Keia

Chapter 29: Pre-Loop (Odessa)

  I've always planned everything. If you asked me to lay out a step-by-step plan about what I was going to do in the next 10 years, I could do it without hesitation. That's how I look at the world, I make sure I've got a clear path. However, you can't make plans when a miracle suddenly comes your way. I was taking my daily routine, waking up early and heading down to the cafe, and drinking something before I head off to work. That was the plan, that was what I was going to do. As always I sat down at my table, ordered the same coffee as usual, and while I was waiting something unusual happened; somebody tapped on the window. 

"Hey! Am I allowed to sit there?" they smile at me. I took notice of the wind blowing through their short blonde hair. They wore a bright yellow shirt, overalls, and a white baseball cap on their head. I couldn't tell if they were trying to be masculine or feminine, and in a way seemed to nicely nestle in the middle of the spectrum. I take a moment to look around the room, maybe they were talking to somebody else?

"Me?" I mouth to them, pointing at my chest. They giggle, nod at me, and smile.

"You dropped something!" they say as they dig into their pocket, pulling out a small cellphone.

My cellphone? 

The face I made must've given it away that I had no clue I had even dropped it to begin with. They rush over and The door to the cafe jingles and all at once they plop themselves down into a chair in front of me.

"You seemed so distracted! On a mission today, huh?" They had the brightest smile I had ever seen, and their eyes seemed to have the very heart of the sun behind them. How could somebody be so full of joy?

"I guess... I just wanted to make sure I stuck to the plan I guess." I meekly rub my forearm "I needed to remember where I was going," I said. I must've looked like a wreck of a person, my clothes weren't even properly matched in the way they would be normally, and on the walk here I damn near hit my head on a sign.

"Plan? What plan?" They ask with genuine curiosity. 

"My plan for the day," I say. 

"Plan for the day? Why would you plan out your days? Anything can happen! You just gotta go with the flow, don't ya think?" They smile again. While they wait for me to respond, I see them look around the cafe. It looked like this had been their first time ever being inside before. Perhaps they passed by and looked inside a couple of times, but never had a reason to step inside. That's probably why they chose to sit with me.

"If you plan for most things too, you don't need to worry about anything," I say. This person was kind of frustrating, and yet I can't seem to stop looking at them, there was this warm feeling in my chest that I didn't feel like getting rid of just yet.

"Right but... did you plan for me to come and sit with you today?" they say, widening their eyes a little. "I'm sure that wasn't part of your plan, was it?" a smug smile slowly spreads across their face. Annoyingly, they had a point. If I'm being honest, I just want to live on autopilot sometimes. Find a plan, stick to it, and then let myself autopilot through the rest of the day. The world around me can be so noisy and frustrating sometimes.

"You sure are intense. Don't you think it's rude to just invade my life suddenly like this?" I say simply. They did just follow me, pick up my phone, and bust into this cafe they probably weren't ever going to go into anyway. This does feel a little rude. A small pink blush began to spread across their face as they squirm in place a little.

"W-well I was just trying to be friendly" they take a deep breath "ok well.. what if we start over? Meet up later today and do something together?" 

"And do what?" I say. 

"We can find out when we get there." they smile one last bright smile. "My name is Oliver"