Soon, the pair came to a row of cafes and restaurants.
"Ah, perfect. Let's stop in here and get some real drinks," Lina said.
They entered a small cafe. It wasn't yet peak hours, so the place was nearly empty and the girls didn't need to wait in line. Lina ordered a hot chocolate. The girl at the register looked to Amy.
"C'mon, Amy, order something," Lina said.
Amy quickly glanced at the menu and picked the first thing that her eyes fell upon. "May I have a amaretto, please?" she said quickly.
As they waited for their orders, Lina said "You feeling okay? You never order coffee in the afternoon."
"I'm fine," Amy said, though in truth she was becoming somewhat confused. She didn't know why she had been compelled to buy the first thing she saw on the menu. And Lina had a point. Amy only drank coffee in the mornings, and that was only in extreme circumstances like a big quiz at school.
They got their coffees and Amy started heading toward the door.
"Amy, come back here and sit down," Lina said in an unusually sharp tone. There was nothing harsh about her voice, but Lina spoke her words in such a blunt, careless way that it caught Amy off guard. She looked back at Lina with surprise.
Lina appeared equally surprised. "I...I just wanted to sit for a few minutes before we go on," she said, her voice much gentler.
Without another word, the two moved toward the nearest small table. Amy pulled a chair out for Lina to sit in before she herself took her seat.
"Thank you," Lina said. She blew on her hot chocolate to cool it. Amy simply sat across from her, staring at Lina and ignoring her coffee. "Are you going to drink it?"
"I'm not in the mood for coffee right now," Amy said. "I don't even know why I ordered it."
"Well could you do something besides just sit there? It's kind of freaking me out."
Amy stood up, but then froze stiff and continued to look at Lina.
Now Lina was getting annoyed. "Amy, that is NOT funny. Just SIT DOWN and don't do anything."
At these stern words, Amy quickly plopped in her seat and picked up her coffee. She sipped the steaming, bitter liquid. It burned her lips and tongue, but she couldn't stop. She choked and coffee spilled out of her mouth and onto her shirt and the table. Finally gaining control of herself, she slammed the cup down, jumped out of her chair and dashed to the bathroom where she ran cold tap water into her searing mouth.
Tears streamed from her eyes. What had she just done? Why? She must have looked like such a fool.
Amy began to blot the coffee stains out of her shirt. Her tongue still throbbed and her lips were beet red.
Then a knock came on the bathroom door.