The Earthquake (A Coursera Assignment)

來自專欄 Secret Base of Gretta

She stretched out her legs after having been sitting one hour, cross-legged on the yellow curved armchair in a Costa, and finally started to type on the laptop. Some fashionable trendy music was narrating from the mall. The usual pop songs, the whole space was filled with their fancy musical arrangment, with relentless drum beats, passionate chorus, and sweet candy melodies, creating a relaxing atmosphere for writers like her to compose without actually being disturbed. Her slim fingers were dancing sprily on the keyboard when the round wooden table where she settled her coffee and personal computer began to shake. She stopped typing and looked dumbfoundly on the ceramics coffee cup, from which drops of dark, brown liquids were spilling out. No one was around to be the cause of this unnatural phenomenon with the closest living thing being the potted plant half a mile away from her and the little snail on one piece of its leaves. She folded her computer in avoidance of unexpected splashes. The ceramics cup, which was still moving and shaking, was on the edge of the table and finally, all of a sudden, it fell on the ground, making a clinkle sound. She looked at the broken pieces, not surprised at all.

「Earthquake!」 A human yelling came from afar. The pop song of the mall was still flowing beneath her head, the sound of which seemed to be the only existence standing steadily in the neighborhood. She hung down her shoulders a little, but soon enough she started to backpack her stuff. She turned around, grabbed her bag, quickly stuff her computer and notebook into it. All of these happened in a flash. 「Earthquake! Run!」 Another human sound reached her hearing. She stood up abrubtly, giving a quick glance at the ceramic pieces on the shaking ground and walked over it. Behind her, the dark, brown liquid was still swaying around the fragment, with little drops dancing joyfully up and down, chorusing the music from the stereo of the mall, and the place where she was headed, was already flooded with rapid footsteps made by people running for life.