Origami (Scott Helman fanfic)

Meet Cute

Chapter 4

I arrived at Mount Hope Medical Center a few minutes before 9am on Monday morning.
The head IT tech met me in the hospital's computer training lab.
I spent the morning learning the ropes of ERIC, an acronym for Electronic Reports in Charting. A surprisingly very user-friendly system that I thought even the older nurses I work with could learn. It could use a few tweeks to make it work for our hospital, but nothing our IT team couldn't fix. A great first day!

Mount Hope was the closest of the four hospitals to the hotel in which I was staying. So I was able to walk.
I stopped at a small cafe for lunch and ordered ham and swiss sandwich, with extra pickles and ranch dressing instead of mayo.
Shit, I thought. I need to text Brad.

I texted: "Hey!! Do you want to meet at the festival? No point in two of us paying for parking. I can take the bus there."

"Sounds good! I want to get as close to the stage as possible for Sophie's Party! I'll be there at 6:30pm. Meet me by the entrance", he replied.

"See you then!"

By the time I got back to my hotel, it was 1:30 and I still had a few hours to wait around. Well, I thought, might as well get ready to go.
I showered, and changed into some plain black leggings, my favourite pair of turquoise Toms, and a vintage concert t-shirt. Paul Simon. One of my faves. When we were kids, my brother and I used to do the dance that Paul Simon and Chevy Chase do in the music video for You Can Call Me Al.

I decided to beat rush hour and head down to the festival early.
I checked out the bus schedules online, and easily found my way to Downsview Park. I arrived around 5pm and thought I'd better grab something to eat. So many food trucks to choose from!!! I ended up getting a poutine and deep-fried cookie dough. All the shaded picnic tables were full, and it was much to hot to sit in the hot sun for 2 hours until Brad got there.
Ten minutes of walking around holding hot food, and I finally found a tree near the far end of the festival. A nice quiet spot away from the noise of the people and the music. There were a lot of people there for a Monday-night festival, but I expected more people would be showing up closer to the time Sophie's Party hit the stage.

I sat there for awhile after I had finished eating, and had a couple of smokes. I had just lit another one when I saw a man walking toward the area I was in. He had a cigarette in one hand, and seemed quite invested in the conversation he was having on his phone. He was oblivious to the fact that I was sitting just a dozen feet from where he stood.
But I wasn't obliviois to the fact that he was cute!!! Kinda on the short side, skinny, messy hair, multiple tattoos.
He was wearing light-coloured blue jeans with the cuffs rolled up and a plain black t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up as well. I guessed he was probably in his early 20's.
Holy crap, I thought, that is the cutest guy I've seen in a long time.
I pulled out my phone and stared at a black screen so he wouldn't see me staring at him.
I couldn't help but hear his phone conversation...

"Yes yes mom..... ok I will..... don't worry.... yes, I'll text..... love you too mom. Talk to you tomorrow."

The man put his phone into the back pocket of his jeans, and for the first time noticed me sitting there.
He looked startled for a split second, then his eyes lit up and he gave me a big smile.

"Sorry", he said. "I didn't see you."

He took a few steps towards me and held out his hand to shake mine.

"Hi, I'm Scott."