02. Coffee Date
An alarm clock blared, its loud ringing enraging the very person who had set it to this particular time.
Nathan slammed the head of his washed out analogue clock so hard that it threatened to break.
The young man finally opened his eyes, his head banging terribly from hangover as he could barely concentrate.
He laid there, facing the ceiling and contemplating the very essence of his life,
Another day, another misery.
Nathan took his sweet time getting up since he had no need to rush, his eyes still clearly yearning for more sleep.
He reached for his phone to confirm if the foggy memories inside his head were true.
He recalled Eve's text and another text coming in afterwards but he wasn't exactly sure what it was.
As he stared at his phone, he was disgusted.
The multiple cracks on the screen of his phone would make a spider very jealous of the web that formed on it.
It wasn't just that, because for the last three to five seconds, Nathan has been trying to type in his password but his device simply chooses what letters to recognise sometimes.
Now was one of those times and it was getting on his nerves.
He tossed the phone aside on his bed and went into the bathroom.
Nathan relieved himself of a loaded bladder – thanks to too much alcohol – as he moaned all through the time he was urinating.
The young man felt and enjoyed the sense of sweet relief that came with it.
It was like a burden had been lifted off his shoulders, or better put in this case, his bladder.
He went ahead to complete his other morning routine of brushing and freshening up, and when all these were settled, he returned to his phone once more.
He now had the time and patience for whatever delays this piece of thrash wanted to throw at him.
Five minutes passed.
"Finally…!" Nathan yelled excitedly, almost punching the air in his victory celebration.
One would think the young man had won a lottery or something of sorts, not knowing that all his jubilation was over unlocking his phone.
Nathan gained his merited access to his phone and soon began to go through the entire thing to be sure he was not missing anything important.
He had been so drunk last night that he couldn't even recall how he got home.
As he was scrolling through his phone, it rang and a face ID appeared on his screen.
'Dahlia?'
Nathan was surprised as to why Dahlia was calling him this early in the morning.
"Hello," he picked up and answered.
[Hello, sleepyhead. I'm surprised you are already awake]
Nathan instinctively raised his eyebrows.
He wondered where Dahlia had gotten the idea that he would still be asleep by now.
He faked a chuckle and then replied. "Huh? Why's that? I'm an early bird."
[Is that so, Mr. Early bird? No bird, early or not, would wake up by this time if they were as wasted as you were last night, Nate. Haha!]
"How did you– oh gosh! Did I call you?"
Nathan instantly realised how Dahlia would have known about last night and regretted it almost immediately the thought came.
It now made sense how he had gotten home safely without any troubles, and why he couldn't remember.
[Yhup! You did. I'm your superhero now, aren't I?]
Nathan could tell that Dahlia was enjoying this,
She loved teasing him at the slightest opportunity she got.
"You wish," Nathan retorted and they both had a hearty laugh.
The young man rubbed the bridge of his nose as he felt a sense of disappointment towards himself for calling his lady friend in such a drunken state.
While Dahlia didn't mind, Nathan was not pleased with what he had done.
"Let me make it up to you then. Coffee?" he immediately proposed, hoping to return the favour.
[Don't sweat it, Nate. I don't want you wasting your money on me, hehe. I will pass]
Nathan expected this repulsive response but he was not going to give up.
[By the way, how are you preparing for your interview?]
Nathan blinked a few times.
"What interview?"
His question was meet with a loud silence.
Dahlia didn't know how to answer that question.
Nathan, on the other hand, was not fooling around and had asked an honest question since he genuinely did not understand what interview Dahlia was talking about.
[My gosh! Just how much did you drink, Nathan? And what did you drink that you don't even remember my text after replying?!]
Nathan glanced up at the ceiling of his room, searching for the answer to the question that was not there.
He remembered seeing a text but he was not sure about the part he replied.
He didn't quite recall it.
Minimizing the call, he quickly went to his messages and indeed, he did reply to the text much later that night before then calling Dahlia.
"Geez! I'm sorry. I don't remember a thing."
The sigh of disappointment from Dahlia's end of the call was palpable as Nathan could feel her reaction all the way to where he was.
[Good thing there's still time for you to prep]
"So it's a coffee date then? You know, I will need you to put me through," Nathan added, emphasising on the matter in a manner that declared his victory over Dahlia's repulsion.
Dahlia wasted a few seconds but eventually replied.
[Yeah, fine. See you then]
"Sure. Cocoa & Cream. 10 o'clock."
[Alright. Please take a lot of water, Nate. You are quite heavy to move]
"So I'm fat now, huh?"
[Yes! I almost passed out. Only thanks to the taxi driver that I was able to get you home]
"At least your gym sessions are paying off."
[You are foolish, Nathan Cross]
They both laughed.
"See you at 10 then."
[Sure. Bye]
"Bye."
*********
Time flew past and it was time for his little coffee date with Dahlia.
Nathan was already at the entrance of Cocoa & Cream.
As he entered, he scouted the place and eventually noticed a familiar figure waving at him from one end of the coffee shop.
Nathan smiled and turned his path toward this person.
It was Dahlia, and she was dashing despite having on a simple polo and jeans combination.
They hugged and smiled at each other, engaging in small talks before Nathan called for the waiter.
After taking their orders, the waiter left.
Dahlia inched closer and gave Nathan a suspicious look.
"Are you still hung over?" she asked.
"No. Why?" Nathan sharply replied.
"Nothing, but why the shades indoors?"
Nathan laughed and took off the shades.
"It's nothing really. Trust me."
He placed the pair of glasses on the table, focusing on Dahlia.
"So what's this interview thing you want to help me with? I finally saw the text. Thanks for putting in a word for me, Dahlia, I appreciate."
Dahlia shrugged. "It's nothing. Let's just say I had a friend who needed a service and I'm linking another friend to my first friend. It's that simple."
As Dahlia freely expressed herself, Nathan couldn't help but stare at her brown eyes that were complemented by the long braids she made.
She was a pretty lady indeed, but Nathan had to constantly remind himself that this was a casual date and Dahlia was not a someone to rebound on.
Their little date went well over two cups of coffee and a few cookies.
But like all things, it eventually came to an end and they parted ways.
*********
Nathan had reached home and soon fell on his back, the envelope that Dahlia had given him falling with him as he landed on the bed.
The envelope contained a list of things he should know about the establishment that was going to interview him in some days.
Nathan unbuttoned and took off his shirt while on the bed, and just as he was about to go and hang it, the strangest of things happened.
His eyes fluttered several times in one second.
< Host has been detected! >
< You have met the requirement for binding >
< Binding status: Successful >
< Host has made his first expenditure on a lady >
[Expense: $50]
[10x rebate effect initiated! Earned $500!]
< ERROR! >
< Money will be withheld as host is yet to register a bank account for transfers >
"What the hell is this?!"
Nathan thought he was seeing things but these floating golden, luminescent screens were glaring back at him, with rows of texts continuing to appear.
'Huh…?! $500? From where?! Is this some sort of joke?!'