Butterbeer time (Open)

Arden wanted to go to the three broomsticks because he was in the mood for a butterbeer. He didn't care if it was below degrees, as long as he got that drink he was perfectly okay with it. He walked in the rain with his hood up and got inside the wonderful place that was the three broomsticks. There was hardly anyone there so he sat down in the corner booth that was completely open and was calling his name. He ordered a butterbeer when the waitress came over and he sat there waiting patiently for his drink.

His right leg began jumping up and down as he waited for the drink to arrive. He really wasn't in the mood to eat because he wanted the drink more then food. It sounded crazy but it was completely true. Sometimes he could laugh at himself but he wasn't going to because that would look weird to other people. When his drink arrived he gave a smile to the waitress before taking a sip and falling in complete heaven.

Classes were done for the day and Mei Xin was hankering for some food before she started on the Malaysian Muggle school syllabus. She knew she probably didn't have time to cram all twelve subjects into the three hours she had before clocking in at The Leaky Cauldron but she needed some food in her stomach before her brain could work.

What she really wanted was a good bowl of asam laksa and chendul but since both weren't available here, she'd opted to try the local places instead. After asking around a little - and getting misunderstood because of her slang and accent - she managed to find out that the Three Broomsticks was a popular hangout. And so that's where she went.

She entered the place and wasn't surprised to find it relatively empty. Must the the rain lah that keep the people away she thought to herself. Mei Xin was used to walking in the rain, having done it many times back home in Penang. Streets usually did not have covered walkways and it was a long distance from the bus stop to her home. It wasn't unusual for her to walk home sopping wet.

She was about to settle herself down at an empty table when her eyes caught sight face she recognised. She didn't know his name but knew he was in the same house as her in Hogwarts. Thinking it would be good to socialise a little, since although she was shy, being without friends in a foreign country made for a lonely life, she made her way over to the boy. Si liow, if ma knew I talk to a boy alone, man she thought. [Translation: I would be dead if mum knew I talked with a boy alone. Si liow: Hokkien for 'dead already'.]

Pushing aside her mother's nagging voice to stay away from gwai lou's, she approached the boy.[Gwai lou: Cantonese term for Westerners literally translated to 'devil fellow'] "Hi. I'm Mei Xin. Can join you ah?" she asked in a friendly tone. Although her heart was pounding with trepidation because she did not like socialising with people she did not know, Mei Xin kept a smile on her face.[Translation: May I join you?]

He was enjoying his butterbeer before he heard a voice asking if they could join him. He swallowed his drink and licked his lips because of the wetness he felt from the drink. "Yeah sure, I don't mind" he gestured to the seat across from him. He remembered her being in his house and his year, but he wasn't sure on her name. He seemed to forget it and now he felt completely terrible for not remembering her name.

"I'm Arden Snow" he introduced himself, he realized that she looked like she wasn't normally from here because of her accent but he could understand her perfectly fine. He knew a little bit of the language but was a little bit rusty on his languages. "How are you today?" He asked her, he didn't want to be rude and she looked like a nice girl from the way she was composed.

Mei Xin had never been really good at socialising. She was fine and comfortable with her own group of friends but it was conversing with people she just met that she found difficult and awkward. There was always that small talk phase that she sometimes found to be...false and insincere. But it was an inevitable part of making a new acquaintance or friend.

She smiled at his reply and reached to pull out a chair so she could sit down. She opened her mouth to thank him and was about to say kum sia lu but managed to stop herself in time, remembering that she was no longer in Malaysia and no one would understand her if she said those three words. A small blush crept up her cheeks and she corrected herself. "Thank you," she said softly as she settled herself down.["kum sia lu": Hokkien for 'thank you']

She paused a little at his question. In all honesty, she wasn't doing very well. Though glad to be away from her parents, she was feeling a little homesick. She missed the Malaysian food and people, especially her friends. This place was so different than her home country and the extra work load her parents put on her was beginning to feel burdensome. But she couldn't tell all of this to a person she just met.

"Okay only lah," she said with a small shrug. "You leh?"[I'm okay but I've been better. How about you?]

Mei Xin looked around, wondering what to get herself. This was her first time at the shop and she wasn't sure what was nice. She turned her gaze to...What was his name already ah? Oh ya hor. Arden. All this angmoh names so hard to remember wan Arden.["Angmoh" is a Hokkien term for Westerners and can be literally translated into 'red hair']

"Eh, what is nice here to eat, ah? You got recommendation anot?" she asked politely.[Do have any recommendation on what is nice to eat? "Anot": Malaysian pronunciation of 'or not']

When she sat down and asked how he was doing, he shrugged and sipped his drink. "I'm okay, life is life and that's how its always going to be" he hated that his sister seriously closed herself up in her common room knowing he couldn't get in to it and he sent her an owl earlier that day but hasn't heard anything from her. He just wished he knew she was okay and well.

When she asked about anything good, he thought about it. Things he thought was good maybe she wouldn't think so but it was worth a try. "Um well I like the chicken, but my sister says the casserole is to die for. So either one is a great choice" Arden answered. Arden really liked chicken, he thinks its because his mother is a big chicken buff but yeah, chicken was great.

When she asked about anything spicy, he was a little shocked. Not a lot of girls liked spicy foods but here this girl was and she wanted something spicy. "Um, they have this really nice chili, its pretty spicy if you ask me. Almost burned my mouth off" he chuckled. He had a sensitive mouth when it came to some things but spicy was one of them but he didn't care because he would still eat it no matter what happened.

He took a sip of his butterbeer and licked his lips. This girl wasn't like normal girls, but she was like his sister in a way and wouldn't mind introducing them to each other. "You know, you would like my sister. From only knowing you for a short period of time you guys are similar. I can introduce you to each other one day if you want?"

Mei Xin's mood elevated as Arden mentioned the chilli that was available and almost burst out laughing at his comment on how spicy it was. All these gwai lows couldn't tahan spicy food. She grew up loving spicy food, since that was part of her culture, and now it became sort of an addiction for her. She couldn't live without spicy food.[Gwai low: another term for Westerners. It is Cantonese and literally translated into 'devil fellow'. Tahan: Malay word meaning 'to withstand' or 'to tolerate'.]

"Okay lah. I'll have that," she replied. Raising her hand, she called out, "Ey, boss!" She got some weird looks from the few patrons that were there but ignored them when a waiter walked up. "One chili, extra spicy and one butterbeer please," she placed her order.[It is very common for customers in an eating place to call waiters/waitresses 'boss' though it doesn't really happen in more upper class restaurants]

Mei Xin listened as Arden talked about his sister. She tried to remember who else in Hogwarts had the surname 'Snow' but came up blank. Having only been there a month or so and spending majority of her time studying and working, she hadn't had much of a chance to socialise.

"Eh, really ah? Similar how?" Mei Xin asked. She doubted anyone in Hogwarts was similar to her, except Chee Wye of course. She nodded at his question. "Boleh. Can can," she replied. "What's her name ah? And house?"

Arden couldn't help but laugh at this, he watched as she ordered the chili and made it extra spicy. She was definitely like his sister and that kind of scared him a little, but he knew that if he loved his sister and loved being around her that him and this girl would get along just fine. The similarity between her and his sister was scary, like truly scary. "I only saw one other person order that extra spicy and that's my twin sister" Arden said to her.

"Well just from knowing you a short period of time I can tell that from your posture and the way you order the chili like that, that you guys are similar" Arden explained, he knew Audrina would like this girl, he made a mental not to introduce them to one another. "Audrina Snow and she is in the house Hufflepuff."