"Early as usual Ryleigh." Mrs. Griffiths smiled, as Ryleigh entered the cafe, at 7.45am as per usual.

"Yea, you know me. Can't be late for work." Ryleigh smiled back.

"You know, sometimes a sick day or a holiday is healthy." She stated.

"I know, but I can't help that I enjoy working here." Ryleigh replied.

It was true. She did enjoy working at the cafe. It was so much better than been at home with her father who would sit and watch tv all day while drinking cans of beer. Work was her sanctuary. A place where she could relax. Mrs. Griffiths didn't know about Ryleigh's home situation, but then again, Ryleigh had told no one about any of it. Her co-workers didn't even know that her mother was dead been as she started working after her death.

Ryleigh moved into the back room and grabbed her black polo shirt and slipped it on before attaching her name badge. She then slipped on a dark green apron that had the starbucks label in the middle of it. Looking down, she realised how dull the colour was. It was dull along with her life. She was going to be working in a cafe that had a dull uniform for the rest of her life. It was probably worth just packing up all her art and her camera. She might as well just give up as she was positive that she was going to go nowhere further in life.

Candice soon showed up in the staffroom and smiled, dumping her shouldbag onto the empty chair in front of her. She grinned at Ryleigh and pulled her own top off before putting on the black shirt as well and then her apron. The black haired girl then pulled out her phone, it looked like a Sony Ericsson from her pocket and proceeded to text someone. She did this while starting up a conversation with Ryleigh.

"So, how was your weekend?" She asked casually.

Candice was from up north and had a slight scouse accent. For some reason, it always made Ryleigh smile. She shrugged, putting the strap top that was a pale blue and she'd worn to work, into her own backpack.

"The usual, just stayed at home really. Kept my dad company." She replied. It was almost the truth and not exactly a lie. "What about you?"

"Stayed at Brian's for the weekend."

Brian was her boyfriend. He was a nice guy actually, she'd met him a few times.

"Went to a party at one of his friends houses. Parents were away. It was actualyl quite fun, though Brian isn't much of a partier. Just went because it was a friend, ya know?"

Ryleigh nodded, glancing at the time and saw it was time to go back out. The cafe was now officially open at 8.00am, ready for people to enter so they could grab a cuppa and some breakfast before they started their own long day at work.

"Let's get to it." She smiled slightly, leaving the staffroom and moving behind the counter.

Adrian sighed as he shoved through the door of the little cafe, trying hard to contain his amusement. He lowered his voice as he came in out of the early morning light, a small grin tugging at his lips. "Espera ahí, Nanita," he laughed, knowing the nickname always bugged his friend. "I'll never find you if you keep wandering around. I told you not to go out without me. You always do this." He had to press the phone closer to his ear in order to distinguish Ileana's frantic, babbling Spanish from the rush of the crowd... wherever she was.

"But where are you? I can't just wait here for you to--"

Adrian had to press a hand over his mouth to keep her from hearing his amusement. "Okay, okay, mira..." He cast a glance around the cozy little cafe. It was mostly empty with three or four patrons here and there, none of them paying him any attention. "Just hold on a second, okay?" There was a girl at the counter who didn't look busy. Adrian approached her quickly, turning the phone into his neck. He took a moment to arrange the words in his head before he spoke. His english was very good, much better than Ileana's, but it was always a bit intimidating with a native speaker. "Excuse me, could you help me?" he asked, flashing her a weary smile. "My friend, she's lost somewhere in the city. She's..." He turned back into the phone. "Ileana, ¿donde estás?" Again in frantic, almost-indeterminable spanish, Ileana told him and Adrian told the girl behind the counter in english. "Is she anywhere near here? She's really..." he wracked his brain for the proper idiom, "freaked out."

Ryleigh sighed as she watched people come in and out. It was now Candice's turn to serve the last people that came in. They went to her sector anyway. The way the cafe was arranged was that half went to Ryleigh, and half went to Candice.

