A TALE OF TWO LOBSTERS

The boy was tired. The shuffling rattle of the subway was as good as a lullaby. He had been up most of the night preparing his presentation for the class this afternoon and his body felt like it was being propped up by string.

The truth was he was more than tired. He was miserable. He knew college would be hard. Hell, he welcomed the challenge. His father had always told him he had a gift for study and hard work. The long nights certainly weren’t fun and living on campus in Manhattan lost its appeal after he was caught and given an impromptu spray-tan at Angelica Bernstein’s party. Even his roommate was ignoring him, despite his best efforts.

He just couldn’t make friends.

“Are you okay?”

The boy lifted his head from his shoulder and saw a girl sitting across from him. She had red wear and was wearing a yellow floral dress. Embarrassed, the boy realised he must have dozed off.

“Oh my God.” he mumbled, apologetically.” Please tell me I wasn’t snoring.”

“Only a little bit.” replied the girl, sweetly. “Late night, huh?”

“Yeah,” said the boy. He sighed. Snoring on the subway. This must be the New York City lifestyle his parents told him about. The heat in his face intensified and a little behind his eyes.

“Hey, come on man.” said the girl. “Everybody falls asleep; the trick is doing it without missing your stop.”

“Wait a minute!” the boy interrupted. “Where are we?”

The girl checked the sign above their heads. “Um…next stop is Greenwich Village.”

The boy swore. His class was still an hour from now, but he’d planned on fact-checking in the library beforehand.

At that moment, in the depths of his despair, something happened. A fierce, stubborn resolve was born in the boy. A boldness he had not felt since he was a child. The will to make a choice.

“What’s your name?” he asked the cute redhead in the floral dress.

“Uh, Anne.” she answered, a little taken aback.

“Anne, my name is Ben and I’ve been having a bad day. A couple of bad days, actually. Would you like to grab a cup of coffee with me?”

Anne looked at him for a moment, then smiled. “Sure” she said. “I could go for some coffee. But we better be quick. Rains starting to fall.”

They rushed off the subway car and through the platform, laughing at the absurdity of it all. The rain started as a light drizzle and threatened to worsen when the pair turned a street corner and came to a stop. They slowed to a walk and caught their breath. Anne turned to Ben.

“This coffee place had better be good.” she warned him, with a grin.

Ben returned the smile with one of his own. “My family” he told her “are firm believers that there are only two things in this world that can save anyone of us on any given day. Good friends and good coffee. In this place, they always had both.”

“Wow,” said Anne, looking genuinely impressed. “You’re pretty wise. What did you say your name was again?”

Ben opened the door of the coffee shop for her. “It’s Ben. “he told Anne, as she passed. “Ben Gellar.”

As the couple enter the coffee shop, the door swings shut behind them. The sign on the door reads:

CENTRAL PERK.

                                                              

                                                                   

                                                   End.