Coffee; Hot Steam; Only 17

Best read to: Cody Simpson - Awake All Night

Before you read: do you think age is more important than maturity?

I wrapped my hands around the mug like coffee wrapped itself around my heart. Hot steam blew throughout the house as my humidifier puffs steamed water into the air

 I suppose Ben is elsewhere in his bedroom asleep or writing something long and drawn out for the school newspaper

 It’s odd how sudden my life had changed when I decided to move out a few months ago. I mean I’m only 17 and the fact that I’m living on my own technically isn’t even legal. I’m not on the lease in fact I’m not even allowed to walk the rent down to the office because I’m not listed as a lieutenant and they’d be pissed if they found out I was living here a year before I was legally capable to.

 I feel young and naive and reckless but yet I’m enjoying every minute I spend outside of school because it seems like this summer has just been school and more school and then a little bit more school on top of that

 My sister is out of town and I won’t see her until next monday. I assume my parents are at home probably watching marathons of Impractical Jokers.

 I haven’t seen my best friends for a week because they’re deep in the heart of California probably sinking their heels in the Venice sand and toasting over pink and yellow picnic tables

 Up until now my life has been quiet, I was kinda lonely growing up and I didn’t really make any friends my first 2 years of high school but starting junior year everything changed; I joined the dual enrollment program and I started to change my perspective on school and the people around me. Now, ending my 2nd year enrolled in the program I feel like I’ve met so many people and made so many new friends. Senior year is my best year yet

 I told my parents that I had a sort of mini goal of moving out when I graduated but when I passed by the student bulletin board and saw Ryan Booney’s poster where he described in bullet points the kind of roommate he was looking for I felt like it was fate trying to tell me something.

 I tore the flyer down and it took me a week to work up the nerve to finally call Ryan and it was awkward at first trying to explain my situation to him and asking him if he could just wait a few months until my birthday when I turned eighteen but he was casually unfazed by my age and told me that the room was mine as soon as I could contribute my half of the upcoming rent.    

 Now a month into living in my new apartment I find myself lonelier than ever and it reminds me of how I felt in freshman year.

  Recently I had hugged my sister goodbye at the airport because she had been knee deep in her studies for months trying to complete her last few months of college and her trip to the Virgin Islands was much needed. My brother just joined this prestige art workshop where he’s literally paid to just draw; I don’t see him much besides surprising him by leaving water color palettes in his office when he isn’t there.

 Although I was invited to Venice it seemed impossible with all my homework so I told them that I’d definitely go on the next trip they took.

 “Abigaile are you dressed enough to walk the trash downstairs with me?” Ryan ran a hand through his mangled hair “maybe afterwards we can meet Kristy for dinner or something, she’s been wanting to talk to you about some new program she’s joining”

 I nod “all of that besides taking out the trash sounds great”

 Ryan smiled meekly before turning around and closing himself in his bedroom, I got up from the couch and trudged to my bedroom. I stare at my closet with a blank face “.....hmph...what to wear...” I got dressed which meant, I put on a bra.

 My hair has been a tangled mess of brown locks for days now. I haven’t had a reason to do my hair so I’ve sort of just abandoned it. I woke up yesterday morning and nearly gave Ryan the shock of his life. He described my hair as a mix of a wild lion’s mane and a bird nest

 There are knocks on my bedroom door and when I open the door Ryan stands there grinning at me “guess who I found at the bottom of the laundry basket, Pookabear!”

 I squinted “you mean that terrible monkey rag doll I tried to hide from you”

 Ryan grins down at it “I dunno I like him, he has character”

 I grabbed Pookabear from him and tossed him on the floor “leave my stuffed animals alone” I laughed

 Ryan grabs his keys from the small tray we kept on the counter and slips his feet into the vans he always keeps by the door, “grab that bag of trash for me will ya”

 Huffing I reached down to pick up the smallest bag “this smells gross”

 He effortlessly picked up the other bag “we produce a lot of waste in this house”

 I set my bag down in front of the door, pulling it closed to lock it “most of our waste is paper that you’ve crumpled up writing your editorials...y’know we oughta’ recycle some of this one day”

 He raises an eyebrow “you really think we should?”

 I shrugged “yeah I mean what could it hurt...besides the planet”

 Ryan and I descend the stairs, walking side by side to the trash cans in the parking lot and we tear open the trash bags and throw as much salvageable paper as possible in the green recycling bin. I’m sure we look like crazy trash pickers from anyone on the outside but I was having fun playing shoot-the-basket with all the paper Ryan had wasted writing his current submission for the paper

 I walked as slow as possible to Ryan’s carl; I have to admit I’m not too hyped about going to dinner because I’m perfectly content drinking coffee at 7pm but nonetheless I told Ryan I would go because Kristy seems like she really likes me and she’s never looked at me cross-eyed for moving in with her boyfriend and I appreciated that

 I think Kristy knows how out of my league Ryan is, he’s a writer for the campus’ favorite monthly newspaper and when he isn't writing he’s either face first in his homework or leaning over a book.

 The one thing I admire about him is that he’s incapable of being negative and he has such a great personality it just draws people to him and I suppose that was why I was so nervous of him when I first moved in; I really wanted him to like me but what I’ve learned is that he keeps himself involved in something and because of that I don’t see him that much besides when he leaves his room to get a drink.

 He’s humbly been offered so many diverse opportunities and even his ideas of starting a business have been promised to be funded. He has a lot going on for him, its hard to think of something he isn’t good at, except for cooking; Ryan doesn’t cook because he’s a menace in the kitchen but he does like microwaveable food and on a good day he’ll whip up chicken nuggets with his homemade sauce recipe and it’s probably the best dipping sauce I’ve ever tasted

 I slump into Ryan’s passenger seat, “you’ve been going through a lot of paper these past few weeks”

 He nodded “yeah, it’s like I knew what I wanted to write it was just hard to appropriately express it on paper...y’know what I mean?”

 “Yeah I know what you mean..so what’s the big topic this month?”

 Ryan seemed like he didn’t want to answer but then he sighs “I uh...I wrote about embracing and making space for new people in your life”

 I nodded absentmindedly “oh cool, like who?”He glanced at me for a second or two and then his eyes fell back onto the road “...like you”

After reading: are you a good cook or do you microwave everything like Ryan?