ERICA PARNIS
The boy who sits at the table with an outlet always orders the sweetest drink on the menu. His laptop is always open and papers are scattered all over the table. You guess it’s a good thing that no one joins him, because they would have no space to do anything. He always has feet up on the opposite chair. You’ve tried to change that one because it’s broken, but no one uses it but him and he refuses to let it go. His headphones are always in his ears and whenever he’s not writing one of his endless notes, he is drumming with his pencil. He always looks tired and a little sad. He is not peaceful, but strangely, somehow, he is. He always smiles when you hand him his drink and gives you a hearty “thank you,” despite the muted light in his eyes. When he reaches a lyric he particularly likes, his pencil-drumming intensifies and he mouths the words distractedly but forcefully. He sometimes falls asleep at the table, but doesn’t cause any sort of real trouble. You realize it’s hard for him, but he’s trying. You’re glad he’s trying. You always have questions. There is always some indie rock track playing in the background. You wonder if that’s what the couple composes. Do they write love songs? Ballads about heartbreak? Jazz music? Do they write about each other, or about other people? Is it as striking as they are? The girls add people to their group, and also lose them. Sometimes even one of the original three is absent. Is it a scheduling thing? Or are some of them not welcome? What lets them bring in other people? Are they going to stay together? Or is everything about them an ever-rotating cycle? The boy bangs his foot on the table again. Does he do it when he seems to get an idea? Does it happen when he understands a concept he’s been struggling with? Or is a moment of frustration, a slight reprieve from it? Is he even a student? If not, what is the cause of his well of constant muted despair? You may not have the answers, but all these moments weave together and combine to make sweet melodies of a forever-ongoing picture. These are all the little pieces that make up your days, and you cherish them.
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