2 Day 0

"Kiara!" +

I jolt at the sound of my name, looking up from my phone. The barista catches my eye, holding my cup of coffee up in the air. "You going to just stand there and stare at me, or?"

"It's nice to see you too, Zach." I roll my eyes, pocketing my phone as I head over to the counter. "Isn't it a little early in the morning for that kind of sass?"

"Isn't it a little early in the morning for a coffee this size?" He quips back, raising his eyebrows as he hands me my jumbo cup of coffee. I wrap my hands around the warm cup and take a big sip, a contented smile lazily spreading over my lips.

"It is never too early in the morning for coffee." I sigh, and Zach chuckles at the gratified look on my face. "Especially this early in the morning."

"It's almost eleven o'clock." Zach replies ruefully, and I shrug non-committedly. He motions towards the camera hanging around my neck as he prepares to make the next customer's coffee. "Let me guess. You're off to the Smithsonian?"

"No. Haven't you heard? It's the latest fashion trend." I joke, tilting my head to the side and lifting my camera up by its strap. He raises an eyebrow at me, and I crack into a grin. "Okay, you got me. Yes, of course I'm headed there; I'm meeting my father. He said he's got a surprise for me, so I figured I might as well make a trip of it and take some photos for my blog while I'm there." 1

"You're a weird one, Kiara." He chuckles, shaking his head. "I think you're the only person I know to willingly spend the entirety of her summer break before starting college in the dusty halls of a museum." 2

"It's better than spending it in New York, listening to my mother berate me into going to law school." I reply dryly. "I'd rather fall off the ends of the earth than hear another word about why I'll be 'a failure to the Collins dynasty' if I follow my passions instead of following her orders."

"Touche." Zach winces. "You know, our friendship may only be reserved for these fleeting summer visits, but I still cringe for you every time I hear that."

"I cringe every moment I'm around her, Zachary." I reply, lifting my coffee cup up in salute as I head out. "I'll see you later."

"So, about four o'clock, right?" He calls after me, and I laugh, poking my tongue out at him as I back out the door.

The sharp, brisk air of the summer morning hits me like a slap to the face the minute that I step outside the warmth of the cafe, and I squeak, burying my face in my thick green scarf. Even though we're already well into summer, I still get absurdly cold every single damn morning. I must be designed for the life of an Italian, or a Hawaiian, or an Egyptian I swear; even on the mornings like today, where every normal person is already considering changing into shorts, I feel the chill right down to my bones. 1

Pathetic, right? I like to think I'm a rare breed of human. Possibly with strictly reptilian ancestors.

I look up just in time to see the lights changing, and press the pedestrian light just in time. Seconds later, the pedestrian man lights up green, and I scurry across the road as quickly as I can, still completely lacking any faith in American drivers.

What can I say? You almost get hit so many times before you start to literally fear crossing the streets.

Just as I make it across to the other side I feel my phone start to buzz in my jeans pocket, and when I finally manage to fish it out, I realise it's my best friend FaceTiming me. Grinning, I accept her call and hold my phone up in front of my face as I continue walking

"I'll give you three guesses as to where I'm heading right now." +

"Let me see." Hazel hums, tapping her chin as she thinks. "You're carrying a coffee from Starbucks with Zach's disgustingly intelligible writing on it, you're awake before eleven o'clock on a Saturday, and you're wearing about five thousand layers..." Her eyes widen, and she clicks her fingers with a gasp. "Bitch, are you going to the Smithsonian without me?" 8

I burst out laughing. "How did you get the Smithsonian out of all of that?"

Hazel holds up three fingers. "One, you only ever see Zach when you're heading to the Smithsonian because it's the only Starbucks in all of Washington that you actually buy coffee from. Two, you're never awake before eleven o'clock on a Saturday unless it has something to do with your father because he's basically your favourite person in the world, and you're horrible when it comes to waking up when it's still morning. Three, you're in Washington. Where else are you going to go?"

"It scares me that you know my habits so well." I reply, grimacing a little and mumbling a quick apology when I bump into someone. They shoot me a scowl and return to their phone conversation as they hurry on, apparently having no time for teenage girls who are similarly talking on the phone. I resist the urge to poke my tongue out at their quickly retreating back.

Hypocrite.

"I've been your best friend since we've been six Keeks, if I didn't know your habits well by now I'm failing at my job abysmally." Hazel deadpans. Then, before I can reply, her face suddenly appears terrifyingly close to the screen, and she eyeballs me, hissing, "Why are you at the Smithsonian without me?! That's my territory bitch!"

"Have you been watching those crappy gangster movies again?" I ask offhandedly, purposefully ignoring her question. "You're calling me bitch a lot."

She narrows her eyes at me, whispering loudly. "I will cut you with my eyelashes if you don't answer my question right now, douchetit."

"Your ability to come up with the most endearing nicknames for me is really the most beautiful thing about you." I sigh, looking up at the sky dreamily, and Hazel hisses at me again. I grin at her. "Dad's working on something at the museum, and he told me he had a surprise for me."

"Your Dad's giving you exclusive access to one of the exhibits?!" Hazel shrieks, and I get such a fright that I just about drop my phone. "Dude, come on! You know I worship the ground that man walks on! Why didn't you invite me?"

"For this exact reason Hazel." I tell her wryly, pushing the door to the Smithsonian museum open with my shoulder. Immediately, I'm enveloped by warmth, and it takes all the strength within me not to just melt into a puddle of happiness. Ahh, heat. My most fleeting amigo. "You have a weird obsession with my father."

"That's because he's an archaeologist, and he's awesome." She leans in so close again that I can almost count the soft smattering of freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose. She starts whispering again. "They both start with the same letter; that isn't a coincidence." 1

I give her a look. "I'm hanging up now."

"No, no, wait!" She bursts out hurriedly, in such a panic that she actually drops her phone. There's a small scuffling sound before her face appears again. She blinks at me hopefully. "Can I come?"

"Hayz, I'm pretty sure he's breaking the rules letting me look at his exhibit; I think if I bring along my crazy archeology-obsessed friend he'll get into a ton of trouble, especially considering how much you flip out at stuff that's more than a thousand years old. Also, you're not even in the state."