She just stood there tapping the counter, watching as Candice took the order from table 9. She then looked to the door as it opened, and a guy walked in. She frowned a little as he spoke on the phone in another langauge. She knew it wasn't French or German so concluded that it was Spanish. Hopefully, he'd speak a little English and she'd be able to understand at least.

Ryleigh silently thanked God when he spoke fairly good English. She listened as he described where the girl on the other end of the phone was. It sounded like she was by the library and Tescos. Ryleigh thought about where they were in comparison to his friend.

"It sounds like she's by the library. If you go out of here and walk towards the little benched area that's made out of stone, follow the path around and walk down it. You come to a car park then if you cross over at the traffic lights, There's a sign saying library. It sounds like she's in front of the steps there. Hopefully that helps." She explained, hoping he'd understand her directions.

Adrian nodded and grinned at her. "Oh, I don't plan on going to get her myself. She gets into enough trouble as it is. She'll have to find her way here," he told the woman with a conspiritorial wink. Back to the phone, he gave Ileana the directions in a patient tone, sternly refusing to come and retrieve her even when she begged. Finally, he was forced to hang up on her, this time laughing in earnest. He snapped the phone closed, shaking his head.

With a sigh, he turned back to the girl behind the counter, his smile a bit sheepish now. "Sorry about that," he said. "I might as well get a coffee and sit down while I wait for her. She won't be very long now that she knows where she's going. Do you recommend anything...?" He let the question trail off. "I'm Adrian, by the way. My directionally challenged friend and I just got here yesterday from Spain."

Ryleigh just stared at him. He wasn't going to get his friend. He was making his lost friend come to him. She sighed as she thought about what they had and then about what was best. She finally concluded and nodded her head slightly.

"Well, with the coffee I recommend the fruit flapjack. It has natural oats and wheat. Nothing added and the fruit counts as the one of the five a day, so its healthy." She told him. "Plus you get it just for £1.50. It's the special breakfast deal. We're promoting healthy eating to." She told him.

"Or, if you're not one for healthy food then you can have have a chocolate chip muffin instead." She told him. "Everything is on the board there though. If you have any questions just ask."

"Oh. I'm Ryleigh. Enjoy your time in England." She told him.

Adrian had to blink a bit at her stern, almost indifferent reply. His grin dimmed a bit, but then he determined he would try just a bit harder to get a conversation out of her. He wasn't particularly used to girls giving him such a cool attitude as this Ryleigh. "Mucho gusto, Ryleigh. It's nice to meet you. I think I'll have the flapjacks and the muffin. It'll be good for me to have sugar waiting for Ileana when she gets here. She'll be ready to cause a scene otherwise." He paused then, lapsing into a bit of an uncomfortable silence. "You seem to know your way around very well. Have you lived here all of your life?"

Before Ryleigh had even the slightest chance to respond, the tranquility of the quaint little shop was shattered as Ileana burst through the door. Her cheeks were flushed slightly and her eyes flashed as they landed on Adrian. She stalked closer to them, her movements stiff. "You!" she growled. "You are a... a... a big jerk!" Adrian snorted. As always when she was angry, Ileana's accent was heavy and her exclaimation sounded more like "Beeg jerrrk". Adrian was unimpressed.

"I bought you a muffin."

This stopped Ileana short. She hovered on the edge of anger, confusion, and intrest over being presented with a present.

"A what?" she asked, suspicously. Adrian smiled.

"Tortita. Chocolate. And look, this is Ryleigh, she gave me the directions that I gave you."

Ileana seemed to hesitate again, but at the mentioning of Ryleigh, her face split into a wide, genuine grin. Exuberantly, she reached over the counter and clasped Ryleigh's hand. "Ah, my savior!" she exclaimed. "Unlike this useless jerk. Mucho gusto! I am Ileana. How are you today, my friend?" Thoughout all of this, Adrian simply rested an elbow on the counter and his chin in his hand, giving Ryleigh a look that clearly said "She does this all of the time"

Ryleigh just nodded as she turned and presented him with his cup of coffee, flapjack and muffin, about to answer his question and ask for the money. She just stood there in shock as the girl entered, looking like she was about to kill Adrian. Her accent sounded kinda funny, she thought as she watched the girl storm over to him, though all thoughts seemed to pass into her mind as the boy in front of her presented her with a muffin.

