After a thirty-minute drive, slowed by the weekend traffic, Nia’s cab finally pulled up at The Linn’s Café. She’d dropped Mavin off at his friend’s place on the way, leaving her with a small sigh of relief. For all his smarts, he could be a handful.
It had been almost three days since she’d woken up in this strange, youthful life, and she was beginning to settle in. But being in this teenage world came with a price—unexpected drama, friendships teetering on misunderstandings, and a looming sense of high school politics. Navigating these layers took energy and patience.
Entering the café, she spotted Emery at a table near the large glass wall, sunlight spilling onto his face. He was absorbed in his laptop, a light grey headset over his ears. As she approached, his eyes flickered up at her, locking onto the chair she pulled out.
“You’re late,” he muttered, taking off his headset and watching her with an almost too-studied gaze. Nia shrugged, feigning nonchalance as she dropped her bag onto the seat beside her.
“But I’m here, aren’t I?” she replied, raising an eyebrow. Emery blinked, a slight look of surprise crossing his face at her sass. She couldn’t blame him; she was starting to realize this Nia was more reserved than her usual self.
Caught off guard by his staring, Nia waved her hand in front of his face. “Hello? Earth to Emery?”
Snapping out of his trance, he instinctively grabbed her hand, his expression a bit softer than usual. “What are you doing?”
“You were staring at me, and it was getting a little… weird,” she replied, pulling her hand back with a sheepish laugh. Emery didn’t react much, simply letting her hand go.
“I’ll get straight to the point,” he said, shifting his laptop toward her. “I managed to get this from Joey. Security wouldn’t give me the surveillance footage, but Joey was shooting a vlog that day.” He tilted the laptop, so they both had a clear view of the screen. “See? That’s you right there.”
Curious, Nia leaned closer to the screen, her cheek almost brushing against Emery’s. For a second, he seemed to freeze, his eyes darting toward her in a way that made his normally calm demeanor waver.
“You’re going to burn a hole in my face if you keep staring like that,” she teased, flashing him a grin. Emery cleared his throat, turning back to the laptop while Nia sat back in her seat. “Didn’t expect you to help me out with this,” she added, taking a sip of cranberry juice that a waitress had set in front of her.
Emery shot her a quizzical look. “Someone like me?”
“Well, you’re...you’re kind of cold,” she admitted, shrugging. “No offense, but that’s how you come off. Anyway, thanks.”
He didn’t respond, just watched her with an unreadable expression as she smiled back at him. His subtle kindness, though masked by his stoic nature, was growing on her in unexpected ways. She felt herself breathing out a sigh, her gaze drifting to the glass wall and out onto the busy street. This new world was still overwhelming—answers just out of reach, like water slipping through her fingers. She felt more than a little lost.
Emery seemed to pick up on her mood. Gently, he placed his hand over hers, giving it a slight squeeze. “I don’t know what’s going on with you,” he murmured, his voice softer. “But whatever it is, you’ll get through it. Just remember—I’m here for you.”
His words sent a surge of unexpected warmth through her. Tears pricked at her eyes as she laughed, dabbing at her face. “I don’t even know why I’m crying,” she admitted, half-laughing. She hadn’t realized how much she’d needed that reassurance until now.
Despite the unfamiliar emotions tugging at her, she felt a strange sense of comfort—almost like she’d wanted to hear those words all along. But then, just as she was getting lost in the moment, her phone alarm blared, jolting her back to reality.
“Oh, shoot!” she gasped, leaping to her feet, scrambling to gather her things. “I’ve got to go—I’ll call you!” She flashed him a quick, grateful smile before darting out of the café.
Emery watched her go, his gaze lingering on the door even after she’d disappeared. Meanwhile, Nia was halfway down the block before she remembered the question she’d wanted to ask him, about the mysterious conversation he’d had with her “mom.” It was too late to turn back now.
“And there goes nothing,” she sighed to herself, settling into the back seat of another cab en route to the practice studio.
Emery was left with no choice than to handle the footage by himself. He sat alone in The Linn’s Café, the faint buzz of conversation swirling around him as he stared at the laptop screen. The video was still playing, but his mind had drifted.
Nia’s unexpected emotional moment lingered in his thoughts. He couldn’t shake the image of her eyes glistening with tears, nor the warmth of her hand under his. There was something about her that drew him in—a vulnerability that felt genuine amidst the teenage bravado that usually surrounded them.
But the pressing urgency of the situation brought him back. He needed to sift through the footage from Joey’s vlog and find something—anything—that could shed light on the shadows that had begun to loom over Nia. The urgency of the matter pulled him back to focus.