Sleep. It was the one thing that I didn’t get much overnight. It was because of the terrifying reason of dreaming about the back-guy again. The same dream I had last time. What’s with the mysterious dream? Heck, why am I having it every time I put myself to sleep.
“Honey, You seem... exhausted. Are you okay?” My mature doppelganger stated inquisitively.
“I’m fine mom.”
“You didn’t get much sleep, did you?”
I smiled wryly.
“Honey, sleep should be the first and foremost priority of teens like you. You should take as much as you can get so it won’t result to tiredness, exhaustion or fatigue.” She said as she poured me a glass of milk.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Dr. Basque.”
“One more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“Waffles and Croissants,” She got a tray of croissants out of the oven and placed it across me.
“Really, mom?”
“I told you I wanna make it up to you and you noted pastries so,”
“Well, you already have.”
I jogged over the countertop, grabbed a plate from the cabinet and a piece of waffle and croissant each. Taking the first bite, I was surprised when it tasted even better than it looked. Each bite tasted better after the other.
“It’s really good mom, thanks!” I delighted.
“I’m glad you like it,”
“Hey, is it okay if I bring some for the two girls?”
“Yeah, totally.”
“Okay, cool.”
The path was covered with snow which looked like it was about to thaw and which is one of the few things I like here, check. But it was also wet, cross.
Day two in the coffee shop. Wonder if AJ’s here. I got in the glass doors as I snuck my earphones in on my ears. That same refreshing smell stayed on my nose playfully and tempted me to order each of everything of whatever they have on the menu. If only hadn’t I remembered that I just had the best waffles and croissant on earth, I’d be out of savings now.
I decided to sit on the last table beside the glass window and waited for the girls like I did yesterday. A few door-openings had alarmed me from where I had sat ten minutes ago which made me stood up and order coffee, my favorite; White Chocolate Mocha.
“Four dollars and twenty five cents,”
“Please make it two,” A familiar voice interjected, handing ten-dollar bill to the cashier “Here,”
The cashier’s eyebrows knit together as he stares in confusion a few inches left away from my face.
“Thanks,” AJ said, handing out his hand to receive his change.
“Hey,” He snapped me out of space.
“Uh—I’m sorry. What are you doing here?” I asked, a little distracted of something that I’m not and might never be aware of. “Uh—I mean… Hey.”
“Seems like you’re a little distracted… and tired,”
“Uh—No. I—I’m perfectly fine,”
“Right,” He didn’t sound so convinced. He looked like a university student with his style. Considering he’s probably one.
His expression lightened up and flashed a faint smile on me. “Hey, I’m sorry for running off a little early yesterday. I was in a… hurry.” He explained.
“Yeah, no worries.” It’s not like he has to explain himself to me or something.
“Uh--Yeah.” Another smile, “Wanna take a walk? I may not be the best tour guide in town but I can be a good one.”
A wry smile crept onto my face, “I’d be honored to,”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“So how’s Arizona?”
“Sunny,” I paused for a few seconds but then continued “and dry,”
“It must be really hot there?”
“Frighteningly hot,” We sat at the bench at the center of the park and it was windy… and cold. “We live in the northern high country with exceptionally cooler weather than in the lower deserts so it’s kind of… yeah.”
“Fair enough,” He took a sip of his coffee.” So what brings you here?”
No one has ever asked me that directly before. “I—I don’t... It’s—it’s quite a long story…”
“I—I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry but if you don’t want to talk about it I—I’m cool.”
I sighed in defeat, there’s something about him that makes me wanna tell it to him.
“My dad remarried.”
Hid expression changed, surprised that I started telling the so-called long story. “And you didn’t like the girl?”
“Girl’s not really an appropriate term for her and… Claire’s actually pretty cool. I—It’s just that…” I sighed again. “She’s pregnant with twins.”
“And? Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing?”
“Well, who wants to ruin the perfect family picture, right?”
Instead of my awaited cliché line and realization-expression, his brows just knit together even more. “That’s not much of a long story,”
“Yeah, I guess. Three sentences’ not a long story right?” Smiling, I remembered that I have waffles and croissant, so I decided to share it to him too. “Hey, I know it’s not an addition to my ‘long story’ but you think you might want some waffles and croissants?”
“I think? I’d love to. But Is it okay if I have some?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Well, it’s like you’re saving them for somebody.”
Again, I sighed in defeat. “Actually they’re for my friends but I think I won’t be seeing them and this won’t taste as delicious as much when it’s cold and not crunchy anymore, right?”
“I guess so,” He pouted, “But I hope in the future, I’ll be eating pastries that were especially made for me.”
“Actually,” I smiled in embarrassment, “My mom baked them.”
He flashed another smile, “Perfect.”