Smile, the worst is yet to come
"Miss, if I may ask, why do you always smile?" A little boy, Henry is his name I think, asks me.
"Well Henry, I always have something to smile for. I know there will be bad days, but I know I must look at the small things and smile. Whether it be seeing a couple walking down the street or seeing the flowers bloom bright colors, there is always something good happening."
The little boy runs back to his friends and plays toy cars. Working at a daycare was fun, but the feeling of knowing I would never have a child haunted the back of my brain. Although the 15% chance of conceiving was still about, I knew it could take years to get pregnant. So rather than just sulking around thinking about that, I work here.
I get to see all of these bright children, still oblivious to how the world is so cruel. They will learn in time though, their experiences will reflect on how they live and what they do, and I hope each and everyone of them suceeds.
The bells rings and I start to pack my bag. Although I work here, I am not the main teacher. I can leave whenever I can.
As I said goodbye to the kids, they run to me and hug my legs before Ms. Al yells at them to eat their lunch. They said goodbye as I walked out the front door.
It was the beginning of fall. Already the trees were shedding their leaves, scattering the decorative leaves on the ground. I smiled as I walked down the sidewalk as I saw a couple swaying their child away from the pile of leaves. The mother laughed as the father picked up their son and tickled the toddler.
I became envious as I continued to walk. The only thing that I could want, I would have a slim chance of having. There is a reason for this though.
As I walked into the cafe, I took my scarf off and put it in my bag as I stood in line. I figured I would have to sit on the floor after I got my drink. As the line got shorter, the people filled the empty seats until there were no longer any.
I sighed as I got to the front of the line. A couple had taken the last window seat, so I would have to sit on the floor. I ordered my drink, a hot Jasmine tea with a pinch of cinnamon, and headed over to the place where you wait.
I took out my phone and texted my roomate I would be staying at the cafe for a little while so I could work on my essay, just so she wouldn't worry when I got to the dorm late at night. Also, I didn't want to look like I had nothing to do, so I played a game to pass the time.
When my order number was called and I quietly thanked them and headed towards the wall where I usually sit when there are no seats. As I started to put my stuff down, a voice behind me startled me to where I almost spilled my drink.
"Miss, would you like to come sit with me?"
I turned around and was met with a gummy smile. The presence he gave off was soft and almost invisible. I smiled back and nodded, bending down to get my stuff.
The stranger got to my belongings before me, but I accidentally butted my head with his. He groaned as he picked up my bag in one hand, and covering the side of his head with the other.
"I'm so sorry, oh my goodness," I say as he starts to walk to a small table outside.
"Don't worry about it," he says as he holds open the door for me. I thank him and head for the table made for two.
He gives me my bag as I sit down and smiles. I take a sip of my hot drink as I pull out my book. The taste is always so good, and they always make it exactly as I like it.
"I'm Yoongi, aka Swagger Mickjagger," he says and holds out his hand. I laugh and shake it, introducing my self as well, but not with a nickname.
He asks what book I am reading, and I show him it is the Odyssey by Homer.
"I love that book, lies and tragedies all written so perfectly," Yoongi says and takes a sip of his drink. He opens his bag and takes out his laptop, pressing the power button continuously.
"This damn thing takes forever to turn on!" He says and I reach for the laptop, holding the power button and the screen turns on.
I laugh as he stares at me with wide eyes. I push the laptop back to him and he says thank you.
Him and I talk as we do our work, and I learn a lot about him. He works as an artist for the covers of movies, but is majoring in psychology at Uni. He has a black cat called Rover that is chubby and consumes everything he sees.
"I'm an outcast at school, everyone makes fun of a psychology major who created covers for movies," he says and shows me his artwork on the laptop.
I gasped as I take the laptop once again and stare at the beautiful work. The autumn colored leaves falling down onto the girls red hair looks so real, and I cannot believe it is a painting.
"You did not draw this," I say and give him back his laptop. He laughs, knowing that I still cannot believe his art piece.
We talk some more, and the topic of kids comes up, and a family walks next to us, laughing as the baby says gibberish. Yoongi stares as I smile at the happy family.
"You seem to like kids," he says and smiles.
"Ya, I actually work at a preschool down the street," I say and turn my phone on to see what time it is. The clock says 6:30PM and I tell myself just a few more minutes with him before I leave.
"You probably want more than 1 kid if you can tolerate them," he says and I hold back the tears, but I nod.
"Actually, there is a very slim chance of me having one, and that is why I spend so much time with them, just to see how it would be if I ever had one."
Yoongi nods and starts to pack up his things and so do I. As I start to say goodbye, he hugs me. I am small compared to him, so when I wrap my arms around him, they only go near his stomach. He laughs when he sees what I am doing, and pats me on the shoulder.
"Everything will be ok in the future, I promise," he says and gives me one more hug before we say our goodbyes.
I start to walk away, but a piece of paper falls off my shoulder and lands on the ground.
Do you really think I wouldn't give you my number to you? Then you are out of your mind. You have swag, I have swag, together we could make even more swag.
I laugh as I walk to my dorm.
Some days are brighter than others, and today was one of those days.
