Taylor kicked the can of Sprite that littered near her sneakers. The can clanged to the concrete wall before falling into the drain. Taylor sighed. She felt dreadful all over again. It felt as if she had killed the can. ‘The can is a lifeless object, to begin with. So, quit being a dork.’

It was not the best summer of Taylor’s life. Her boyfriend was getting big-headed with popularity disease. She only managed to obtain B+ for her Thermodynamics paper. Her landlady paid a visit to claim her rent while her monthly scholarship allowance was not banked in yet. Worst of all, she was out of summer job. No, make it another worst of all, she was missing home. Missing California.

‘Shmuck.’ She kicked another can. ‘I might as well start saving up those cans for my future use.’ The image of her street-begging around the backstreets of London emerged. She giggled softly. ‘I would be spanked by the city hall in no time!’ London is a city of style and posh. To spot a beggar would be like finding a hay in the whiteness of wheat flour.

Adjusting the strap of her backpack, Taylor picked up her pace. The hell with her tabooed summer. ‘Skip summer, down as much Haagan Daz,’ she made a mental note. Her mouth instantly watered at the quick remembrance of her favorite ice cream. As fast as her saliva increased, Taylor quickly halted her walk. ‘Wait a sec. Can I still afford Haagan Daz?’ She immediately panicked. The question was: can she live with the absence of her sole comfort?

“Madam, you have to help me!”

Taylor winced. Her upper left arm throbbed in pain. “Watch it, dude! Easy on the arm!” The firm grasp on her arm didn’t subside, rather, the man grasped it even harder. “What’s your problem, man?!”

The frantic blue eyes searched hers in desperation. “Please, madam! You have to help me! Someone is hunting me down!”

A ray of recognition dawned upon Taylor. Her eyes doubled their original size, and her jaw didn’t do as much help and fell. Did she really walk out of her stupid summer and walk into this man, who was at the moment begging for her help? “Oh my freaking pie.” Taylor blurted. She felt like kicking herself in the butt. A good day to appear brain-dead, sister! She recollected her breaths and talked calmly. “How can I help you, your Highness?” She tried not to stiffen under his grasp.

The man panted heavily. “Two lads are hunting me down and………..”

Taylor jerked her body backward and pushed the man aside. ‘Kick ass now, apologize later,’ she made a mental note as the blond guy fell with a thud on the pavement. Two armed men that appeared a second ago both aimed AK-47 her way. Taylor felt her guard was wearing down, and raised her hands in defeat. She noticed the wobbled stances the two men were sporting. ‘Nothing a simple turning kick won’t cure,’ she decided.

“Leave her alone! You can have me!”

Taylor would have grinned some serious silly smiles if she wasn’t busy radiating her ‘I-kick-ass’ aura to her nemesis. A quick breath and a swift turning kick, both guns were splattered on the street. A quick and burly haul came in attack for her face and she duck, while her side kick brought the clumsy man down kissing the dirt. Giving no time for him to retaliate, Taylor pressed down a dirt-clad sneaker on his throat. The lesser breathing space, the better.

The other guy, on the other hand, tried to collect his gun. Taylor smiled, amused. This guy ought to score a few tips the next time he tries to mess around with the royalty. She bent down and picked up the tattered gun that lay a few inches from her. Biting the inside of her cheek, Taylor grasped the gun firmly and aimed it straight to the enemy’s heart. She felt like Dana Scully.

“We’re the police! Drop your weapon!”

Taylor rolled her eyes. She was really grasping her role as a Wonder Woman. A group of cops surrounded both of them and pointed their guns to the men, and to her! “Hey!”

Blond guy stood up with the assistance of a tuxedo-wearing guy. “She didn’t do anything wrong. She saved my life!” the blond guy announced, pushing his way through the throng of cops and the growing number of bystanders.

Taylor raised an eyebrow at the ridiculous amount of cops that had gathered around them. Not to mention the crowd was getting larger as quickly as she breathes. Some girls were screaming some ear-deafening chants. Who was she kidding?

Upon hearing the order from their Highness, the cops diverted their aims toward the two men. Taylor felt her muscles relaxed and released her grasp around the gun. Two cops rushed forward to handcuff the criminals and took the gun from her hand, without much of a compliment. She stared at her now empty hand, dumbfounded.

The siren brought Taylor crashing back down to earth. She shrugged and dropped her hand halfheartedly. A bunch of tux-clad guys swarmed the blond guy like bees nurturing the queen. ‘I bet those guys must be some sort of Interpol or whatever,’ she decided. It was as if her existence was completely forgotten. Taylor shrugged again, for convincing sake. “Well, thank you Taylor and you can go now, goodbye,” she muttered to herself, pushing through the crazy crowd, trying to fetch back her wasted afternoon.

“There she is! There’s the hero!” 

Taylor narrowed her eyes at the sudden stir of yet another craziness. She spun on her feet and realized thirty or-more-so reporters bearing high-tech cameras rushing for her. She instantly panicked. ‘I never thought a free Kodak moment can be this horrifying.’ Flashes of light went off in a matter of seconds and everybody began speaking at once.

“You saved the Prince! You must be feeling overjoyed!”

“How did you do it? Are you taking any kickboxing class?”

“Do you have a crush on His Highness?”

“Are you Anglican?”

Taylor would have rolled her eyes if she didn’t feel the dizziness kicking in. Her body was being pushed to every direction permitted by the law of gravity and Taylor felt her feet turning Jell-O on her. ‘Damn, don’t betray me, feet. Bad feet. Stay……..’

She didn’t have the chance to finish her thoughts. A strong hand pulled her firmly on the waist and all of the sudden, everything was pitch black.