Status: Completed, after a three day mad rush trying to get this finished as a friend's birthday present.
Thank You for the Coffee
~ 57 Days Until Hand In ~
“You heading out, G?” Joe called through from the kitchen.
Joe Boyle was Gerard’s housemate for the year; an art student who’d befriended him after he’d noticed they’d chosen almost all the same modules throughout the course. They both loved comic books and cartooning above everything else, and had had spent many classes sat side by side with a lightbox. However, Gerard still preferred to be alone when planning and drawing.
“Yeah, I’m gonna go sit somewhere and sketch, I think.”
“Ah right.” Joe was quite used to Gerard’s little quirks and eccentricities, and had more than enough of his own to respect them. “Hope you get a lot done. 57 days!”
Gerard groaned. He had no idea why Joe insisted on counting it down like that; it only made him anxious. 57 days sounded like all the time in the world, but Gerard knew better, considering just how much he needed to get done in that time.
“I wish you wouldn’t do that.”
“I know” Joe smiled down at his paper.
Gerard bid him farewell and left the house with a sketchbook clutched to his side like a good old fashioned cliché. It was nice out, the sun beginning to disappear into the skyline and the air smelt like grass despite being in the middle of New York. He had thought that perhaps Mikey was right about creating himself a new space in which to work, and the only thing that had come to mind was the coffee shop on 21st. He was going to try out the evening hours and see how he liked it. A corner of the library would have been nice – air conditioned and silent – but the one killer was that food and drink weren’t permitted. That meant no coffee. If Gerard’s new workspace could be somewhere that had coffee on tap it would help to ease the stress slightly.
He pushed open the door and scoped the room. Although it was a little humid, it smelt gorgeous and wasn’t obscenely busy, which already raised his hopes. From what Gerard could make out, the majority of the room’s occupants were also students, some he even recognised from his course. There was a thin girl with a shock of naturally red hair in the corner, pouring over her own sketchbook and looking far more stressed out than anyone he had come across yet. As Gerard crossed to the counter he passed a muscular boy with a frown seemingly built into his face. Gerard wouldn’t have penned him as an art student in a million years if he hadn’t caught a glance at the guy’s expensive-looking laptop, on which he was editing photographs. His mouth quirked up in a faint smile as he realised muscular man’s frown was a sign of concentration rather than brutishness.
The boy at the counter looked pretty relaxed for a cafe worker, wiping up the counter and giving Gerard a smile when he looked up. It might have been the same boy who served him yesterday, but he hadn’t paid enough attention to the boy’s features to be sure.
“Hi, how can I help?”
“Just a black coffee, please” Gerard requested, remembering to check his pocket for his wallet first, as opposed to his bag.
“Managed to get your Mom off your case?” the boy asked, confirming to Gerard that it was indeed the same employee. He flushed a little before he could help himself.
“Yeah, for now. You know how it is.”
“I do” the boy laughed as he poured the coffee into a fresh mug. “I’m an only child, so my Mom gets pretty freaked at the idea of her little boy working in the big bad city. You’d think she’d be used to it by now.”
Gerard would have replied that his situation was the same, just with an added sibling, but he was willing to guess that this boy hadn’t basically isolated himself from most people for the good part of 10 years. He smiled timidly instead and thanked him for the coffee, scouting out which table he’d like while he added his sugar.
Joe Boyle was Gerard’s housemate for the year; an art student who’d befriended him after he’d noticed they’d chosen almost all the same modules throughout the course. They both loved comic books and cartooning above everything else, and had had spent many classes sat side by side with a lightbox. However, Gerard still preferred to be alone when planning and drawing.
“Yeah, I’m gonna go sit somewhere and sketch, I think.”
“Ah right.” Joe was quite used to Gerard’s little quirks and eccentricities, and had more than enough of his own to respect them. “Hope you get a lot done. 57 days!”
Gerard groaned. He had no idea why Joe insisted on counting it down like that; it only made him anxious. 57 days sounded like all the time in the world, but Gerard knew better, considering just how much he needed to get done in that time.
“I wish you wouldn’t do that.”
“I know” Joe smiled down at his paper.
Gerard bid him farewell and left the house with a sketchbook clutched to his side like a good old fashioned cliché. It was nice out, the sun beginning to disappear into the skyline and the air smelt like grass despite being in the middle of New York. He had thought that perhaps Mikey was right about creating himself a new space in which to work, and the only thing that had come to mind was the coffee shop on 21st. He was going to try out the evening hours and see how he liked it. A corner of the library would have been nice – air conditioned and silent – but the one killer was that food and drink weren’t permitted. That meant no coffee. If Gerard’s new workspace could be somewhere that had coffee on tap it would help to ease the stress slightly.
He pushed open the door and scoped the room. Although it was a little humid, it smelt gorgeous and wasn’t obscenely busy, which already raised his hopes. From what Gerard could make out, the majority of the room’s occupants were also students, some he even recognised from his course. There was a thin girl with a shock of naturally red hair in the corner, pouring over her own sketchbook and looking far more stressed out than anyone he had come across yet. As Gerard crossed to the counter he passed a muscular boy with a frown seemingly built into his face. Gerard wouldn’t have penned him as an art student in a million years if he hadn’t caught a glance at the guy’s expensive-looking laptop, on which he was editing photographs. His mouth quirked up in a faint smile as he realised muscular man’s frown was a sign of concentration rather than brutishness.
The boy at the counter looked pretty relaxed for a cafe worker, wiping up the counter and giving Gerard a smile when he looked up. It might have been the same boy who served him yesterday, but he hadn’t paid enough attention to the boy’s features to be sure.
“Hi, how can I help?”
“Just a black coffee, please” Gerard requested, remembering to check his pocket for his wallet first, as opposed to his bag.
“Managed to get your Mom off your case?” the boy asked, confirming to Gerard that it was indeed the same employee. He flushed a little before he could help himself.
“Yeah, for now. You know how it is.”
“I do” the boy laughed as he poured the coffee into a fresh mug. “I’m an only child, so my Mom gets pretty freaked at the idea of her little boy working in the big bad city. You’d think she’d be used to it by now.”
Gerard would have replied that his situation was the same, just with an added sibling, but he was willing to guess that this boy hadn’t basically isolated himself from most people for the good part of 10 years. He smiled timidly instead and thanked him for the coffee, scouting out which table he’d like while he added his sugar.