Thirty One

one

 © treble96

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                                                                        Hot Chocolate

Cara sat in the café on the uni campus, despite it being winter vacation. She was sitting on one of the best couches in the whole café, usually monopolised by others during the semester. Cara’s laptop was balanced precariously on her knees, a blank word document was open and the blinking curser was blinking ominously.

The café, in Cara’s opinion, served the best hot chocolate in the world. It was just what she needed, and Cara felt it would be the cure for the bout of writer’s block she’d been having since semester had finished. 

Very few people came to the café during winter vacation, mostly staff and the odd student, so it was peaceful. This suited Cara, as she would never dream of letting someone accidentally read what she’d been writing. It also meant she got the best spot in the house and no one gave her dirty looks for using it.  Usually there would be people everywhere chatting, working on assignments with a hot drink and others engrossed in the screens of laptops, tablets and assorted iDevices.

As Cara sipped her drink she watched the curser blink and occasionally looked out the window. The scene outside was far better than staring at the blank document. The leaves had fallen from the trees and despite being the middle of winter the sun was shining bright over the duck pond and the ducks that were waddling around.

While Cara was staring out the window, a boy wandered into the café. He placed his drink order and once he received it came to sit across from Cara. She looked up with a start when he spoke.

“You do know its vacation, right?”

“Yeah,” Cara murmured, she really didn’t want to talk right now. She wasn’t even sure who this boy was.  Maybe if she was dismissive he would leave her alone.

“And that means you could be a million other better places right now.” He continued.

“I’m only here for the hot chocolate,” Cara answered.

“Yeah, it’s pretty good,” the boy said, raising his paper cup.

“Pretty good?! It’s the best in the world!” Cara exclaimed. She was sure he’d said that just to get a response.

“Ha! I knew you’d talk to me sooner or later. I never give up,” the boy said. She was right.

 As he stood up and slid in to the seat next to Cara he asked “Whatcha working on- it can’t possibly be an assignment, unless you’re already starting next semesters work!” He sounded horrified at the possibility it could be.

Before he could see the blank work document on the screen Cara slammed the lid to the laptop shut. This just piqued his interest. The boy tried to grab the computer off Cara but she slid it back into her bag.

“Hmmph!” He groaned. “I just wanted to see what it was.”

“It’s none of your business, anyway. I don’t even know who you are so why would I show you?”

“The way you’re guarding it with your life makes me think that it was more than just Facebook or something…” He ignored her question.

“Who are you?!” Cara exclaimed, she’d come to the café for peace and quiet and it had disappeared the moment this boy, who was now annoying her to no end, had sat down.

“You don’t know me?” He seemed a little disheartened. Cara thought this might make him finally leave.

“We had that chemistry unit together last semester- we spoke on the first day when you ran into me,” he explained.

Cara remembered that incident. But she was sure he was the one doing the running into others. And they’d exchanged no more than a ‘sorry, my fault’ before moving past each other to find seats with their friends.

“Well then, since I don’t know your name and you don’t remember me, it’s probably time for introductions then,” he said cheerily. He held out his hand “I’m Nathan.”

Cara thought nothing could affect this guy’s mood. Begrudgingly she reached out and shook Nathan’s hand. “Cara,” was all she replied.

“Well then Cara, let’s start again, what are you doing here, of all places when its winter vacation and I’m sure there are a million other places better than this.”

“Best hot chocolate in the world, remember,” Cara answered. “I could ask you the same thing”

“Yeah, but what was on your laptop that you didn’t want me to see so badly.” Nathan replied, brushing away Cara’s question.

“If you really must know,” Cara sighed as she pulled out her laptop, “I’ve got a severe case of writer’s block.” She opened the lid and turned the screen to Nathan so he could see the blank document and the pathetic little blinking curser.

“See, that wasn’t so hard, honesty will always get you places.”

As Cara put her laptop back in her bag, she continued, “and I thought I’d come for the best hot chocolate, maybe it would be the cure I was looking for.”

“I will now tell you my tale,” Nathan began. Cara couldn’t believe this guy. If it wasn’t bad enough that he couldn’t seem to get the hint that Cara didn’t want to talk, he was now speaking like he was from the middle ages.

“You see, I live at one of the colleges and I’m not returning to my parent’s home for another week. After exams most people left the college so sometimes I come here. You’re right about this place having the best hot chocolate, you know,” Nathan smiled and raised his paper cup again.

Nathan’s story made Cara feel rather bad for wanting him to leave her alone so bad.

Nathan stood up from his spot opposite Cara, “It was nice to have someone to talk to today. I hope you end up writing that story.”

As he made his leave he tucked a piece of folded up paper under Cara’s mug of hot chocolate. Once he had left the coffee shop, she picked it up and unfolded it. Cara smiled. She hadn’t seen when he’d written this. A few words of encouragement and his email were written on the paper.

***

While on the bus home Cara had a brilliant idea. She pulled out her notebook and began to scribble down the workings of her story.

Cara knew that the best hot chocolate in the world could cure anything, and maybe Nathan had helped, just a bit.