A/N: ^__^ I'm back! With mush / fluff! After much debate I've decided to embark on a romance story telling trip again ... Well, if you don't know me or don't see me around here, it could be possibly due to the fact that I've never stepped foot here (only dabbled in Mystery and Manga so far). Hopefully, everyone enjoys this little piece of fiction by me and PLEASE do review! =) Anyway, I just wanted to say I realised that about 10 authors have me on their favourites' list O__o;; So thank you very much for your support. If you like reading my darker stuff, watch my author updates, because I'll be putting up some other stuff.

Disclaimer: DON'T STEAL. I'm IFFY about stealing my characters, my story plot, my park dustbins, so if you ever do copy, make sure I never find out, or you'll get it from ME.

[All Too Coincidental] by Mint

Chapter 01: Monday Blues

Tacking up the last of those posters on the bulletin board, the brunette with her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail smiled. She read over the last piece of flyer again, grinning to herself. With those flyers, she should be able to get some money to cover this month's rent. She frowned as she thought of how much she had to pay for her own studio apartment, ever since her best friend and flat mate, Danielle, got her boyfriend to move in with them.

She sure missed the nights where thumping noises and moans didn't happen every night. Damn those sex fiends, Talia cursed.

"Offering Tuition for High School / Below. I teach languages and humanities. Fees can be discussed. If interested, please contact Talia at 01502." It had been nearly 3 weeks since her little fiasco at the London Times had got her fired. It wasn't quite her fault, she mused. After all, how was she to know that the man she refused to let into the elevator was the great and mighty editor?

"Look, I don't know who you are Miss, but would you PLEASE let me into the elevator? I have an important meeting to catch" The man in a smart business suit was practically pleading her.

"Naaaaaa," Talia stuck out her tongue, "I came here first! Bow down to me, I am THE Queen of the elevator!" With a triumphant smug look on her face, she jabbed viciously at the Door Close button and enjoyed watching the poor man almost knock the metal doors that separated them down.

...

Twenty minutes later, Talia was called into the Board of Directors meeting to make coffee. She made an exceptionally strong brew of Earl Grey tea with packets of Earl Grey that she had found lying around the pantry, then carried the tray of coffee cups into the office.

Oh ... no.

The man seating at the end of the table stood up as he recognised her as the arrogant and haughty person earlier. "You ...! You!" Stunned, Talia dropped the tray and the cups of coffee went flying. Not good. Not good. Her brain switched into immediate panic mode as she grabbed napkins from the side table and started swiping at the staff members.

The next thing she knew, she was fired.

And that the committee members hated tea? Talia grumbled as she walked down the street to the nearby bus stop to catch a bus ride home. It wasn't really her fault, she convinced herself.

Still, being jobless sucked. Enduring her mother's painful phone calls was worse, especially when she was more than once compared to her gorgeous AND successful sister, Terri. Talia even thought of changing her line and sending a card to her mother to inform her that she had moved to the North Pole, permanently, to look after the penguins. Her cell rang suddenly, disrupting the peaceful morning. A few elderly men and women, who had been half-asleep till that jarring ring tone of hers woke them up, glared at her.

Giving them an apologetic glance, Talia reached into her bag and searched for her cell. Damn. One day, she swore, she would be more organised. It took her more than 5 seconds to locate her cell phone, and another 5 to flip open the casing and answer it.

"Talia! Goddamnit! What the hell were you doing not answering your phone?" Danielle's loud voice blared at her in the early morning, earning Talia a spot in list of 'Most Horrible Bus Stop Visitors' as the elderly people shot her even more looks of disgust.

"Sheesh Dan, keep it down! It's barely 7 a.m! And those old fogeys are giving me the Evil Eye!" Bad move. Talia took in deep breaths of air as she realised she had just said those last few words ... way too loud. Those old fogeys didn't look quite happy at all. In fact, if Talia knew better, she would say they were furious. She stood up quickly and stuck her hand out like a raving lunatic, then continued to prove that point by waving madly. Some yellow bus. She had no idea where it went, but anywhere from here would be good. Boarding the bus quickly (and not knowing that she earned quite a few weird glances), she heaved a sigh of relief as she sank into a seat and the bus drove out of Everbridge Walkway and into somewhere else.

"Ok, so what were you talking about?"

"Nothing much. Just wanted to check in on you and your new place. Heard it's swank, by the way."

"God Dan - who are you? Some pirate in London? Who even says swank anyway?" Talia chuckled to herself as she heard Dan cursing and yelling at her. Somewhat amused, she rummaged inside her bag and took out a make-up kit. Nothing better than to touch up on her make-up. She ended the call, agreeing to meet Dan and her boyfriend Alex at their local hangout 20 minutes later and applied a thin layer of shimmery pink gloss to her lips. It was quite some time before she suddenly remembered that she was on this strange bus.

And she had zero idea where it went. Frantic, Talia threw her makeup kit down and dashed to the front of the bus. "Excuse me, mister, where does this bus go to?" The conductor turned to look at her and rolled his eyes. "It goes to Weston High, Miss. If you didn't realise, this is a school bus."

"What the hell?"

"Well, you looked like a damsel in distress. So I supposed I was just saving you from being attacked by those elderly people who looked ready to pounce on you." The conductor smirked and made a notion for her to return to her seat.

Talia then noticed, for the first time, that at the back of the bus were several high school kids sniggering at her and pointing. Not very pleasant. She went back to her seat, defeated.

Shit.

