Open Up My Eager Eyes

Chapter 5

“You are not much of a talker, aren’t you?” Vic chuckled as he snapped me out from my train of thoughts. I’ve been sitting in this Starbucks shop with him for over thirty minutes now and to be honest, I’ve been itching to get out of here.

“Yeah, I guess.” I said and took a sip of my coffee. He just nodded and leaned back to his chair, making himself comfortable. I was glancing at my watch from time to time because I am so paranoid about Sam. After our encounter this morning, I sure do not want to disappoint her anymore. And I know for sure that if she finds out about this, she’ll drown me with her endless lecture and I don’t want that. I want us to live in good terms and the last thing that I wanted to do is to disappoint her.

“So..” Vic finally broke the silence. “You're new here, right?”

“Yeah, just moved in a couple of days ago.” I said with a small smile, just to lighten up the mood. He nodded again, followed by a dead silence.

“You work anywhere near here?” He asked, looking all contemplative. I almost choked on my coffee because of his question.

“Oh, no. I work on the southern part.” I said with a chuckle. He looked at me like I was crazy. His eyebrows furrowed and he wasn’t saying anything.
“You know, it’s where all the big businesses are. It’s where the large companies and corporations are located.” I added, helping him to clear out the air. He just stared at me, no words spilling out from his mouth for the first time since I met him.

“And what does that supposed to mean?” He asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Why the laugh?”

“Uh, because you thought that I work around here?” I said, getting all confused. What’s his deal? His bright mood suddenly dropped and I really do not know why.

“Yeah, and what’s so funny about that?” He question. Oh no. I know now why he suddenly got all feisty. Damn, I must’ve offended him or something. Anxiety rose up in me as Vic stared at me intimidatingly.

“Uh, no, um, nothing. It’s just that I-“

“That’s what I hate about you snobby little rich kids.” He said bitterly. “Just because you get to live in the ‘good side’ of the country, doesn’t mean that you could just laugh at our faces like that. Just because you work in a shabby company, doesn’t mean you get to laugh at my face.” He said in a monotone, not breaking eye contact with me. I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. What even have I gotten myself into?

“Sorry.” I reluctantly said. It was all that I could say, right?

“Where do you work, exactly?” He said, not minding my apology.

“In this bank a couple of blocks away from my apartment.” I said, looking down on my lap. He just mumbled a ‘mhm’ telling me to go on. “BSD.” I added, finally telling him the name of the bank that I work in to. I was confused though. If I remember it correctly, I already told him these details. I just shrugged it off, not wanting to start another argument with him.

I finally looked up at him, his eyes were glistening in amusement. He let out a small chuckle and looked out to the window, taking a sip from his cup.

“Oh, is it the one that Hugh Biggs manages?” He asked, not taking a glimpse at my direction. He kept the grin glued to his face, which made me wonder about what was going on in his head right now. One second he was nearly shouting at me and now, he’s being all smug and confusing.

“Yeah, he’s a jerk.” I whispered under my breath, taking the last sip of my coffee.

“Okay, Kellin. It’s been fun hanging out with you. Too bad I have to run some errands.” He said and grabbed his car keys that were lying on the coffee table in front of us. I gave him a baffled look but he just smiled down at me. He pushed the entrance door of the shop nimbly but peaked back in after a few seconds.