Unedited.
Louis' POV
10:37am. I have exactly one hour and twenty-three minutes to be at The Zoo. Sluggishly, I pull myself out of bed and make my way to the bathroom which connected my room to Thaleia's. I knew she was awake. She was always awake, always studying. Thaleia was in school to be a doctor. In her last year of her undergraduate program actually. I know what you're thinking. She's eighteen. Thaleia graduated at age sixteen and began her studies immediately. In five months she would be out of school and beginning medical school. You need four years of that and three to seven years of residency but knowing her, she'd be out of med school in two years and finished with her residency in a lot less than three. She's always been a prodigy like that.
After I turned on the shower and fixed the hot water knob until the water was at my desired temperature, which was boiling, I grabbed my towel from the rack and slung it over the rod holding the shower curtain. I stripped quickly and hopped in the shower. It was cold as hell in the apartment.
"Lou!" I heard Thaleia call, footsteps coming closer until she was in the bathroom also. "Yeah?" I responded tiredly. I was not a morning person at all. "Your sister called to say that she'll be back in town in two days." She informed me. My older sister Hali, pronouced with emphasis on the 'hah', was always traveling. She had her own cosmetology business, which she often went to hair and makeup shows to promote. "Okay." I responded before putting my head completely under the piping hot stream of water. I was always cold, a side effect of being severely anemic. "Yeah, you going to The Zoo today?"
"Yes. I have to be there in about an hour actually. I'm bringing in a few pieces to be displayed for the art gala tomorrow. Hopefully my pieces will collect some coin. Some big buyers are gonna be there." I spoke as I lathered my body wash on the loofah. It smelled like a mix between raspberries and the ocean. I loved the ocean.
"Of course your pieces will sell well. They always do." Leia said in a 'duh' tone of voice. "Yeah whatever. What are you up to today?" I countered. I was never one to praise my own work. It made me feel like I was being self-absorbed. It made Thaleia mad annoyed though. She thinks I'm putting myself down. It's not that I don't think my work is good, I'd never put anything out that I didn't believe was worthy of being seen by the public. I just don't feel the need to boost my own work. It speaks for itself.
"I'm going to study with a few people from class at Katie's for a few hours and then I have classes for the rest of the day. I won't be in until late so don't wait up for me, kay?"
"Gotcha." I washed the soap from my body before turning the shower off reluctantly. I loved being in the water. Whether it be in the shower or swimming in the ocean. My mother used to call me a little fish when I was younger. I smiled slightly at the memory. Snatching the towel down from the rod, I toweled off before wrapping it around my waist and stepping out into the cold. I rushed back into my room which was slightly warmer than the bathroom, and closed the door behind me. I picked out a grey cropped hoodie and matching sweats along with an olive green bomber jacket.
I almost always have a jacket, sweater, or cardigan on no matter how warm it was due to my core body temperature being 96 degrees Fahrenheit (and my inability to refrain from showing my belly for fashion reasons of course). That was about one or two degrees below the average core body temperature. If I drop two degrees lower I get extremely sick. Three degrees lower and I have hypothermia. I've had hypothermia 3 times in my 18 years of living and trust me when I say it's the opposite of fun. As a result I typically have on more clothing items than most people.
I slipped my wool sock clad feet into my white low top converse and walked back to the bathroom where my iPhone 8 plus was resting on the counter. I pressed the home button which made the phone jump to life. The time read 11:50. Forty minutes left. I bent down to search under the sink for my blow dryer because me outside with wet hair was a catastrophe waiting to happen seeing as it had been windy lately. It took me ten minutes to dry my hair and five to style it in to an effortlessly-messy-yet-not-atrocious quiff as I liked to call it. I walked down the stairs to the living room where my backpack sat on the couch.
I grabbed my keys from the hook and a sleeve of gram crackers from the pantry on my way out of the door, stuffing the crackers into the bag. I clicked the unlock button on the key pad while walking towards my white Kia Forte.
The drive to the McDonalds was about five minutes and I sat in the drive thru for seven. I still had enough time to get to The Zoo. I sipped on my caramel frappe on the way and by the time the twenty minute drive was over I had finished the drink. I walked into the art gallery after locking my car and was greeted by the door man Max who was always nice to me. He was an Indian/American man in his mid to late thirties. He stood with a straight back and his hands clasped in front of him as he always did. "Good morning Mr.Tomlinson." He greeted stiffly per usual while opening the door for me. "Mr.Kalahan is in his office waiting for you." Max informed me. "Thank you Max. How has your morning been?" I made small talk. "It's been pretty slow so far. How about you?"
"Same here. You know I dread anytime before one pm. Thank you for asking though." I replied while smiling at him. I handed him my keys to get the two paintings from my trunk. I didn't have to say so though because Max knew the drill by now. I then made my way to the elevator and selected floor two where the offices and storage rooms resided. I walked to the third door on the right and opened it. There sat Mike, otherwise known as Mr.Kalahan. "Hi Mikey." I greeted. I'd been painting pieces for Mike's art gallery and events since I was fifteen. He saw me painting on the streets one day for money and offered me $3,000 for the piece I had just finished. Fifteen year old me was of course shocked. It's history from there. Mike was about fifty years old with grey hair and crinkles around his eyes from smiling so much. His wife Marilyn was always sweet to me as well.
"Hey Louis. What cha got for me bud?" He looked up from whatever was on his laptop that had he previously occupied. "I've got two more in the trunk of my car, that's what? Five total for the gala?" I inquired. "Yep. I've got two main spots open for you also. Marilyn will decide which two of the five it'll be when she comes down here later tonight. The other three will be scattered around wherever Mar sees fit. You know how picky she is about these things. She'll probably be in here running the crew crazy for a few hours tonight." Mike smiled fondly while speaking about his wife. It was clear he adored her.
"Two main spots? Are you sure?" I scratched at my palm. A habit I picked up on when I was nervous or uncomfortable. Nervous being the emotion I was currently experiencing. I've never had a main spot before. My work has always just been scattered around but never in the main spot. There were four spotlight pieces every time Mike and Marilyn had an art gala. Those four pieces were bid on by the richest people there. The pieces usually went for at minimum $800,000. Imagine having two of those spots. I guess I can pay off my car note. And every other bill. For the next three months at least.
"Of course I'm sure. Your work has gotten so much better over the years. Me and Mar really think you deserve it Lou. Plus it'll get your name out there." Mike smiled. "Thank you so much Mike. You have no idea how much this means to me. You and Marilyn have done so much for me and I have no idea how to repay you guys." I said, my voice starting to get tight. I hated being overly emotional but this was a big deal. "You deserve everything me and Marilyn have done for you kiddo. The only way you could repay us is by becoming as successful as you're meant to be."
"I won't let you guys down. Thanks again. I'll see you tomorrow at five?"
"You got it. Have a good rest of the day kid. Be safe."