Coffee Shop Soundtrack

Alex couldn't think straight. For the last three years, he and Lisa had been together. She was the one who'd gotten him through his parents' divorce. She was the first and only girl he had ever said he loved and truly meant it. And now they were over. Somehow, something inside her had shut off. He hadn't even seen it coming that night at Jack's party. One minute they were laughing and kissing out in the pool and the next, she'd told him she was done and didn't want to be with him anymore.

He wished he could turn his feelings off too, the way she had. It hurt worse than anything he'd ever felt, thinking about her every second of the day. Wondering what she was doing or what she was thinking about. Did she ever think about him? Did she miss him as much as he missed her?

"Dude. Dude! Oh my God! How could you miss that!?" Jack stared at the TV in disbelief. They were playing video games in his room and Alex wasn't doing so well. "The shot was wide open, we could have won! Fuck!" he tossed the controller onto the floor. Alex laughed as Jack continued to rant. He always overreacted.

"Calm down you freak. It's just a game remember?"

Jack shot him a horrified look. "Do you know who you're talking to?"

"You need to get out more."

"I think I get out the perfect amount, thank you." Jack got off his bed to pick up the controller. "It's you I'm worried about, my friend."

Alex frowned, put off by the comment. "What do you mean you're worried about me?"

"What?"

"You just said you were worried about me. Why?"

"Oh right," Jack said, looking away from their game for a split second. "I was just kidding…I mean kind of…"

"What does kind of mean?"

"Nothing, forget it."

"Dude!" Alex groaned.

Jack sighed and set the game on pause. "I mean Lisa. I know it's still…fresh but—"

"It was this weekend."

"Yeah, I know…" Jack was beginning to lose hope. The last time he'd seen Alex so down was when his parents split up. It had taken a year for him to adjust. Jack hoped getting over Lisa wouldn't drag on quite as long. "Just hear me out. Lisa's awesome and one of my best friends, but you will get over her. You'll get with someone even more special and the two of you will get married and have babies and then stop having sex and you'll hate your life all over again." He went on, the seriousness in his voice fading.

Alex shook his head, a smile briefly crossing his face. "Shut up."



"Let's break up into our groups again, please. I have a timer on my desk and every time it goes off, I want you to stop what you're writing and pass your paper to the person next to you. See what you guys can come up with."

Karen sank into her chair, massaging her temples. It was Tuesday afternoon and she felt completely drained of energy. The five minutes she'd set for the timer flew by and before she knew it, the darn thing was ringing in her ear, nearly making her heart stop. She hated feeling this way, especially in front of her class. She was so out of it, she wondered if someone had slipped her something earlier in the lounge when she wasn't looking. One thing she did notice, however, was that Alex and Lisa were being civil today.

Every now and then, whenever the timer went off, she would look in their direction. Alex seemed to be in higher spirits, but she suspected he was only doing a good job of keeping it all in. Lisa, on the other hand, had a face of stone; she was unreadable. It broke Karen's heart, catching Alex stealing glances at the young girl whenever she wasn't looking. Although she knew she couldn't, Karen got the strangest urge to give him a hug just to make sure he was okay.

When class ended, she asked to speak to him again.

"You and Miss Ruocco seem to have worked out your differences," she commended.

He shrugged, seeming much less enthusiastic. "I'd rather stay out of trouble."

Karen frowned; the impulse to comfort him suddenly returned. "You should write about her," she suggested.

"Write about Lisa?"

A doubtful look passed over his features, as if the idea sounded so foreign coming from his Creative Writing teacher.

"People can be the greatest inspirations. They trigger real emotions and stories. You could write everything you liked about her or the things you didn't like. Write about how she made you happy and…" she paused and in a softer voice continued, "how she broke your heart."

Alex ran a hand over the back of his neck, mulling it over. He wasn't sure why Mrs. Martin was being so supportive about his breakup. She was a cool teacher and all, but she was still his teacher. Of course, if he was being honest with himself, it didn't exactly suck to have one of the hottest teachers at Dulaney pull you aside at the end of the day. He glanced down, taking a moment to appreciate the way her v-neck dipped down her chest just enough to show cleavage.

"You really think that'll help?" he asked, looking at her face again.

"Hello! I am the teacher. I know everything, remember?" she teased.

"Okay, I'll give it a shot…thanks again."

"You're very welcome," she smiled. Alex said goodbye and headed out to the parking lot, where Jack was sitting in his car, waiting for him.

"Second time in a row man," Jack pretended to be annoyed.

Alex strapped his seatbelt on as Jack started the engine. "Shut up. Mrs. Martin wanted to talk to me again."

"She the hot one?"

"Uh-huh." Alex smirked.

"You lucky bastard."