{"id":1035,"date":"2012-07-24T22:26:43","date_gmt":"2012-07-25T05:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=1035"},"modified":"2012-07-24T22:26:43","modified_gmt":"2012-07-25T05:26:43","slug":"season-7-episode-1-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=1035","title":{"rendered":"Season 7, Episode 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ana had been awake for a good few hours before she\u2019d finally allowed herself out of bed, the dark circles under her eyes evidence of the fact that she\u2019d slept terribly, if at all. She checked her watch. It was only seven in the morning, but felt like mid afternoon. Jet lag. It did wonders to the body clock. Feeling disoriented and foggy, she pulled some clean clothes out of her suitcase and dressed quickly, knowing the only thing that would fix her was a double strength flat white.<\/p>\n

She found Willow sitting in the kitchen, perched precariously on a kitchen stall, her body curled into a tight ball, biting her nails as she read the last few chapters of the trashy crime book she\u2019d started on the plane.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you sleep?\u201d Ana asked her.<\/p>\n

The grunted monosyllabic response could have been in either the affirmative or negative. Ana could tell that Willow would be pretty much out of action until she knew whodunnit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going out to get coffee. You want some?\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Willow didn\u2019t take her eyes of the page, she nodded her head and let out an excited squeak.<\/p>\n

The apartment where they were staying was in an area called Hayes Valley. They\u2019d found it online yesterday (or was it the day before? It certainly felt like they\u2019d lost a day somewhere) and, even though it wasn\u2019t cheap, they had promptly booked it for two months. They\u2019d heard that the rental market here was much like Melbourne – competitive and expensive – but were counting on beginners luck to find somewhere a bit more reasonable as soon as they could. The morning was sunny but brisk, a light breeze gently rustling the tops of the trees. Even though it was the middle of summer, it was too cold for the light shirt she\u2019d thrown on, so Ana picked up the pace, hoping that there was a Di Bella equivalent somewhere within walking distance.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Ana kicked the door to the apartment closed behind her. In one hand she had three enormous cardboard cups of coffee, stacked on each other like Lego, her chin resting on the top one to stop them toppling over. In her other hand, she held a bag containing three Danish pastries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we\u2019d lost you,\u201d Willow said, emerging from the living room, her hair freshly washed and pulled back from her face in a tight bun.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry,\u201d Ana said. \u201cI had to go to about seven different coffee shops. Most places only do that awful filter stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow took the bag of pastries from Ana and went into the kitchen. Ana followed her, carefully placing the coffees on the bench.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that coffee I can smell?\u201d Mia said, emerging from her bedroom, rubbing her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the closest thing I could find,\u201d Ana said, handing a cup to Mia. \u201cOne soy latte.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo they only sell it by the litre here?\u201d Mia said, eyeing the cup suspiciously.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s just the medium,\u201d Ana said, pulling the lid off her own cup. \u201cWell, cheers. Here\u2019s to our first morning in the US of A.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three of them solemnly clinked their gigantic cardboard goblets and took a cautious sip of the hot liquid. Ana promptly spat her mouthful of coffee across the kitchen bench, Willow swallowed, making a face, and Mia subtly dribbled hers back into the cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt tastes\u2026 weird,\u201d Mia said, wiping her mouth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fucking awful!\u201d Ana said, dumping hers straight into the sink. \u201cThe milk\u2019s too hot, the coffee is burned, and they\u2019ve got the quantities all wrong!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that bad,\u201d said Willow, taking another tentative sip. \u201cOn second thoughts\u2026\u201d She emptied her cup next to Ana\u2019s in the sink. They settled instead for the pastries which, although sweeter than they should have been, were actually rather good.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess the first thing we need to do today is hunt down good coffee,\u201d Ana said. \u201cAnd then what? Golden Gate Bridge? Alcatraz? Fisherman’s Wharf? Something a little less touristy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could just have a wander,\u201d Willow said. \u201cOrient ourselves a little.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should also start thinking about jobs soon,\u201d Mia said. \u201cIf we\u2019re going to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow and Ana looked at her blankly. \u201cJobs?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d said Mia. \u201cYou remember those don\u2019t you? Where you go to a place and do stuff for them and they give you money?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh\u00a0those<\/em>,\u201d said Willow, sighing dramatically. \u201cI might pass. I\u2019m going to be a lady of leisure for a while I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019ve got the rent money from my house in Melbourne,\u201d said Ana. \u201cThat should see me through for a bit, at least.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll look after you too,\u201d Willow added quickly. \u201cSo you don\u2019t have to worry about anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, as if we\u2019d let you get a job,\u201d Ana said. \u201cMi Casa es su Casa<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means \u2018my house is your house\u2019,\u201d Mia said.<\/p>\n

