Catching the Ocean

Chapter One

Money Sorrows

Tea bundled her tiny frame into a cotton jacket as she walked down the frozen streets of Domino City. Small puffs of ice floated peacefully from the gray skies. It's crisp influence of the ground making everything feel slippery. Too bad she wore high heels. That made everything more complicated. A lawyer looking guy passed her up with a "Good Morning."

She gave him a friendly smile. "Good Morning, sir." Then they continued on their way. The winter was the worst season for her, but at least there were always people to brighten up her day.

Usually she was a dancer in street performances and musicals with the local community group. Now they always had a winter break for the members to get a break from rehearsing. That left her without a job for three whole months! How could she pay rent with that! With a sniffle, she placed a gloved hand to her numb nose. Luckily she was close to the café. They had agreed to give her an appointment to look over her application, and she hoped it worked out all right.

"Morning."

"Good morning." she managed to say before grabbing the silver handle of the fancy coffee shop. The door had opened, and instantly the feeling of warmth returned to her body. It's warm, rich smell of coffee filling her frozen senses with pleasure. Chilled skin had vanished.

"Ms. Linda, hi!" she smiled at the blond waitress behind the counter.

The girl with the wire framed glasses turned at the voice. "Tea! What a surprise! Are you here for your interview?"

"Yes ma'am" the cotton jacket had become too warm so she took it off revealing a very nice suit she had borrowed from her friend. It was black, with a complete fashion for a successful young woman. She placed the pink gloves into her coat pocket. Linda handed out a few drinks on a table smoothly. Her blond locks were brushed up in a french bun. A few stray hairs framed the sides of her neck and cheeks. She was absolutely gorgeous.

After she placed the tray on the counter she put the smile back on her face. "Great, let me see if the manager is ready to see you!" Then she walked off. Everyone looked so happy in the café. People laughed quietly, with cheerful gazes. It was almost Christmas so that must have been a good reason. Outside, the snow was beginning to fall harder. The bright skies had turned a shade of smokey gray. "Tea, he's ready. Come on back."

Nodding, the happy young woman walked casually into the dark hallway after her friend. She had known Linda for quite some time now. It was her blessing that this special friend of hers offered her the job. All she had to do was look classy. That wasn't so hard. Walking in, she shook hands with a tall middle aged man. He had brown hair combed forward, with handsome green eyes. His skin was tanned to perfection, with his clothes looking rich.

"Charming" Tea thought. Her own azure eyes sparkling.

"Please take a seat." he offered as he walked behind his desk. Her file already on his wooden desk. The room was a tasteful tan with some framed pictures of old coffee shops from around town that had closed down years ago. "I'm Mr. Martinez, and you must be...?" he trailed off, letting her finish.

She suddenly felt nervous. "Tea Gardener, sir. I would like to thank you for allowing me to come to you personally instead of over the phone. It's a gre-"

"No problem." his palm coming up as if to tell her to stop. She blinked, thinking how rude that was. "You look like a great worker." His eyes trailed. Most guys eyes trailed her, but she didn't want it to be her good looking, soon to be manager. "Your record says you attended Domino College."

Tea nodded, her short brown hair falling into her eyes. Swiftly her fingertips flipped the brown hairs away. "Yes sir."

A few minutes passed as he read over her information. "You didn't seem to do so well in Mathematics."

"No sir, but I'm excellent with people." she tried to smile, a lump formed in her throat.

He picked up some glasses and put them on. She hadn't noticed them before. In fact, she had noticed the door close either. "It also says you didn't graduate."

"No sir, I will be fini-"

"But you have astonishing grades." she felt annoyed now. How was she supposed to talk to some arrogant man like him? He wouldn't even let her finish a simple sentence. "I can put you on the list. Thank you for coming."

Tea stood up. "Wait, a list? I thought I was applying for a job, not a slot on some paper."

"We are just sorting our priorities, Ms. Gardener."

