Match

14: The Architect and The Astronaut

Jonah and Cole decide to grab a bite to eat at a fast food restaurant from across Dairy Queen's on campus. It's got a large logo of the university symbol on the front. Cole hasn't been in it before. It's quaint, like an old-fashioned diner except slapped on with a brand. As soon as they state their orders, Cole pulls out his wallet to pay for his meal. He's halted by Jonah.

"I'll pay," Jonah says.

"For here or to go?" The cashier lady asks.

"Here."

Cole's eyes flutter as he watches Jonah pull out his credit card to pay for both of their meals. He feels a tinge of guilt, as he was the one who asked to hang out. Before he can even utter a rebuttal, Jonah pays and swivels to face him. A card stand with a number is in his grip. He points to a vacant booth in the far back.

"Let's go there."

And just like that, Cole is but a puppy with his tail between his legs, following his owner. He sits across from Jonah and examines the interior more. A shy smile forms on his face. There's a crinkling embarrassment in his expression Jonah seems to catch.

"Have you been here before?" He asks.

Cole blinks himself awake and meets Jonah's eyes. He wants to speak, yet somehow he can't. He responds with a simple shake.

Jonah reduces his voice to a mere whisper. "I'll be honest, I kinda wish there were more vintage aesthetic restaurants in town like here."

He tilts his head with intrigued confusion. Jonah takes that as a sign to continue.

"You hardly see any restaurants these days with cool 60's retro vibes, ya know?"

Cole bites his lip for a second. He finally feels the need to speak up.

"It kinda reminds me of where I work," he says.

"Oh?"

He fiddles with his hands. "I mean, the whole chair and table setup. It's similar."

Jonah leans in a bit. "Where do you work again?"

"Uh, Jewel's Sunny Side Up. It's roughly a twenty minute drive from here."

Jonah rests his head against the booth chair and repeats those words to himself.

"I think I've been there, a long time ago."

He feels a cool sensation radiate on his nape. How long ago? Jonah interrupts his thoughts.

 "Do your friends ever come bug you while working?"

He hones back in on the conversation. "Sometimes. They ask for discounts because I'm their friend."

"Ooh, jeez."

The same cashier lady comes by with a tray full of food. Cole ordered two burgers and a plate full of fries, while Jonah only ordered a burger. Jonah's eyes widen at the sight. And I thought my usual hunger couldn't be beat, he thinks. Suddenly, an empty cup is placed in front of him.

"You forgot these," the lady says, then walks away.

"Oh, shoot! Our drinks..."

They both stand up simultaneously to go to the drink dispensers. Jonah slides by Cole, brushing against his arm on accident. He feels his heartbeat quicken at the sudden touch and turns to Cole.

"Sorry!"

He keeps walking as if nothing happened. Shushing his feelings in an instant. What Jonah doesn't know is he wasn't the only one who felt a little flustered.

———————————

The air cools as the sun moves further down the sky. Crickets awaken their buzzing wings to fill the ambience. Cole and Jonah walk around the near-empty campus. Cole rubs his arm and stares at the ground.

"Thank you, by the way," he says.

Jonah turns to him with crossed arms behind his head. "For what?"

"Paying, for the meal. Dinner? Whatever, the meal."

He laughs with a closed mouth. "No problem."

Streetlights above start to light up, creating shadows beside them that grow and shrink in a counter-clockwise movement while walking. Cole feels awkward for ending the conversation there, especially with the cricket noises adding onto it.

"I had a dream and you were in it," he blurts.

Jonah stops in his tracks, making Cole almost bump into him. He takes a step back.

"A dream?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah," he says. "We were playing soccer."

"Ah."

Cole fumbles with his hand gestures to try and animate the scenario. "I was up against you. And like, I tried to dribble around you, but I tripped over my shoelace."

"Pff what?" He snorts.

"Yeah," he's ashamed at how accurate it captured his clumsiness. But it is my mind, after all. He continues, "you tried to help me up, then everything went white. Then I woke up."

To his own surprise, he remembers it crystal clear. Even after several days it plays like a blockbuster film in his head. Jonah stays quiet, absorbing the information. He nods with a curious finger on his chin.

"Dreams have a lot of meaning behind them."

Cole blinks and laughs in an awkward manner. "That's, true."

"Yeah, when I was fourteen, I had a dream over and over again about me showing up at school naked."

His eyes widen.

"And I was all, 'why the fuck did I keep dreaming about that?'. I asked a friend about it, who knows about dream meanings front to back. She said something like, 'ah, you appear to have a lot of internal conflict. You feel shameful about a part of you, and you're afraid people will see it, too'."

Jonah blinks to himself, stunned at him opening up so shamelessly. He hides the uneasiness with a grin. Cole rests a hand in his pocket and stares up at the sky.

"I had a dream I was naked in space. I wonder what that means," he jokes.

Jonah lets out a hardy belly laugh. "You want to be naked in space, duh!"

Cole cracks a wide smile. He checks the time on his non-existent wrist watch.

"I guess we should call it a night," he says.

"Ah, guess so. Hey, maybe next time we can do something more interesting than taking laps around uni."

Cole nods. "Sure."

"Cool. Well, see ya man."

Out of habit, Jonah hugs his friends goodbye. Realizing it's Cole though, he hesitates for a hug, and instead holds out a hand for a handshake. Cole takes it and shakes his hand.

"Catch you later," he says.

The two separate and stroll to their cars. Jonah fumbles around in his pocket for his keys, until he locates them with wandering fingers.

Once he unlocks his car, the flickered lights catch something glimmering on the road just under the car's back bumper. Confused, he walks up to the mysterious object. He bends down and realizes it's a lone match. As soon as he stands up with the match in his grip, he notices Cole drive out of the lot. He scratches his head. Nah, this can't be his, he thinks. The match is in mint condition, almost untouched. He takes one more look around the lot. Empty. Guess it's mine now. He slips the match carefully into his pocket and hops into the car.

A small, red bed awaits for the wooden stick back at his house.