The view from the top of the Eiffel Tower was Adilina's favorite. She loved being able to see everything in the Très Arrindesmont. It was her home and she was proud of it. She was the only person up today, it made sense why. It was mid-February and it was freezing, but Adilina didn't mind, winter was her favorite season. She decided it was time to get to work. She walked down the streets of Paris. Her coat tight around her: her long wavy blonde hair hidden by her scarf and hat. Adilina saw the café sign come into view, the bright pink paint almost reflecting off the snow that surrounded the awning. 'Sucre Amour' it was such a cheesy name. Adalina's aunt and uncle owned the café, opening last year and it was booming. Including Adalina, there were 4 servers. Adalina's aunt and uncle didn't have any children and they considered Adalina their only child. Adalina's two best friends, Melonie and Joline, worked as waitresses. The forth server was a boy named Jace; he was the son of her uncle's best friend from Greece.
When Adalina opened the door a wave of warmth greeted her, as did her best friends. "Adi! Were you at the tower again?" Adalina smiled and nodded "Big surprise, if you ever want to find this girl, go to the Eiffel Tower," Joline elbowed her sister "Let's get back to work, Adi, you're with Jace today making drinks, you are the only one who can get that temperamental espresso machine to work right," Adi smiled and took her coat and hat off. She was wearing a navy blue dress with a cinched waist, a button up chest, collar, and a black tie, she had on black tights and black high heels, and she went to the to-go station. Jace was already there, grinding some coffee beans. "Bonjour Adalina," She smiled "Bonjour Jace,"
The door opened "Welcome," The boy walked up to the counter, stopping right in front of Adalina. She looked up from the cup of coffee she was brewing, "Oh, bonjour Colin," Colin was Adalina's classmate; they had been classmates since elementary school, though they were not close friends. "Can I help you?" Colin smiled "Yes, I would like a large vanilla coffee, with some whip cream," Adalina smiled "Coming right up," Colin went to sit down and Adalina went to work, making the coffee. Adalina was really good at making coffee and people always told her how good her coffee was. She worked hard to have the coffee taste good, and her efforts were always rewarded.
She finished up the coffee and called Colin over, "Here you are, that'll be 3.8 EU," Colin gave her the money and left the café, stepping into the cold street. Joline and Melonie came over to Adalina "He likes you, he came in when we first opened and asked for you, and when we said you weren't here yet he left saying he would come back later. Adalina rolled her eyes and went back to espresso machine. More and more people entered the café and orders pastries and drinks and cakes, the café was as busy as ever. The café was very popular and a lot of tourist would come in. Mostly kids that went to school with the four servers would come in and watch them work, girls would stare dreamily at Jace, whereas boys would watch Joline, Melonie, and Adalina take orders, make drinks, and serve pastries. Needless to say the café was never quiet. At the end of the day Adalina and Jace were on cleanup duty. Adalina locked the door and drew blinds on the doors and windows, so that no one would come in. She turned around and Jace was standing a foot away from her, she jumped a little and went to put up chairs. She hated that Jace would show up out of nowhere and scare her, it was a really bad habit he had and Adalina was eventually going to hit him. Once the café was clean Adalina put on her coat, scarf, and hat. "Bonne Soir, Jace," She turned to leave but Jace grabbed her wrist. "Let me walk you home, it's dangerous at night for girls," Adalina would never understand this boy, one minute he would act like she was invisible and the next moment he wanted to walk her home.
They stepped out into the cold night and continued until the train station. They didn't live too far from each other and they attended school together. On the train they stood next to each other and Adalina was able to hold onto the overhead bar and Jace was trying not to look at the girl. Truth is Jace loves this girl, everything about her, her sweet nature, her button nose, and her petite small body. The train screeched to a stop and Adalina almost fell over but Jace was able to catch her and keep her upright. "Um, thanks Jace," Jace gave her a small smile and they stepped off the train.
