New Character #16: June
It took June a few moments to realize why the ceiling above her head looked so unfamiliar. It was not the ceiling of her family's apartment back in Manila, or the ceiling of her dorm-room at Cornell University. No, this ceiling belonged to an entirely different room; a hotel room on central Manhattan. Her parents' birthday gift for her.
Of course she knew that they probably had a reason for sending her here. They always had reasons for sending her to various places and she had a good guess why they had sent her here. For months now they had talked about their old friend's son who worked in New York, someone she had apparently played with one or two times when she was a kid. She would not be surprised if she suddenly found a message for her down at the counter from said person asking if they could "catch up". June groaned and rolled over in bed, hoping she could go back to sleep or at least stay in bed all day. The latter option was, of course, a possibility, but she also felt the city outside calling to her. Even though she lived and studied in the state of New York, she had never visited New York City before. This was a rare opportunity for her and even if today might end in an uncomfortable dinner with a man her parents would very much like her to get on with and eventually marry (it would not be an arranged marriage, exactly, but her parents would certainly have pushed her into the arms of said man) she should not waste the day by lying in bed all day.
With great effort she pushed herself up and walked into the bathroom to take a shower, before getting dressed and readying her things. She could never leave a messy room, especially not a hotel room. It had always been that way. Her brother had teased her about it ever since they were children, but her mother had said that it was a good trait.
When she was satisfied with the look of the room she walked out, made sure that the door locked behind her and headed down to get some breakfast. While eating she discreetly checked the room for people who might be Filipino. She saw none and quickly finished her meal, before hurrying out through the hotel's main doors.
The day was clear and cold, very unlike the weather she would experience back in Manila, but after studying for almost a year in Ithaka she felt quite accustomed to this type of weather. There were a lot of people out in the streets that day, a Saturday. Her parents would never have allowed her to leave her university unless it was a weekend. Now all she needed to do was keep busy throughout the day, stay away from the hotel, and when she got back and possibly received a dinner invitation from her parents' old friends' son she could say that it was far too late for something like that.
She started by wandering around quite aimlessly while checking out various stores on the way. It did not take her long to collect a variety of bags; mainly small things that did not cost too much, but she had allowed herself to spend some money on a really nice trench-coat. She had always wanted one and this one had looked really great on her when she tried it on, so there really was no reason not to buy it. Her phone showed that it was almost noon already and she decided to find somewhere to eat. Something simple; she was never that hungry in the middle of the day. But it would be nice to be allowed to stay at the restaurant or café even after she had finished her dinner. Just sit there and relax and perhaps start reading the book she had found on a sale in a store she had passed through. Hence why the flyer attached to a wall caught her attention; it was decorated with hand-drawn figures of animals, flowers and leaves, circling a short text.
The most magical lunch
you've ever had!
Head over to the Enchanted Forest,
the newest café on Manhattan
for a large selection of lunch dishes!
89 Wooster Street, New York
June considered the ad for a while before taking out her phone and writing the address in the search bar.
"Yes", she said to herself when she realized that the café mentioned in the ad was not more than three blocks away. She quickly set off along the route her phone had suggested while keeping her fingers crossed that this café was indeed one of those that allowed you to remain for a while after you had finished eating.
Done with intros! Well, actually, there is one more new character that will get an intro, but I won't be able to write that one until I've written more for Cold Heart ;)