Take The Chance (A Limitless Novel) [Book 1]

Two

"I remember your hair cut in year nine," I laughed, sitting across from Jake at our small table.

We were in a tiny Chinese restaurant that I loved, an hour later. I lived off a little lane on Little Collins Street, so it had been a short walk here with no one noticing him. Once we had entered the small restaurant, were seated towards the back and completely out of view, Jake had taken his sunglasses and cap off again.

"My mum did that to me," Jake shuddered, scooping some Mongolian Beef onto his plate before handing me the dish it was in.

The walls of the restaurant were painted a bright orange, a similar colour to my couch. The wooden tables had green linen clothes draped over them; the decorations around the room were all typical for a Chinese restaurant. One of those golden cats with a waving paw sat on a shelf on the wall behind Jake, smiling at me. The air was thick with the smell of good Chinese food, my mouth watering and my stomach grumbling.

"Do you remember Courtney O'Brien's party in year eleven?" Jake asked, scooping Fried Rice onto his plate with a faint smile on his lips.

"You mean the party where we all ended up in her pool?" I asked, remembering that party and laughing out loud. Teenagers really were stupid. I was fairly sure everyone was drinking; yet it seemed a great idea to jump into her pool.

"That's the one, our band played at that party. Had to beg Courtney and by her a bottle of vodka as a bribe," Jake shook his head, putting the fried rice down and picking up the soy sauce.

"And to think, she would probably be begging you to play at one of her parties now," I smiled, trying my hardest to remember that night. I'd been drinking that night, so it was next to impossible. Not to mention that it was also seven years ago. I wasn't seventeen anymore, instead I was nearly twenty-four.

"One of the only things I remember from that night is you, -"

"Me?" I interrupted, confirming that he'd actually said me. I sure as hell couldn't really remember him that night, just that I'd really enjoyed their music. I knew they'd played pop songs, before playing some of their own and a couple of my favourite bands. But any further than that and my mind went hazy, getting old sucked.

"Yeah, you were wearing this floral summer dress and danced along to every song. You were completely wasted, but you were enjoying yourself," Jake shrugged, putting some soy sauce on his rice before putting it back and picking up the King Prawn. "Or that party you had at your house near the end of year eleven."

I shuddered at the thought, that party had resulted in the worst hangover id ever experienced along with the longest grounding I'd ever received from my parents.

"Yeah, don't remind me," I laughed through the horrible memory, trying not to think about how that night had stuffed things up for a fair amount of people. It was the party that ended relationships and left everyone drunk even the next day, it was the party to end all parties.

"We quit school soon after, dropped out because we'd gotten a record deal with a small label. You were one of the only people who wished us good luck," Jake continued, unable to tell that the thought of my party made me sick.

"That's right, I stole your number of James White's phone when I found out. Texted you good luck, I was so glad you guys were actually beginning your dream," I nodded my head, remembering that day like it was yesterday. It was also the day my father broke my camera because I expressed my want to drop out and follow my dreams. That didn't happen.

"I never knew you were a shutter bug," Jake said thoughtfully as he put the king prawn down and lifted up his fork. Digging into his food and watching me with his eyebrows pulled together.

"My parents never approved of it, so I did it in my own time," I shrugged, wondering what life would be like if they did approve of it. "Plus, its not like I constantly have a camera hanging from my neck. I like to see life through my own eyes as well, rather than just a lens. I guess it's just a hobby," I sighed the word 'hobby', realising just how much I sounded like my parents.

"You're too good for it to be a hobby," Jake shook his head, like he completely disagreed. If only I could make money off my talent, decent money.

~

"I'm sorry," I frowned, opening the door to my spare bedroom and flicking the light on. I walked over to the red safe light and flicked it off.

The room wasn't as big as my bedroom, yet it was spacious for my tiny apartment. A mattress sat on the ground and against the left wall, because I was too poor to afford a base as well. It was made in clean sheets so I didn't have to worry about that. To the right were two tables that lined the wall, set up with all my equipment for my darkroom. I hadn't used it in a couple of days, so everything was packed away and tidy. Rows of string around the room held photos via a peg. I contemplated taking them all down, they would all be dry, but then I wondered if Jake would enjoy looking at them.

"Compared to the rest of my apartment, its actually not that messy in here," I laughed, trying to make a joke and see him crack a smile. I hadn't seen him smile once since bumping into him this afternoon. Occasionally his mouth would twitch at the corners, like he wanted to smile but couldn't.

I could remember Jake's smile from high school, and knew it was a good one. From the amount he had changed, grown into his looks and become a complete god, I wondered if his smile had changed. Something in me told me he didn't smile enough though, maybe he had forgotten how too.

Jake ducked his head as he walked across the room and to the bed, not wanting to catch his head on my photos. He really had grown taller, whilst I stayed at the same height as I'd been at seventeen.

Everything about Jake was different, but so much was the same. I reminded myself that I never really knew him in high school anyway, so it wasn't like I could fully decide if he was different.

"Goodnight," I said, stepping back into the main part of my apartment and pulling the door shut.

"Thanks Matilda," Jake said quietly, the door halfway closed. I nodded my head and pulled it shut. The click of the door closing finalising the night.

It was only eight o'clock and he was already in bed, most likely because he was insanely jet lagged.

I took up my spot on the couch, kicking my shoes off and resting them on the coffee table. I turned the TV on, knowing I wasn't going to be able to sleep well at all tonight. Jake had managed to distract me from the serious problem I faced, I was jobless and broke.