Cold and rainy.
Today is cold and rainy and I’ve missed my bus. It’s the last bus that comes until tomorrow so now I’m walking around aimlessly in the downpour trying my hardest to find a payphone but my luck for tonight just keeps getting better and better and there’s not one to be found. The thought of being stuck out here any longer almost makes me want to cry.
I knew I shouldn’t have taken the late shift. It was stupid of me. I need the money right now though and going to the club tonight was the only thing I could think to do. It was busy so I’m definitely good for at least a week but getting grabbed unexpecantly at random times made me think twice about if the money is worth it. I’m always quite shaken up when those things happen but I know I’ll be fine. I always am.
A few more minutes of carelessly walking, and I’m stood in front of a 24 hour American style diner. This place is probably my best bet for finding a phone but I’m not going to get my hopes up though and I walk in with only the intent of finding warmth.
There’s a woman about my age sitting behind the counter reading a magazine. She knows I’m here and definitely heard me come in, but her attention doesn’t even sway from the latest gossip. I scoff to myself at just the thought of celebrities being followed around with cameras and tape recorders. I could almost pity them if they weren’t such terrible people.
“D’you got a phone?” I ask the woman and she finally looks up. Icy blue eyes meet my brown ones in the form of a glare.
“D’you got a cigarette?” She mimics my tone and smiles fakely before going back to reading. I let out a tired sigh as I take off my backpack and rummage through my work clothes until I’ve found my pack. I open it to see that I’m beginning to run low and I wince. I had won the pack I have now in a poker game with Dave and I don’t think using the money I had made tonight for cigarettes is a wise choice considering the amount of bills I have to pay. I extend my arm and hold the cigarette in front of her face.
She rolls her eyes and takes it before leading me to a back room. “Phone’s in the corner. Don’t make a mess out of anything.” She grumbles as she lights her fag inside and inhales deeply. I nod and punch Damon’s number into the outdated phone. He picks up after quite a few rings.
“Alex, what the fuck do you want mate?! I have an exam tomorrow. Why are you calling?” His voice is angry and raspy. I play with the cable attached to the phone. I honestly don’t care that I’ve probably woken him up right now. I feel demoralized from work, I’m soaked to the bone and I really just want to go home and finish my homework.
“I need you or Dave to come pick me up. I’m stuck in the rain.” I decide to cut the bullshit and just get straight to the chase. I can hear Damon let out an exasperated noise but then he asks me where I am. I tell him to the best of my abilities, but I don’t even know where I am so my directions must be at least a little bit wrong. I hang up the phone and sit down at a two person table before I light myself a cancer stick.
“You can't smoke in here.” The woman who is back in her spot tells me. “Against our policy.” She blows out a thick cloud of smoke and smiles in a teasing manner. I make sure to stare right at her as I fill my lungs with dirty black tar. Her smile turns to one of genuine amusement as she watches me not even flinch at the harshness.
“I’ve never been one to follow any of that.” I shrug. She laughs. Half my cigarette is gone and I’m quite sad I never got to enjoy it. I feel sick from so much nicotine in that short amount of time but I'd say it was worth it just to prove I'm an asshole. I look outside the large bay window to see Damon’s shitty old car slowly trying to parallel park against the empty sidewalk. I stand up shakily.
“Gone so soon?” I'm putting on by bag again and pushing in my chair. The woman looks disappointed. I suddenly feel bad for her. This place probably doesn't see much business during the day so at night it’s most definitely a ghost town. I place my last cigarette on the counter in front of her. I’ll regret it later but I refuse to think of later right now.
“Afraid so. You take care.” I smile politely as I head to the door. “Thanks for the phone by the way.” It’s the last thing I say before I’m thrown back into the harsh reality of life. I shiver as I make my way through puddles and freezing rain to Damon. I let out a slight sigh of relief when my fingers are wrapped around the cold metal door handle.
“Took you long enough to get out here.” Damon whines but I ignore him. It’s been a terrible night other than the fifteen minutes I just spent in that diner and all I want is to get changed into warm, dry clothes and to get into bed. I don’t even care about my exams tomorrow or that I’m either going to sleep through or fail them. I just want to sleep.
Luckily, the rest of the ride is silent so I lean my head on the window and listen to the rain beat down on the car. It calms me in a way that I don’t realize and by the time we’re home my bad mood has subsided just a little bit.
My bedroom is small but wouldn't have it any other way. Curling into myself under the blankets, I try my hardest to find sleep but it never comes to me. I end up chain smoking and studying until the early hours of the morning. University will be the death of me I swear. I didn't know it was possible to hand in six different assignments for three different classes and not fail until I had to do it. It doesn't help when I leave everything until last minute.
“You look like absolute trash.” Noel points out as I sit down in my first exam. Noel isn’t bad but he and his brother Liam definitely aren't peacekeepers. If there's trouble, it's most likely coming from the Gallagher brothers.
“Thanks, I try.” I smile sarcastically as I put my head down on the desk and carefully pull the sleeve of my shirt down to not reveal the answers to every question on the exam written up my arm. Noel does the same and I smile. Looks like great minds think alike.
The professor glares at us as she hands our papers out face down. I ignore her malice and send her a cheeky smirk. She hates me because she knows I cheat but she's never been able to prove it. She can glare at me all she wants but I will never get kicked out of her class. Ever. Besides, I find most of this class pointless and I'll be out of Manchester as soon as I have the money for it. I just need my degree and I'll be off.
The exam begins and every time our professor would look away, Noel and I snicker at each other. We both finish it in only an hour and I'm once again sleeping in my bed by noon. I sleep until the ringing phone wakes me up. I groan.
“Damon get the phone!” I cry out before pressing my face into my pillow. The ringing continues and I realize that Damon is in a class right now and that I should probably get up and answer the phone. I stumble into the living room and hold the receiver to my ear with a full sigh.
“Alex speaking.” I look out the small window as I speak. Dave’s basement is a great, cheap place to live, but I sure do wish there was more natural light. Not seeing the sun much probably isn't doing good things for my constant bad moods but it's too late to find somewhere else to go.
“Hello Alex!” A cheery voice responds and I roll my eyes. I don't want to work tonight. I went to the club yesterday. What could they possibly want right now?
“What do you want Jarvis? I'm trying to sleep off an exam.” I have nothing against Jarvis, he was left the club in someone's will. He's far too sweet to be in this business but he felt bad just giving it away. It’s luckily been a lot safer working there since he's been in the picture though.
“Well umm, I lost a bet and now I kind of owe a few big drug dealers some strippers for a few hours on Saturday.” I can hear the hesitation in his voice but listen on. “I was just wondering if you were interested? You’d get paid extra. I'm one person short and there's no more girls free.” I take a deep breath and think it over. Jarvis would be paying me and if they're ‘big drug dealers’ like he says, they won't be too cheap.
“If I do this tonight I'm not stepping foot in the club until at least next week.” I tell him seriously. Big criminals are particularly grabby and they make me quite nervous.
“That’s fine. I really owe you one.” He quickly hangs up so I don't have enough time to second guess my decision. I shrug off the sinking feeling of having to work for the second time this week and listen to the sound of the door opening and heavy footsteps down the stairs. Damon’s home.
When he gets into the living room, he collapses on one of the couches and rubs his hands harshly over his face. I would make a snide remark about how he looks exhausted, but I imagine that I don't look much different. I sit next to him and he immediately leans his head down on my shoulder. We sit in a comfortable silence.
***
1770 words.
So me writing in actual novel format is a thing now I guess..