If some guy I was angry with presented me with a muffin, I'd be even angrier... She thought to herself.

Ryleigh was pulled out of her thouhts as the girl grabbed her hand and introduced herself. Ryleigh's look changed from one that was emotionless, to one that looked completely horrified. She stiffened in fear as she just stood there. All she could think about was the question Adrian had asked and the money he owed.

"No problem..." She managed to get out to Ileana. She turned back to Adrian "I've lived here all my life." She simply answered. "And that's £2 for your order."

Ileana tossed her hair and nodded toward Adrian. "Well? Pay her! You have very bad manners." She turned back to Ryleigh without another glance at her friend and leaned forward in a friendly way. She had to let go of her hand to accept the warm chocolate muffin, though she did notice how stiff Ryleigh went before hand. She shrugged it off, though, as a cultural thing. The English did seem more nervous about plain old touch than people were at home. Still, she was determined to make a nice, actually friend. She would have to know more people than just Adrian if she wound up going to the local school. "Do you work here all day, Ryleigh? I feel that I cannot leave this debt unpaid. We could... it is... meet together, later? It will be fun! We could have lunch together, perhaps."

Adrian dug in his pocket and came up with the appropriate amount. He handed it to Ryleigh and put a hand on Ileana's shoulder. "Slow down, Nanita. You just met the girl, and more importantly, she just met you. I don't think you can do that kind of thing in England. You have to be better acquaintances with people before you make lunch dates with them." Realizing what he had said, though, he quickly looked back up at Ryleigh, his hands held up before him. "Not that you aren't perfectly welcome," he added.

Ileana scoffed and shook his hand off. "Don't call me that. And anyway, you're putting sticks in mud! All people like to eat, and I just want to take a new friend out to lunch. Why? Are you jealous that we are friends and you are not? Maybe you should be nicer then and you could get your own English friend," she informed him primly. "You only bought me a muffin, after all..."

Candice had been in the background, pretending to be busy with orders as she came over to the till and messed about with it until it opened. She nudged Ryleigh into an answer before deciding to take it upon herself to answer for her friend, knowing she never got out much.

"Of course she'll go to lunch with you. She works here all day every day. Well, except Sunday's as we're closed then." Candice replied before leaving again with a smirk.

Ryleigh gave her friend a horrifying glare as she stood there, trying to figure out what to say. "Um...Lunch will be good I guess. I have an hour off at one." She answered as she took Adrian's money and put it into the till.

Maybe going out to lunch with a couple of strangers that she'd probably never meet again wouldn't be too bad, she thought. It would make a change to her day really. her boring old life stuck in this horrible town with her alcoholic dad. At least she'd have something new to write in her diary. It was probably getting bored with the same old boring stuff that Ryleigh put into the thing. Her life was very repetative. Her diary learnt that fast.

Ileana laughed a charming little laugh and took a bite out of her muffin. "Huh, that's truth? You work very much then, Ryleigh. Much more than I do, that is truth. That is good though. Maybe you can teach me to.. that is, keep my head out of the clouds. I can never focus on anything for very long. Adrian is my witness."

Adrian nodded and shoved a forkful of pancake in his mouth, paused, drowned the rest in syrup, and then continued to eat. He too was contemplating what the other girl had said and there was now a confused crease to his eyebrows. Ryleigh couldn't possibly have been much older than them, and yet she all of her time devoted to her work. There was no way that mere culture shock was the answer to this one.

