Sparks

Chapter 5

         Serah listened to the tinkling of the bell as the door to the cafe shut behind her. She stopped beneath the sign and let her eyes roam over the small painted letters. “Common Grounds”. How quaint. Serah looked back through the window. She could clearly see Leo at the counter, talking with who Serah guessed to be his sister. It wasn’t that far of a stretch, they looked very similar. Leo was very engaged in the conversation, gesturing with large animated motions, even though Serah was sure he would be keeping his voice down. Something about how close they were standing implied they didn’t want the rest of the room to hear them.
         Whatever the topic was, it was sure riling him up. Leo didn’t speak in class much, but the few times she did see him talk were interesting. He seemed incapable of standing still mid-speech, always swaying, bobbing, or waving at least one hand around to emphasize a point. It was very different from what she was used to, in her household, with rigid posture and special attention to appearance...
         Serah shook her head to clear it. There was no point in imposing her upbringing on Leo. That wasn’t fair to him. But then what was? She mulled this over, standing in front of his family’s coffee shop that she had just visited for the first time. Why was she so interested in him? He hadn’t been here long. And they had scarcely talked to each other, outside of a handful of greetings in passing. Serah pursed her lips in frustration. So what was so interesting about him? Not much, as far as she could tell. Although he definitely didn’t have the air of a responsible and distinguished individual.
         Serah watched Leo and his sister talk for a few more minutes, him with his wild gesticulation, and her with her… Serah couldn’t really tell, but Leo’s sister just looked like she was trying her hardest not to laugh in Leo’s face. She was also unnaturally pretty, a fact that Serah could see was not lost on the wide array of male patrons inside. Serah silently chuckled to herself, watching these two siblings interact, before turning and heading down the sidewalk.
         She thought of her own family as she strolled along. Her older brother and sister, and how she never remembered having such an emotional conversation with them. Was that common for family to be that passionate in everyday speech? It seemed odd. Serah wondered what her father would say, seeing Leo and his sister like that.
         As she paused at a crosswalk, Serah sucked at her bottom lip as a thought crossed her mind. Was her interest in Leo just a means of rebelling? An odd idea. She didn’t really want to see him as some sort of tool, but she had to admit there was some merit to that. It would at least explain why her feelings towards him weren’t just friendly. But she wouldn’t necessarily describe them as romantic either.
         Then again, would she really know what romantic felt like? Serah frowned to herself, before realizing that she was still sucking on her lip and forced herself to stop. A bad habit. She would have to do better to stop that. The crosswalk beeped cheerily, and Serah stepped across the asphalt, taking the time to look up and around.
         She loved this city. Seattle was comfortable to her, even if she didn’t visit some of the lower areas. Still, the buildings were beginning to look more like bars, and the consistently grey sky looked more like a concrete ceiling everyday. Serah’s mind faltered back to her family, specifically to her father. Much like concrete himself. Solid. Strong. Drab. A stable foundation you could build anything on, whether it be a home or a family. But Serah couldn’t help but feel that a foundation may only be good when it was a structural support, and not so much as a person.
         What was Leo’s father like? She hadn’t thought about that. Must be a pretty interesting man, to have a son named Leonidas. What was his relationship with Leo like? Was he a foundation as well, providing his family with sturdy, reliable support, while expecting them to build something picturesque upon him? Serah was quite curious. Maybe some time, Leo could introduce him. For some reason, Serah found herself looking forward to such an occasion.

