Haylee smoothed her hands over the blue blouse, the crease of the skirt at her waist. What she would have given to be able to have bought new clothes for tonight, but on a student’s budget and her hours at the coffee shop continually undercut, she barely had enough money to feed herself.
The exchange program was something of a rort. She’d applied on a whim, in one of those moments of confidence and freedom; she’d saved enough money to afford the flight, and the rent until she found another job. Since then, she’d had to move into a sharehouse with five other people in order to afford rent, to cut back on costs. For internet, she often bummed off work once her shift was over, or was constantly found at the numerous internet cafes spotted around the city.
The courses were okay but not world class. But who was she kidding? Haylee Rae wasn’t known for thinking things through. On the surface she might appear to be a forward-thinking, reasonable young woman, fuelled by common sense. But underneath the shy exterior was a spontaneous soul who did things without reading the fine print. She’d have been better off going to London or New York – or one of the other, less expensive UK or US states. Canada had appealed to her, however – she liked the cold. She thought the wilderness would provide an inspiring backdrop.
But like everything that Haylee thought would be inspiring, it turned out not to be. Not because the beauty wasn’t there, but because she lacked follow through. The world outside was waiting for her, but instead Haylee holed herself up in her little room, fuming because her housemates made too much noise, earplugs in, doing her best to study but more often than not distracted by Netflix.
Calls home reminded her why she had come, however. She was here for the adventure, for the experience. She was here for the place not so much for the study. She was urged over and over and over to go out, to meet people. Make friends. Have fun. It was repeated so often that finally, eventually, Haylee caved. She downloaded Tinder on her phone and spent a couple of days swiping until she finally started talking to a guy. Henry Knight, his name was. A good name. The kind of name a Rockstar or movie persona should have.
He was charming and they had things in common, or so Haylee thought. Now she was dressed, hoping the humidity would drop and it would get cooler as the sun sunk below the horizon – thus why she wore long sleeves. The outfit wasn’t completely flattering but nor was it a sack. And they were just going for casual drinks, weren’t they? She didn’t have to dress up – though she did pull on a pair of lace-up heels just to make the outfit seem a little more appropriate.
She regretted them as soon as she stepped foot on the pavement. But she wasn’t going to climb all those stairs again to change them, and she would be late if she did. Even now, she thought she was cutting it fine. The city was still new. There was a chance she might get lost.
The bar was called Barcadia and it looked, from the outside, to be a decent kind of place. The people within were dressed nicely – the women were all in cocktail dresses which made Haylee re-think her outfit. But there was nothing she could do about it now. Steeling her nerves and doing her best to quiet the butterflies in her gut, Haylee showed her ID at the door (she looked seventeen but was actually twenty-four) and stepped inside. The music was low, not too overpowering. The place was busy, making Haylee want to run for the hills. But she didn’t. She meandered toward the bar and ordered a cider, before pulling out her phone and messaging Henry.
I’m at the bar, it said. Blue blouse, wild hair. And it was true. Her hair wasn’t contained by ties or plaits. It was loose over her shoulders, dark curls reaching halfway down her back. As soon as she paid for her cider she quickly gulped down half – liquid courage. She was going to need a lot of it.
The exchange program was something of a rort. She’d applied on a whim, in one of those moments of confidence and freedom; she’d saved enough money to afford the flight, and the rent until she found another job. Since then, she’d had to move into a sharehouse with five other people in order to afford rent, to cut back on costs. For internet, she often bummed off work once her shift was over, or was constantly found at the numerous internet cafes spotted around the city.
The courses were okay but not world class. But who was she kidding? Haylee Rae wasn’t known for thinking things through. On the surface she might appear to be a forward-thinking, reasonable young woman, fuelled by common sense. But underneath the shy exterior was a spontaneous soul who did things without reading the fine print. She’d have been better off going to London or New York – or one of the other, less expensive UK or US states. Canada had appealed to her, however – she liked the cold. She thought the wilderness would provide an inspiring backdrop.
But like everything that Haylee thought would be inspiring, it turned out not to be. Not because the beauty wasn’t there, but because she lacked follow through. The world outside was waiting for her, but instead Haylee holed herself up in her little room, fuming because her housemates made too much noise, earplugs in, doing her best to study but more often than not distracted by Netflix.
Calls home reminded her why she had come, however. She was here for the adventure, for the experience. She was here for the place not so much for the study. She was urged over and over and over to go out, to meet people. Make friends. Have fun. It was repeated so often that finally, eventually, Haylee caved. She downloaded Tinder on her phone and spent a couple of days swiping until she finally started talking to a guy. Henry Knight, his name was. A good name. The kind of name a Rockstar or movie persona should have.
He was charming and they had things in common, or so Haylee thought. Now she was dressed, hoping the humidity would drop and it would get cooler as the sun sunk below the horizon – thus why she wore long sleeves. The outfit wasn’t completely flattering but nor was it a sack. And they were just going for casual drinks, weren’t they? She didn’t have to dress up – though she did pull on a pair of lace-up heels just to make the outfit seem a little more appropriate.
She regretted them as soon as she stepped foot on the pavement. But she wasn’t going to climb all those stairs again to change them, and she would be late if she did. Even now, she thought she was cutting it fine. The city was still new. There was a chance she might get lost.
The bar was called Barcadia and it looked, from the outside, to be a decent kind of place. The people within were dressed nicely – the women were all in cocktail dresses which made Haylee re-think her outfit. But there was nothing she could do about it now. Steeling her nerves and doing her best to quiet the butterflies in her gut, Haylee showed her ID at the door (she looked seventeen but was actually twenty-four) and stepped inside. The music was low, not too overpowering. The place was busy, making Haylee want to run for the hills. But she didn’t. She meandered toward the bar and ordered a cider, before pulling out her phone and messaging Henry.
I’m at the bar, it said. Blue blouse, wild hair. And it was true. Her hair wasn’t contained by ties or plaits. It was loose over her shoulders, dark curls reaching halfway down her back. As soon as she paid for her cider she quickly gulped down half – liquid courage. She was going to need a lot of it.
