Experiencing the Unknown

4. Chinese Food

School had been in full bloom for 2 weeks now, meaning that I had a whole bunch of homework. This was what I got for taking higher level classes. I always told myself that I would ease up on the classes but I liked being busy. I liked having a structure in my life, from going to school, to work, to home to do homework. I had no time to worry about anything else which was perfectly fine with me.

Right now I was staring at the coffee shop's entrance, waiting for Lucas to come walking through the door. He had been coming everyday for the past couple of weeks, and it sort of made my day. 

Finally, Lucas walked into the shop, wearing a beanie to hide his usually disheveled hair. He smiled when he saw me and I smiled back. I quickly made his usual drink, and handed it to him from the counter. 

He took a long sip from it, smiling. "Perfect. Like always," he said as he took his usual seat on the stool.

"So what did you do today during your free time?" I asked curiously. Lucas always went on little adventures when he wasn't doing school work. Yesterday he drove 2 hours to a little antique shop and picked up a cute little necklace chain. Presumably for his girlfriend.

"Well first I went to this cafe that is in the town over," Lucas started off. "Then I walked around Orange Lake for an hour or so, picking up rocks that looked cool. Finally, I just came back from walking up the street. There are so many hidden, little shops."

"So this cafe in the town over, do they have better coffee than this place?" I scolded, in a joking way.

"Hmm," he said as if he was debating on which coffee place had better coffee. I tried to keep my scolding look. He took a slow sip from his cup, making me wait for his response. "Definitely this place."

I smiled. "It's because I work here." This caused him to laugh. He had such a lovely laugh, I could listen to it all day. His voice was deep, yet his laugh was light and genuine. 

"So do you have any homework? It seems as if you have so much free time," I asked as I cleaned up my station behind the counter.

"I do get homework, but I only have classes for 3 hours, so I get my homework done in 2, leaving the rest of the day to do whatever I want," Lucas said as he watched me. Today his eyes were more green. They tended to change colors everyday, which made me jealous since my eyes stayed the same plain, old brown.

"Lucky! I have to go to school for about 7 hours, then I work for 3-5 hours, then I go home to do homework for at least 2 more hours," I said.

"I see that you don't get out often, do you?" He asked as he finished off his coffee.

"No, not really," I said bashfully. He probably thought I was some loser, who had no life. Which was kind of true.

"You haven't mentioned any of your friends," he said.

"I only have one," I said quietly. 

"Don't feel bad, I have none. But I like it like that. No worries about any backstabbers, or people lying to you. It's better to have a few people that you trust completely, than to have a whole bunch of people who are mostly liars and cheaters," Lucas said calmly. Him saying this made me feel better. He didn't see me as a loner, in a way I kind of understood him wanting to be alone. 

"It makes sense though, most people, especially in middle school and high school, can act like your best friend one minute and the next their spreading rumors about you," I said as I looked out the window, remembering that something like that happened to me.

I watched a raindrop roll down the window, like a tear rolling down someone's cheek. The next thing I knew, a tear was rolling down my cheek. I quickly wiped it off my cheek so Lucas didn't see it. Looking back at him, I noticed a concerned look on his face, but he didn't say anything.