Jaded

[33] Atty and The Notebook

"What are your intentions with Maddy?" Vanessa asks, tapping her matte white acrylics against the stained linoleum of our diner table.

Atty shifts in his seat beside me and sighs. "Presently? Getting her highness to decide on what type of burger she wants."

Vanessa snorts and quickly scrawls something down on the notepad she pulled out a couple minutes ago. "And in the long run?"

He purses his lips and tilts his head forward. "Is there a reason I'm getting interrogated?"

I pat his arm playfully, "is there ever a reason for anything, Atticus?"

"You," he turns to me, eyes narrowed. "Not helping."

"Wasn't trying to," I chime, stretching my arms as V readies for her next question.

The rays of light flooding in from the afternoon sun brighten the entire diner, specifically enhancing Vanessa's features. As she moves to grab a napkin to fold aimlessly, the light dances around the edges of her silhouette.

She clears her throat and asks, "you said you have a job?"

"Yeah. I'm a junior developer at Hill Games."

V raises an eyebrow and jots something down. "How old are you, then?"

'Ancient' is what he said when last time when I asked. And even though that's not true, I've since come to learn his soul actually is 'ancient'- he's practically an antique sometimes, but it's charming; especially when he shivers any time we go anywhere and comments on the weather.

"19," Atty answers, frowning when this prompts Vanessa to write again in her notepad.

He leans to my side a little and whispers, "what's she scribbling in there?"

I chuckle under my breath, "is it unnerving you, pretty boy?"

"No," he answers immediately. But I see the way he's sitting up a little bit straighter now that V's spotlight is on him. It's pretty hilarious, which is probably why I've been too distracted to decide on what kind of a burger I want.

"Junior developer at 19 means you already have a bachelor's degree... so you're some kind of a smart guy then. Is there anything you're not good at?"

Atty nods and answers in all seriousness, "skateboarding, snowboarding, blunt rolling, wearing leather pants, downhill skiing, icing a cake, pottery, jewelry making... hmm, what else? Oh! And singing."

I stare at him for a couple seconds, processing everything he's just said. The fact that he explicitly knows he's not good at some of those things really makes me wonder what kind of a life he's lived. 14 was a crazy year for him.

Vanessa gasps, "you can't sing?!" Then she proceeds to furiously scratch something onto the notebook.

"Not all of us can be Marvin Gaye," Atty mumbles defensively, pouting just a little.

I can't help but laugh, "you're such a grandpa sometimes, oh my god."

This only confuses him, "what does that even mean? Marvin Gaye is amazing." He sarcastically adds, "who should I have said instead? Justin Timberlake?"

Vanessa, who up till this point had also been laughing, stops instantly. "Hey, buddy, no need to bring JT into this."

Since this makes me laugh even harder the menu slips from my fingers and falls flat on the table. Of course, Atty notices. "You still haven't decided?! For the love of god Madeira, pick something already."

Vanessa cackles and shakes her head. "Good luck with that. Last time Maddy and I ate out, it took her so long to settle on something our waiter's shift ended."