         I threw the cafe apron across the back of my desk chair as I walked into my room. I pulled out and donned my faithful jacket from out of the closet before flopping onto my bed with a sigh and a thump. The rest of the shift wasn’t nearly as interesting as I had hoped it would be. After she was finished, Serah had merely thrown me a quick smile before leaving. I was kinda upset that she hadn’t stayed longer.
         My brow furrowed as I thought that over. Should I be upset? We didn’t know each other very well, so there was really no reason for me to be thinking about her so much. I ran a hand over my face while releasing an exasperated sigh. I had enough problems going on right now, I didn’t need to add women to the mix.
         A beeping from my computer distracted me from thoughts about this latest pleasant complication. A call request? No, facecam. Odd. I rolled off the bed with a grunt and strode over to the keyboard. After glancing at the username, I smiled and accepted the call. “What’s new, nerds?” I said.
         Three faces huddled around a desk popped up on the monitor. They all broke out into grins at the sound of my voice. “Hey man. How’s it going? We haven’t heard from you since you first got up there. Anything good?” asked the face on the right. He was constantly shaking his head to the side to shake the bangs out of his eyes.
         I laughed, “Nah, Marco. Nothing much. Just work and class, ya know?” I pulled the chair out and collapsed into it. “Same old thing these last few weeks. How bout on your end?”
         The dark-skinned face on the left answered this, “Well, honestly? Bit boring without you here. Not nearly as fun. We were like, um, the Ghostbusters. Now, without you here, it’s more like,” He paused to think this over. “The Three Musketeers?”
         I cocked my head to the side, “Weren’t there four musketeers Aaron?”
         “No, you right.” He pursed his lips in thought. “What’s a famous group of three people? Aren’t there supposed to be a lot of those?”
         “Like the three stooges?” the middle head piped up.
         “Shut up Casey.” Casey snickered to himself as Marco’s mouth broke into an amused grin.
         I chuckled along with them, “You’ll think of something. You always do.” I leaned forward as I said, “But really. Nothing new at all?”
         Casey’s eyes went skyward as he thought. “Well,” he said, “I think that upper-class English teacher got arrested for something, didn’t he? I mean… I thought I’d heard…”
         Aaron cut him off, the right corner of his mouth curling upwards, “If you’re asking about Kaity, no, I don’t think she even noticed you left.”
         I slumped back against the chair. “Oh. I figured as much,” I muttered.
         Marco slowly shook his head. “I told ya man. You should have gotten on that a long time ago.”
         I threw my hands up in exasperation. “Oh come on,” I whined. “She hung out with the popular group. She was highly involved with, like, every club. And she ALWAYS had a boyfriend. Why would she go out with a…” I waved my hand, looking for the word.
         “A troublemaker?”
         “A con?”
         “A sarcastic jerk?”
         “A deviant?”
         “I don’t think deviant’s the right word Marco. That implies we do illegal things, which we don’t…”
         “Oh, you right, you right. What about smartass?”
         “A disappointment!”
         “Oooookay,” I interrupted. “I get it. I wasn’t the best choice for her.” I scowled at my friends. “I hope you guys burn in hell by the way, you bunch of idiots.”
         Aaron laughed out loud at this, “Come on man. Get over her. There’s gotta be someone new up there. Spill it, what she look like?”
         I frowned at him, “There’s no one. What makes you think there would be someone?”
         Damn Aaron. I never knew how he could just tell. “Bullshit. There’s someone. What she like? She cute?”
         Casey had started stuffing his mouth with a bag of chips, but still managed to speak through it all, “She a babe?’
         Marco looked in disgust at the volley of crumbs launched from his mouth. “I’m sure she’s just a pleasant lady with some nice qualities.” He peered closer at me. “Though knowing you, she’s a probably a blonde, right?”
         I raised my hands in surrender. “Listen guys. I pretty much just met her. She came to the cafe and we were able to talk a bit. That’s all.”
         Marco gave a short bark of laughter. “Oh, came to see you at work? I’m bettin’ you looked damn sexy in an apron.”
         Aaron snorted at that. “No man, I’m sure it’s the hairnet that got her going. Chicks love hairnets.” All three of them were trying their best from bursting into laughter. Before I could hit them with a comeback, a voice from the other end caught our attention.
         I tried looking around the corner to see who it was before remembering that it didn’t work like that. “Hey Casey, is that your unusually attractive sister? I didn’t know she was back from college.”
         Casey looked back and forth at the camera and the door. “What? No, she… wait, what’d you say? Shut up.” He got up from the chair and rushed off-screen.
         “Tell her I say hey!” I called after him. I heard a muffled “Shut up!” from somewhere to the left, before Aaron took the center of the screen.
         “All right man. Casey’s probably gonna shut us down now before you can talk to his sis. So stay out of trouble, you hear? We still look out for each other bro.”
         I feigned shock at that, “What? Me? In trouble? I would never!”
         He and Marco laughed at that. “Whatever man. But those holes in your jacket say otherwise.” I simply coughed in response. “But listen, maybe we can try to swing by sometime, or you can stop by down here. I can’t speak for the others, but you always welcome at my place.”
         Marco nodded in agreement, “Same here.” He looked in the direction Casey went. “And I’m sure Case would say the same. You know, after his sister is gone.”
         We all shared a laugh over that. “All right guys. Great seeing you again. I’ll try to get on more often, ‘kay?”
         Aaron nodded, “I’ll hold you to it. Till next time man.”
         “See ya.” The screen went black as he exited. I leaned all the way back in the chair and spun it around a little. I could hear the sound of rain building up outside, a quick pattering of droplets quickly becoming more intense with every second. I sighed, thinking about my friends, my hopes, and everything that could’ve happened if I had stayed.