned to herself as she checked the time on her cell phone – she didn’t have to go back to work for another thirty minutes.
“Hey! NATYKINS!”
Natalie instantly grimaced as she remembered that ‘Natykins’ was her pet name, unfortunately given to her by Brianna and another of her friends. She looked up to see a bright red haired girl bouncing towards her, a mug of drink in her hand. Natalie rolled her eyes as her gaze flickered over to two women sitting opposite, who were staring at her before turning to one another to undoubtedly gossip about the event they’d just witnessed.
The girl stopped in front of Natalie, putting her mug down on the coffee table in the centre of the sofa area. “Hey Nat, I thought I recognised that order of a large Caffé Latte with no cream! Nobody else has that around here…”
“Yeah.” Natalie replied flatly. “Hi, Mads.”
Madeline Hodge – known as Mads or Maddie by family and friends – was Natalie’s other closest friend, and had been for two years. Natalie was introduced to Madeline by Brianna, who had been best friends with Madeline since they’d first met at high school. Madeline was the type of person who liked to stand out in a crowd and wanted to prove that she was different from everyone else. She had a unique dress sense and make-up style, which mainly consisted of bright, vivid colours. Behind all of her ‘unique-ness’ however was a friendly, down to earth girl. Life was never a bore when Madeline was around.
Madeline sat down in the empty space next to Natalie. “How’s your morning been, chick?”
“Boring, as per usual” Natalie sighed, leaning forwards to retrieve her mug of coffee. “I finished all of my work in a few hours and ended up sitting around doing nothing.”
“Oh Nat,” Madeline cooed, “Get a new job already! You know that Bree and I have been on about it for a while now… you won’t get anywhere in the world if you don’t get up and move on!”
Natalie shrugged, taking a sip of her drink. “What about your morning? It’s probably been more exciting than mine…”
“Not really, no. The Café’s been dead quiet today. I was so bored I even spent a while cleaning tables.” She shuddered dramatically. “I hate cleaning tables.”
Madeline looked up and over to the Café counter, checking to see if her manager had returned from the back room. Upon seeing that he hadn’t, she continued; “Anyway, stop changing the subject. Getting back to you on the job front…”
Natalie groaned, feeling like she was being lectured by her parents. “Maddie…”
“…You should apply for that job Bree was talking about at your place! You won’t be near Bree anymore, but you’ll be closer to Jonah, right? I bet it’s better pay too!”
Jonah Greene was Natalie’s twenty-five year old boyfriend, who worked in one of the higher departments for the same company Natalie was working for – ‘Paradox Media Inc’. Jonah was the typical ‘Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome’, with brown hair, olive-coloured skin and deep brown eyes. As well as his good-looks, he was highly intellectual and talented, with an extreme passion for music. Jonah was able to play many different musical instruments and after work hours, he fronted a band along with a few of his friends.
Natalie and Jonah had been together for almost three years, and were quickly approaching the date of their third year anniversary of being together.
“Yeah, I suppose…” Natalie agreed, holding onto her cup as she placed it onto her thigh. “Change is good, right?”
“Right! Oh, and speaking of Jonah… he came in here earlier!”
Natalie’s eyes lit up. “Really? What for?”
Madeline grinned broadly, noticing her friend’s expression. “Well, he told me to keep it a secret and I’d like to keep it a secret… but you know I can’t keep secrets, so…”
“MADELINE HODGE!” A male voice bellowed angrily, seeming to bring all of the very few customers inside the Café to a halt. Madeline gulped and shot Natalie a worried look before scrambling to her feet.
“I think you’ve been a naughty girl!” Natalie giggled, taking another sip of her drink. “Slacking off of work… naughty, naughty!”
Madeline’s cheeks flushed red, almost matching the colour of her hair. “Shit. I better get back to work.” Madeline replied, “I’ll see you later!”
“See you, Mads! Good luck with Mr. Moody Boss!”
Natalie watched as her friend swiftly hurried away, heading to the Café counter where a furious-faced red haired man was standing, his arms on his hips. She couldn’t help but laugh as she watched him waggle his finger accusingly at Madeline, obviously giving her a harsh telling off.