1 Chapter 1

It was a lovely warm New Year's morning for some people but not for most people. Most people were suffering from hangovers. Other people decided to start their New Year on a healthy journey like walking or jogging on the beach. They also decided to start eating healthy to clean up all the fruit cakes and roast turkey they had during the festive season. Some people were going to the supermarket to get more meat for their second braais. They also wanted to burst more fireworks in the evening. At least, the supermarkets would have made a lot of money over the past few days.

A woman was walking toward a coffee shop. It was very quiet in the morning for her. The woman was admiring the weather as she was walking. She saw a coffee called Chrome Café. There was a long chalkboard at the entrance with all the specials. She looked at the board. There were coffees and cakes on special. She decided on her order and entered the shop. There were so many people in the shop. The woman went to the counter. A waitress was busy looking at videos of the fireworks display on Instagram. The woman waited for the waitress to finish being on her phone.

"Let me guess, one slice of chocolate cake and a medium cup of hot chocolate.", the waitress told the woman.

The woman laughed and then spoke. "No. A slice of rainbow cake and a large cup of coffee please.", she explained her order.

"What changed?"

"I want to celebrate my version of New Year."

The waitress was interested in that version. She started typing on the retailed computer to place the order. The woman was looking at the beach while she was waiting for her order. While she was looking at the beach, she spotted a very familiar woman coming to the shop.

A waiter came to the counter with a mischievous smile. "Your friend is here to see you.", he was acting childish.

The woman turned around with an annoyed expression. "In a million years, I still wouldn't consider her as my friend.", she said.

The waiter lifted his hands in the air like he was arrested. "Okay Riya.", he said. He went to assist other customers.

Riya Moodley was her name. She was just below average height with a slim body. Her friends admired her because she had natural facial features that Victoria's Secret Models had to put make-up to get those features. She had dark brown hair that suited her light brown skin tone. Her eyes were ocean blue which made her friends slightly jealous. Riya had been a make-up artist for two years but she decided to leave the industry to study Patisserie. She finished her one-year Patisserie course last year. She was just waiting for results that would be released in ten days.

Riya was watching the woman looking at the retailed fridge. The woman was dressed in a tight short emerald green dress. Riya could tell that the make-up was not done properly. The colored powder would give the woman realistic features and glow in Riya's opinion. The woman was moving her hips like she was a model or a famous idol. Riya rolled her eyes and then turned around to the counter. She was looking at the packs of coffee on the shelves.

"Riya Moodley!", a woman screamed her name like her name should be heard by the world.

Everyone looked at the woman that was standing by the counter. Riya turned around to look at the woman. Then she noticed everyone looking at her. "Sorry about that everyone.", she said to all the customers and then looked at the woman. "Kiara Perumal, how are you? How's your New Year going so far?", Riya asked with a fake smile.

Kiara flipped her straight blonde hair off her shoulder like a model. "I'm fabulous. My day is going great. I'm going on a breakfast date with my boyfriend just now.", she spoke with some arrogance.

Riya wondered which boyfriend Kiara was seeing. In grade eleven, Kiara dated three boys at once. When the boys found out, that situation got ugly for a month. Riya was shocked that Kiara was not suffering from a hangover. Now Riya understood why the store was busy. Most of the customers were suffering from hangovers.

"So, how's life going?", Kiara asked Riya.

"Well, I left the make-up industry...", Riya was interrupted.

"Why? They thought you were too dark. Hahahaha!" Kiara was laughing out loud.

Everyone was getting irritated by that laugh. Their hangovers were going to get worse. Riya decided to play along. "Hahahaha! Hahahaha! No.", Riya snapped so Kiara could shut up and she did. "I left because I wanted to try something new. So, I studied Patisserie last year. I'm just waiting for the results."

"Patisserie? Isn't that Pastry Chef?

" Yep."

"Wow, you are good at that. You also did Consumer Studies in high school.", Kiara tried to act smart.

"No, I didn't.", she corrected her.

Kiara rolled her eyes. "Whatever. So, what are you going to do after this?", she was interested to know.

"I applied for jobs overseas, mainly in the southeast Asian countries."

Kiara had a disgusted expression. "Why those countries? You should have chosen Europe or America."

"Because they have the widest range of coffee shops in the world. Well, South Korea has the widest range across the country."

"Ooooohhhh South Korea, the home of Korean pop stars.", she was thinking about the famous stars.

Why did even Riya bother telling Kiara about her work when Kiara was not interested. Kiara was only interested in clothes shopping, boys, money, and materialistic things.

"Riya, sorry I took so long.", the waitress said. She placed a red medium paper bag on the counter.

Riya turned around to look at the waitress. "It's okay.", she said. Riya took out her credit card. She tapped the card onto the machine. Her pin was automatically entered. A receipt came out of the machine. The waitress took it out and gave it to Riya. "Thank you."

Riya grabbed her bag. She turned around when she saw Kiara looking at her. "Let me guess, hot chocolate and chocolate cake.", she said.

"None of your business.", Riya snapped.

"Since when did you become so straightforward?"

"Since I experienced something horrible that I will never forget."

The woman did not bother to say 'bye' to each other. Riya walked away from the counter. Kiara was watching Riya leaving the shop. The waitress called Kiara so the waitress could take her order. Riya stopped in front of her red Honda car. She opened the driver's door. She stretched her body to place her order on the passenger seat. She took her seat in the driver's seat. She started the engine and drove away from the area.