Still, he smiled as he finished off his pancakes and grabbed Ileana firmly by the elbow. "Come on, then. We can't spend all day gossiping. We have to meet with that manager guy, remember?" He looked back at Ryleigh. "We'll meet you back here at one, okay? You can pick the restaurant, we really don't have any idea where we could go." As he pulled Ileana behind him out of the door he carved a little salute in her direction. "See you later, chiquita."

(I guess we can skip to an hour later, okay?)

Ryleigh just stood there in shock, watching them leave. This was the weirdest day ever. Once the pair were gone, she glared at Candice.

"What'd you do that for?" She muttered through gritted teeth.

"Come on Ryleigh. You never get out. Two people, nice people, invited you out." She started. "Just take a chance. All you do is spend your time here then go home. Make other friends for once."

Ryleigh sighed and just nodded. "Well, I can't back out of it now..."

With that, the shop continued to get a little busier as the morning turned to lunch time and afternoon. When one started to approach, in any breaks that they got, Candice couldn't stop going on about Ryleigh's lunch date. Finally, it was time to pack up for her lunch. Ryleigh went out the back to change into her normal clothes again before coming back out to wait for Adrian and Ileana. Candice grinned.

"Have fun..." She smirked.

(Yea that's fine . Hope you're enjoying this.)

((Oh my goodness, sorry I've been gone for so long. I've been sick like a dog. Anyway, this rp is great. I think it's really original. ))

Adrian shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked, gazing idly at the people he passed. It seemed that everyone in England so far was just so... busy. Driven. There were always places to be gotten to promptly. Everything seemed so... tense here. He shook his head in wonder.

He glanced down at his watch suddenly, and picked up his pace. He was going to be late for lunch. Luckily, he was right around the corner from the cafe, or at least he was pretty sure he was. He poked his head inside first in order to be sure that he had the right place, and then stepped in, smiling a bit shyly. Ryleigh's cold demeanor still confused him, but it hadn't deterred him so far. He approached her boldly, but did not kiss her cheeks, sure that would be overstepping.

"Ryleigh, hello. Ileana couldn't come, she's met some boy who wanted a date." Again, he rolled his eyes in a way that indicated that this happened quite often. "Still, she made me promise to take you out myself and show you a good time. Shall we?" he offered her his arm, but did not really expect for her to take it. Still, it was the gentlemanly thing to do.

((It's ok. I've been murdered due to paintballing yesterday so not able to move much. I'm loving this roleplay to so glad that you are. ^_^))

Ryleigh stood waiting in the cafe for Adrian and Ileana as Candice grinned at her. "Don't look so worried Ryleigh..." She told her.

"I'm going out to lunch with strangers..." Ryleigh started.

"You'll be fine..."

Ryleigh turned around to see Adrian and forced a small smile, trying not to frown as he said it would be only him. Candice smiled at them both, winking at Ryleigh.

"Have a great time and see you in an hour Ryleigh." She smirked before going back to serving customers.

Ryleigh looked at Adrian's arm nervously, not really wanting to take it, but surprisingly she did, to be polite. She didn't like people to think she was rude or anything. She slowly walked out with him and left the cafe for her lunch. She was nervous as hell and so stayed completely silent, not really knowing what to say.

((Paintball? You are a braver girl than I. I've been trying to get my friends to drop the paintball idea for forever, lol))

Adrian was surprised when Ryleigh took his arm, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he smiled at Ryleigh's friend and led them out of the little shop and down the street. It was strange, kind of awkward in the beginning. Ryleigh was basically silent as they walked along. She didn't even really look around at anything as they walked. It was nice, but a bit of a shock to his system after Ileana who chattered near constantly.

After only a few minutes, Adrian spotted a bar, one that boasted "authentic" spanish food. It was a pretty good imitation, at least. Adrian steered them in without a word and he pulled out her chair for her. When the waitress came to get their drink orders he also ordered a round of the house tapas for the table.

"So... you must enjoy your work very much," he said once the waitress had gone away again, fishing for something that would start up a real conversation.

[[Lol. It's immense. You should totally go...]]