---

Half an hour later, and very, very late for her breakfast date with Dan and Alex, Talia got out of the yellow bus after receiving a short reprimand by the conductor. Such ill luck on a Monday. Oh well, there are reasons why there are Monday Blues, I guess. Talia grabbed her imitation Guess tote bag and started walking down the street. She had zero idea where she was and knew without a doubt that she was hopelessly lost. Sighing, she sat down outside Weston High School and tried to plan what to do next.

She watched as streams of students made their way into high school right after a shrill bell rang. She missed those days where school and boys and grades were everything she worried about. Now there was so much more - the bills, the money, the rent, the food, the jobs. A second bell rang, and as the last of the students walked into that huge red building, Talia stood up.

"Hey. You lost or something?" She turned back and came face to face with a teenage boy with black, spiky locks. Normally she would have swooned (that is, if she pretended she was a high school kid again) at his pretty face, but her current situation was more dire. The teenage boy seemed much of a 'rocker' to her. He was dressed in an overly baggy black tee with the words 'Survive Or Die Trying' imprinted on them, and he had baggy jeans over his white canvas shoes. A bag pack was casually slung over his shoulder. This, Talia remembered, was the epitome of cool-ness. The boy which every girl wanted to go out with, apart from those football jocks.

She nodded pitifully, then snapped awake. She was 21. No more of this 'poor girl' stereotype. Forcing a smile on her face, she replied that she was indeed lost and needed to find her way back to Everett Street, where her apartment was. The boy reached into his bag and took out a piece of paper and pen, then scribbled something on it quickly. "Name's Matt. Follow the map and the buses I've written. Call if you need help." With a shrug, he passed the paper to her and tipped an imaginary hat, then walked into the school.

Now why didn't I have SUCH luck when I was a teenager? Thankful that at least he offered help, Talia squinted at the directions on the paper and started making her way down to the nearest bus stop.

An hour later, she was sitting in the Brekkers Cafe, sipping a cup of nice, warm coffee while waiting for Dan and Alex to be back from their shopping trip. Talia made a mental note to remind herself to ask them when they were going to get married. For hell's sake, they were even buying similar cups and clothes already! She shuddered at the thought of submitting herself to a guy at such a young age. If she didn't know better, she would have assumed that Dan and Alex were already one of those old, married couples who had zero life.

"Talia! Glad you could make it! What kept us waiting?" Dan pulled another chair up to her table and swung into it gracefully. Talia shared a sympathetic look with Alex as he came by shortly with a handful of bags. He gave her a friendly peck on the cheek and settled down into another chair, face betraying his exhaustion.

"Well ... you see, I boarded a school bus and made a stupid round about trip to Weston High. Heard of it?"

"Heard of it? Are you insane?" Dan shoved her face closer to Talia and nearly caused Talia to choke on her cookie in the process. "Weston High, is without a doubt, the MOST prestigious school there is right here? It's got bunch of rich kids in there. Hell, Lia, if you could just get to tutor one kid from there you'll be living in luxuries." Talia gaped at what Dan had just told her and reached into her bag for the slip of paper the kid had gave her.

"Look!" She waved it around excitedly. "This kid's cell number from Weston! You reckon he might need tuition?" Danielle grinned and snatched the paper off Talia's hand. "Matthew ... whoa, sounds like you met a hot guy today. Give me the dish! Give me the dish!" Meanwhile, as Talia continued to rave about the cool little kid she met outside Weston High, Alex fell into a deep sleep under the comfort of the air-conditioned cafe.

---

Talia paced around her studio apartment anxiously, taking no notice of that great big brown boxthat was lying in her way. Walking, walking, and she fell flat on her face. She was sure this was a sign and a bad omen that told her not to call the kid up, but she was desperate. After all, no one had replied to the countless flyers she had put up, and her landowner had already told her that the rent was due next week, and not one minute late.

She got back up on her feet and shoved the big box into a desolate corner to prevent herself from falling again. Picking up her cell phone and that scrunched up piece of paper, she painfully made out the numbers he scrawled and dialed. Feeling like a high school teenager calling her crush again didn't make her feel any much better. The phone rang 4 times before someone picked it up.

"Yeah?"

"Err ..." Damn. She was at a loss for words. "Well, actually, do you remember me? I'm that girl that was lost --" "Hold on. You're looking for Matt. Matt! Some chick on the line for you!" What kind of psycho kid shares his cell around!? Taking a few deep breaths like she had learnt from the yoga class, Talia took some time to phrase what she was going to say next.

"Hey. You're the girl yeah? Still lost and in Weston area?" For someone from high-school, he sure didn't sound very high-schoolish. If Talia didn't know better, she would have been sure that he was rather flirty with her. "Actually, no. I'm just calling to thank you for your help, I made it back to Everett. Thanks." She could hear him chewing gum and her heart beat rate tripled.

"Actually, I have another favour to ask. Listen," she paused to calm herself down, "do you need tuition of any sort? You see, I kind of need a job." She winced at how badly that came off, but Talia knew she had no choice. She waited impatiently for an answer. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally replied. "Why not? I could do with some of those stuff. History and English's cool with you?"

Yes! Her smile broke into an even wider smile (if that was possible) and said quickly that she was ok with those two. He told her where he lived and they arranged to meet next week at his house for the first lesson. She could feel a wave of relief come over as she put the phone down.

Maybe I'll be able to buy myself a real Guess bag! YES!

A/N: So how was it? ^__^ All comments are kindly appreciated, so please do drop me a review. 3 Thanks! *gives e-cookies* Till next time ~ Mint.