An is standing by themselves at a crossroads, holding a cup in her hand. A nice, warm cup of coffee on a cold November evening.
It had been a long day for them. They just wanted to go home and relax. But she had been out all day trying to fix her violin- the music stores were not exactly helpful. But eventually, she stumbled across one that worked and got everything fixed.
But that was earlier. Now, it was just a short 5-minute walk from home. Thank goodness, right?
If only the crosswalk light would change. Their impatience and exhaustion were getting to them, so it felt like forever to be waiting.
They take in a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of the cold air entering her lungs. And they waited.
Someone walks up to An, standing next to them and waiting for the light to change. She looks at them, "Hi!"
’Damnit. I can’t conveniently avoid this person. My phone isn’t out so I can’t act like I’m reading something and I don’t have earbuds in.‘
They tentatively turn to look at the person next to them and give her a polite smile and wave, followed by a quiet “Hi.”
"Pamphlet?" She hands a pamphlet to An. It's bright pink with hard-to-read binary text and a few images.
'Would it be rude of me to say no?'
"Oh, uh- what's it for..?" she asks, not quite taking it but not quite refusing.
"LARP group!" The woman sounds really enthusiastic. If An would look, they'd see that the girl's smile is slightly too wide.
They thought about this for a second. The girl is most definitely excited about this, albeit more enthusiastic than they'd prefer to be dealing with right now. She had to admit that her energy matched the pamphlet design perfectly.
On one hand, they didn't want to try anything new right now. Violin rehearsal had been taking up most of her time lately in preparation for a ballet orchestra they're playing in.
On the other hand... they hadn't been in a LARP group since middle school. And she missed it quite a bit.
Ah, fuck it.
"Okay, sure. Why not? What's the group about?" "It's about infiltrating a cult and uncovering the mysteries surrounding it and taking it down!"
Ooh. Dramatic. They like it.
"Alright, sounds like a good time. Hope I'm not too far behind when it comes to the story." They offered a smile to her, significantly less wide than her expression is, but, a smile nonetheless.
"Oh, what's your name? I forgot to ask."
"I'm Lucy! What's your name?" She tilts her head.
"An. Nice to meet you." They move their coffee into her left hand and offer the right to Lucy in a handshake.
Lucy shakes their hand. It makes An feel really uncomfortable, almost to the point of crying.
'Why is this so uncomfortable? This is how I always greet people... what's with this girl?' An found herself thinking, smiling politely, and trying to remove their hand as quickly as possible.
They should probably read the pamphlet, right?
'Nah. Not now,' she decided internally. 'even though it might as well be glowing in the dark cause of the colors. I'll understand it better when I'm home.'
"Okay, then... I should probably be going." They said to Lucy, gesturing towards the light. It had changed multiple times during their conversation, but now they wanted to use it as a reason to leave.
"Alright! Goodbye!"
Lucille just walks away, not across the street, just back the way she came.
An found that peculiar. Why did she approach them in particular?
Eh, whatever. They were more interested in the group now.
She still gave a polite head nod for a goodbye. Holding her coffee and a bright pink pamphlet in one hand, she used the other to adjust the violin case on her back and finally began heading back home.