Pocket Full of Dreams

Alex only ever wore jeans. The twenty-four year old had quite an attachment to the certain type of pants, so far as to own dozens of pairs. Most of them stayed hidden in his closet, though, and a couple others made occasional appearances from time to time. Most importantly, Alex had three pairs that he wore almost constantly. He did unnecessary laundry all the time, as he refused to wear any other pair of jeans than his favourites. Although the young man was a firm believer that jeans could be worn more than once before they needed a wash, he still had to clean his pants around every week or so.

So, when Alex’s washing machine broke one afternoon, his reaction was not at all surprising. Stomping around in his apartment, Alex’s tantrum was interrupted by his roommate coming home.

“What’s wrong, now?” Josh asked with a laugh.

“Our washing machine broke!” Alex exclaimed, arms flailing as he didn’t know what else to do with them.

“My gosh,” Josh joked, shaking his head, “You’re the most posh person I’ve ever met. Just go to the laundromat, it’s not that far from here. Hey, you could even walk!”

“Screw off,” Alex mumbled, before saying louder, “I don’t have to get them done quick, but I suppose I could go now.”

Gathering up his things, Alex left the apartment with a huff. He really didn’t need this today, not at all. He had school the next day, and this little trip was subtracting time from his study schedule. It’s not like Josh could help him out, either, because they had completely different classes. Alex was into the arts, while Josh was into business. The two young men had moved together from England to the United States about five years prior, having been best friends back at home. It was a coincidence that they had both wanted to go to the same school, so Alex and Josh had decided to travel and live together for the following however-many years. Having done so, Alex already knew that Josh wasn’t going to help him with his laundry, as well, because the other man barely did his own. So, Alex was alone, hurrying along to the laundromat in the pouring rain, not even able to light a cigarette on his way there.

As Alex opened the door to the small shop, a little bell rang out. Smiling at the empty room, Alex headed over to one of the machines, placing his bag of clothes on top of it. He dug around in the pocket of his jeans for some coins, finding the right amount and slipping them in. Alex then moved to open the door of the machine, but the it was still locked. He fidgeted with it some more, until he realized it wasn’t going to budge. Just his luck, two broken washing machines in one day.

Abandoning his things, Alex wandered through the rows of machinery, looking for an employee. He wasn’t able to find anyone, even after he’d covered the winding isles of the store twice over. On top of that, his situation was a little concerning, as well, because Alex could feel a pair of eyes on himself the entire time. The brunet opened his mouth to call out for an employee, but before he made a sound, he made the conscious choice to look up.

To Alex’s surprise, the little shop had another small level to it, in a sort of lodge-like fashion. A ladder led up to the little balcony, and Alex could see another boy sitting up there, a book in his hands as he looked down at Alex. It was obvious that he worked there, as the pocket of his shirt had the shop’s logo printed on to it.

Scrunching his eyebrows together, Alex asked, “Have you been watching me this entire time?” His voice was loud in formerly silent store, so loud that the other young man appeared to be quite stunned when Alex spoke.

Snapping out of his daze, the employee answered in a broken sentence, “I- uh, I, yeah?”

“Why don’t you come down and help me then?” Alex suggested with a roll of his eyes. The other boy nodded silently, and hurried down the stairs to take a look at the jammed machine. After fiddling with it for a fair amount of time, he decided there was no use, and that he’d have to just call the manager. Pulling out some coins of his own pocket, Alex was surprised when they were presented in front of him.

“What’s this?” Alex asked, staring at the hand outstretched in front of him.

“Money, silly. For you. I can’t get that open, so just take this.” The employee replied. Alex then looked up from his hand to his face, and took in the stranger’s features. He had dark hair, which fit well with his dark eyes. They almost made Alex jealous of his own light brown features.

Looking back down at the coins again, Alex accepted them, a small smile present on his face as he responded, “Thank you.”

“No problem,” the employee idled around as Alex loaded the machine, “I’m Jack, by the way.”

“Alex,” the brunet mumbled in reply, finally shutting the door to the machine and turning it on. With that, he was on his way out of the store, offering a wave to a gazing Jack on his way out.

Alex came back to the store a short while later, having just gone for a short walk while his jeans were in the wash. Jack was still there, and greeted the customer with a smile as he watched Alex move to load his clothes into a dryer. Alex decided to just stay put as they dried, reasoning that he was already soaked enough from both of his earlier walks.

“So,” Alex asked, voice breaking the atmosphere once more, “What do you do for fun, Jack?”

“Uh, not much?” Jack shrugged in reply.

Alex chuckled at that, but it more so came out as a giggle. “Tell me about yourself, then.”

Jack did. Alex learned that they went to the same school, but that the other man was twenty-three, meaning that he was in the year below him. Jack went about his business as they spoke, disappearing and reappearing quite often. The employee also learned tons about Alex, too, such as where he came from and who he came with.

Soon enough, Alex’s jeans were dry, and Jack was by his side. Alex folded the pants as Jack watched, accidentally fumbling and dropping a pair. As Alex bent down, Jack took his chance, and slipped a piece of paper, which casually contained his name and number, from one of his pockets into a pocket on a pair of Alex’s jeans. The patched-up jeans sat still on the top of the machine, and Jack stared at them, almost pleading that they’d deliver his message to their owner. Breathing in relief that the brunet hadn’t noticed, Jack smiled as he watched Alex fold the final pair of pants and pack the rest of his things up. Leaving for a final time, this time with a spoken farewell to Jack, Alex was grinning as he stepped out into the rainy streets.

It was apparent that Alex’s bad luck wasn’t finished with him yet that day, though, as he tripped over a bump in the sidewalk and dropped his bag. Only one pair of jeans, but his favourite patched-up pair, though, came tumbling out of the bag, right into a puddle of mud. Cursing at himself, Alex leant over to pick up the article, decided that he couldn’t go back to the store to wash the pair again. He’d use a friend’s washing machine, he didn’t want to seem too eager.