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es. After printing the latest jerk’s picture, I add it to the display with the rest on the no-coffee list.
“I really don’t get the hate, hell, half the time they blend in,” he adds, wiping down the station for something to do. “Okay, maybe they’re elegant and graceful, two things that you, my love, are definitely not.”
“Hey!” I protest, but we both know he’s right. My gracefulness extends to mainly staying upright most of the time. “I’m stocking the coffee bar.” He lets out a laugh and brings over the extra sugar packets to help me, bumping his shoulder lightly into mine. I let out a small laugh at his signature cocky grin, his way of making sure I didn’t take offense. He never takes anything too seriously, and is always watching out for me, but his mouth has gotten us in trouble a few times. Jacob is my best friend and I can never stay mad at him for long.
After a while I space out, thinking about the poor guy and wondering if I should have done something more to help. We may have stopped this incident, but what about the next?
“Thinking of anyone special?” Jacob teases. I just roll my eyes and ignore his question. He keeps trying to make it his personal mission to find me a boyfriend, but I’ve just never connected with anyone. He calls it picky, I call it having standards. Never leaving the town you grew up in doesn’t exactly give you a huge dating pool… a girl needs options.
Having a college in town brought a few more guys, sure, but no one ever feels like the right one. Jacob mainly wants us to be able to double date. He only moved here last year and managed to snag himself a cute, nerdy guy within the first six months. Lucky, bastard.
It’s crazy to think it’s only been a few years since we met, it feels like we’ve been friends for our entire lives. Especially because in that short time we’ve managed to become each other’s family. I don’t have any family left and his disowned him for being gay, so we filled that void with our friendship. Despite having equality in the workplace and the laws, sometimes families still suck.
“Just because you got lucky and found Sam, doesn’t mean that I’ll be as fortunate,” I shoot back and he just grins dreamily and glances over at Sam, who’s sitting at the corner table with his books and laptop, completely oblivious to us talking about him.
Sam comes here every time Jacob works so he can study during the shift and walk him home afterward. He’s some sort of tech genius and does IT work from home when he isn’t in class, so we just supply him with free coffee for the few hours he waits for Jacob to get off work. I have a feeling that if someone didn’t make the man eat, he’d forget to.
Jacob and Sam are like night and day. Sam has flawless, umber skin, dark eyes and keeps his curly hair short. Jacob is half Japanese and has amazing grayish blue, almond shaped eyes and flawless skin. His hair is chestnut brown and shaggy, but he keeps it perfectly styled, which sounds contradictory, but Jacob makes it work.
“Did you get your project finished?” Jacob asks, throwing me a knowing look. I’m the worst kind of procrastinator and he knows it, which is one thing about me that drives him absolutely crazy. He’s the exact opposite and takes it upon himself to nag me into working on tasks early. It never really works, I’m a lost cause, but he’s sweet for trying. At least he gave up on our study sessions a few months ago, I just drove him crazy and accomplished next to nothing.
As an architect major, my main assignments consist of creating blueprints and taking fake bids. Jacob is an art major and helps me perfect my plans when he can, which is the only reason I manage my decent grades.
“Why are you so spacey today?” Jacob asks. He’s clearly exasperated so I must have missed him calling my name a few times.
“I don’t know, I think the commotion earlier got to me,” I sigh. It isn’t the whole truth but it works for now. He gives me a sympathetic smile and glances outside like he expects someone else to come rushing back in.
Thankfully the rest of our shift passes by quickly and without further incidents. Once I lock the doors at the end of the day, we make easy work of cleaning up and the rest of the closing duties. Deb usually schedules Jacob and I together now that she realized we make a good team.
“Want Sam and I to walk you back to your apartment?” Jacob offers, like he does every night. It’s a sweet offer, but I enjoy my quiet evening walks too much to take him up on it. Not to mention they live in the exact opposite direction.
