The Full Story

The morning came too quickly as usual, the blinding light of the sun and the distant sound of car horns too prominent in Hope’s mind to allow further sleep. Pulling the bed covers over her head with a groan, Hope opened her eyes to slits as the morning sunshine burnt her eyelids. Rubbing her eyes, Hope yawned and rolled over.

Heaving herself up from the bed and walking lazily over to the mirror above her desk, Hope considered herself. Her brown hair was in big knot balls matted around her neck, her hazelly-green eyes were bleary and tired, and her shoulders were hunched forward out of fatigue.

With a quick stretch of her arms above her head, Hope sighed at her reflection before turning back to her room. As usual, the pillows had been thrown off of her bed in the course of the night, sending the night-light tumbling across the floor, and now both lay in a heap by the window. Setting the lamp to rights whilst making up her bed, Hope wondered what time it was.

As it was Saturday, Hope had nowhere to go that morning. She would have to go for her shift at the café in the afternoon, but at that time, she was free. Walking over to her limited wardrobe of various sweaters, jeans and her work uniform, Hope selected a pale blue wool pullover and her jeans from the Top Shop sale the month before.

Pulling her masses of brown hair into a low scruffy bun, Hope walked barefoot down the hall to get to the bathroom. Thankfully, it seemed her aunt and uncle had not got up yet, so she didn’t have to queue to wash the night, including last night’s make up, away.

Padding with bare feet back down the hall to her room, Hope caught sight of the hall clock. At nine o’clock, she decided, it was time for breakfast. Grabbing her make up bag and phone from the desk top in her room, Hope walked over to the kitchen and put the kettle on.

Sitting on one of the high stools by what her aunt called ‘the breakfast bar’, Hope stared down into her cup of coffee, stirring her spoon around in repetitive circles, waiting for the bread she’d put in the toaster to pop. The way she always did. Life was so boringly repetitive for Hope, and all premonitions of the night before had disappeared.

Truthfully, her head ached slightly, and Hope was having trouble piecing together exactly what had happened last night, even though she hadn’t touched any alcohol. Her phone, abandoned on the kitchen counter, vibrated and Hope glanced down in confusion. No one ever messaged her, so she never even bothered to check social media.

The unknown number that flashed across the screen prompted Hope’s memories of last night. A vision of Joe, slightly augmented by his similarity to Colin Firth, popped into her head, and she quickly unlocked her phone.

Morning. Are you free to meet today?

Hesitating before typing a response, Hope wondered if it looked too eager to reply immediately. But honestly, she didn’t care.

Yeah, I’m not doing anything til this afternoon.

To add an ‘x’ or not? Hope thought it would look strange given she barely knew Joe, so decided not to.

His response was almost immediate, showing that he had been waiting for her answer: Cool. Are you ready?

A thrill coursed through Hope. She typed quickly: If I need to be.

The minute she’d pressed send, Hope regretted it. What the heck did ‘if I need to be’ mean? She slapped her forehead repetitively with the palm of her hand.

Ok then. Ten minutes?

Hope was surprised at Joe’s text, but she found a smile cracking across her face. He didn’t seem to mind her vaguely awkward answer. Hope felt a warmth spreading through her chest.

Awesome. Where am I meeting you?

I’ll pick you up x

Feeling like she’d just reached the top of the world, Hope pushed herself up from the breakfast bar. Running along the corridor in her excitement, Hope grabbed the coat she had abandoned the night before, shoved her purse into her shoulder bag and hurried back to the kitchen. Her toast had popped, so she downed her coffee and munched her way through the dry toast.

Scribbling a note to her aunt and uncle, Hope heard movements from their room. With a quick debate that decided she wouldn’t wait for them, Hope pulled her coat on and let herself out of the apartment. Locking the door firmly behind her, Hope skipped down the stairs.

As Hope opened the apartment block door to the street, she couldn’t see waiting. Sighing after being too eager, she stepped out, checking the time on her phone. She’d managed to get downstairs in less than five minutes, so she would have to wait in the cold for a while.

