Notes

5

Kyra and I continued to walk to the car, her high heels clashing to the ground as if she were walking on an exclusive catwalk. Suddenly, I felt someone touch my shoulder from behind, startling me as I didn't expect to meet anyone I knew. My Cane turned first so it hit the person in the shoe. Kyra turned too.

"Hey Cleo." Her voice was like a chant, happy and chirpy.

"Morning Kyra, lovely day isn't it?"

"Indeed it is. Really warm since the other day it was pouring rain."

"That's what summer does, the weather changes every day, almost like it can't make up its mind. Anyways, I was just coming to take Eli out for a bit."

I was shocked. Mum and I didn't really get to spend much time together anymore. And ever since I burnt my letter I felt as if I owed her something, like I had to make up for not being accepted. Here I was, this 17 year old boy, an only child to make it worst, who had this crippling disability which made me dependent on her, and he didn't get accepted to the Uni that he wanted. I felt like I had failed her, with everything that she had done for me and given up. It was a terrible feeling to know that I had probably disappointed her so much.

"Alrighty then. Well I will see you around El." She hugged me quickly and walked off as fast as her high heels could take her. 

Mum turned my arm and guided me to her car that was only a couple of parking spaces away from Kyra's.  

"Where are we going?" My curiosity got the better of me.

"I thought I would take you out on a pre-eighteenth coffee date, just us too." She said it so shyly, as if she was expecting me to decline her invitation. But something about getting away from everything by sitting in a coffee shop sounded really nice.

"I would love that."

We both hopped into the car and drove off, presumably towards the centre of town where all of the shops were open, waiting for customers to flock in for the lunch rush hour or to buy what they needed. The radio boomed to life, playing a top ten countdown of classical music from the year so far. One of my dreams was to be featured on that list.

The roads were quite familiar to me now, the area that we casually drove through planted into my mind. Each twist and turn that we drove through was mapped out. The blinker occasionally turned on and off, the car following the path of the arrows, while every time we turned the seat beat would dig into my neck. The music blared throughout the car, my fingers unintentionally playing an invisible piano in beat with the song.

"What coffee shop are we going too?"

"Les rois du café. The Coffee Kings of our era."

"Mum, don't you hate coffee?"

Mum didn't answer, more-so producing a scoffing noise to show I was right as we continued to drive towards the French coffee shop. I looked in the general direction of her; I wondered if we looked similar. Did we have the same jaw structure, or the same mouth? Did we both have the same freckles, if any at all? Did our wrinkles or dimples match when we smiled? Or did I have the features of my father?

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"Could we please have a medium hot chocolate with skim milk and a- what do you want Eli?"

"Medium cappuccino with two sugars please."

"And a medium cappuccino with two sugars please."

"That comes to $9.40 and your number is 198." The server spoke in a robotic tone, as if the words she spoke were programmed into her head, reciting it repeatedly to each customer.