The old cuckoo clock in the corner starts to chime. 2:00. A single minute later, Jae enters. He's wearing the same leather jacket and a white t-shirt. His jeans are as dark as his hair and have rips at the knees. He sees me and gives a sly smile. The owner looks at him strangely and I mouth that he's with me. The owner shrugs his shoulders, turns back and keeps cooking. Jae makes his way towards me and sits down across the table, where Lucienne was sat yesterday.
"Hi. Listen, sorry I'm late. Too many people on this one island." Jae says.
"No problem, it's New York. It crawls with people. Jae, right?"
"Yeah, Jae with an e. Well, really it's Young-Jae, but everyone calls me Jae." He looks calm and collected, but in his eyes he is nervous. Nervous about me.
"Sorry, I don't think I caught your name before."
"That's because I never gave it to you. Or I don't think I did. It's Will. I'm much like you. My name is Amadeus William, but I like Will."
"Well too bad. I prefer Amadeus, which I guess means you can call me Young."
"Okay Young. Do you want to get something to eat? We're at a diner after all." I asked, picking up one of the tatty menus from the table. I take this time to study him a bit. I visit this place often enough to be able to recite the menu off by heart. Moments later, the waitress, dressed in a Ramones t-shirt and jeans, arrives to take our order. I take waffles and home fries. He orders bacon and pancakes. I order another portion of home fries for him. He has never tasted their delight before, obviously.
"So, how did you know?"
"About you? There was something about you. Something that meant I couldn't resist getting to know you better. You seem trapped in your body, like there is something you want to reveal."
"Okay. Thanks for this." The plates arrive down onto the table and we start eating. I continue "It's unusual that people are off school on a Monday. So, why are you here and not in school?"
"My school is shut on Mondays. Instead, we spend longer there the rest of the week. It means that we can have some form of a social life. Anyway, if I was there, I wouldn't be here with you. You were right about these home fries. They are gorgeous. What do they put in them? Peppers, onion, paprika."
"They are good. I like the waffles and coffee. It's the proper stuff, not Starbucks, but that'll do in a rush. I got some this morning, after taking my sister to her school." That reminds me. I take a look at my watch. "Oh my angels, I have to go and pick her up. I'm so sorry about this. I can't be late."
"Can I at least walk you there?" Young looks at me with puppy dog eyes. I nod my head and put on my blazer. We walk out together, and I look back to wave to the owner. That will just go on my tab. He knows I'll pay it next Monday. It's a weekly feature, and I always leave a tip. We turn the corner to go down a backstreet.
"It's about eight blocks away." I look at Young. He looks like the city is his terrain, the single place he knows and is comfortable in.
