Setting
- 42 posts here • Page 2 of 2 • 1, 2
"Sure!"
"Annnnnnnnnnnnd, my shift is done!" James yelled out. He pulled up a chair and sat down near the rest of them.
"Hey, I'm James," He smiled at the rest of them.
It was around five pm and Sam was just getting off of work so he stopped by the nearest coffee shop where there were a bunch of up and coming indie bands and amateur singers performing. When he arrived the place was pretty packed and there was nowhere to sit in sight except at a table near the stage where a group of friends sat chatting, Sam went to go order his Café au lait and then walked over to the group when he noticed two of the guys from the apartment complex.
"Hey, James and Nick, right?"
"We live in the same complex, I was wondering if you guys mind me sitting with you?" He asked, as he looked over at the ladies at the table and smiled charmingly.
"Hey, this is my sister, Gwen, Katherine and Natalie," James said. He didn't often mention that Gwen and him were siblings, but I came out every once and awhile
Shrugging, Charlie walked around town for a bit before going to the bookstore. "Hello, hello?" he called out. The owner quickly appeared from her office and welcomed him.
She was a short and stout woman, with dark, dark hair and olive skin. She was one of the first people to greet Charlie when he came to town. She gave him a few brief instructions before setting him to work. He happily stocked the shelves, as he liked to organize things and do anything really to keep him occupied. He thought that it was a bit ironic that he was working in a bookstore when he had trouble reading. Seeing as he was dyslexic, Charlie rarely read books. As a kid it had always been frustrating for him when the letters switched themselves around and he couldn't unscramble the mess.
Charlie was content and left the bookstore at about quarter to five. He fancied a snack and a coffee to keep him up for a movie marathon. Or perhaps he would spend the night out with his new acquaintances. He would prefer that as he hadn't rented or purchased any newer movies in quite some time. It was also nice to have human company.
He made his way through town and came to the local Starbucks a few minutes after five. Upon entering he had found the entourage from earlier as well as a new face and James, Nick's boyfriend. Charlie smiled a bit and walked over to the group. "We meet again. And hopefully you won't have to split soon because I could use something to drink." He laughed and pulled a chair over to the table.
"I'm sorry about the short introduction earlier. I'm Charlie, and the rest of you are..?" He glanced around at the group and smiled. It would be nice to have some new frihends.
"This is James' sister, Gwen, Natalie, Katherine and Sam," Nick explained. Gwen nodded.
"Nice to meet you!" She smiled cheerfully.
Katherine allowed herself to follow along with the small group of new friends, going through the introductions every now and then as someone new showed up or sat down with them. Her eyes settled on Charlie as he rejoined the group later in the day. He must've gone to work. She pondered in thought, smiling as she used her straw to stir around the ice in her glass of water.
"You can call me Kat though." She clarified after being introduced as Katherine twice. Only her mother called her Katherine and that was only if she were in trouble. The small cafe they were in was quaint and she was actually enjoying herself and the company around her. This would definitily be a hang out spot when she had her days off or got a long break at work. "So, where do y'all work?" Kat asked.
The ambiance was right, the company was fresh and exciting and Sam was in his element. As the group was sipping away at their caffeinated drinks and making idle chatter a guy by the name of Charlie took a seat with the group, this get together was getting larger as the minutes went by.
"So where do y'all work?" The russet haired girl by the name of Kat, Sam took the liberty of answering first.
"I work as reception at Willow Wellness Spa, but I'm planning on becoming a masseuse as soon as a spot is available. So if any of you ladies want a free massage, you know where to find me." He said with a crooked grin as he took another sip of his drink.
"BUt I'm off shift, so don't ask for anything!"
Gwen grinned.
"Well, me and Nick are performers at Luna's Cafe, so yeah. You guys can come by anytime," Nick nodded.
Truth be told, he wasn't even sure what his job was, as he liked to work in all sorts of places. Today had been the bookstore and tomorrow would be the aforementioned Luna's cafe, where he knew that Nick worked. He was unaware that James had had a sister at all, let alone one as bubbly and individually charming as Gwen. It was quite obvious that one of them was adopted, as he could not find much similarities in their appearances. But perhaps that was only because Gwen's hair was a teal blue.
Any who, he had told the manager at Luna's that he'd be by in the morning to fix a shelf that had fallen in the back. While he didn't exactly have a steady job, the odd jobs he did around town earned him a degree of respect and quite a few friends. Pondering his unusual situation of occupations, Charlie forgot entirely about the group or that he should respond to them.
"So Charlie, what do you do?" Gwen asked. He seemed to be a pretty interesting character, or at least to her he was. She was easily excited, no doubt about it.
