Hi there! First of all, happy new year, even if I'm incredibly late with that. It took me a while to write something new, but I'm really happy with this one (even if I wrote it in like an hour). There's no real prompt for it, but I did use some inspiration from a song halfway through (it concerns the character Emily, if you know the song you'll probably know what I'm referring to, but I mostly used the name and some inspiration for her background story). Anyway, I'm writing my bachelor thesis these coming months, which either means you won't see much of me, or you'll see a whole lot of stories showing up that deal with stress, deadlines, stuff like that. We'll see. For now, enjoy this story :)
Coffee Time The café was quiet, although there was a steady stumbling in and out of customers. It was still early, and the only sounds were the coffee machine, and orders being mumbled. An espresso, a latte, just a black coffee… The tables in the café were still mostly empty; but you knew that by lunch hour, every seat would be taken. Right now, the only table that wasn’t empty was the one in the far corner. Two people sat there, fresh mint tea in front of them, although both glasses were still full. As you waited for your order, a large coffee with an extra shot of vanilla, you had an exam today, you tried to imagine what the strangers were saying, focussing on the movement of their lips. “Listen up, I need to tell you something.” “I know, you told me that already. Just get on with it; I need to tell you some stuff too, and I have other places to be after this.” “You do? I thought you said you quit your job last month?” “Yes, I did. Does not mean that I suddenly don’t need money anymore. I’m still looking around, trying to find something. If you happen to come across something, do let me know.” “Of course. Something that has little social contact, I assume?” “Don’t be a dick about it, and just get on with whatever you want to tell me.” “Hey, you started. But sure. I ran into Alice earlier this week, and you will not believe what she told me.” “Have I ever not believed you before? I was the only one who believed your story about the bridge before you found the photos.” “It’s just a figure of speech, don’t get all jumpy. Anyways, she said that she hadn’t seen Dave for a while, so she went to check up on him, and –“ “Wait, are we talking about Dave-I’m-better-than-you-Dave or Dave-does-not-care-about-anything-but-the-environment-Dave?” “The first one. Anyway, she’d sent him some texts, tried to call him, didn’t respond to anything. He hadn’t even posted on his Instagram for an entire week.” “This really isn’t the way to tell me that he died, you know.” “Shut it, he didn’t die. So Alice went to check up on him, since she was a little worried, and you will never guess what she found.” “If I could guess it, I wouldn’t be sitting here. Continue.” “That girl of his? I keep forgetting her name but you know who I mean, that chick he brought with him to Jessie’s birthday?” “The trashy one who’s got a serious alcohol problem? I thought they broke up months ago.” “Yeah, so did I. And apparently, they did, but here’s the thing; he got her pregnant.” “No. Way.” “I’m serious! Alice went over to his place, found his chick there, nursing a little baby. She asked if it was his and apparently she laughed like a maniac while saying that it was.” “Maybe she was lying?” “Yeah, that was my first thought too. Even though she was staying at his place, maybe Dave was just being nice, didn’t realize what a train wreck she was? So I asked Alice, but she said she spoke to Dave as she left, and it’s indeed his. They broke up, but about four months ago she called him, in tears, about how he got her pregnant and now she was drowning in bills and had a baby coming up.” “And of course Dave never realized that it probably wasn’t his?” “Well, she said it was,” “Yeah, but she seems like the kind of girl that would sleep with lots of guys. Who knows what she does when she’s hammered.” “Fair point. Anyway, the creepy thing is: remember that Dave changed his phone number a few months ago?” “Yeah, just like you did, because of you-know-who.” “Exactly, although Voldemort wasn’t involved. But I just wanted to leave the entire incident with that fucking creep behind, so I changed my number.” “But Dave wasn’t involved in that, right?” “He wasn’t, not really. But he showed up when I kicked him out that last time, and after I filed a restraining order on him and changed my number and everything, he found Dave’s and send him a text. Nothing serious, but with the entire history behind it, Dave and I thought it was better to be safe than sorry.” “Jesus, I can’t believe you never told me any of this! I didn’t realize it was this bad.” “I was just trying to get over it myself, at that time. Anyway, Dave changed his number, and we properly kept it secret, you know.” “Yeah, makes sense.” “But here’s the catch: how did that pregnant bimbo get his number if he changed it?” “O my god!” “I know right! She totally stalked him and he probably never even realized that.” “Didn’t Alice talk to him about that?” “She hadn’t realized, I pointed it out to her.” “I can’t believe this.” “And I haven’t even told you the best part!” “Oh god, do tell me.” “Dave told Alice, I’m literally quoting Alice here, that he’s going to try and be a great father to his son.” “Are you sure we’re talking about the same Dave here?” “Yeah, can you believe it?” “The dude never properly grew up! Last time I saw him, he was gushing about some sort of conference he went to where everyone dresses up.” “Yeah, one of those comic cons. Admittedly, my inner geek is so jealous of him, but still.” “Wow, by comparison, my news is barely news.” “Well, do tell me!” “Okay, do you remember Emily?” “The ex of Lydia? Yeah, of course I remember her! And if I ever run into her again, she’ll surely remember me too because I’ll let her know exactly what I think of her. That bitch, breaking Lydia’s heart like that.’ “Yes, exactly, that Emily. Well I really don’t want to make your wish for revenge worse, but…” “Don’t keep me waiting girl!” “She totally did it with James.” “But she works for James now… Oh. No. No way! Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” “I’m totally saying what you think I’m saying.” “Oh she’s dead. She might as well start planning her funeral now, or find a very good hiding place. Does Lydia know about this? She’d be so devastated.” “No, she doesn’t, and I think we should keep it that way. I ran into her the other day as she was on her way to a date, and she looked so happy. It would totally ruin her.” “Agreed. But I can’t possibly believe this? She got that job like what, a month after she broke up with Lydia? If you can even call it a proper break-up. More like she just abandoned her out of nowhere.” “I wonder if she was already sleeping with James when she was still with Lydia.” “Probably, I wouldn’t be surprised at this point. Maybe she was just with Lydia to get a job, and when she realized Lydia was never going to be that kind of girl, she just left.” “I always knew that girl was shady, but I’d never imagined this…” “To be honest, we should have known. But we can’t blame ourselves for this; it’s not our responsibility.” “You have a point. I just feel so bad. I didn’t even tell you everything yet, it gets worse…” “Miss? Miss, your coffee.” You blinked with your eyes, and realized you were still standing in the café. You looked back to the barista, who was calling to you, looking almost concerned. You grabbed your wallet, but he shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, it’s on the house. You look like you need it; I had to call you three times. Here, good luck with those last exams. Try and get some sleep.” You smiled at the barista as he handed you your coffee. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.” As you turned and walked away, the comfort of a warm coffee in your hands, you noticed that the table in the corner was empty. Maybe you should try and get some sleep.
1 Comment
Reinart Kooistra
3/22/2017 01:55:29 am
Good read.
Reply
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February 2017
About meWelcome to my blog! This is where I post my stories, occasionally accompanied by personal thoughts. I always post short stories, as I keep the longer ones for myself. My stories are often based on songs. I listen to music a lot (mostly pop punk / punk rock), and often get inspired by melodies, lyrics, or music videos. |