Plan J

Ch. 4: Monday Mornings

Getting up early on a Monday morning was never my forte but I was a girl with a plan. Plain and simple. I had even written it in my planner so I wouldn't forget.
Step 1. Wake up @ 7:30 am

Step 2. Get coffee from Starbucks by 8:10am

Step 3. Walk into the gym by 8:20 am

Step 4. Drop Alex's jacket with Will.

Step 5: Be on my way to class by 8:25am

Seems easy enough, right? Unfortunately, things that were easy always came at a higher price. Once again, I may be blowing things out of proportion but for some reason, the thought of returning Alex's jackets sent a shiver through me. All weekend long, I've been trying to figure out if that was a good or bad thing. So far, all I knew was that I'd rather be in bed right now than pulling up into the gym.

I had bought an extra coffee with a shot of vanilla for Will since I knew Monday mornings weren't for him either. It was also my way of saying thank you for giving me that push to go out.

Making my way out of the car, I ran through countless possibilities where this could go wrong and each time, I fought against myself, trying to convince my conscience that everything would be okay. There was nothing to fear but fear itself, at least that's what I was trying to believe.

Stepping into the cold ac room, I immediately walked towards the side of the room where Mark sat at the receptionist desk reading some sport magazines. Mark was a few years younger than me, fresh out of high school and loved flirting with all the girls here. I'm pretty sure that if Max, his uncle, didn't own the building he would've been fired already. Thankfully, he knew where to draw the line and not mess with me. 

"Good morning, Mark. Is Will in already?" I asked, coming up to the receptionist desk putting the jacket down.

"Will? Nope, won't be in till after lunch." He said, barely looking up from his magazine. Yep, still a dick.

"Doesn't he have a class with some dude at 8:30 every Monday?"

"Not today, Mr. DeLuca rescheduled, something about his wife going into labor. Honestly, I can't remember. Something I can do for you, sweetums?" He finally put his magazine down, only for him to shoot me a wink.

Ugh. This was Frank 2.0, but at least with Frank, I knew he was playing around. This kid was maybe 18 and already a creep. With his Bieber haircut and light blue eyes, he could probably pull some naïve girls, but definitely not me.

"Yeah, actually, I, uh, have this jacket." I debated whether to tell him to give it to Alex or Will. I guess Alex was the easiest choice for everyone, even if Mark made some weird comment, "Could you give it to Alex whenever he comes by."

"That's Alex's jacket? Why do you have it?" He asked, staring at the jacket as if the jacket would speak and give him an answer.

"Don't worry about it, can you or can you not give it to him?" I was getting annoyed and this little exchange was supposed to be no less than five minutes. Oh, how I wish Will had come in even if his client had canceled.

"Fine, I guess. Whatever. Just put it in that lost and found box over there." He pointed to a ratty cardboard box opposite of where we were standing.