Rekindling

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When I woke up to the harsh sound of my alarm I was confused as to where I was at first, then I remembered that I wasn't in high school anymore and that all of that was just a dream. I miss it. The lunch conversations and quiet group chats. These people were the ones who made me feel like I had a place. My first group of true friends.

But then the alarm kept going, and after fiddling with it for a few seconds I was able to silence the racket. I hoped it hadn't woken C, although there was a chance she was already awake. Who knows maybe she was already out. She was spending more time with Bake lately, who was on the road to recovery. I hadn't seen him since the hospital, but I heard from C everyday that he was doing better. Today, though, I was planning to hang out in the city, the weather is nice and I haven't had downtime in a while. But before I left I had some cleaning to do, nothing major,  just something to make the little place a little more homey.

After changing out of my pajamas and putting on a black tank and olive green shorts, I walk out of my room. Straight ahead was Ceci's bedroom door. To the left was the door to the small balcony and the plant that C loves to take care of. Looking around all the curtains are closed, of course that's useful for sleep, but when you want to wake up in the morning having some light coming in is nice. Upon walking in the kitchen I see that the kettle was recently used. C probably made something this morning, and she must have left pretty recently since it's still warm. I turn on my "THAT Mood" playlist from Spotify and start with the dishes. Singing along to The Killers makes the task go fairly fast and much more bearable. Other than that there wasn't too much to clean, but the countertops were a mess, with I don't even know what spilled all over them. The countertops were made of smooth wood, and they needed hot water in order to get that substance off. So I fill the sink with hot soapy water and listen to "Dive" by Ed Sheeran. The song was old, but still great.

While scrubbing the mess, the music fades away a bit, indicating that a text message had come across. Whoever it is can wait. It's probably just Shelby talking about exams or something. I gotta get this mess cleaned up first, which is actually coming up well. After the counter is cleaned off, I toss the sponge in the sink and let the water drain. Phone. The message bubble doesn't read Shelby's name, it reads Umar's.

We hadn't texted in awhile. I didn't even know he was in Chicago until Bake's accident. I dry my hands on my shorts and slide open the message.

"I know we haven't talked in a really long time, but how does coffee sound? Ya know catching up and all."

I smile a bit at my phone like the idiot I am. We used to be a thing in high school. But a lot has changed since then and it would be nice to catch up with him. I'm sure he has some interesting stories about his time with the EMS stuff.

"Hey bud. Sure where you wanna meet?"

I know I mentioned Bake and C's history and not my own. But for a good reason. I've always been the person who focuses on everyone else; anything to get attention off of me. Umar and I used to date. We were very happy as Juniors, almost seniors, and such, but when graduation came around and our colleges split everyone apart, everyone's relationships dissolved into the sea of adulthood. Keeping in contact was easy over the summer, but as classes and homework and new friends took over, Cuz We're Happenin' faded into the background. But, clearly we were never completely extinct.

My phone goes off in my hand.

"Actually... I'm kinda new to the area. Do you have somewhere we could meet? I only got here the day that Bake had his accident... weird how that worked out."

He was right. Weird.

"Well how about FLiP Crepes on Clinton St.? Just use gps"

"I'll trust your word. Sounds good to me. Meet at 11:30?"

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⏰ Last updated: Aug 30, 2017 ⏰

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