May Be Neglecting the Things I Should Do — @theatheradical
If Martha had to read one more line of Latin, she was positive that her eyes would roll right out of her skull in protest. So when the opportunity came up to hang out with Thea, she may have been a bit over eager in jumping at it. But it had been awhile since she had seen her friend, and that felt like an altruistic enough motive to abandon her homework and set out for the coffee shop they had agreed to meet at.
It was a short walk, but a cold one, and by the time she reached the coffee shop her face was stinging even as she buried it in her scarf. She remembered summer a bit longingly, when she could stay out in the meadow for hours without feeling uncomfortable at all. She hoped this winter would be a short one. It was so much easier to escape the house when the winter wind didn't bite.
When she reached the shop, she let out a sigh of relief as the warm air hit her. She loosened the scarf around her neck and stowed her gloves in her pocket as she looked around, wondering if Thea was already there. The familiar sounds of the shop were comforting after the solitude she had spent in the library, with only the occasional sound of a turning page for company. Martha found it too difficult to study at home, when she tensed every time footsteps walked past her room. One never knew if there were chores to be done or some sort of rule to be enforced.