She felt like storming out of the room. This was absurd. "So is that what I am? Some sort of option? What, you want some skinny blond girl to come in to be your waitress? Tell me sir, am I going to get this job or not."

"You have a 78 chance."

"A yes or a no."

"No"

Tea swallowed her anger. "Thank you." Then she walked out as if nothing happened. That was a waste of time and a waste of energy. Vituperation crossed her mind as she gave that man a piece of her mind silently. Linda hadn't seen her walk back into the front of the café , and she was glad. She didn't want to ruin her friend's day just because her boss was an arrogant...an arrogant...jerk. Yes a jerk. She said it. When she reached for the door, someone pushed it before she had a chance to move out of the way.

With a small yelp, her wrist came in contact with the ground, and then her entire body. The jacket she was wearing fell from her arms, and landed in a pile next to her. Her eyes opened to see the orange ceramic tiles on the floor. "Tea, are you alright!" Linda's hands helped her sit up.

"Yes, I think so." looking up to apologize, she gasped. Standing there, like a tower of steel, was the CEO of the Kaiba Corporation, Seto Kaiba. He was the young male genius that owned more than half of Domino city. What was he doing here? "Kaiba?"

His blue eyes looked down on her as if she were obsolete to his day. "Watch out for doors next time. They can be extremely dangerous." and with that, he walked to counter to buy a coffee. Tea stood up using her other hand since the one she landed on throbbed in a dull pain.

Her eyes set aflame with courage. "Well excuse me, it's not my fault you don't watch out for other people."

Linda picked up the girl's jacket and gloves. Tea instantly took them from her so she wouldn't have to carry her things. "Thank you." she smiled to her friend before walking back towards the door. She didn't have the patience or the stamina to talk to a man like Seto Kaiba. His witty come backs would probably get the best of her.

This time, her passage way to the exit was blocked by a teenage boy. His raven black hair falling to waist, and gray eyes looking up at her. His arms were covered with a long sleeved orange and yellow striped sweater. "Are you okay Tea?"

"Mokuba?"

Mokuba was Kaiba's younger brother. The one who got the only emotion from the billionaire CEO. "Yeah, who did you think it was? You must have hit your head pretty hard when he knocked you over. Oh man, look at your wrist! It's purple!"

She rose the swollen limb to eye level and noticed what the boy said was true. Her hand was red, while the wrist was a plump mess of indigo. "Big brother, you should apologize and at least take her to the hospital!"

Kaiba came from behind her with a medium plastic coffee cup. "Come Mokuba."

"Not until you help her! You're the reason she got like this." the other brother was so much different then his older version. Tea had took note of this before since she had gone to school with Seto Kaiba.

Kaiba's eyes rolled. "If I offer her a ride to the hospital, will you get in the car, Mokuba?" His younger brother nodded so he turned to Tea. "Would you like to go to the nearest emergency room?" Tea wished she could go to the hospital but her insurance didn't kick in till the end of the month and that was several weeks away. Both brother's noticed her struggle in the decision. Mokuba jumped on his old acquaintance in order to have them together longer.

"Come on, we'll pay!"

Seto frowned. "You mean I will pay."

He shrugged, and handed out his hand to Tea. Everyone was watching because it wasn't everyday you get to see the Kaiba's out of their mansion. They were practically famous. Only difference between normal celebrities was that no one dared asked Kaiba for an autograph. That would be a quick way to death. Tea was hesitant, but she grabbed the teenager's hand with her good one and they walked out of the café together.

The snow had died down to a small dance of random flakes. His black limo highlighted in the busy streets. Kaiba let her in first, then Mokuba and finally himself. Mokuba was practically jumping for joy at the new companionship. Tea took a big gulp of air and held it. This was a big mistake.

More chapters are supposed to becoming. However, I've been noticing my hit list and my review list and I need up to 4-5 reviews for chapter one for me to continue. By the end of the week, if I catch less then 7 hits I'll be putting down this story. Thank you, and I really hope you liked this.

Please review comments or suggestions only.