George
The ringing sound of my alarm clock made me open my eyes slowly. I cover myself with my blue blanket. My hands wander on my bed and search for my phone. I reach for the digital clock on my white bedside table and turn it off.
Groan.
"Huh? But, I didn't set you to ring this early in the morning," I speak in my sleepy, raspy voice.
I rest my head on the headboard. "Really? Aunt Liz? Alarm? "
I cover my face with my palm. Then, I rub my eyes with the back of my hands. I glare at my digital clock.
'6:03'
"Wow, good morning," I yawn.
I stand up and open the window. The cool morning breeze blows. The rising sun greets my face. I should be sleeping right now. Today should be, 'Yaaaaay, Summer Break!' but no.
My sleepy eyes scanned my room. My clothes are scattered on the floor. I step on a paintbrush near my working table. I stare at the unfinished piece that I made before our graduation day. The orange, yellows, and pink form a smiling girl. It's only the background that has to be finished. I pick up the brush on the floor and place it on the easel.
Sigh.
I went out of the room. The strands of my brown hair are all over my face. The taste of my morning breath lingers on my tongue.
"Waking me up this early," I scoff while brushing my teeth.
"Why do you even have to set my alarm? Huh? Huh?" I mutter and scratch the back of my neck.
I go downstairs while muttering complaints about why I am up this early in the morning. Turning left, I enter the kitchen.
Oooohhh, I remember the lasagna she cooked last night.
My face lights up, remembering that I have lasagna.
"Look at that, " I say in a singsong voice and take the lasagna out of the microwave.
I tuck some strands of my messy hair behind my ears. I dig a spoonful of lasagna and shove it in my mouth. The thick layers of sauce and cream excite me. I happily dig my spoon into the bowl. Though it's cheesy, I still add a generous amount of cheese.
"Mmm, delicious," I muffle.
I broke up with Andrew.
My chewing slows down as I remember what happened last night. I pause and heave a sigh.
"I'll get better," I nod. "Right. A better life. A better single life," I convince myself and nod.
"Okay, so," I hear my front door suddenly open. "If you need help–"
"Woah! Hold up! " I exclaim and storm out of the kitchen.
"It's at my front door written in all caps. 'LEARN HOW TO KNOCK.' Opening my door after setting my alarm this early morning is enough, Aunt–"
I stop after seeing a lean blond guy standing beside Aunt Liz. His icy blue eyes behind his round specs stare at me coldly. His veins are visible in his pinkish-white complexion.
"Is that how you greet 'Good morning'?" Aunt Liz asks and raises an eyebrow. Her hands straighten her corporate attire.
I scoff.
"Is this how you greet me a Good morning?" I ask and glare at her.
"I told you to clean your apartment. That's why I did that. How can you clean your apartment if you're still snoring even after sunset?" she sighs.
She looks around my messy apartment. The towel I used last night is still hanging on the armrest of the brown couch. The kitchen gets back to its default mode. There is a pile of new dirty dishes in the sink and some grated cheese on the dining table. She touches the bridge of her nose and heaves a sigh.
"This is...your name again?" she gestures her right hand at the guy beside her while she massages her head.
"Jared," he replies.
"Jared, okay," I nod.
I look at Aunt Liz and raise my eyebrows.
Who's that?
"Oh, this is–Uh, he'll be your new neighbor. Anyway, this is Georgin–"
"George, her niece," I finish her sentence.
"I have a meeting today." Her phone vibrates from her pocket. She checks the screen before saying, "So...I'll go now. You can ask George for help, Jared. Enjoy your stay!"
As soon as Aunt Liz is gone, the wind of awkward silence blows.
I look at him and say "Okay, nice meeting you." I tap his shoulder. He stares at me before looking around my apartment. He walks out of the room. My hand is still on his shoulder. "Welcome. I hope you enjoy your stay. Blah, blah–"
"Hey, stop it. I can walk," he says in a grumpy voice.
"Sorry," I say and remove my hand that is pushing him lightly as he walks.
I stop pushing him and watch him walk out of my house. I'm about to go back to the kitchen when I hear knocks on my front door. I open the door a bit and peek outside.
"What is it?" I ask and show only half of my face.
"Keys."
What?
I look around my apartment. Clueless, I return my gaze to him.
He rolls his eyes and motions his hand, "Keys."
"Oh, but Aunt Liz should be the one handing–"
"But she didn't."
"What? I don't have your—" My left-hand lands on my doorknob when I try to close the door. I hear a jingle sound after that. My brows furrow as my gaze lands on the bunch of keys resting on my doorknob.
"Nuh-uh."
I try to put the other key inside the keyhole of the doorknob.
"No."
I try to put another one.
"Nope."
I try the other one. A sigh of relief escapes from my mouth when I hear the door clicks open.
"Finally," he speaks after minutes of waiting.
Finally?
He only waits there with his AirPods plugged into his ears and intimidates me with his serious stare. Without a word, he opens the palm of his left hand and takes a few steps forward.
"Okay, so this with the blue tags must be your set of keys," I tell him and remove the keys from the keyholder.
"This one is for the front door. This is for the back door. These two pairs of smaller ones are for the bedrooms together with the key to the bathrooms. The bathroom in the kitchen doesn't have a doorknob," I explain while putting the keys in his palm one by one.
His long slender fingers fold and put the keys in the front pocket of his black sweatpants. He enters the apartment and carries his things without saying a word.
I turn my back and scoff. "Thank you, Miss Alvares," I speak to myself, mimicking a deep manly voice.
"Awww, you're welcome. You're such a sweet guy," I tell myself and smile to no one. I roll my eyes and take bigger steps.
"Mind if I share the table with you?"
I shake my head. "Go ahead," I didn't bother to glance at the man. My attention is focused on the couple across the street.
They look so happy. The boy gives a box to the girl, a gift perhaps. She smiles and kisses the guy's lips. I look away. My eyes widen when I see Jared sitting in front of me, eating a huge serving of steak.
"What are you doing here?"
"Eating," he says without glancing at me. He pushed his round specs up with his left hand.
"I know," I glare at him.
Silence.
I watch him eat. His gaze is fixed on his food. His mouth twitches every time he slices the steak.
"Stop staring."
"Oh, sorry," I mutter and continue eating my pasta.
Silence.
"You're like a grumpy father."
Silence.
Now, you're like my fridge, cold and quiet.
"How old are you?" I ask just to let him talk a bit. "Where are you from?"
"Why?" he replies.
"Why? What number is that?" I ask and frown. "I asked you first."
"Your question is boring."
"What? I am trying to start a conversation with you."
"Enough with the small talk, Darling. What do you want?"
Darling.
My mouth gapes. "Nothing. I'm just..."
Curious...
"Nevermind."
Why are you curious, Georgina?
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