Chapter One ~ Just A Dash Of Honey
He sat at his desk, tinkering with some sort of memory chip. The lab was dark with the exception of a desk light that illuminated a small portion of his workstation. As he prodded the small, green chip, he bit his lip and stuck his tongue out. Something is still off, he thought to himself. The man's head shot up from the project in response to a giggle.
"I'm sorry," said a soft voice. "You just make these funny faces when you're caught up in your work. Not that that's a bad thing! It's actually kind of a relief to know you aren't…that you…it's just nice." The man smiled faintly as he got up from his desk and walked towards the door of his lab. The voice belonged to one of his fellow students at SFIT. Honey Lemon was what they called her. He had seen her around but had never actually spoken to her.
As he reached the door he felt around for the light switch. After a few failed attempts, the lights flickered on causing the two students to hide their eyes.
"Sorry!" said the man awkwardly. "Didn't know it would be that bright." He lifted his hand from his eyes and saw the young woman do the same. She was smiling and was holding two cups of coffee in a carrying tray.
"It's okay, really. I just thought that you could use a little pick-me-up wake-me-up since you've been working so long." The man looked at her, a tad confused by her gesture as she held out a cup to him. "I wasn't sure how you take it…or if you even like coffee…. I guess I should have asked first, but then that would have ruined the surprise and well, that's no fun, but now I just feel a little awkward. I'm sorry."
"Don't be." He smiled unknowingly as he took the cup from her. "Thank you. I didn't think I had been working that long. It's only, what? Maybe 8 at the latest?" The young woman giggled again and shook her head before looking back at him.
"It' actually more like two in the morning. I thought that I was the only one left here until I saw your light on when I went to get my coffee. So I thought, why not get him some, too and-"
"Did you say TWO IN THE MORNING?!" The man looked frazzled. "Oh my god, my aunt is going to kill me. I told her I would be back by ten! Two in the morning! Unbelievable….." The young woman watched him, fascinated at how he paced the room, running his hand over his face and changed directions suddenly as he panicked. He stopped short and looked at her with one brow raised. "Wait. It's two in the morning."
"Yes."
"It's TWO in the MORNING."
"….Yes?"
"Why are you still here?"
"Oh!" Honey Lemon blushed and hid behind her cup. "I was brainstorming different ideas for my new project. I really want to impress the professor. Make him proud and all that."
"That's right. You're new here, aren't you?" He couldn't help but smile now as she bit her lip and blushed even more. "Come in. Don't worry, none of my robots bite." He led her over to his desk and pulled up an extra chair. She followed him and sat down, nervously holding her cup in her lap.
"I'm Honey Lemon. At least that's what Fred calls me."
"Haha, so you've met Fred, huh?"
"Yeah. Just between you and me, he kind of worries me."
"Don't worry, Honey Lemon. He's harmless. I'm Tadashi Hamada, by the way. Second year student here at SFIT."
"It's nice to finally mee-" She stopped talking and pushed the swivel chair with her feet across the room and over to the round window. "Wow. Now I see why you always keep yourself locked up in here. This view is amazing!" She turned her head to look at her new friend and then back out the window. The night sky was filled with stars as far as the eye could see. They were reflected in the thin, winding river and their light seemed to illuminate the Japanese garden-looking walkway. While Honey Lemon was focusing on the view, Tadashi found himself focusing on her.
She was tall. Five foot ten, maybe? Without her heels? Her heels added a good six inches to her height, though. Her hair was a dirty-blond colour with slight auburn highlights and pulled up in a messy bun. Two small sections hung on either side of her face, framing it perfectly. She had on big pink glasses and a little yellow dress, white tights, and orange socks with lace. She was adorable to look at. The few times he had seen her on his way to his lab, she had on an oversized cardigan. He figured she must have left it at her workstation.
He got up and walked his chair over to the window next to hers. They spent the next hour or so talking about anything they could think of. It was a nice change from his usual late nights at the lab. He had forgotten about the time. He had forgotten about his chip and his robot and his aunt, until they heard the main door open and a woman's voice yelling.
"TADASHI HAMADA! ARE YOU IN HERE?! YOUR BIKE IS OUTSIDE SO DON'T TRY TO HIDE FROM ME!"
Honey Lemon looked at a scared Tadashi. "Is that your mom…? She asked quietly.
"No. That's my Aunt Cass…."