The city was alive, with sounds of the morning erupting in every area. Hope loved walking through the backstreets at this time of the morning, because it was like reading a book. Everywhere she looked, there was another person, with their little life, and she got to peep into it for a few moments as she walked by, as if she was reading a story.

‘Morning.’

Hope jumped at the sudden sound so close to her and turned around to see Joe lounging against the wall beside the apartment outer door.

‘What are you doing there?’ Hope asked immediately, without thinking the question through.

Joe laughed. ‘You were expecting me, right?’

‘Yes, but just not there.’ Hope smiled, feeling herself go a little pink. ‘I suppose what I meant to say was I didn’t see you there.’

Joe smiled back. ‘Yeah I noticed.’

Hope looked Joe over with approval. In a rugged grey pullover with a relaxed fit, and the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, he embodied a casual style that was just a little different to all the other boys that Hope had met, which she had decided she liked. His hair bounced over his temples and behind his ears, and his smile was easy.

‘So, where are we going?’ Hope asked, having regained her speech.

‘I know a nice coffee shop around the corner.’ Joe pulled himself away from the wall and indicated the way with his head.

‘I thought you were new to the city.’ Hope said, falling into step with him as they set off together.

‘I am, but I wanted to get a good feel of the place, so I’ve been exploring a bit.’ Joe explained.

‘Cool. So, how long are you here for?’ Hope asked him, hoping she sounded casual not over-inquisitive.

‘Indefinitely. Hopefully permanently.’ Joe smiled at her.

Hope nodded. ‘Oh right, did your family relocate or something?’

‘Nah, just me. I wanted to come to New York to pursue my dream. And I needed to find someone to share that dream with and to help me fulfil it, so I came out here to find her.’ Joe replied simply.

Hope laughed. ‘Well, you’re either crazily romantic for your age, or you have one heck of a plan for you and some girl. I hope you find her soon.’

‘I might just have already found her.’ Joe looked at Hope meaningfully as they reached the door of the coffee shop.

Unable to respond due to the excitement exploding in her body at that statement, Hope simply smiled.

Joe pushed the door open and directed Hope over to a pair of seats before going up to the counter to order two black coffees. When he came back with the cups and placed them on the table, he smiled at Hope.

‘You know, I’ve never known a girl who drinks black coffee.’

Hope smiled wryly. ‘Bad habit. My aunt and uncle would kill me if they saw me drinking coffee straight up. They always insist I put milk in it, but there’s nowhere near the same kind of energy kick. Or flavour for that matter.’

‘Why do they care how you drink your coffee?’ Joe asked.

‘They always care about what I do. They think that if they control the small decisions in my life, such as how I drink my coffee or what I wear, I won’t make any big mistakes. I’m not exactly sure how the logic works, but it works for them, and I can’t be bothered to have the argument over small things.’ Hope shrugged.

‘I’m so glad that my parents are chill.’ Joe smiled.

‘Incredibly chill if they let you come and live in the city all on your own. My aunt and uncle would never agree to that.’ Hope laughed.

Joe nodded soberly. ‘I suppose it was an unconventional thing for them to allow me to do, but it was what I wanted to do. If they had stopped me, they would have been asking for me to run away, and they would have taken that way harder. I was coming to New York either way.’

‘You’re very determined.’ Hope smiled.

‘Wouldn’t you do the same?’ The intensity in Joe’s gaze unnerved Hope.

She looked down into her coffee mug. ‘Probably not if I’m honest. I’ve never wanted anything that much.’

Joe smiled. ‘Well when you do, it’s like there isn’t another option. I can’t explain it, but I just had this uncontrollable desire to follow my dreams, and no amount of persuasion could change that. I tried to do the mainstream thing; go off to university to get a steady job, settle down in LA with a nice girl and have kids, but my whole soul just rejected it. I couldn’t do it as much as I thought I should.’

‘That sounds… I don’t know how to describe it. I can’t imagine feeling that way about anything.’ Hope met Joe’s eyes again. ‘So, what is that you want to do?’

Joe leaned back in his chair slightly. ‘At the time, I wasn’t sure exactly. I just felt myself called to something bigger, you know?’