Ryleigh just followed Adrian, not really looking at where he was taking her, she was too busy thinking about what she'd gotten herself into. When they entered, she took a seat before glancing around to get the name of the place.

Ryleigh shook her head, knocking herself out of some apparent daze. "Um...Yea... I guess. Beats been bored at home." She lied slightly, it didn't matter. After today she wouldn't see him again. She looked at Adrian and nodded. "Do you have a job back home? Or are you looking for one out here?" She asked, curious as to why he'd come to England with his friend. She'd had it confirmed that Ileana wasn't Adrian's girlfriend.

((I would, but I'm afraid of pain. xD))

Adrian smiled. "I was one of the few people I knew back home who had a job. I'll probably get another one now that I'm here. Ileana and I have been accepted to the university in town, so we're running around trying to find a place to live and make a few contacts in the area. I pretty much came to make sure Ileana didn't kill herself, but the university has a very good program for arts, so I enrolled too. She's a good person, Ileana, but she isn't very good at taking care of herself. She's too... innocent. Friendly. You saw how she was today." He leaned forward conspiritorily. "I hope you don't think she's crazy," he laughed a bit. "Ileana is very rich, and very used to people liking her and giving her what she wants. She is a bit overly friendly as a result. It is the very best kind of spoiled she could be, I suppose..." He shrugged and trailed off.

((It's not too much pain if you avoid getting hit xD))

Ryleigh just nodded, hearing about Ileana been rich. She made the assumption that Adrian was to. Rich people normally only associated with rich people after all. He'd probably get up and walk out if he knew she was poor.

"Yea...I guess so..." Ryleigh simply answered, thinking about the whole thing. "I guess that makes you rich as well?" It was only half a question, more of a curiousity and a statement as she assumed it. "Must be good to be rich then."

She glanced through the food menu, trying decide what she had the money for and what she didn't, what she liked and what she didn't like. She wasn't even that hungry, but she knew that she had to eat. Sighing, she looked at Adrian. "So, you decided on what you want to eat?"

Adrian shrugged. "I have money enough. I suppose it is nice not to have to worry about money matters. I do not have much to compare it to, I think. But other people are very quick to think you are pretentious." He winked. He suspected that she thought that of him, but it did not bother him very much. He was used to it after about nineteen years.

He blinked, startled at her question. "I already sent for food. Enough for you too, you can never eat tapas alone..." Her blank look drew him up short and then he gave a short, startled chuckle. "Ah, lo entiendo, I understand. Tapas are are a... um.. sorry, I can't think of the word... fingerfood, I think. In Spain, we would order two or three and everyone would sample. All of the bars and clubs would have a specialty. They are very good. I think you will like them." He smiled then, hoping that she would maybe be a bit pleased by it.

Ryleigh just stared at him, having no idea what he'd ordered as she'd thought maybe it had been a drink or something.

"Sounds nice." She smiled slightly, putting the menu down and nodding after his explanation. She looked around the place once again, having not been here once in her entire life, which she thought was strange.

She looked back to Adrian and decided to make an effort at keeping the conversation flowing, and at least on him so it didn't get to about her. That would be a really tricky thing to deal with. "So, how are you liking England so far?" She asked him.

((Yeah, but my friends are jerks. They would aim for me especially. *rolls eyes*))

Adrian's small smile widened into a grin as Ryleigh smiled back at him. She could definitely stand to smile more often. She was so much prettier when she did. "Oh, England is a nice enough place, but very strange at times. Everyone always seems to be going somewhere, you know? Life here is very busy. There are no people sitting around, loitering in front of buildings to meet friends. Although, I've only been here a few days. Maybe I've been looking in the wrong places, yes?" He shook his head. "Have you ever been out of the country? In Spain and when I went to Italy once, there are people everywhere, just waiting. Everyone goes out at night and stays out until very late, usually around two or three. I'm afraid that most of my friends would die of exhaustion if they worked every day except for Sunday..."