A Fake Life

chapter five: the right foot

"Ah, I love this smell." Hayden says as he opens the door of the coffee shop. I walk in behind him to smell coffee beans being roasted.

This coffee shop is called Disconnect. They have no WiFi so we don't glue ourselves to our phones. It's pretty popular on campus for creating conversations.

Hayden and I get our coffee and pick a booth to sit at. We sit in the corner tucked away from most of the students. Hayden drops his latte down on the table and begins to look at me. "What is it?"

I raise my eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"

Hayden sips his latte and looks back up at me. "You're only quiet when you have a lot on your mind." He sets his mug down. "Just spill it."

"It's literally nothing, Hayden." I take a sip of my iced macchiato. "My sister came by for a visit."

"Which one?" Hayden looks puzzled.

I play with my straw. "Meghan."

Hayden noticeably shivers. "She scares me."

I crack a smile. "I still don't understand why you are so scared of her. She's super nice."

Hayden shakes his head. "A wolf seems nice too until their canine deep into your leg." I laugh as I try to finish my coffee. "So what happened when she came to visit you?"

"Ah, well the same ole stuff." I keep playing with my straw. "She offered to be my manager." Hayden abruptly stops drinking his coffee. "So yeah, I might decline." Hayden starts to look around confused. "Hey, what are you looking for?"

Hayden turns back to me. "I'm just trying to find where you've lost your mind." I laugh as he keeps looking. "I know it's around here somewhere because it's definitely not with you."

"I need to work hard to get high in the industry, Hayden." I convince him. "I can't do that when I'm depending on my sisters."

Hayden stops looking and looks straight at me. "Meghan never said she's going to hand you a career, Celeste. She just wants you be on the right road to success." He sighs loudly. "You just need to swallow your pride and ego so she can help you."

I take a breath in and respond. "I know. I know."

He looks up at me from his drink. "So you'll get back with her and accept the offer?"

I jokingly respond. "Yes, dad." We both laugh as we finish our drinks.

Hayden perks up in his seat. "You know what I'm craving right now?"

I look at him cautiously. "Should I really answer that?"

He rolls his eyes. "Remember when Cecilia always made us those gooey chocolate croissants whenever you came over after school?"

My mouth flings open. "Oh my gosh! Yeah, I totally remember! Cecilia used to call it her Chocolate Surprise!"

Hayden reaches into his wallet. "I think they have some here. They won't be as good as Cecilia's but they will do." He pulls out his black credit card. "Can you pleaseeee get us some?"

I roll my eyes. "Fine. You're lucky I'm craving for it too."

Hayden smiles. "This is why you're my bestie." He drops the credit card in my hand.

I give him a questionable look. "Isn't your black card for emergencies?"

He shoos his hand at me. "My parents barely pay attention to what I spend anymore since I'm at college."

I get up from the booth and fake cough. "Spoiled."

He laughs. "You say spoiled and I just say I'm downright blessed."