13th of February (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter XI

Again back at his usual cafe, James was waiting for his coffee, glad that there weren't too many people. Exactly why he came early in the mornings. He was just observing the few scattered people in the cafe when two girls who seemed to be in their late teens came up to the counter and ordered their drinks.

Not really paying attention to them, James continued looking around the cafe. That was until they started whispering, and despite not wanting to, James could clearly hear what they were saying because like him, they had wanted to get their drinks before they got comfortable at a booth.

"Hey, isn't that the guy you love?" whispered the slightly taller brunette. Her friend's head snapped up so fast that James though she might have gotten a whiplash.

"What!? Are you ok? I don't like any guy!" she whispered back, sounding like she wanted to punch her friend.

"That's not what I meant, you idiot. I was referring to that guy there. He's the writer you love right? The one you want to become like?" said the first girl, and James suddenly realised that they were talking about him.

Now suddenly flustered, James didn't know how to react. Being pretty much isolated made him awkward around nice people. Again, the girl turned so fast that James was surprised that she didn't pull a muscle. Not really knowing what to do, he pulled out his phone and started scrolling through all the mail's he didn't even know he had gotten. Most of them were works of some writers who requested for him to edit it, and some were fan mail. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the writers, he just continued scrolling, trying to look like he hadn't heard them and avoid any awkward conversations.

He heard the girls still whispering though. "Oh my god, it's actually him! His writing is just so good, even though he's only written articles and short stories for about a million different papers! Did I tell you? Apparently he's working on his first book! I can not wait! Oh my gosh, I can't believe he's actually here!"

Now thoroughly embarrassed, James couldn't bring himself to look up at all.
"Come on, you can't deny that his writing is amazing." rhapsodized the shorter blonde girl to her friend who was rolling her eyes at her.

"I never said it wasn't good, it's you gushing about him that's getting on my nerves. Why don't you go talk to him?". When the other girl have her a bewildered look, she said "What? I don't know, ask for tips on writing or his autograph or something."

Oh no. No no no. Shit. This was exactly the kind of awkward conversation he was trying to avoid.

Out of panic, without really thinking, James stuffed his phone into his pocket started walking towards the exit. It really did look like every force in nature was against him though, because right then, the barista called out "Sir! Excuse me, Sir, your drink!"

Barely resisting the urge to facepalm, James stood there for a few moments, contemplating his chances. Finally, he made up his mind, turned, lunged for his coffee and bolted out of the shop. He could hear the girls trying to stifle their laughter, but to his own surprise, he wasn't even annoyed. He actually felt bad for dodging them the way he did, but in his defence, he wasn't really thinking. He hoped to run into them under better circumstances so he could at least apologize.

Sighing, he pulled out his phone again. Not many people came to this part of the city so early in the morning, so he didn't have to sorry about running into anyone. Unlocking it, he noticed that he had accidentally opened one of the mails. Having nothing better to do at the moment, he decided that he might as well read it.

This one was from a fan who was seriously trying their hand with writing for the first time. They didn't want it to be edited, but they just wanted genuine feedback. James was pleasantly surprised at the writing though, it was very good. In fact, just by reading the first two chapters that were sent to him as a preview, he could tell that this person was a consummate writer, despite lacking experience.

He quickly looked through the writers file of information. This person was called Karen, and was a highschool dropout. Nice name, James thought, as he quickly sent her a mail to schedule a meeting in person. Though he didn't want to admit it, he was pretty eager to meet this Karen, whoever she was.

If only he'd braced himself for what he was going to find out.....if only......

________________

Unedited.

Thanks for reading!

Published: 12/09/20