His Artist

~Part 2~

When Leah woke up, Katya's bed was empty. craning her neck to listen, she couldn't hear the sound of the coffee pot either. shuffling out to the kitchen in her slippers, she checked the back door and Katya's tennis shoes were gone as well. peeking around the corner at the counter, she hadn't left a note either.
"strange..." Leah thought, confused as to where she'd gone. unplugging her phone from the charger, she typed a quick text to Katya which said, "Hey I'm up, where r u?"

Less than 5 minutes later, Leah was brushing her teeth in the bathroom, when she heard her phone ring. she hurried out to the kitchen, a toothpaste moustache lining her lips. seeing Katya's name on the screen, she answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey, sorry for not leaving a note this morning, I was in a bit of a rush." Katya was speaking quickly, indicating she'd already had her daily dose of caffeine.
"where are you?"
"at a café not far from our house, it's just down the street. I'll be home in a minute, shouldn't you be getting ready for school?" Katya asked in a motherly tone. Leah glanced at the digital clock on their shared nightstand. 7:36 am.
"Oh crap, yeah, hurry up!" Leah hung up and began to get ready.

The squeak of the back door caught Leah by surprise when Katya burst in, hair flying around her face, keys in hand.
"Come on, let's go! we're gonna be late!" she exclaimed, practically dragging Leah out of the door.
They sped down the main road, and Leah was glad she had chosen to wear her seatbelt that day. Katya's driving needed some work. a loud motorcycle approached from behind, then zoomed past, cutting in front of them.
"Wait, that's him! The guy! the hot leather jacket dude you like!" Leah shouted, nearly scaring Katya half to death.
"oh my goodness, don't yell like that, do you want us to crash?" Katya scolded, giving her the side-eye.
"And yes, I'm aware." She tried her best to keep a straight face, but the corner of her mouth edged into a smile. Leah smacked her playfully.

"Are there any questions?" Mr Fischer asked, scanning the room. no one raised their hand.
"In that case, class dismissed! see everyone tomorrow! don't forget your term papers are due this Friday!" his voice was drowned out by the sound of a hundred zippers and shuffling papers. Katya's phone buzzed in her hand. looking down, she read a message from Leah.  "Hey, I'll be home later tonight, don't wait for me after school." Katya didn't question it, she figured Leah probably had a meeting with a teacher or something.

classes let out at 2:30, so Katya walked to the car by herself. Since Leah wasn't going to be home for a bit, she might as well go to the coffee shop for a while and study.

the bell on the door jingled as Katya entered the shop, and Jaime the barista waved and struck up a conversation.
"Hey, Katya! how's it going?"
"Alright, I guess. how 'bout you?"
"Same old, same old" Jaime chuckled.
"what can I get for ya? the usual?"
Katya thought for a moment.
"Yeah, that's fine, and can I have a bran muffin with that? thanks." She pulled out a couple of bills to pay.
"it's on me." Jaime winked and waved away the money. Katya rolled her eyes playfully and smiled.
"Thanks."

finding a seat next to the window, Katya pulled out her computer and prepared her study materials. opening a textbook, she began to work. a moving shadow at the door caught her eye. the sun flashed off a chain hanging from some familiar black jeans.
"Hello, what can I get for you, sir?" she heard Jaime ask. discreetly peeking over her shoulder, Katya spied a black-clad, lanky figure, hair falling in his eyes.
"Just a black coffee, thanks." his deep voice echoed through the small shop. Katya turned back to her work, but couldn't get the guy off her mind. A couple of minutes later, she turned back to see what had become of him and saw him sitting in a corner, his thumbs flying over his phone screen.

Katya's study timer went off, the tinkling melody reverberating in the small café. his head shot up, finding the source of the sound and pinning it with his gaze.
"Sorry..." Katya mouthed, a sheepish look on her face. She got up and gathered her things to leave. feeling her cheeks warm, Katya hoisted her backpack over her shoulder and moved to leave.

She looked over at him one more time, thoroughly embarrassed. He was staring her down but snapped his focus back to his phone when she made eye contact. her heart fluttered. she thought about maybe going up to him...but what would she say? she opened the door and left, leaving the metallic sound of the doorbell behind her.

checking the digital car clock, Katya saw that it was already 3:52 pm. She sped up, taking the shortcut through town, and passing Big Ben along the way. skipping up the steps to their back door, Katya's mind wandered, thinking about a thousand things at once, like how she was going to finish her paper before Friday, and what Leah did after school, and how she wanted to make that new whipped coffee she'd seen on Instagram a couple of days earlier.

rummaging around in her backpack for the key, she turned it in the lock, letting herself in and closing the creaky wooden door behind her.
"Leah? you home?" Katya called, voice echoing down the hall. no response. She jogged up the stairs to their bedroom, tossing her bag on the top bunk and wondering where her blanket had gone, when she saw a blonde ponytail peeking out from under a fluffy heap of blankets below.
"Seely sleepie bean..." Katya thought, pulling on a jacket from the closet and heading back downstairs to make dinner.