POV: Oliver 

All my classes cruised by as if nothing happened. None of them had anything meaningful to say. Just rules and far off projects that I wouldn’t think about for months.

I texted a few friends to see if anyone wanted to hang out before heading home, but everyone was busy. That sucked, so I hopped into my little car and headed home without much ceremony. I always thought that the first day of college would have been full of excitement, but instead, I was only overwhelmed with syllabi and frats shouting over blaring music.

The door creaked as I stepped into the old home. It smelled of shitty vanilla candles from Ross and some kind of microwave lunch. Mom must’ve stopped by earlier. It was silent as a graveyard except for Copper’s nails clicking against the hardwood floors and her tags rattling against one another. She greeted me with a gentle jump against my leg and a wagging tail. She wanted me to feed her probably. I bent down and pick her up in my arms, prompting her to lick in in the mouth.

“Seriously!” I shouted as I put her back down and wiped my mouth. I still don’t know why she insisted on doing that. Her old eyes look at me with unfounded guilt that made me melt every time.

Fine.

I scratched her between the ears, getting some copper fur stuck to my shirt. I headed over to the fridge and grabbed the box of treats from on top of it. She broke into a frenzy of ‘tricks’ as I pulled down the box of biscuits and gave her one.

She ran to her bed to relish in her prize.

“You’re home?” I heard Manny’s voice from upstairs. She leaned against the stairwell with a bored look on her face. By the looks of things, she was enjoying her last few days of summer in old sweats and tank tops. Her fingertips and cheeks were covered in black smudges.

“Yeah, have you done anything today?”

“I have actually,” she said with a huff.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, I’ve got three commissions done and ready to be sent. And a few more sketched out.”

“Wow, I actually thought you went outside for once with all that dirt on you,” I said in a teasing tone. I know that she is only a year younger than me, but it’s kind of fun to have this kind of banter once in a while.

She rolled her eyes and came downstairs, braiding her long black hair on the way down. She passed by me and opened the fridge to pull out the Tupper ware full of chopped watermelon. Juice fell from the fruit as she snatched a chunk and bit into it.

“You should get a plate,” I said while putting away the biscuits.

She pointed to the cabinet next to my head, and I grabbed a paper plate. She piled on a mountain of red fruit onto the plate and ate on the counter after putting away the Tupper Ware.

I headed outside to clean the yard a bit. I picked up the dog shit and went to throw it away when I saw a piece of paper on top of the white trash bags. I put down the poop back to pick up the piece of paper.

I sighed.

Shit, they fought, didn’t they.

I took out the paper and put the trash bag inside the can instead before reentering the house.

The melancholic lyrics of early 2000’s rock music wafted through the house. I headed upstairs to the source, Manhattan’s room.

I peaked in around the door frame. Looking at her again, her eyes were puffy and a bit red. I clenched the art school flyer in my hand before turning and heading back down the hall.

I reentered the kitchen. “I’m doing homework now,” I said over my shoulder to the house before heading to my room, passing by the family photos and Manny’s room with angsty lyrics clearly coming through the door. Poor her.

I head into my room and cracked open my laptop to my professor’s homepage to begin the weekly homework. GE’s were always so tedious, even though the teachers knew that we would never use this information.

I felt bad for her. She just wanted to follow her passion for animation, financial worries bar her from her dream. It was good that she had a dream at least and wasn’t just floating around in space.

My phone vibrated. It was Daniel from class. I opened the text to find a screenshot of the assignment I had totally forgotten about. I silently cursed to myself as I skimmed the list.

The list turned into a sea of words but one topic popped to the surface. I texted him back.

Oliver: How about the gay rights one??

Some time passed before he agreed to the idea with a singular K.

________________________________________

I woke up to the sounds of a blaring phone alarm and birds outside. My eyes cracked open to my dark room as I blindly reached for my screaming phone and shut it off. Everyone hated it when I let it ring. Getting ready was nothing for me that early in the morning. There was no one to wait for or anyone waiting for me. It was nice. Everyone else was still asleep.

I started up my car as the sun peeked over the neighboring hills and head to the cafe. Crisp autumn air rushed into my car as I rolled down the windows. The radio blared into the morning air and I’m half screaming the lyrics all the way down the curvy roads to stave off early morning grogginess.

A small trail of smoke curled around the corner of the building as Betty dragged on her morning cigarette. She gave me a nod as I walked into the building. She snuffed out her cig before following behind me. Mike leaned against the front countertop, enjoying some of the house brew. It was not long before my school bag was in the back room and I was enjoying a cup of coffee with Mike and Betty. Not much was said as we enjoyed the bitter brew.

The old cuckoo clock, a memento from Mike’s late uncle, brought out its chirping blue bird to call out six o’clock. All of us took in our last gulps of coffee and placed them in the kitchen’s sink. Bill, the cook was chopping the last of the fruits and vegetables as the first of the early morning rush comes in.

All the regulars came in with their pre-coffee attitudes. Some of them snap out their orders while others gave me a laundry list of pastries and drinks to bring back their offices. I put on my work face and smiled through the crabbiness and Betty did the same.

The rush came into full swing when I saw a head of auburn hair stroll in. What was her name again? Amber? Right.

It was his friend.

