The living-room of the spacious penthouse was filled to the brim with seemingly unruly stacks of paper, notebooks of various kinds and weighty tomes. In the centre of it all sat a petite blue-haired girl, who was pushing her reading glasses back on her nose. The air was filled with intense concentration and freshly acquired knowledge, which seemed to radiate off the diligent student.
Time rushed by and finally, it was done. A sigh escaped the smiling lips, as she watched the printer deliver the sheets of paper that had caused her both worry and joy. The smile turned to a frown, when she took in the chaos that reigned the usually pristine room. Thank God my mother doesn't live here anymore, she thought as she set out to assemble several empty coffee mugs, a few boxes of take-away food and a small mountain of crumpled up paper.
Most people just assumed that she liked -enjoyed even- to be holed up inside for days, with books, but without company. They couldn't be more wrong.
While she strived on learning, she was also extremely sociable and enjoyed company, especially that of her friends. If possible, she preferred to study in company and outdoors. But writing a paper such as the one she had just completed required a different sort of concentration, and unfortunately, one that didn't come into being in the presence of her lovely laughing friends.
After carefully filing the last papers, texts and books which she had used for her research, Ami reached for coat, scarf and purse and quickly pondered which novel to take with her. Settling for a historical romance Minako had recently bequeathed to her, she finally left her home and entered the wintry world again.
The chilly air stroked her pale skin, welcoming her in its icy embrace. Attentive observers would have noticed a spring in her steps that spoke volumes of the elation she felt.
Where to go? Ami had several coveted reading places: Rei's shrine, the pretty park in the neighbouring district and as of recently, Makoto's new shop. She sometimes read at Minako's place as well, while the blonde watched television or surfed the net, each enjoying the other's silent company. It had something to do with often absent parents that tied the girls together. Makoto often joined them; she had taken to cooking for Minako and then put a stock of it in the freezer, joking that her friend would otherwise starve quickly.
Stopping at a small coffee place, she bought herself an extravagant treat. The hot beverage consisted of coffee, whipped cream, caramel syrup, something vanilla and a bit of melted chocolate on top. Warming her small hands on the warm paper cup, she decided that today was the day to make her New Year's resolution come true.
Her steps quickly led her to the corner of the park which had always been her favourite. There were lots of weeping willows and white roses, and the occasional bench dotted on the now frozen grass. Naturally, the roses weren't in bloom, they didn't even have many leaves at the given time, but that didn't diminish the park's beauty for her.
A few people walked by once she sat down on her usual bench, drawn outside by the combination of ice and sunshine. Looking around without meeting anyone's eyes, she opened her book, exhaled, and started to read. Crime novels, magazines, accounts of historical events or general fiction would often find themselves taken outside to be read, but romance novels usually remained firmly limited to her flat. But the complex tale of a young maiden at Camelot and her forbidden love for the king's cousin quickly drew her in, and Ami had all but forgotten the outside world.
The first kiss of the fair maiden and the brave knight had come and left her blushing a deep shade of crimson. The sound of a chuckle startled her.
A young man had joined her on her bench, something which she had been completely and utterly oblivious to due to the story that had captured her so fully.
“So I assume they have found each other? Well, they always do, it's what makes these books so boring, isn't it?” Not waiting for an answer, he packed up the remains of his lunch and stood up, shaking some crumbs out of the folds of his red scarf.
Ami gaped at him, not sure how to react and thus settling for silence and an open mouth that spoke of surprise, embarrassment and something unreadable.
Winking at her, he added “Read something by Byron, it's more entertaining and worthwhile than that.”, before walking away. Minutes later, Ami slowly put her book away, all the while staring after the long disappeared back of an obviously unremembering Jadeite.
