John took me to work today, so I didn't have to walk.
I hate uniforms.
Because of uniforms, I don't have to think about my outfit for the day—but it's all for "equality" and "formality" reasons, so I kind of accept it.
I work at a café near my house.
I'm taking two years off before going to university. It's because I couldn't decide what I wanted to do there… and honestly, I didn't want to decide yet.
My older brothers both accepted it, and so did John's girlfriend—though I don't even know who asked her opinion, honestly.
I ran into the café—and that's when I saw Andrew.
What is he doing here?! This early?!
He's a regular customer… but he usually comes around noon.
Like 2:40–2:45 PM.
I panicked and accidentally bumped into a table.
He turned around, and when he saw me, his face lit up.
He waved at me with his left hand—he's right-handed. In his right hand, he was holding an iced milkshake topped with chocolate syrup and extra vanilla ice cream.
I'm so used to giving out orders that I can identify the ingredients just by looking from far away.
Just kidding. It was written on the cup.
But I can really do that, though. Like if it's a vanilla milkshake with cherry, extra vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate chips, syrup, sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, Nutella syrup, Nutella sticks, and extra cherry—
Oh my god, I think I need that exact milkshake right now.
Or... I know.
I awkwardly waved back while rubbing my knee—I had just crashed into that dumb table.
"Hey, Rickie! I've been waiting for you!!!" he said.
"Hey! Me too! I mean—waiting? For me? Why?"
Gosh, why did I say that??
He approached me with a smile while I straightened my back and gulped down what felt like a stone in my throat.
"So, I was wondering if I could take you somewhere today," he said.
What!?
"Me? Uh, haha… yes—I mean no—I mean… why?"
He kept blinking, and it was so damn attractive when his big green eyes stared at me like he was hypnotized or something.
I gulped down another imaginary rock.
"I found a place nearby, and it immediately reminded me of you. It has this vibe… like you. So I thought you had to see it."
"Uh, but I have to work today. Maybe another day? Thank you so much though…"
WHY. DO. WORK. DAYS. EXIST.
"Don't worry about that!" he waved his hand in front of my face and continued, "I already took care of it. It's once in a while that we meet up like this. We old classmates should reunite sometimes—but everyone's so busy. It's a blessing we ran into each other again."
Took care of what?!
Oh no. I'm wearing a work uniform. I can't go out like this!
"Oh, thank you! But, you know, I'm kind of embarrassed. I've already asked my boss a lot of times to leave early and stuff…"
I've never
"Come on! It's okay, just this once. He seemed fine with it. At 2 PM. Exactly 2 PM. I'll pick you up."
Dang it, Rickie Rivers.