Pantone - HS AU

I

In all honesty, I don't very much understand New York City. Most people come here thinking they'll discover something within themselves, thinking that they'll find the love of their lives here, and they'll become one with the city.

I was born and raised in Brooklyn so I can say that none of that is true.

In reality, New York is a place where all the wannabes come and form one big wannabe city. Coffee costs 10 dollars a cup here for Christ's sake. What kind of person would want to live in a place like that?

~~~

"Ma'am? You need to pay now." Shit. I was thinking to myself again.

"Sorry... so sorry." I hand the cashier my card, and she swipes it and hands me my bagel. "Thank you," I say. She glares at me from the corner of her eye as she turns to talk to another customer.

I walk outside into the biting Manhattan air. You may be wondering, why do you still live in New York if you think its for wannabes? Well to answer that simply, I'm a wannabe. I'm studying art at Hunter College in Manhattan. It's a pretty shitty school, but my parents insisted that I go, to stay close to them.

I walk out onto street and breathe in the pigeon shit-smelling air. I'll never get tired of that. My apartment is only a block away from this specific coffee shop. I walk down the sidewalk, bumping into a woman. "Watch it, asshole." She spits.

"Sorry..." I reply, and walk away quickly.

I buzz the button that reads 4B on the panel.

"Whoooo is it?" A voice comes through the speaker. Thats my roomate, Diana. She's my best friend, too.

"Me, bitch. Open up, I forgot my key."

"Damn. You don't have to be so mean." The door clicks and unlocks, and I walk inside. 4B. That's the fourth floor, second room. I race up the steps, timing myself. 33 seconds, new record.

I knock on door. "Yo, it's me." I say. Diana cracks the door open.

"Password?" She asks.

"Fuck off." I open it and push past her.

"Whats wrong?" She asks. I turn around and look at her. She has a concerned look on her face.

"I'm just stressed out. I have a ten page essay due Monday, and I haven't even started." I reply.

"Well, it's only Saturday. I'm sure if you start now you'll be able to finish." She says.

"Yeah, well the thing is, I'm supposed to meet a
date in..." I look at the clock, which reads 7:04 PM. "Two hours. We're going to this bar on West 9th Street." I sigh.

"Shit. If I were you, I'd bail. A ten page paper takes like 6 hours to write..." She replies.

"I know, I just... really like him. I met him at school." I take out my phone and open his Twitter page. His profile reads: 'Liam Payne'. The icon is a picture of him, smiling, in his high school graduation gown. I show it to her.

"Damn, he looks young! How is he even going to get into the bar? But he's cute!" Diana asks.

"He says he has a fake ID. I just hope it works, though..." I answer.

"Well, good luck, I have to head out to work." She says as she hugs me.

~~~

I walk down the sidewalk, approaching the bar.