INEWORD P

Wednesday , March 1, 2023 | Pinewood International American School of Thessaloniki early from the office. I couldn’t do it anymore. My mind was filled by 1984, the coffee shop, the girl who reflected the sun, and I couldn’t replace those thoughts with ones about my job, which once was the only thing occupying my brain. To think that all this was caused by a random bump in a coffee shop, the same one that made me run and long for my bed, the same one that was now directing my feet to the beige apartment building I lived in.

…

Today was the 13th of March, and I had ordered my ginseng coffee as usual, reading my book. I was reading the last ten pages now. I was soon going to know the end of the story of the forbidden love between Winston and Julia. As Winston sat down in the Chestnut Tree cafe, and wrote “2+2=5” on the table while listening to Big Brother’s broadcast, I turned to the last page of the book.

“So, you finally finished reading it, huh, Mr. Ginseng Latte?”

It was the girl. Even without raising my eyes to see her, I knew who was talking to me, as the heat I felt in that moment could not be mistaken for anything but that of the burning sun, and by that extent, someone reflecting it.

“Yeah,” I responded quickly while trying to put all my things in my bag. “If you’ll excuse me,” I continued, and tried to push through so I could get out of the shop.

“Wait, no, I have something to tell you.” The girl followed me to the exit.

“Are you free this afternoon, perhaps? I’ll be here, waiting. I want to talk to you,” she pleaded. There was no point in avoiding it anymore. After all, talking to her might be helpful in returning to my schedule-run life.

“I’ll be there,” I responded, and with that I walked out the door.

To find out what happens next in The Boy With The Crossed Out Calendar, and to read more short stories by Mea Tela (grade 11), you’ll need to visit her website: https://meatela.weebly.com/ Enjoy!

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Thanks for reading!

Until next time... —P