The Cosmos

VI

Nathan Henderson had convinced Elena Woods to spend the Saturday with him.

That's right.

Nathan was anxious, even more than how he usually was because Elena had agreed to willingly spend time with him. Sure, it was under the pretence of tutoring his hopeless self, but he'll take what he can get. And Nathan achieved all this without doing anything illegal.

He was seated on one of the corner booths of a cosy café down the street, with his knees shaking with trepidation. Nathan's fingers drummed against the table as he waited for Elena to arrive. He very much hoped she wouldn't stand him up. Even if this wasn't necessarily a 'date' it was the closest thing to it that he could get.

Also, he was half an hour early. This is why the server who had noticed him wiling away his time inside his car outside the café was eyeing him suspiciously. To him, Nathan would've looked like a weirdo. Nathan stared right back at him. He didn't bother him anymore.

Nathan looked pathetic with his glass of water in front of him. Out of the thirty-three items on the menu, he had chosen water. Some days, he really hated his lame mind. Scratch that, he always hated it.

He had almost fainted when Elena had nodded her head to his request.

"I'm slacking slightly in trigonometry and-"

"Sure. I could help you out."

Bam. Shots fired.

And that's how Nathan found himself absently scratching the wood off the table he sat at. With water as his only companion. All the while, a pesky server glared at him inconspicuously. He would make a rather poor spy; the guy had no secrecy skills. If Nathan were to ever make a secret agency, he would definitely not hire him.

A slight breeze momentarily chilled the café as a wave of customers entered. The bell chimed, signally their arrival. Nathan glanced over his shoulder, just a peek. He wasn't particularly hopeful about Elena coming along. Any moment now, he would receive a text.

'Sorry, I have much better things to do and places to be than see your ugly face. Won't be able to make it. You can keep your lonely self to yourself and suffer.' 

No, Elena would never say that. But Nathan was in a particularly pessimistic mood on this optimistic day. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

But there she was. Nathan sharply inhaled. Elena's doe-like eyes scanned the area before landing on him. She passed a small smile in his direction, before coming closer.

"Hi," she said, sliding into the area opposite him.

"Hey." He breathed out, still slightly dazed.

Elena seemed to have noticed because the corner of her lips twitched up. Nathan's eyes zeroed in on the movement for a short second, but he shook his head. No.

Her eyebrows furrowed as her gaze landed on the table. With a tilt of her head, she addressed him.

"Have you been here long? Didn't you order something for yourself?"

He cleared his throat before answering. "No, I got here just a few minutes ago." The server coughed loudly. "I thought we could order together...to save time."

Elena was perplexed. Clearly so but she didn't question his nonsensical reasoning.

"What would you like to drink?" she asked him. Shoot, he was supposed to be asking her that.

Nathan's mind went haywire. What drink should he order, that would impress her? Should he just say 'Coffee. Black.' and look cool? But Nathan didn't really like black coffee - it tasted very bitter to him. What drink makes Nathan look like the type of guy Elena would go out with?