Scream || GeminiFourth

Eardrums

The day looked beautiful, but slowly gathering dark clouds did not give any hope. "There's going to be a storm", Fourth muttered under his breath.

The black-haired 26-year-old programmer was a skinny but strong guy. As usual he was wearing a white shirt and elegant black pants. Uniform at work is a basic, although unwritten rule that no one dares to break. Rules are rules. Everyone would prefer tracksuits and a sweatshirt, but it was believed that this would take away people from the professionalism of their work. Fourth had been working as a programmer for 2 years, even though his mother told him that no one would hire him without studies. "Surprised now huh?".

Fourth had his own private tradition, which he started quite unconsciously. Programmers need energy. Lots of energy to sit in front of the computer from dawn to dusk. And what can be the source of energy? Caffeine.

Like every day, after work, he went to a nearby alley three blocks away from his office. He passed a flower shop, a abandoned outbuilding and a lavish-looking restaurant until he reached his permanent destination. A tiny cafe named "Smile". Cafes are very common especially on this street, but this is where Fourth discovered his perfect iced coffee. No wonder he fell in love with this particular cafe because many people who tried their infusions at least once returned like ants to an anthill.

There's not that much people on Fridays so it was about 6 customers in the queue. On other days this line would be three times longer. Out of the corner of his eye, Fourth noticed a note on the wall behind the work counter. "SLOW SERVICE. TWO COFFEE MACHINES ARE BROKEN". Most of the people here didn't mind waiting for their drinks even if the queue stood still for a few minutes longer than usual.

Nattawat positioned himself at the end of the line behind a few centimeters taller, well-built brunette. The guy turned to Fourth and nodded in greeting. He smiled slightly, shining his perfect teeth at the programmer. "Shit", Fourth thought and repeated the guy's gesture. If there were people who could not appreciate beauty, in this case they would be converted. A brunette with delicate facial features, plump lips, a straight nose and hypnotizing eyes. Stunning view.

- Good morning, Gemini Norawit, nice to meet you. - He said cheerfully and extended his right hand to his new friend. Something told him they would be seeing each other here more often.

- Morning, Fourth Nattawat. - The programmer shook the guy's hand. - How long have you been waiting? - He added.

- Actually, I just came, I heard that they have an excellent coffee here. - His eyes were smiling, his nose was smiling, his lips were smiling too. He radiated happiness all over and that was contagious.

They talked for a while longer, exchanging basic and not that basic informations about them to get to know each other better. They intrigued each other, so the conversation had no awkward gaps or silence. Like good old friends who saw each other ten years after finishing school.

- It's seriously one of the best days for me, I signed... - Gemini paused and looked at his silver watch on his left wrist. - ..about two hours ago a contract with Simon & Schuster, soon the world will hear about me! - He squealed excitedly.

Norawit is a writer who hasn't had much luck in the last few years. He wandered from publishing house to publishing house, even listening to unfavorable contract terms so that he could publish his works. However, these publications limited Gemini's in his literary imagination. They imposed writing styles, book genres and even plots of future books. The brunette couldn't stand such restrictions - he wanted to be free and accepted in his ideas. His best work was crime fiction, but this type of book, from what he was told, "doesn't sell that well". However, he did not give up and today he got a wonderful cooperation with his dream publishing house. "I'm going to be the next Stephan King!" is what he had been screaming in his head from the moment he left the Simon & Schuster building.