Your dad would say differently. He'd say you're useless and can't do anything worthwhile, a small voice in his head said. He mentally bopped it a few times before looking at his drink, which had just arrived. He wasn't sure what he had ordered and took a sip of it. It was just a coffee, nothing special. Still, the small voice that would always be engrained inside his head from his parents, moreso his father, was bugging at him and telling him to find a real job.
"It was nice meeting you all, if any of you want to hang out again you know where to find me." He said as he left a tip for the bus-boy (or girl) and left it under his mug.
Taxi or walkng...? Sam thought and ultimately decided to walk. Taking a cab would surely get him home fastest but the weather was nice and the trendy side of town was always lit up at night in a surreal glow. It took him around 20 minutes to get home, when he did the complex smelled of weed on one end and fruity incense and red sauce on the other. Curiously he peeked into one of the apartments, it no doubt belonged to a woman judging by the flourished decorating style that looked in cluttered with decorations but in a completely planned way.
"I can see you staring into my apartment you know." A girl spoke as Sam cleared his throat nervously and tried to laugh it off.
"I'm not a creeper or anything, I promise." He said as the girl laughed lightly.
"I guess that's what I get for leaving my door open, huh? So what's your name?" She asked, shrouded behind the kitchen wall.
"Sam I am." He said wryly, the girl got a good laugh of that one.
"Ooh, what a clever one you are Sam I am. I'm Tegan... like the band I guess. You've probably never heard of them." Tegan said jaded to peoples genuine obliviousness to Indie artists.
"Tegan and Sara! How could I've not heard of them are a staple Indie band." He said as Tegan widened her eyes in surprise, although he could not see this.
"So Tegan, you could be an ogre for all I know. Care to show your face?" He asked as the girl chortled and emerged from behind the kitchen wall with a spaghetti noodle hanging from her mouth and a apron tied around her petite waist.
"So close, the answer we were looking for was embarrassingly terrible cook." She said with a smile, and Sam reciprocated it.
"What are you making?" He asked curiously.
"Pasta fagioli." She said putting on her best Italian accent.
"Well as a heads up you're supposed to use ditolini pasta, not spaghetti."
"What, really?" She asked genuinely.
"Yeah.." He chuckled.
"Maybe I could show you some time, but not tonight. I should be getting to bed." He said as she nodded and returned to her apartment, still leaving the door open.
"Goodnight Sam I am." She called.
"Goodnight blndie." He spoke as she groaned.
"Why does everyone call me that?" She asked rhetorically as Sam laughed lightly before making his way inside his apartment and closing the door behind him.
Chung Ae tapped on her keyboard quickly. Her grin lit up as she viewed another search. She read out loud. "I am looking for any information on my relatives from Korea, I was raised by my mother, you left me at a store when I was about twelve, my name is James Hart, I was renamed. My real name is Dae-Ho Sae," Chung Ae jumped up and down. "I CAN'T BELIVE IT!" She hopped up and down. She got back on her computer and started a people search, maybe she could find this James Hart. Of course, he might not remember her, but it was worth a try.
James wiped off his brow. "I'm going inside, do whatever you want to do," HE walked back inside the apartment and into his room. Nick laughed. "Wow, how lazy are you?" Gwen giggled. She saw a thin, red headed girl quickly running up to the apartment. Gwen shrugged and sat on her couch.
Chung Ae could see a teal haired girl out front, along with another woman and a man leaning up against a trailer, laughing at something. "Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but do you know where I can find James Hart?" She asked. The teal girl nodded. "Yep. Nick, go show her where James is," "Why can't you do it?" THe man named Nick asked. The teal haired girl just stared at him and pouted. "FIne. Come with me," He motioned for Chung Ae to follow. "How do you know James?" He inquired as they climbed the steps. "Long story," Chung Ae replied. Nick pulled out a key and opened an apartment door. "JAMES!" "What?' "Someone's here to see you!" Chung Ae felt like jumping up and down, she was so excited. She started to open her bag and pulled out a small box, all that was left of James' stuff.
James walked out of his room. "What?" HE looked the red headed girl over. "Who's she?" "My name is Chung Ae," THe girl said, pulling out a box. "I don't know if you remember me," "I don't," James replied. THe girl opened the box. James peered inside. There was a picture of a small boy with his front tooth missing, grinning as he held a little baby in pink next to a tall man and woman. There were also a few other scraps of assorted items. "Where did you get this stuff?" HE asked. "Mother's attic, like I said, I don't know if you remember it. Mother could only take care of me, so she left you at a store. I'm your sister,"
Gwen stood in the doorway of the apartment. "OHH! PLOT TWIST!" She teased. James spun around. "Gwen!" "WHat? I was curious!"
- 42 posts here • Page 2 of 2 • 1, 2