Ana shrugged. \u201cWhatever. The sentiment is still the same. Our money is your money.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s very generous,\u201d Mia said patiently, \u201cbut you still have to get a job in order to stay here. Assuming we do want to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the visas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat visas?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia groaned and rolled her eyes. \u201cThe visas to stay here because we\u2019re not US citizens. Why do you think at customs they ask you how long your trip is? And why do you think we said only two months?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana shrugged. \u201cI don\u2019t know. I just figured they\u2019d sort of forget about us and we\u2019d just\u2026 stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia looked at her witheringly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you mean \u2018assuming we want to stay here\u2019?\u201d Willow said, looking curiously at Mia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe might decide we don\u2019t want to,\u201d Mia said, a tad too defensively.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe?\u201d Willow arched her eyebrows.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine,\u201d Mia mumbled. \u201cI might decide that I don\u2019t want to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana and Willow looked at each other. \u201cJohnny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia turned a charming shade of fuchsia. \u201cNo,\u201d she protested. \u201cNot entirely. It\u2019s just\u2026 well\u2026 it might not work out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we were all for one and one for all,\u201d Ana said. \u201cThe five musketeers or whatever they were. Isn\u2019t that what we agreed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the three musketeers,\u201d Mia said. \u201cAnd yes, we did say that, but I\u2019m just saying that we shouldn\u2019t force ourselves to stay if we don\u2019t want to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana sighed loudly and took another bite of her pastry. It was too early and she was far too caffeine deprived to have this conversation now.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow long have you been thinking about going home?\u201d Willow said, her eyes sad.<\/p>\n

Mia paused, looking at the ground as she answered. \u201cSince Johnny left,\u201d she said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you spoken to Johnny about this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

Now it was Mia\u2019s turn to sigh loudly. \u201cWe sort of had a fight before he left, and we haven\u2019t really spoken about it since, and I don\u2019t want to tell him that I\u2019m thinking of coming back because he\u2019ll think it\u2019s because of him\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0because of him,\u201d Ana said exasperated, pastry flecks flying out of her mouth.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t need to know that,\u201d Mia shot back.<\/p>\n

Ana rolled her eyes again. \u201cSeriously, if you and Johnny ever get your shit together I think I\u2019ll die of shock!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAna, that\u2019s not fair,\u201d Mia protested.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Mia, what\u2019s not fair is saying that you\u2019re going to do something with your friends and then running after some guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not just some guy. Besides, who are you to give relationship advice?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMia,\u201d Willow said in a low voice, shaking her head slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat? She started it,\u201d Mia said, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest.<\/p>\n

Ana held up her hand. \u201cWhatever.\u201d She jammed her handbag onto her shoulder. \u201cI\u2019m going out to find decent coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFine,\u201d Mia shouted after her, before promptly turning on her heel and stalking back towards her bedroom.<\/p>\n

The two doors slammed simultaneously, making the apartment shudder. Willow threw her hands up in despair.<\/p>\n

Not again.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ana had been awake for a good few hours before she\u2019d finally allowed herself out of bed, the dark circles under her eyes evidence of the fact that she\u2019d slept terribly, if at all. She checked her watch. It was only seven in the morning, but felt like mid afternoon. Jet lag. It did wonders […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[224],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1035"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1035"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1037,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1035\/revisions\/1037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}