“I’ve got this... and pepper spray,” I joke as I gather up my jacket and backpack. We lock up the back door and Jacob grabs Sam’s hand as they walk off in the opposite direction.
After taking in a lungful of fresh air, I make my way down the sidewalk and enjoy the spring breeze. It’s the only time I get to take in the peaceful quiet. Even though I live alone, the apartment building is made up mostly of college students. That means there’s partying, music, shouting, and a ton of general noise at all hours. I don’t mind the noise, and the apartment is clean and cheap, so it works for me, but it also makes me appreciate moments like these more.
I walk up to the large, brick building and use the keypad to unlock the door. Of course, the noise is already going full blast, so I can’t even hear my footsteps echoing off of the concrete stairs in the empty stairwell. The three flights of stairs keep me fit, by the time I reach my floor I’m barely breathless. Students are already spilling into the hallway, passing from one party to the next which always makes getting to my room an adventure. Not wanting to get stopped and forced to chat with a slurring person, I slip inside the moment I reach my door and quickly lock out the chaos before someone tries to walk in. It wouldn’t be the first time. If I forget for even a few minutes, someone will always come stumbling in, giving me a heart attack in the process.
Now that I’m in my private oasis, I can finally relax. After kicking off my shoes, I head for the tiny kitchen and grab a bottle of water, drinking it down in one go. The studio style place is fairly nice. It has an open floor plan, with a small kitchen area that is separated from the living room by a long counter. I have stools on both sides so it can seat four people, since there isn’t enough room for an actual table.
The living room is just big enough for a couch, tv stand and my desk that looks out onto my tiny balcony. The bedroom barely fits a bed and dresser, but it’s cozy. The bathroom is attached to my room and has a stand-in shower, instead of a full bath tub. I miss taking baths to relax, but I’ll survive.
My goal for next year is to secure an apartment in Jacob’s building. It’s not only college students and it's much quieter. The units are bigger and have real bathtubs. I can get behind the quiet life if it includes soaking in a tub again. Plus, it’s not like I live a crazy life, except the nights Jacob and I go to karaoke at the bar near campus. Diamonds is the only bar that has it on the weekends and we use any excuse we can to go let off some steam.
Taking off my jacket, I throw my backpack onto my art desk since I need it to work on my newest building sketches. My current one is my part of the class-wide, rebuilding a city final. My first choice was a library, which will give me more freedom to choose between a modern approach or an older style. Libraries are versatile, so I snatched that spot up as soon as I could.
Putting on a pot of coffee is the first task on my list, it’ll be necessary if I have any hope of getting any work done tonight. Especially since I’m already tired and still have way too many hours ahead of me. Thankfully this semester my classes all start at noon or later so I can sleep in a bit.
With a fresh cup of coffee in hand, I finally sit down and start working on my plans. It only takes a few strokes of my pencil before I'm lost in the project, adding in extra windows for natural lighting and large vaulted ceilings. What book nerd hasn’t sat and dreamed about their perfect library? Well now I get to make it a reality, and the beauty of these projects is that I can drop them in a portfolio. I’ll need it when I apply for jobs after graduation, and my hope is one day I’ll find the right company to put my blueprints to good use. Then I can actually see my work come to li
fe.
I’m on my third cup of coffee before I finally finish for the night. Blinking my eyes a few times to clear the grogginess, I glance at the clock and realize it’s almost three in the morning. At some point exhaustion always cancels out the caffeine and I’ve found my limit again.
Trying to make my life easier, I rinse out my cup and prepare my coffee pot for the morning, before changing into a tank top and sleep shorts and collapsing on my bed. It doesn’t take long before I drift off into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 2
After snoozing my alarm multiple times, I finally manage to drag myself out of bed around ten and hurry to finish my homework while I start up my brain with coffee. When I’m finally able to function, I dress quickly and leave with just enough time to walk to campus and get to class on time. Thankfully, it’s an art class I share with Jacob and not an intensive class that I really have to focus for.
