Coffee with Wilde

Chapter 6

"Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result" - Oscar Wilde
  

Holding the cheque to her chest, Athena skipped off the train and into the cafe where she sat in her normal seat, without Klade.

Sitting at the table without the noise of his pen scratching against the paper made her fidget and bite her lip.

He finally arrived with a smile plastered on his face going from ear to ear. He dumped his plain black bag down onto the tiled floor beneath the table.

"You look happy," she said, inserting the beige piece of paper into the crushed white envelope, which she had previously been clutching.

"So do you," he noted with a nod.

"I got published," she said.

"Me too!"

They high-fived loudly before sitting back and running their hands over the envelopes, beaming from ear to ear, patting each other's shoulders, sitting in the bliss of success.

"Sorry I was late, I had to check my mail and I got a detention," Klade said, shaking his head. "I should apparently know not to swear at the captain of the soccer team. I'm an intellectual genius I shouldn't have to lower my standard to a fool who cannot differentiate between then and than, especially now that I'm a published poet."

Athena appraised the arrogant boy in front of her, there was something different, something she struggled to place her finger on. He'd ditched the boots and was wearing Doc Martens with his school uniform. There was a cut on his right eyebrow yet it hadn't dampened his joy.

She lunged over the table and grabbed his head in her hands. Pulling at the skin like a concerned mother, forcing him under the light, she asked, "What happened?"

"I got into a fight with my Dad-"

"-He did that? Klade you have to-"

"-Oh no, don't worry it wasn't his fault. In a flamboyant gesture of anger I turned around and hit my head on one of Mum's paintings, one with a glass frame."

She released his head and sat back down slowly clapping at him. He let out a small laugh and covered his mouth trying to stop, yet his eyes had lit up and his eyes sparkled as he touched the cut in embarrassment. His upturned nose, flew into the air as Athena joined in with his chuckling. Running a hand over his black hair to push it out of his face, he faced her again.

"What's your out of sob story? As far as I'm aware all authors have them. Is it just boofhead Gavin, making fun of you?" he asked.

"The netball team used to hate me, they stuck me in a dunk tank once, in full school uniform but that was back in Year 8. That's what started ant-tits actually, considering with a white blouse you can see everything when it gets wet. Most people have forgotten about that except for the footy team hence Gavin. Although I got this when I "fell" down the stairs with one of the netball girls standing behind me," she said, beginning to unbutton her white school blouse and shifting the strap of her singlet top to reveal a plethora of dark bruises.

"Now I remember why we don't disclose things...Although at the risk of violating that rule once again." His sentence remained unfinished as he pulled up the blue jumper and shirt to reveal blue bruises which matched his uniform. They covered his abdomen.

Athena's gaze caused his breathing to become shallower, and his rapid breaths were visible through his gaunt chest.

"Don't start the strip show without me," Kwan said, running towards them holding a croissant and a sausage roll.

Klade hastily covered himself back up, licking his dry lips nervously and ducking his head.

"Is that a phallic symbol in your hand?" Athena said in an attempt to break the silence.

Kwan looked at the plates and shrugged, he handed it over to the ripped jeaned wearing female artist, behind him.

"That's a new way of looking at my food," she said, holding the plate up to eye-level.

"Sorry Mary, Athena, is renowned for her dirty mind," Klade said.

"No," she said, kicking his shin. "I studied The Handmaid's Tale so I'm trained to see everything as a phallic symbol."

"You guys are funny," Mary said, cutting it in half and offering one half to the out of work actor with a man-bun opposite her. "Mate, did you want any?" she asked.

"I'm vegan," he said, holding his script up into the light.

"Don't worry it some vegan faux sausage," Kwan said. "It tastes pretty foul, I don't know why we sell it. If you guys need anything sing out I need to work, and also let me know if Klade starts stripping again." He pushed the croissant over to the table to his left, to a poor patron who hadn't been aware of what he was getting himself into when he walked in earlier. Considering that a group of young adults were comparing food to phallic symbol one minute and the next a row of colourful expletives had been let off by Klade's ex-boyfriend after his computer crashed, it wasn't a conventional place to say the least.

"I think I'm going to go home and bask in my success or have a wallow and chide myself for not being successful enough," Athena said, picking up her jersey and wrapping it over her arm.

"That's very Plathic of you. I'll come with you," Klade said, getting up and moving over to her side.

Putting an arm around his waist, she pulled his skinny body towards hers as they made their way to the platform. 

A/N: Any mistakes let me know. Please tell me what you think. I hope everyone's holiday break has been good. I've formed a new love of second hand bookstores and insane Jack Russell puppies but anyways...Hope the rest of your holidays are good. Thanks for reading :)