Grace Notes

Chapter 7

Harry's POV-

I walked up to the sliding door of my porch and took a sip of my tea. Outside, the sky was clouded over, sending a dim haze over the late morning landscape. There was a promise of rain, something I had a love/hate relationship with. 

I hated it because it always made me feel tired and lazy. I never wanted to go outside, and most definitely not drive in it. The roads in Los Angeles were hard to navigate as is, but it was ten times worse when the driving conditions were not up to par.

However, I loved the rain because it made the day seem cozy and relaxing. It also saved me from having to go out and water the plants I had growing on the ground level balcony. 

No one else in LA, that I had seen had a garden like mine. I had seen other tenants with small trees or bushes growing in a pot, but I seemed to be the solo soul who had gone out and planted my garden from the literal seeds.

When I had first started, nothing seemed to grow in the dry California heat. But once the seeds sprouted and got to a good start, they seemed to shoot up quite a bit.

On my tiny patio, I had planted as many seeds as I possibly could. I had watermelon vines and strawberries, spices and sunflowers. It was not only convenient, but also a money saver because I didn't have to go to the grocery store and purchase expensive produce. Instead, I could just step outside and pick my own strawberries to put in my cereal or cilantro to garnish my homemade tacos.

I took another sip of my tea, noticing a single droplet landing on the glass. Just as I predicted.

Hopefully it would stop before I had to take my commute to the campus later for my Monday evening class. That particular section of the course was one day, rather than two, meaning I had to teach for a whopping three hours. It was just as boring to me as it was for my students. It dragged on so much that I granted them a twenty minute break, rather than a ten minute one like all of my other coworkers.

I still had homework to grade, as well. Not even half of my students had even completed the things I had assigned last week, which was quite frustrating. When I was in college, getting my work done early and in plenty of time was very important. Especially, since the times I did decide to procrastinate to watch an extra episode of the Office, or spend my time doing something else fun, happened to be the days the wi-fi decided to go down, or something.

Speaking of the Office, I could hear it playing through the wall of my neighbor. 

Oh, my neighbor. 

I lived in the same apartment complex as Lola (and now Sarah) did. In fact, I lived right next door. I wasn't sure how the girls, Lola especially, hadn't realized that yet. I suppose because we never passed each other in the parking lot. I also parked around the corner because some of the tenants had more than one vehicle, and typically they beat me to the spot just outside my unit. It really was quite annoying. 

Also, I guessed she hadn't noticed because she had only moved in a couple weeks ago. I probably honestly wouldn't have noticed it, except for the fact that she blared her show too loud and I would hear the shower water running through the pipes for about an hour while she put on a whole concert. The curse of the thin walls...

It didn't bother me that much, though. I loved the Office, as well, and it became somewhat of a game to try and guess which episode she was on. Nine times out of ten I would get it right.

Down at my feet, my cat walked between my ankles, rubbing against the side of my leg. I smiled at her, then bent down to pick her up. Immediately, she began to purr, snuggling her head into the crook of my neck. I planted a little kiss between her grey ears and carried her over to the couch.