I headed over to her table with my notebook and cheery work persona on full display. She stared off into space when I reached the aged table, the laminate chipping away at the corners. It took her a few moments for her to notice me. A rosy glow covered her cheeks as she retreated behind the menu.

“Oh sorry, Oliver. I didn’t see you there,” she said with an embarrassed smile, straight, white teeth on full display and freckles falling into new patterns across her nose and cheeks. She ordered a house brew and a breakfast sandwich without any more incident. I wrote them down and begin to turn when I hear her call me again. Her confidence seemed to have diminished behind a cloud of sheepishness. “Actually, I have one more thing I’d like to ask.”

Something was telling me that this wasn’t business related. I lowered my pen and paper. “Sure, what’s up?” I said in my normal voice.

She bit her bottom lip softly as if trying to stave off the words about to come out of her mouth. “Actually,” she said, “I was wondering if I could exchange numbers with you since we go to the same school and all.”

My heart skipped a beat. I turned to see Betty busy with a group of gossipy customers. “Sure,” I said before writing my phone number at the bottom of a scrap piece of paper at the back of my notepad and sliding it onto the table. “Just text me with your name later,” I said with a grin.

As I walked away from the table, I felt the faint buzz of a text message inside my pocket.

“Again?” Betty exclaimed as I pass by her in the service station.

“Maybe.”

“Oh, get that smug grin off your face, kid,” she said while starting a brew, “you’re on the clock.”

“As if you’re completely innocent,” I said, “How’s Mr. Lawrence?”

Betty’s face turned redder than her already vibrant blush.

Got her.

The rest of my shift went without a hitch. The rush finally left and I was soon enough in my car, ready to buckle down for a day of class. I pulled into the cramped parking garage, opening the window to stave off the usual slight nausea I felt from the small space.

________________________

A few days passed and I was back on the clock as if the chaos of college wasn’t a reality.

I circled the floor again to find Amber’s table empty except for her small plate and empty coffee cup. I smiled as I bussed the table.

I guess I had an admirer. For what? Who knows. I should have given myself a pat on the back for catching her eye, she’s looked like the full package. Pretty, smart, a good head on her shoulders.

I circle around and around, filled coffee cups and pastry dishes with small delicacies like scones and poached eggs on toast. Everything about this cafe was small except for the mugs and the people. The door’s bell rang and I turned to it with my work smile plastered on like some kind of cheery Pavlov dog.

A head of curly hair nearly brushed the top of the door frame and a small frame clad in black leather walked in. My fake smile morphed into a genuine grin as the two girls settled into a booth. I headed over and quickly filled both their coffee mugs, room for cream in Penny’s. Penny’s curls bounced as she nodded a quiet thank you before reaching for the small bowl at the end of the table that housed the small cups full of creamers and stirring sticks.

Kat adjusted her pin covered jacket collar before sipping on the black coffee. “How are you, working stiff?” she said after placing the cup back onto the table.

“Pretty alright. Just got a pretty girl’s number not too long ago.”

Kat rolled her eyes. “Does she need her eyesight checked or something?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. Six years later and she still hadn’t changed. “Wow, did you come all the way down here just to mock me?”

“Of course,” Kat said, “I flew 500 miles just to mock your homebody ass.” Her signature was undeniable. Penny quietly sipped her overly sweetened coffee, watching the spectacle with that meek little grin she always wore when with friends.

“Hey, I’m not a homebody, I just didn’t want to move away for school,” I say, “It’s more economical that way.”

Penny finally set down her cup. “You know,” she said with her chin cupped in her hand, “he has a point. There was no way I was going to make Linda and Thomas pay 15K or more just to house me.”

Kat leaned back into the aged, faux leather covered cushions with a pouty expression. “I guess you have a point. Student debt blows for sure.”

All three of us sighed at that last comment. I couldn’t have said it better. Betty threw me a killer glare and I turned to walk to the service station with a final wave thrown over my shoulder.

_____________________

A quiet roar of murmurs filled Professor Acharya ’s lecture hall. I scanned the crowd for an empty seat and found my unassigned assigned seat pleasantly empty. I quickly snatched it up and pulled out my supplies. Daniel was already there and playing some puzzle game on his phone while listening to music. His materials sat comfortably in his lap, his beanstalk legs left plenty of space for his notebook and pencil bag. His khakis barely reached his ankles as he picked up his stuff to cross one long ass leg over the other.

He finally noticed me and gave me a sheepish wave. He pulled out his earbuds as the professor walked in front of the long table that was attached to the flooring at the front of the lecture hall. He leaned against it with his arms laxly across his chest. Slowly, the room noticed his presence and piped down in time for him to welcome everyone and quickly proceed into the lesson.

Class began with Professor Acharya stating that he wanted us to all have our partners picked by Monday and to email him with our names by then as well. I pulled out my phone and nudge him.

“I’ll just write it now. Is that okay?”

He nodded.

“You’re still chill with the topic, right?”

He nodded again.

Glad to see that we were on the same page. As I typed in the email, his thumbs incessantly circle around one another. I sent the email, but now there’s a pit sitting deep in my gut. I didn’t like that. I didn’t like that repetitive motions or the fact that he bit down on his nails whenever the project came up.

I probably shouldn’t have sent in that email.