Letters From A Dead Man

9 | coffee

May 4th, 4:56pm

The clacking of shoes on hardwood and rolling of large plastic bowling balls fills my ears as we enter the lanes. It's not what I was expecting from a group of college students as a celebration but I'd rather this than what I had imagined.

"So how does this work with seven of us?" Ash asks as our group files through the door.

Lana glances around at us all thinking. "We could do teams?" She suggests. It's not a bad idea but we have an uneven amount of people so I'm not sure how well that will work out.

"Well let's at least get two lanes for now. Well sort it out after." Jason says.

We all nod in agreement before walking up to the counter to grab shoes and book a lane. Once we're situated we make a plan.

Splitting up into three groups of two with one person from each group on a different lane seemed like our easiest option. For points we decided to add up each teams and whoever had the most out of the two people won.

Jason decided to sit out, preferring to watch which made the groups even.

Asa and Ash were on the first team with Sam and Lana on the second, leaving Sarah and I on the third.

For the next hour we played our rounds, each of us throwing our balls down the lanes and attempting the best we could to get points.

Jason did his best to help Sarah, but it seemed as if he was just distracting her more and Asa couldn't keep his eyes off of Ash. In the end though Sam and Lana won by five points.

"Whoohoo." Sam cheers into the city streets as we exit the bowling alley, her arms wrapped around Lana who's holding her right back.

The two of them revel in their victory as the rest of us follow.

"Asa and Ash are paying for dinner tonight." Jason teases as he pulls Sarah into his side, holding her hands between his own.

"Yeah, yeah." Asa waves a hand at him and rolls his eyes annoyed. "Don't have to rub it in."

I smile at my friends. For once feeling more light than I have in the last week. A small flashing light catches my eye just up ahead and I see a small cafe. The smell of coffee hits my nose just as we walk past and my mouth waters.

"Hey I'll be right back guys." I say as I shuffle back a few feet and reach for the door handle. I step inside just as my friends all give me a weird look.

I know it's about six at night but being a college student majoring in physiology can get you into some weird coffee habits.

"Hello and welcome. What can I do for you today?" The girl behind the counter greets me as I make my way up. The cafe seems pretty dead right now but I guess it's dinner time so no one would be bothered to come here at this time.

"Can I get a coffee with cream and three scoops of sugar to go?"

The girl nods before ringing me up. I pay as she begins to brew me a cup, moving expertly around the kitchen.

I glance around the small room noticing a few paintings placed up on the wall. I make my way over admiring them. The biggest one is a painting of some buildings with a beam of sunlight glowing on the wall. It looks like it could be a photograph, not a painting.

"Hey, your Casey right?" I hear the girl ask, startling me as I turn around. "I go to the same university. I heard about what happened so I recognized you." She explains.