Around 5pm, Maye called and said she'd pay for my transpod ride. Transpods would normally demand pay for a ride. They were free for students and those attending florage meetings. However, the transpods were input with information and could recognize your age.
Maye organized the ride to arrive at my house at 8:15pm. Before I knew it, the transpod had pulled up to my house.
"I'm gonna spend the night at Maye's, be back before school tomorrow," was the lie I told my mom as I walked out the front door. Once in the transpod, Maye began talking, explaining how these parties worked. She said as long as you had the appearance, they would let you in. I guess that's why the government outlawed appearance modifying accessories. We'd been taught that in the past, people would change their hair and eye color with dyes and contacts.
"We're here!" Maye sang, opening the door of the transpod. We had arrived at a simple grey building labeled "Here & There." A sea of red hair crowded around coffee tables.
"Don't just stand there, I want you to meet some people."
Maye introduced me to her friends, but soon went to join them and forgot about me. A waitress passed by me and I ordered a coffee. Someone yelled in the background.
I stared at my Winter Bloom Latte on the table, in a sort of trance. Then, something jerked me awake.
"Um, hello," said a timid voice above me. I looked up to where the voice came from; a boy with strawberry blonde hair stood before me. "Can I sit here?" he said.
"Oh uh, y-yeah. Of course," I stuttered, taking a sip of my drink. A warm minty feeling filled my body as I did.
"I'm Noah," the boy said, reaching his hand over the table.
"Aven," I replied, shaking his hand. There was a silence.
"Sorry, I'm not very good at meeting new people," he whispered.
"Good, I'm not either," I admitted.
"Well, that's one thing we have in common."
We talked about everything, from school, to jobs- he always wanted to be a photographer- to names- his apparently comes from some old religion called "Christianity."
We had just started talking about books when he paused. Noah glanced at his wristwatch and swore. "It's 10:37, I gotta get home," he said, grabbing his sweatshirt and tugging it on.
"Okay, what's your number?" I asked hastily, almost immediately regretting it. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and scribble something down on a napkin.
"Arrivederci," he waved before jogging out the door.
Maye jumped from behind me, shouting "Boo!" I jumped and she grinned, sitting down where Noah sat.
"Can you not?" I asked.
"What else do you want me to shout, debt? DEBT!" she taunted. I gave her a glare and she beamed back.
"Anyway, who's that guy that just left? I haven't seen him around before," she asked, stealing one of my strawberry pastries and staring straight at me as she inched it near her mouth.
"This is his first event and he doesn't go to our school," I said, swiping my pastry back and taking a bite.
"Hey! I was gonna eat that!"
"You stole it from me first," I countered back, finishing the jam-filled treat.
"So...?"
"So what? I ordered it, so it's mine."
"Not the pastry, I mean the boy. You like him?" she smirked.
"Maybe."
"Don't deny it, I see that blush!" Just then, a waitress bumped our table and Maye's frappe spilled everywhere. The waitress cursed and turned to face us.
"Sorry, uh. I'll bring you napkins," she mumbled and ran into the bathroom.
"Good thing I didn't get a hot coffee," Maye sighed.
A minute later a waiter came to our table. "Apologies, it's her first night shift and she's a little clumsy," he said, handing us a ton of paper towels.
"Oh it's fine," Maye rolled her eyes. I nodded too. Something itched in the back of my mind, something different about him.
"Let me know if I can get you anything," he said before returning back to the counter. My brain clicked. He was the only person with brown hair and eyes in this room. The waitress had brown eyes and hair, but it was just her and him. I realized the waitress I had ordered from before was the same waitress. I also realized that the yelling I heard before was at her; "You dimwit, I ordered the hazelnut pudding!"
At 11:03, Maye finally decided it was time to go. Before leaving I went to the counter for a coffee to-go. The brown-haired barista stood waiting.
"Can I have a Winter Bloom Latte?" I asked.
"I don't know, can you?" he replied.
"Just give her the goddamn drink, you exdom," She hissed.
He frowned and asked "Here or to-go?"
"To-go," Maye answered for me, "I'm gonna wait outside."
Seemingly seconds later, I heard my name called and got my latte before heading out.
Once in the transpod, I noticed a number written on the cup, a phone number.
"Um, Mayo? What's an exdom?" I asked, still examining the number.
"It's an insult for dark-haired dark-eyed people, like that jerk boy back in 'Here & There,'" she explained. We were silent for the rest of the ride home.
The lie I told my mom was partially true, I was staying the night at Maye's. We stumbled into her house and Maye fell asleep in a chair in her living room.
I couldn't sleep, thinking about Noah, the brown haired boy and everything else that happened that night. Eventually, I built up the courage to text the number on my coffee cup.
Me: hey
Unknown: hi
Me: who are you?
Unknown: i'm liam
Me: okay liam, why did you give me this number?
Liam: i wanted to talk to you but your friend seemed a little hostile
Me: yeah, i'm technically not supposed to even have this number
Liam: what? why not?
I had to explain to him the very thing that had been repeated and hammered into my head since preschool. You can not date those of different appearance. It was a simple rule and a well known fact; so why did I feel like breaking it?
The next week, I worked up the courage to tell Maye and Corey about Liam.
"What?!" Maye yelled.
People spun their heads around to find the source of the sudden shout.
"Uh, she means 'what, you've never tried an apricot crisp?!'" Corey jumped in.
Some people glanced back again before returning to what they were doing.
"That's illegal! How could you even think of such a thing?" Maye whisper shouted.
"I know, but he seems nice enough. I think we could at least be friends," I reasoned.
"Did you even see him? He. Has. Brown. Hair. No offense Corey," she glances at Corey, who seems unbothered, staring through her long curly brown hair. "But he doesn't even have green eyes. You have to be kidding. You could get in so much trouble and I'm going to have to help you out." She continued on about everything that could go wrong. "C'mon Corey, help me out here."
"Was he cute?" Corey asked.
"Corey!" Maye stared at her.
"Hey, I had to ask," Corey held up her hands in mock defense. "So, was he?"
"Yeah, a little," I admitted.
"Okay, but it doesn't matter if he's nice or cute. He is an exdom," Maye stated.
"Maye, don't use that word," Corey turned to face her with a hard stare. "Look, I gotta go. If you like him, go for it." She stood up and left without another word.
After school that day, Maye texted me: i'm sorry about earlier. i'm worried about you and i don't want you getting in serious trouble over some boy. corey's right, if you like him, go for it. you'll have to choose which boy to go after though. i just hope you make the right decision.
Maye was right. I had to choose one. After getting to know both of them, I had to make a decision.
Me: hey liam?
Liam: what's up?
Me: i choose you
