Famed Friendship

One

*BEEP**BEEP**BEEP**BEEP*

Ugh, I groaned. Mornings...my favorite. I pressed the snooze option hoping I'd just sleep through the next alarm. I drifted back into a light snooze.

*BEEP**BEEP**BEEP**BEEP*

I groaned again, hitting the stop button. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the time with only one of them...9:15 in the morning...I laid my phone back on the bed and just stared at the ceiling for a good 30 seconds..."NINE FIFTEEN??" I panicked. I jumped up out of bed tossing my blanket onto the floor that'll just stay there until I go to bed, I ran into the bathroom looking at myself in the mirror.

My eyes were bloodshot, I splashed my face with cold water hoping it'd do something magical; my hopes were down the drain because I still looked a mess. I put my hair up without even brushing it, quickly brushed my teeth, grabbed a couple of mints and ran out the door. I was supposed to be at the dance studio with Juan at 9:30, it's now 9:25. I needed gas in the car, but I have no time for that. I called Juan putting him on speaker.

Juan: Hello?June: Hey, sorry I completely over slept...I'll be there within 10-15 minutes.Juan laughsJuan: It's all good, I knew mornings were your favorite.June: Oh yeah, my absolute favorite...June: See you soon, bye.Juan: Adios

I pulled into the security gate, giving them the code to the dance studio and telling them who I'm with. I park my SUV towards the front of the building and meet Juan at the door. While I don't have a set to myself, Juan wanted me to perform one of my songs with him as a surprise guest. He's not the only one performing out of the friend group, Jaden is as well. I follow Juan into the air-conditioned building, feels so much better than the outdoors even though it's just nearly 10 am.

"Respectfully, you look a mess" Juan says

"I probably should take offense, but it's true. I woke up late, didn't get to shower, no skincare, not even a single bite of food" I respond

"After this we could go to a local diner just a few buildings down if you'd like" I shook my head, this shouldn't take long as I'm only performing a single song.

I go through all my options; I'm stuck between Drunk & POV.

"I truly don't know which one would be best" I say

"Maybe you should ask Siri to pick a number 1 or 2, 1 being drunk and 2 being POV" I should've thought about that...

"Hey Siri, pick a number between 1 & 2" I hold my phone close to my mouth

"Hm? A random number between 1 & 2, I pick 2" Siri answers

"Well, POV it is!" I speak

Juan and I come up with an idea that there will be a projection of water on the stage floor, dancers and I will be laid all around it. There will be a projected waterfall in the background and faux forest props around the stage including animals like frogs, snakes, fish etc. Juan will perform 11pm, which will slowly fade into POV giving some time to set up the projections and props.

Both of us practice the performance pretending the props and projections are here, all goes well. We gave each other high fives, "you did great June!" Juan says, I say the same thing back to him."I know you have to be starving, lets walk to the diner I was talking about earlier" Juan leads the way

~~~~~

"Welcome to the diner, what could I get you guys to drink?" the waiter says

"I'll have a glass of water" Juan says

"Make that two" I add

I look at the menu, choices have to be made even if they are difficult. I look at their breakfast options.

"See anything that looks good?" Juan asked

"I was looking at the #5 combo with eggs, breakfast potatoes, a bowl of fruit and toast...there's so many options!" I say looking back down seeing if anything else looks good

"Here's those waters, are you guys ready to order?" The waiter asked

"Are you ready?" I asked Juan, he shook his head yes

"I'll have the #5 combo with over-easy eggs" the waiter writes it down on his small pad

"What kind of bread and jelly would you like?" the waiter asked

"White bread and grape jelly would be great" I replied

"And for you sir?" the waiter asked Juan

"I'll do the same exact thing she ordered" the waiter wrote x2 on his pad

"Alright, it shouldn't take too long. Let me know if you guys need anything" the waiter said, I nodded my head

I could hear photos being taken of us from behind. Walking here was incredibly chaotic, paparazzi surrounded us like a swarm of wasps asking useless questions like "what do you think about this" "what do you think about that" "did you hear what your ex said" blah blah blah. I'm just trying to enjoy some time with Juan, who I haven't seen in a long time, like leave us the fuck alone.

Coachella was just in a couple of days; we all leave for the Airbnb tomorrow morning. After we're done eating, I have to go back to my apartment to finish packing. Some of us are staying a little longer, after all the Airbnb is actually booked for a week.

Juan turned his phone around showing me a photo of myself with a dumb filter on it. He was cracking up. I playfully hit his arm.

"The #5 combo with over-easy eggs, white toast, and grape jelly for both of you guys" the waiter sits the plates down on the table

"Thank you" I say

"You're welcome, let me know if you guys need anything else" the waiter replied

We both start eating.

The camera shutter sounds are mad annoying, why do these weirdos want photos of us eating? I don't understand, I don't know if I will ever really.

We both finish, Juan pays and tips. I added an extra $300 tip because I know the waiter probably gets paid hardly anything. We both walk back to the dance studio parking lot departing from each other. My gas tank is nearly empty, I drive to the nearby gas station.

*Camera clicks**Camera clicks*
"Are you and Juan dating?" one weirdo asks
"Liam said you're a liar, what's your thoughts?" weirdo number two asks
"Are you performing at Coachella?" weirdo number three asks
"Look this way" weirdo number four demands
"I love your outfit" weirdo number five say

I press the unleaded option and start the gas pump. I cannot believe this is really someone's job, going around and taking pictures of celebrities doing ordinary things...like eating with a friend...or getting gas. That's why I'll stick with calling them weirdos because it's really what they are. The gas pump clicks, I fill it up until the next dollar to make sure its evened out. I quickly speed away...safely as possible and head back to my apartment.

I really want to nap but my suitcases are yelling at me, at least that's what it feels like. I chuckle at my own thoughts. I shuffle my main playlist on Spotify and continue packing.

After a good hour I feel finished, but in the back of my mind I know I'll forget something...probably something super obvious too. 3:50pm reads the clock, time sure does pass by fast.

I sit on the couch browsing through different streaming services trying to find a movie or tv show. I watch the new episode of 911 on Hulu. The rest of the day is pretty boring, your typical eating dinner, finishing up chores before a trip. Tomorrow is the day I finally get to see my friends who I haven't seen all together in FOREVER!