“WHAT YEAR IS IT?!” I jolted, dropped my glasses, and quickly spun around. After a few seconds of thought, I realized I should probably respond. “Uh… 2013. Yeah. I’m pretty sure that’s right.” I looked around the bathroom to find where the voice came from and found a source. It was a short, skinny, red haired and green eyed girl. She laughed and said in the fastest way possible, “I’m kidding, kid. I know what year it is. Take a joke once and a while and smile more. Now, I’m going to get out of this bathroom before my tea gets cold. Oh, and my name is Jane. Yours is…” I blinked and absorbed the words while my mouth stayed shut. Before I could find the letters to my name, she was bounding out the door. “My name is James! Hey Jane, my name is James.” Her tiny feet spun around and she smiled halfway. “Well Mr. James, you are cordially invited to join me, Ms. Jane, and my gang for coffee. It’s table seven. Adios James.”

I gathered myself and made my way through the dimly lit coffee house. The bare light bulbs provided a warm glow to the olive green walls that were plastered with art and poetry. I followed the twinkling lights to tables nine, eight, and finally seven. The tiny table was packed with each body clutching a mug. “James! You have arrived! Wonderful.” She smiled and her eyes glinted with the soft light. “Hey guys, this is James. I scared him in the bathroom and now he’s our friend. So… James, this is Sarah.” Jane pointed to a girl with short black hair (which contained random streaks of green that seemed to match the walls) and judgmental eyes. Sarah glanced, muttered a low “Hello”, and went back to her mug. “And that’s Adam.” A man with soft brown eyes and equally brown hair smiled and greeted me with a gentle yet gravelly “Hey there James.” Jane’s eyes swept over to a girl long, lilac hair. “This is Vi.” The purple haired girl laughed and said “Yes, Vi is short for Violet. Yes, I’m aware my hair matches my name. Now that we got that out of the way, would you like some tea?” She pushed a kettle forward but I gently shook my head no and smiled. Jane gladly took to the offer and refilled her cup. “Chai tea is made of heaven, I swear” she breathed as she finished her sip. “Who am I forgetting? Hm. I guess there’s no one left…” A girl from across the table huffed and yelled “Yes, there IS no one left, Jane!” Jane laughed and pointed at her. “This sassy little number is Mary.” Mary rolled her eyes and waved after pushing a strand of long brown hair out of her face. She shoved the piece back into a pin that belonged in her tightly wrapped bun. Vi kicked out a chair for me and nodded for me to sit. “Tell us about you, James, great stranger from the coffee shop bathroom.”

I looked around at the group trying to decide what to say. “Uh… My name is James. I’m from Portland. My favorite animal is the cat and my favorite color is green.” Vi jumped and pulled her hair away from her neck to reveal a tattoo of the outline of a cat. “Ah! That’s so cool that you love cats!” she squealed. “For the love of god Vi, shut it. No one cares about your cats.” Sarah groaned. Vi promptly popped up, smoothed her shirt over her jeans, and walked away from the table toward the exit. “What is your problem Sarah?! Why would you even say that? Sarah, I… I just…” Adam threw his napkin at her and chased after Vi. Mary sipped her tea in silence as Jane poured more for the table. I nervously looked round and tapped my fingers on my leg. “So, uh, how do you guys know each other?”

No one responded to my stupidly timed question so I decided that I should leave. As I gathered my things, Adam ran through the door and rapidly slid his hand through his hair. Trying to catch his breath, he gasped “Vi is gone. She’s… gone.” The group shot looks of terror at each other and immediately got up. Jane grabbed my arm and said “You’re coming with us. Come on.” They lead me to an old, ramshackle Volkswagen bus and they all climbed in. “So where are we going?” I asked the car of strangers. Adam turned on the van and said “To find Vi… before someone else does.”