A DAY IN A LIFE OF FIRE

BRIA

I pushed myself for some more metres while my hands juggled my backpack, coat, cell phone and water bottle.

"Oops! Sorry!"

"Slow down dear!"

"Sorry... I am late!"

I manoeuvered my way through the early morning rush on the footpath. The cars and bikes honked irritatingly, and the chatter of the crowd added to that noise. But what irritated me the most was the barking dog across the street.

I couldn't get any sleep last night, just like most of my nights and now my head was pounding to the point I couldn't handle it anymore. And to top it all, I was late!

'She is going to kill me!'

I huffed and puffed, reaching the familiar glass door with a neon sign of 'open'. Without wasting another second, I pushed open the door to our favourite hangout place.

'Cafe E2' was a small, cosy cafe on the busy street of the suburbs, serving its regular customers for over two decades. Their coffee is just out of this world!

The bell chimed, and her angry green eyes snapped in my direction. I froze as soon as our eyes met. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Mr Berner shaking his head at me as if he was telling me that I was done for!

I slowly and cautiously approached the last table which was practically our second home if you ask me. We even have our names scribbled on it much to Mr Berner's dismay.

But at least we provided him with a fixed income for a week!

"G-good mo-"

"DON'T YOU DARE!" She hissed, gritting her teeth and before I could sit in the chair, her hand darted in my way, almost hitting my eyes with her wristwatch.

"Twenty fucking minutes! And two coffees!" She hissed again.

My eyes darted to the empty cups, and I smiled uneasily. "I... am sorry but I-"

"Didn't get any sleep last night and thus I woke up late. And the traffic is just ridiculous and my head is pounding so much! Oh God, I need coffee! Yes, I get it!" She huffed dramatically, mimicking me.

I heard Mr Berner's stifled giggle from behind me.

"Wasn't it just a little over the top?" I asked, giving her a strange look.

"It looks and sound to me just the same after one and a half year Bria!"

I placed my belongings on the chair beside me and finally planted my derriere on the chair.

"Come on! Don't be so grumpy, Bonnie ponnie!" I pinched her cheek, which she hated the most, and she growled like a teased cat.

I held my hands in surrender, giving her a cheeky smile.

"I seriously hate you, Bria! How can you give such ridiculous names to people when nobody gives you one?" Bonnie, my best friend, rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Not giving any order, the coffee was served on our table with a regular sandwich for me. It was our usual routine, and the servers even had gotten used to it.

"Because I am awesome?!" I shrugged my shoulders and went straight for the hot brewing liquid.

I took a generous sip of it, hissing when it burned the tip of my tongue. But the pleasure I received in return was just indescribable!

"God! This is my elixir!"

Bonnie chuckled at my statement. Tucking her curly auburn hair behind her ear, she began sipping on the third coffee of her morning. And that was not a good sign!

Bonnie Fernandes- as tall as me with curly auburn hair and warm green eyes, pale skin and a figure to die for was my best friend for the past one and a half years.

She lived with her father in a penthouse, but as a businessman, he was usually out of the city for the most part of the year. And whenever he was in town... he barely found time to meet his only daughter, which totally sucks!

Four months into our friendship, we decided to move in together, because for some... reasons. And I couldn't be more glad than I was for that decision as it turned out to be my life saviour!

As I munch on my sandwich, Bonnie eyed me for a long moment. I felt her eyes on me but ignored them, knowing well what was about to come my way.

"So how was it?" She finally asked the same question she repeated twice a month.

"The usual." I answered shortly.

"Is there any improvement?" I felt the hope in her voice, but unfortunately, I had to crush it like every other time.

I shook my head in negation, and her face fell. yet she masked it instantly and smiled. "You will do it soon, I know!"

I nodded, giving her a smile that didn't reach my eyes. That was the same reply she had for this topic.

Before that conversation stretched anymore, Mr Berner increased the volume of the LED TV behind me. I initially ignored the boring news reports which don't show anything other than the weather forecast or the gossip about the celebs, which were false most of the time.

But then I noticed Bonnie staring at the screen with wide eyes and a serious face. Curious, I twisted my torso to look at the screen and what I saw made me lose my appetite.

'Last night the old club and an abandoned factory caught a severe fire due to short circuit and leakage of gas according to our trustable sources. Though there is no life loss found in the factory, five dead bodies are found at the sight of the old club.

The fire was so severe that it took four hours for the firemen to extinguish it completely. Our correspondent is now speaking with the officer-in-charge of the accident.'

I heard the monotonous voice of the anchor as she read the screen like a robot only with a fake smile on her face, which I found very inappropriate while reporting such unfortunate news.

