(POV: Tyler)
As my alarm reaches 9:15 on a beautiful Sunday morning, My hands move to the rims of the doorknob, gently opening the door to Max's house uninvited. The apartment is filled with disarming echoes making my ears ring. From the alarming noises, I pull out a set of wireless headphones and listen to my favorite song "Floating Rain". The attuned musical notes fill me with exhilaration and are a quick distraction as I Joyfully move around the living room, fixing the poorly assorted things in the apartment. My mind starts to wander realizing that Minh left the apartment. Confused, I open up a messaging app and realize she isn't at home either. She's at Birchwood Mall. It's a shopping district near an intersection above water masses. I can't help but think "That's odd. She doesn't drive...".
Deciding not to dwell on that, I continue aimlessly looking around until deciding that it is finally time to wake up Max. Once opening his door I hear the iconically loud and obnoxious snore while seeing the appropriately decorated walls. To my left is a poster of an old show looking more budget than anything I had ever seen. To my right were sets of grassy and gardenlike accessories that looked like they were picked straight from the garden. Yeah, does seem like his room. My eyes peer to the front and look back at his very contorted body in his sleep. After letting out a huge sigh, I lift the heavy blanket and pull it away from him. Despite him being in just gray sweats and a jersey, he ran towards me with ajar eyes attempting to get the blanket back. As the room filled with yelling and laughter, I hid the blanket behind his field of vision, causing him to stay awake.
"Mornin' Max, It's time to wake up," I say to him, as the room fills with groans. "You know I like getting my shut-eye in," Max says, as he begrudgingly sits up on his bed. "Ha, I ain't waiting till 2 O'clock for you to get in your daily 14 hours of sleep." Max reaches to his side desk for his water, taking a big gulp before looking back at me. "Hey, you know I only get 10 hours a night." We both laugh at the comical remark.
I step out of the room as Max quickly throws on his clothes, and gets ready. This place hasn't changed a bit. This old hallway echoes your every step and breath. The same old wallpaper covers the surface of the apartment. Man, that stuff has probably been on there since before we were born. I walk over to the side room. Still mostly empty and dusty, the only thing catching your eye is the ancient piano against the adjacent wall. I see the same old family photo that has been up there for as long as I've known Max. But there's another one right by it. I move forward to get a closer look at it. The bright golden color frame contrasts with the eeriness of the dark and dusty room. It's a picture of Max and Minh.
"Ok, I'm all ready!" Max says charging full force out of the room. I turn back to see the same old silly grin on his face, looks at me, and asks if I'm ready to go. "Well, I would be ready to go..." I say while walking slowly to Max, his grin turning slightly confused. "But your shirt's on inside out." Max looks down suddenly, seeing the faint imprint of the graphic that lies on the other side. Turning his head back up. "I'll be right back." He says with a slight groan heading back into the room. I don't think he will ever change. We grab our clothes hastily as we rush out of the apartments and into the car.
The radio turns on instantly as I turn on the engine. Another one of my favorite songs is named "So Soon?" The mellow acoustics of the songs calm down the high-energy mood. "Tyler, do you just listen to the same artist on repeat?" "I swear you've been listening to nothing but this guy since that album came out." I give a slight nod of agreement to Max, before pulling out the driveway. The old and decrepit streets shake the car as we drive down the road. "I wonder how Minh and Naomi are doing with their shopping," Max asks suddenly. His eyes drift off into space. I look over slightly confused. "Minh and Naomi are out together again?" I ask back over to Max, breaking him out of his trance. "Yeah, do you not remember?" "They planned it while we were at Devon's Playground." He looks back over to me, analyzing my facial expression. "Oh..." I respond. "I guess my mind was in other places."
YOU ARE READING
Cloud nine (Romance)
RomanceYoung adult "Minh Hua" works a regular 9 to 5 at a cafe previously owned by her single mom. Every day feels tedious and the same until she meets a man named "Max Brown" and things completely change :)
