Flatmates

7

I awoke to someone gently shaking my arm, but I was too tired to get up. I tried to ignore it, but they kept going.

'Jess, hey, wake up' it was Alex. 'Your outside, come on, wake up.'

I open my eyes to Alex standing over me, a look of concern on his face. Shit, I must have fallen asleep on the balcony. I sit up, patting the seat next to me for Alex to join me.

'So.. why were you asleep outside?' he asks, his voice laced with confusion.

'I didn't mean too. I was working all night on these designs. When the sun came up I decided to move out here, and I must have drifted off at some point' I yawn. 'What time is it?'

'9am. How much did you get done?'

'Damn I must have only been asleep about an hour' I say, stifling a yawn. 'Well.. all five. Well.. if they are good enough.'

'Pass them over' Alex grins, holding his hand out.

I hand him my sketchbook, passing it to him on the first design. He stays silent, inspecting each one, working his way through all five. It seems like forever before he finally speaks again.

'They are fucking amazing. You have literally smashed it. How did you do all of this in just one night?' Alex asks, still staring at the designs in front of him. 'Like seriously?'

'I guess I just work fast when I am excited.'

***

Once George is awake the three of us traipse up to Wills apartment for, as Will called it, a 'business meeting.' Once we are all squashed onto his corner sofa with drinks in hand, Will finally decides to tell us what is going on.

'I have spoken to the company that supply my merch, they are going to do it at a really good rate as I recommended you. I just need to send them over the designs and we are away. They said they could get the first batch to you about a week after they receive the designs' Will starts, never taking his eyes from mine. 'The only hitch is that of course it needs to be paid up front. For 500 hoodies, 500 t-shirts and 500 phone cases, we are looking at about £10,000' he adds, watching me carefully as he awaits my response.

'£10,000? I don't have that, no where near' I sigh. 'Minus bills and outgoings for the next three months, I have about a grand. So we need to scale this down massively' I say, trying to get my head around it. 'How much return would I get on the £1000?' I ask, clueless in this business.

'on £1000 you would get about £2500 back, so more than double your money' Will says, still watching me carefully. 'That was why I called you all here anyway. I wanted to get you a house warming gift' Will adds, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me close. 'I have paid £10,000 upfront for you. I just need your designs.'

'You.. what? No.. you can't do that.. that's a lot of money' I stutter, unable to comprehend what Will had just said.

'I can. And I have. But I want one of every hoodie and t-shirt you ever make' Will winks. George goes to the fridge and pulls out a bottle of Prosecco, letting the cork out with a 'pop' and filling four glasses.

'You can have whatever the fuck you like' I cry, throwing myself at Will, both of us topping over into the space that had been vacated by George. 'I don't know how to thank you! Honestly. Thank you so so much,' I say, my eyes filling with tears. Me and Will just laying entwined on the sofa. I was in disbelief.

'To Jess and her new venture' the three boys chime in unison.

After we had all celebrated with the ice cold Prosecco, I let Will go through the designs. He loves all five just as much as Alex and George, and wastes no time in scanning and sending them over the manufacturer. In just one week, I would have 1500 items ready to be sold. This was madness.

Having realised that I had nowhere in the apartment to store and package my merchandise, Will kindly offered me his spare room. I tried to tell him he had already done far more than enough, but he insisted. He said there was no point in having an empty room when it could be put to use.

I laid in bed that night, researching the perfect packaging materials. There was no use is smashing out amazing merch if it was dumped in a shitty box to be posted. I found a company that sold personalised packing bags, so I uploaded my business logo and ordered 1500, 500 being smaller to fit the phone cases. Then I ordered a tonne of bubble wrap and some thank you inserts. I had never been so excited for something in my entire life.