I couldn't move my eyes from the small screen beside her in which they showed the footage from both accident places. And the degree of destruction stunned not only me but every person who had their eyes and ears dedicated to that news.

Suddenly I felt the atmosphere change in the cosy and happening place as tension settled down elegantly.

The pictures changed, and now they showed the live footage from the club. A police officer in his late forties stood in front of the camera, and behind him was the disintegrated building coated in only black.

"We have found five dead bodies but it is very difficult to identify them as they are severely burned to ashes. We will try to recover the DNA to ascertain their identities." He told.

"What has caused this fire? Have you found anything about it?" The correspondent asked.

"We are assuming it is because of the leakage of the gas in the kitchen. But we will give the official statement about it only after a thorough investigation." The officer answered.

He turned to leave, excusing himself when someone's voice stopped him. The camera shifted to a young journalist, and I recognised him quickly.

Oliver Becker!

A cold chill ran down my spine, and guilt washed over me. My headache only grew even more as the past again laughed mockingly at my face.

"Is it really an accident or an intentional crime officer? Isn't it possible that those five dead people are no one but T5?" Oliver asked, adjusting the specs on his nose.

I watched carefully as the colour changed on the officer's face. Others might have missed it, but I was quick to catch such things after spending two years observing the people and constantly living with my guards up.

"What rubbish is this? Don't try to spread any false rumours, young man! You are a journalist and not a gossip maker. Learn to respect your job first!" And with that said, the officer walked away, leaving Oliver's questions unattended.

'T5? What is that?'

"What is happening in this world these days!" My attention shifted back to my friend, who glared at the TV with a deep frown on her beautiful face.

"They are just accidents, Bonnie." I tried to shrug it off and also convince myself. But even to my ears, it sounded lame.

"You seriously think so, Bria Maxwell? How two places can catch up fire on the same night? And they are talking about the old club! Do you know how popular that place is? Even I have been there a couple of times!

How could there be only five dead bodies in such a crowded place?"

Bonnie always had this hidden Sherlock Holmes in her that keeps peeking out every now and then.

"Have you forgotten about the most awaited event of the year? The baseball match? It is obvious that the whole town was there to cheer their favourite teams!" I argued.

Now don't ask me the reason because I don't have any!

Bonnie looked unconvinced. "No Bria! You are just too good for this evil world my dear friend. You don't understand such things!" She said sympathetically.

If only you knew how much I understand such things, Bonnie! But I kept that thought to myself.

I had lost my appetite, but I also couldn't leave the sandwich half-eaten, after all, no matter how friendly Mr Berner was, that man didn't forget even a single penny! So deciding against my mood, I began eating it while hearing Bonnie's ramblings about trivial things.

But I couldn't help myself from thinking about the news I had just seen.

Could it be...?

I shook my head as soon as that thought tried to poke my mind.

No Bria! Don't think like that. Don't act stupid! It is just impossible! I still have the same faith that I had two years ago!

"Now come on, or we will get late again for Miss Bailey's class!" She pulled me out of the chair and out of the cafe.

"Bye-bye, Mr Berner!" I waved at the old man as he called behind us.

"Go safely, you two are still to clear the bills!"

We ignored his reminder and continued walking toward our culinary school- Elante Institute of Culinary Arts.

It was a fifteen minutes walk from cafe E2. And why we were straining our legs today?

Because my super-smart friend didn't realise that her car- our only available personal transportation facility- had a flat tyre. I noticed it when I thought of taking her car to meet Mr Wheeler.

That bear was snoring in her bed when I called the mechanic. To top of that, he found some more problems with the car and so I told him to return it only after every problem is taken care of.

"God! It is too difficult to walk in these heels, Bria!"

"And who's fault is this?"

"Well... I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders, flipping her auburn hair over her shoulder.

"How can you be so irresponsible, Bonnie? When you have taken such an expensive car by fighting with your dad then you should at least take good care of it! You didn't even realise it has so many problems! How were you driving it all this..." I trailed off as I noticed something strange.

My eyes swept around carefully as my brain tried to register every single thing that came into the view. The streetlight, barking dogs, rushing people, honking cars. The smell of coffee and sandwiches, a man reading the newspaper, a flower shop and...

Wait!

My eyes again darted to the man who leaned back on the wall of a building. Bonnie was talking nonstop about something that my brain didn't register at all as I was too focused on my surroundings.

Walking past a car, I noticed some men following us. I felt my heart racing, because this time, it was not only me but Bonnie was also with me, and she had no idea about my true identity or my past. And it should remain that way!