calum POV
i walk down the city streets in melbourne trying to get back to my new apartment. the city moves along, people on the sidewalks and trams going along the roads. it was supposedly the typical weather down here, a little wind pushing here and there but the warm air made the city have a need for air conditioning. left? or was it right? i kept thinking that to myself. What if I never make it back? this is just too stressful; i could never possibly find out where and when to turn.
i randomly choose a street to turn on and randomly end up on another central city sidewalk. i mentally give up. i walk into what had appeared to be a coffee shop. and the smell of the fresh ground beans infused the fresh air. quiet chats and coffee sips filled the tables, and i ended up finding a seat to sit in, after ordering a coffee. a latte with the milk in the design of a leaf was in front of me. since i love coffee, i was pleased to hear that melbourne had some of the best coffee, so i guess there was one good reason of moving here.
the soft ring of the doorbell had chimed, and i had wandered my glance over to the door. people in suits and carrying briefcases were coming in; i quickly looked down at the watch on my wrist. 12:07pm. i sigh and look back up. it was the busy hour of the day. the one were the business people get their lunch and find their way back to the office. before i turned my attention to the window next to me, i caught a quick glimpse of a boy with bright red hair. it was kind of impossible not to see him, his hair was vibrant, and he was a bit taller than the average person. i never caught his face, but he was up at the till, probably ordering a coffee or something. i suddenly was curious about this red-haired boy.
fortunately, for my luck he had been looking around for a seat, and the table i was on was one of the only ones with free chairs. after a while, or it might have been a few seconds i'm not really sure, his eyes had finally landed on the little wooden table in the corner that i was sitting in. he had a small soft smile and walked in my direction. his fingers were playing with the ends of his sweater and eyes looking slightly down. and only then did i take a better look at him. he had an eyebrow piercing that made him look punk rock, but he also had a thing about him that made him look soft as well.
"um.. are these seats -uh- free?" the boy had stuttered slightly, which had caught me off guard. he seemed a little shy, but i guess the appearance doesn't tell you anything. he's still cute, though.
"oh yeah- yeah of course," i say a bit weirdly to be honest. already mentally facepalming myself for being an awkward person. well, i guess some things never change.
"can i sit down with you?" he asks, "just because there's just no more seats." he quickly adds and his face flushing slightly.
"yeah sure, sure," i smile softly pushing some hair off of my face, "i'm calum by the way."
"michael," he says setting his coffee on the table and sitting in the chair across from me, "i don't think i've seen you here before."
"what do you mean?" i ask.
"oh sorry, that- uh- sounded very stalkerish. i mean are you like new or something?" he says scratching the back of his neck and shaking his head at what appears to be himself.
"that's fine," i chuckle slightly. "uh... yeah. i just moved here, like actually yesterday. pretty cool so far. um- how long have you been here?" i ask taking another sip of my coffee.
"pretty much my whole life. hey. if you ever need a locals tour around the city. i'm here" he smiles and pulls out his phone. "um- could i get your number? i don't have many people to count as friends, and uh- you seem kind of cool." he asks stuttering again.
"oh yeah sure. that'd be nice to at least know one person today," i smile as well and take my phone out. i unlock it and pass it to him. "put your number in. do whatever you want."
i see him slightly grin and type stuff into my phone, he hands it back to me. "im sorry but i gotta dash. you know, but i'm here same time, the same place every day."
"well okay. nice meeting you. see you again." i wave slightly and take back my phone.
"bye cal," he smiles and walks through the door ringing the bell on the cafe door. i glance down back at my phone and see he had saved his number as 'mikey'. very original. well, at least, something good happened today, and now i guess i have to find my apartment.