‘Yeah, I guess…’ Hope trailed off.

‘What is it?’

‘I’ve just never felt that way. Nothing bigger has ever been calling me. I mean, I've hoped for more, but nothing has ever presented itself to me.’

Joe looked at Hope intently, seeming to have an internal debate. At last, he sighed and leaned forward across the table. ‘Let me tell you something. Last year, I was in exactly the same place as you. Feeling like I was going nowhere. And then something magical happened. I had my inciting incident.’

‘Inciting incident?’ Hope raised an eyebrow.

‘It’s an event in a story that changes the life of the main character. I think, if you’ll trust me, I might just be yours.’ Joe smiled that luminescent smile that lit up the café brighter than the electric lights.

‘Okay, so what happened?’ Hope asked, genuinely intrigued.

’About a year ago, whilst I was still at high school, I was walking past the music classroom at school. I saw a random acoustic guitar just lying on the desk. See, I’ve been playing since I was a kid, so I couldn’t resist the urge to pick it up and play. I thought no one saw me and I closed the door behind me, but it seems that the music teacher, Mr Hartley, a guy I’d never even spoke to that much, saw me go in.

‘I’d been working on this new song for a couple of months, but I just couldn’t finish it. I love writing songs, but I can’t ever finish them. I don’t understand why, but there is always an element missing. I always feel like I’m making some kind of soufflé, and then it just kinda collapses.’

Hope laughed at his choice of words. ‘Ok, strange analogy but I get what you mean. What happened next?’

’I sat up on the desk with the guitar in my arms and started playing the song naturally and singing along, totally unaware that Mr Hartley was stood behind me. When I’d got to the end of what I had of the song, I nearly had a heart attack when he started clapping. Told me I had serious potential and that I had to try performing.

’My parents didn’t think performing was a proper career, I knew, and I told him that. So, he leant me the guitar and said that I had to keep singing. It’d be criminal if I didn’t, I think were his exact words in fact. And to keep working on my songs and bring them back to him when they were done.

’I practiced whenever I could and really tried hard, but the songs weren’t getting any better. Just before I graduated, I asked Mr Hartley what he thought I should do. He told me I needed to find a partner. Someone who completed my songs. Someone who could work with the talent I had and find ways to make a “knock-out duo”.

‘Somehow, I just knew I wasn’t going to find anyone back home in LA. I knew plenty of people in the city, but none of them were really into music. I decided I wanted a clean break from everything I knew, so I headed out to New York to try and find someone who I could work with. I’ve been out here for two weeks, and quite honestly Hope, you are the perfect person. I didn’t know what I was looking for really, but it was you, I’m sure.’

Hope laughed. ‘You must be joking. No one’s ever been looking for me.’

Joe shook his head. ‘You don’t believe in yourself; you’re so much better than you think you are. I know that if you have the courage to believe me, the sky is the limit to what we can achieve together.’

Hope rolled her eyes. ‘That is incredibly cheesy.’

‘What can I say.’ Joe laughed. ‘I’m poetic at heart.’

‘I can tell.’ Hope paused, wondering whether to pursue the matter or change topic. ‘So, do you write a lot of songs?’

‘Whenever I get inspiration, but obviously it doesn’t quite work out. I need some help, and I’m pretty certain that you could be the one to help me.’ Joe said matter-of-factly.

‘Well I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t know anything about music or singing.’ Hope returned her gaze to her coffee mug.

Joe scoffed. ‘I know that’s not true. Last night was proof.’

Hope shook her head and frowned. ‘That’s different. I… I can sing along to songs on my phone or on TV. I sing to the group when Mack forces me. Above that, I’m stumped.’

‘I could teach you, if you’d let me. I know quite a bit about song writing and singing.’ Joe replied.

Hope smiled. ‘I’m not worth the time, trust me. It’s nice that you think I am, really, but you’ve got the wrong girl.’

For a moment, Joe considered the remark without saying anything. Then he nodded his head decisively and stood up with a smile, offering his hand to Hope.

‘I want to show you something. Come with me.’