If Arthur Ricks knew that one cup of coffee could ruin his life, he probably would've turned around before even touching the café door.
But he didn't.
Five seconds later, everything happened too fast.
"Clunk."
The cup in his hand wobbled, then spilled right onto the table of a girl he hadn't even gotten a good look at yet.
Arthur froze.
His heart started pounding, his mind went blank, and his body moved without thinking.
"S-sorry—ah, e—" he stammered, his tongue feeling like it didn't belong to him.
His hands grabbed for a napkin, trying to wipe up the spreading coffee stain. The more he tried, the messier it got.
The girl in front of him looked at him with a confused expression.
"What's wrong with you?" she finally asked.
Arthur paused, which only made things worse.
"A-ah… i-it's fine. R-really," he muttered, clearly not convincing anyone, including himself.
The girl furrowed her brows, then let out a soft sigh.
"Why are you like this? Come on, sit down."
Arthur hesitated. This was definitely not part of his plan. Just talking to a stranger was already terrifying enough, let alone sitting and chatting.
But since he had no choice but to face the chaos he caused, he finally sat down.
The girl gave a light smile.
"I'm Olive. Olive Morgan."
Arthur swallowed hard before answering.
"A-Arthur… R-Ricks. N-nice to meet you."
There was a short pause.
Then Olive let out a small laugh.
Arthur froze again.
He didn't get what was funny.
In his head, all the worst possibilities popped up.
Was he weird? Embarrassing? Too awkward?
But, unlike what he expected, Olive's laugh didn't sound mocking.
It sounded… warm.
Arthur blinked slowly, still unsure how to react. But for the first time, he forced himself not to run away.
"U-uh… how old… are you?" he finally asked, his voice shaky.
Olive raised her eyebrows, pretending to be serious.
"Why do you talk like that? Don't like me or something?"
Arthur panicked immediately.
"EH—NO! N-no way!"
Olive laughed again, this time louder.
"Just kidding," she said lightly.
Arthur's face turned red instantly.
He didn't even know where to look.
"I'm nineteen," Olive continued. "You?"
Arthur took a short breath.
"I-I'm… nineteen this year too."
"Ohh, same age," Olive said with a smile. "But… why do you talk like a kid?"
She laughed softly again.
Arthur could only look down, super awkward.
"I-I… have a little anxiety," he muttered quietly.
After that, the conversation hit a wall.
Arthur ran out of words. His mind went blank. All the courage he had gathered just seconds ago was gone.
Finally, he stood up suddenly.
"I-I… my friend's calling. I-I gotta go."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away in a hurry.
Leaving Olive alone at the table.
She just watched his back disappear, then smiled faintly.
"Still the same as before…" she whispered.