Chasing the Sun

080

I woke up earlier the next day, making sure that New's eyes were still shut the moment mine opened. We didn't want him to have his own alone time in the kitchen as we were afraid that he might cook something that would upset our stomach, so even if I was still sleepy, I figured getting up early.

"You're up early, I guess we have the same thing running in our minds", New's mom greeted me as she sipped on her warm cup of tea.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll be able to handle yet another burnt pancake for breakfast."

We chuckled for a while and talked about a variety of things when I remembered my promise about New. I had told him I would get him any flavor of cake if he agreed to dance with me, and he hadn't stopped bugging me for the whole day yesterday about the blueberry cheesecake that he wanted.

"Ma, I'm going out for a bit. I promised New I would buy him cake today, so I better go now before I receive an earful from him."

"Sure son, here, take my money.", New's mom said as she fished her wallet from her pocket.

"There's no need, Ma. I still have money and I think it's still enough for a blueberry cheesecake."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Ma. If ever New wakes up and I still haven't come back, tell him I just went out for a bit, will you?"

"Okay, take care alright?"

"Okay Ma, I'll get going now."

I made my way to the door, put on my sneakers, and walked towards the side of the house where the bike was placed against the wall. It looked like it hadn't been used in ages, and the body had rusted through time, but it was still usable. New's mom told me that if ever I had anything to do outside I could use it, so I didn't have to ask permission for her prior to riding the bike.

It took me thirty minutes of biking before I was able to reach downtown Chiang Mai, and I was greeted by the ever lively city that looked busy even in the morning. Different from the peaceful ambiance of New's residence, the city was rather tiresome to look at, and even though it was only just a few days since I last got a view of it, I was already wanting to drive back.

I shouldn't have promised him a cake.

As if the struggle of biking all the way to the city wasn't any hard, there didn't seem to be any store opened at that hour that served blueberry cheesecake. The sun was scorching hot above me, and I had no way to shade myself from the intense heat, so biking along the city was an unbearable act. I had gone through more than ten bake shops, and not even a single one had blueberry cheesecake.

"Hi, do you happen to have a blueberry cheesecake?", I asked the shop attendant as I caught my breath from the intense heat.

It was already the eleventh store I visited, and I was crossing my fingers hardly, wishing that she would say yes. But seeing how her face turned into a frown, I didn't need to hear anymore what she would say.

"I think the coffee shop two blocks away from the high school sells them, you can check if they still have it. Here, quench your thirst before you go.", She said as she handed me a glass of water. She must have seen how lethargic I looked that she offered a glass of water for me to drink.

I didn't hesitate to grab the glass from her and drink the cold glass of water as my throat was too dried from all the biking.

"You look cute, do you have a girlfriend?", She said as she winked at me, clearly making a move.

I looked at her tag and her name said Jane. She wasn't bad looking. In fact, she looked beautiful. Her long, brown hair was curled into a wavy manner, and even if she wore little makeup, her face still made up for the lack of cosmetics.