𝙲𝙰𝙺𝙴 (𝙰 𝙵𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙱𝚡𝙱 𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕) 🍰

⑧ 𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙴/𝙵𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙴

~~~

Charlie

SEPTEMBER

One month of college: officially completed. It wasn't very noteworthy, other than the fact that we actually started to begin our assignments.

It was about 1:49 when Sky and I left to go to his (soon to be our) job at Amber's. The owners scheduled a meeting for today since it was the only time they had available. As we walked through the heavy sunlight to my car parked down the road, I had a revelation.

"I just realized," I exclaimed, turning around, walking backwards to face Sky during our conversation. "I don't have your number," I admitted, taking my phone out of my pocket, ready to jot down digits.

"Oh, I don't have a phone." Sky claimed.

"Seriously?" I gasped, putting my phone back into my shorts.

"Yeah, they kinda scare me," Sky said. "Technology, social media, all that jazz."

"God, you felines are so paranoid of everything." I jeered, tossing my keys up and down. Sky tilted his head at me and smirked. "Literally, I can throw a piece of paper at you and you'd jump ten feet and skitter away."

"Well, fear is a useful trait to have." Sky boasted. "Without it, we can't see what's ahead in order to avoid upcoming incidents or tragedies. Unlike, you canines..."

The second Sky made that remark, I backed straight into a trash can, tripping and falling onto the concrete. Sky stopped in front of me and bent down on his knees.

"You go full-steam ahead." He smiled, holding his hand out for me.

Damn, that was well-played.

I sighed with laughter and grabbed his hand. He picked me up from the sidewalk and brushed all the excess rubbish off my back.

"Ooh, nice car. I love Mini Coopers!" Sky gushed, running ahead to take shotgun.

I swear, this cat is gonna be the death of me.

After a ten-minute car ride of me and Sky arguing whether cats or dogs were better, we finally arrived at Amber's. It was a small coffee shop at the corner of the street. A small bell attached to the door frame jingled delightfully as Sky opened the front glass door. As we stepped inside, a sweet brush of cool air hit me like entering an ice cream parlor in the middle of a hot, summer day. The interior was charming and delightful, the walls were painted a bright baby blue, framed photos adorned the walls to emit a home-like vibe to the establishment, a long desk was joined by bar stools stood beside the large, painted windows, a massive, comfy couch with a coffee table and two recliners occupied the living space, and lastly, tables and chairs were littered throughout for customers. It was very welcoming, seriously welcoming; I mean, I forgot to mention the bean bag on the floor next to the couch! There were a few people sitting with their coffee, a few coming and going.

"Hey, Sky," A labrador, who looked about the same age as us, got both Sky's and my attention. "Your shift started, I'm outta here."

"Got it, Hayden." Sky sighed, then turning to me. "Be right back."

He lifted up the counter trapdoor and walked behind the register. Whoever 'Hayden' was, took off his work uniform and left in a hurry. Sky took an apron and cap off the wall and dressed in it. He grabbed an oval-shaped name tag from a painted bucket and pinned it to his shirt.

I walked up to the counter and looked at the name tag.

"'Skyler.'" I read aloud.

"Yeah, don't make a big deal out of it." Sky whispered.