Chapter 11

"I don't have any cash on me, sorry."

I answered, my voice filled with shame and embarrassment. Yesterday I spent it on a bagel on the way to school, and the place's prices were quite expensive to say the least. Shinso just frowned at me, his face didn't read any disappointment or shame, just a little understanding.

"You don't, then maybe you should go down to the bank and get some, just make sure your account isn't locked or you don't have enough money."

He looked down at the ground before our attention was shifted to the waiter giving us our food, which we both replied with a thank you. Then Shinso decided to change the subject.

"So, about that book."

I looked up as I sipped my coffee, which was surprisingly good for my first time.

"The book?"

He nodded as he bit into his food, looking at me with a glare of interest.

"Yeah, what did you read? Anything majorly interesting...or just stuff that makes you question your existence and will to live."

I pondered that question for a second, thinking about what I should say, as I scratched my brow and looked down at the ground.

"Well, I found this unique perspective of fate which I made myself, it's difficult to explain but it's also very simple."

I replied with a hint of confidence in my voice, sipping my drink in a way that matched my imaginary status. Shinso seemed to find this funny as he chuckled a little bit.

"I won't even ask, what's next, you're gonna put on a monocle and start explaining every detail?"

He joked, raising his eyebrows in a sarcastic way. I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit too, being a "philosopher" in a way was a little bit of a nerdy thing, but it kinda calms me down and gets my brain turning, like those puzzle ads I'd always see while playing a game.

Then my mind wandered towards what he said about the bank, and the money I needed to get to him. After realizing that I spoke up.

"Do I need to get to the bank now? Or will you pay the bill and I'll need to give you the exact amount it required as a sort of pay back thing?"

The way I worded it out made it sound like I knew nothing about money or making deals, which was something I knew nothing about. Shinso just raised his head again and nodded slightly, trying not to spill his coffee.

"Yeah, this place rounds at about 4.00$ per coffee, but with these extra pastries and stuff, you might need to make it about 13.00$ or maybe even 13.50$, I'll consult the waiter on our exact amounts when she hands us the bill, but I've been to this place before so I probably know what I'm talking about."

He sipped his coffee again, his voice was filled with a certainty I was almost unfamiliar with.

"Whatever you say."

I opened my phone before going into an app I never thought I'd ever go on, the "books" app.

I quickly typed in the novel "Philosophy for Idiots." Hoping the book was available as a PDF for me to read without having to haul around a 1 pound book wherever I go.

Luckily the novel was the first thing that popped up after I clicked the tiny search bubble, I quickly tapped the icon but was immediately washed over with annoyance after realizing the book was a "premium item" and required a membership to even read a preview.

"Why would it be a premium item, maybe the book is rare?"

I clicked again, hoping that I could glitch the system somehow and get the book to work, but the same dull pop up appeared on the screen, demanding a 3.99$ membership.

"Sigh".

I closed the app in defeat, Shinso noticed my annoyed expression and turned to me.

"Why you look so peeved?"

He asked, tapping the wooden table with his fingertips as he awaited my answer, I just turned to him before letting out a chuckle.

"The book I'm looking for is one that needs money, and I know that I have to pay you back so I'll buy the stupid membership another time."

I chuckled briefly again, attempting to make myself look like I wasn't even slightly annoyed, but the look on my face previously already told Shinso that. 

"Well, I still have the book back at my apartment so you can read it without having to blow money on some membership just to read it."

He noted, sipping his coffee again, which was almost empty at this point, I looked down at my coffee cup before wrapping my hands around it, expecting it to be ice cold, but it was still hot fortunately, meaning that I could still drink it and not have such a small inconvenience wrap around my mind like the money I needed to loach back or the monthly subscription I wanted.

Eventually we both finished out food and Shinso called for the waiter to hand us the bill, and when he did it read approximately 15.27$ which was about 2 dollars over what I previously anticipated, he looked towards me.

"Well..."

He left the sentence wide open as he pulled a sticky note from inside his pocket before handing it to me, it had the price written on it so I wouldn't forget it.

"That's how much you need to pay me back, ok?"

I nodded, putting the folded up green sheet into my pocket before standing up, grabbing Shinso by the hand and pulling him up too.

"Let's go and see what else we can do."

Shinso nodded affirmatively before speaking.

"Well, I don't want to spend anymore money so maybe we could visit the park? It's a few blocks from here and not many people go to it."

I had no idea why he brought up the last part, but I just nodded before smiling at him.

"Sounds good."