They walked the two blocks to the nice apartments that they both lived in. In the elevator Jace turned to Adalina "So, um, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go to the winter dance with me? As friends you know," Adalina looked at the ground, "I'm sorry Jace, but Colin already asked me on Friday and I said I would go with him," Jace sighed "No big deal, I missed out, I'll see you at school tomorrow," the elevator opened on his floor and he got out of there faster than lightning. Adalina leaned against the wall of the elevator and placed her hand on her forehead and shook her head, confused.
She was blank minded until she opened the door and was knocked down by over 100 pounds of fur. The Akita was happy to see her master, "Yuki! Stop!" laughs fell from Adalina's mouth. Yuki had been with Adalina since she was a baby, her father brought back the Akita as a puppy from one of his trips to Japan. Adalina was able to get the dog off her and Yuki followed her to the kitchen. Her mother was standing at the counter, cutting up vegetables for dinner. People always said that Adalina inherited her mother's looks: they were both blonde and had blue-green eyes, Adalina was thin like her mom and had her mom's thin, long fingers. However Adalina had her father's button nose, small ears, and weird uneven lips: her bottom lip being fuller than the top. All in all Adalina looked like both her parents.
"Hi mama," Caren Lavaud turned and smiled at her daughter, "Hello darling," She kissed her daughter's cheek and turned back to her work, "Please go set the table now darling," Adalina went to the cupboard and grabbed three plates, she opened the silverware drawer and pulled out three knives, forks, and spoons. She went to the dining room and set everything down and set everything in its place, Adalina made a mental note to go by the florist down the street and get some new flowers, some lilies or orchids, or maybe roses. She went back to the kitchen and got three bowls and one glass cup, and two wine glasses, her parents always had wine with dinner and Adalina had berry sparkling water. She finished setting the table and went to help her mom carry in the food: grilled garlic rubbed chicken, salad, and garlic pine nut couscous.
After dinner, Adalina cleaned the table and washed the dishes, tomorrow she would go to school and then to the café. After cleaning the dishes and taking a quick shower, Adalina sat down at her desk and looked at the Math homework she had yet to finish. She had about three problems left and decided to call Jace, who was good at math. She picked up her cell phone and dialed his number, "Hello," Adalina got right down to business, "Did you finish the homework yet?" She could hear Jace's smile "Yeah, you need help, little miss takes naps in Math?" Adalina scowled "That was one time, and I was sick, anyway can you help me with some problems?"
She heard Jace sigh, "Okay, can you come up?" Adalina felt her face get hot, "Um, yeah I can," Jace hung up and grabbed her book, paper, pencil, and phone. "Mama, I'm going to see Jace for a few minutes," Caren nodded "Don't go outside the building," Adalina nodded and had to fight Yuki to get outside. In the elevator she worked on breathing normally, this was no big deal, just some help on homework. She was good until Jace opened the door, and her breathing stopped; Jace was in his work clothes but his blond-brown hair was ruffled and his eyes sparkled like emeralds. "Come on, we can study in my room," Adalina followed him and her heels clacked on the hard wood floor. Jace's mom and dad waved at me, Jace's little brother, Ben, bounced up and down on his dad's knee, smiling and gurgling. Ben was about a year old now, and he loved being held by Adalina.
Jace opened the door to his room and Adalina stepped in, and placed her book on his bed. "What did you need help with?" Jace stood there, kind of awkward. There was no way that he was worrying if his room was dirty, the large room was spotless and organized, just like Adalina's. Adalina sat on the edge of the bed, and Jace joined her. She opened the book and showed Jace what she needed help with. He put his arm behind Adalina and she could feel his body heat. She wanted to shy away and act like she didn't like the contact. But her brain was losing against her heart, which wanted her to lean into Jace.
Jace managed to help Adalina without letting his feelings slip out of his mouth. Once Adalina understood what was going on, she stood her book in her hands. "Thanks. Jace, I appreciate it," She turned and left, not seeing Jace reach out for her arm. She bid his parents goodbye and got out of there before she would tell Jace how she felt. In the elevator, she placed a hand over her heart and had to calm her breathing down. And in his room, Jace sat on his bed, trying to figure out how to tell Adalina how he felt.