WORTH THE WAIT (AT SOME PUB IN SOUTH LONDON)

ISLA WAS TIRED, THE SKY IN SOUTH LONDON, reflecting exactly as she felt, as she trudged down the pavement, trying to dodge the business men shouting down their phones or the other workers of London, trying to get home from their long days slaving away in high street shops, offices and everything else in between.

It had been a long day, having to run through the halls of her University, jumping from building to building to attend her lectures, before she quietly returned to her studio space, spending the rest of her day painting away. She loved art school, but yet there was something fiercely competitive about it, that always left her feeling drained when she had to spend full days there.

Isla's music cut off through her headphones, as a ringtone started to play, her accepting it as the enthusiastic voice of her best friend Effie poured through her headphones, making her wince slightly.

"Hey, bub! You ok?" Effie asked, not giving Isla anytime to reply before she added, "How far away are you?". Isla sighed, looking at her surroundings, noting that she was on Camberwell High Street, moving closer to where she needed to be.

"About two minutes away...are you already seated?" Isla asked, as she advanced towards the pub, where all of her friends were. Isla, however tired she was, never turned down seeing her friends at the pub. Her weeks were always full, which means seeing her friends frequently, was sporadic, so being able to see her friends at the end of a busy day, was the kind of thing she always looked forward too.

"Yeah, sending Max out right now, he promises to wave," Effie giggled as Isla nodded, letting out a small laugh. "See ya in a sec, bub." Effie said, not even giving Isla the time to reply, yet again, as the line went dead and music went back to playing through her headphones, making her slightly jump.

Isla soon saw Max, him waving at her (as promised) when he saw her, starting to advance towards her, his arms already open. "Oh my god, if it isn't Isla Parker," Max pretended to gasp, as Isla immediately accepted the embrace, Max rocking them for a couple of seconds. Her previous feelings of tiredness was instantly replaced with happiness and a new found sense of calm, as she smiled at one of her best friends.

Isla giggled, stepping back from the embrace, as Max offered her his arm, which she happily linked with her own, as they started to walk towards the pubs entrance, business men, hipsters and 20 something year olds all standing around outside; smoking or chatting up a storm with their group of friends.

"In the flesh," Isla replied, giggling to herself as Max looked down at her, smiling.

The both of them entered the pub, Isla hearing her friends before she even saw them, as Max led her towards the group, doing jazz hands towards Isla as they all jumped up, hugging her tightly, saying they had missed her, some kissing her cheeks, others throwing compliments her way ... some both. She grinned, embracing each and every one of her friends, including the new people that had joined.

"Gonna go and grab a pint, I'll be back, okay?" Isla told her friends as they all smiled, humming or throwing their thumbs up in her direction. She left her bag and took off her jackets, leaving them beside Max as she migrated towards the bar in the far left of the pub.

The line was long, as she stood behind a group of strangers, tapping her foot and squinting her eyes as she tried to read the menu in front of her. Isla was clutching her purse, as she looked back towards her friends, smiling as she caught the eye of Effie, throwing a thumbs up at her and blowing her a kiss. Isla rolled her eyes, catching it as Effie started to giggle.

Isla shook her head, going back to look at the menu in front of her, as she sighed, turning around, a guy stood behind her who looked down at her questionably.

"I'm so sorry, uh, I left my glasses at home and can't read the menu...could you tell me what the top section says?" Isla asked the mystery man, sheepishly as she let her gaze fall to her shoes.

The man chuckled at the small girl in front of him, taking note of her paint splattered jeans and messy blonde bun on top of her head. He had watched her interact with her friends (in a totally none creepy way) a minute prior, a small smile on his face as he watched her roll her eyes at her friends.

"Of course," He replied, as he read her the menu and the prices, as Isla looked up at him, nodding at everything he was saying. He finally finished telling her the menu, as they had advanced a couple of metres, with every step getting closer to the bar. "I'm Jamie, by the way." He smiled, holding his hand out as Isla smiled, shaking it.

"Thank you for your help, Jamie." Isla smiled, turning around, leaving Jamie looking at the back of her head, a shocked expression on his face.

He cleared his throat, as Isla smiled to herself, before she slowly turned back around again, to face Jamie. "Do you not have a name?" He asked curiously, as she looked up at him.

"No," She mumbled. "My mother forgot to name me," Isla replied, sarcastically as Jamie laughed at her remark. "Maybe you're going to have to guess, Jamie," Isla shrugged, once again turning around, smiling at herself as she finally got to the front of the queue, ordering the drink she wanted, that Jamie had previously read off the menu for her.

The barman made her drink, as she thanked him and paid him, turning around to smile at Jamie, saluting him with her spare hand, before she walked off back to the table, where all of her friends were laughing and chatting. As soon as she sat down, Max and Effie were nudging her, asking her all about the mystery man she had met at the bar.

Meanwhile, Jamie ordered his drink and returned to his group of friends who laughed at him for not being able to catch a girls name, which he replied with a swift piss off and downed the rest of his pint, scanning the pub to try and catch a glance of the mystery girl one last time.

And as the days went by, Jamie's mind kept going back to the stranger he had met in the pub, wondering just what her name was. He hoped that maybe fate would work in a weird way and bring the two back together again in another South London pub, maybe the same one, sometime soon, so he would finally be able to learn her name.

And as the days went by, Isla found herself thinking of Jamie and how kind he was to read her the menu. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty that she never told him her name, but then she was under the pretence she would never see him again. However, she was starting to really wish that she would see him again, someday soon in another South London pub, maybe the same one and this time she would finally tell him her name.