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Life Sucks
Chapter FOUR: My Shadow
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Mitchology
Sewing is way harder than I thought it would be. It took me several rolls of bright fabric, a severed finger, and some stitches to complete my first flawless sundress. After my first triumph, I modified the same style into three other dresses. There was one with buttons, one with lace as straps, one with a mixture of clashing fabrics, and one that started it all. As much as I love my other dresses I had to deemed the simplistic style of my first dress as my favorite. I wore it everywhere. Who knew that life can change perspective with a single cotton white dress? It felt like I was a kid again. Guess there's yet another thing to cross off my list.
1. Ride a camel.
2. Skip around the park, barefooted.
3. Make my own line of Mitchie Sun-dresses.
4. Break any of the Connect Three band member's guitar's.
5. Don't ever break out into the music scene with a name as bad as Bleeding Sunshine.
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"I'll have a temperate soy milked cappuccino with artificial sweetener umm, with two shots of espresso. A regular strawberry frap. A cinnamon latte with steamed milk, please. A decaf and some of those bread thingys" A women in business attire read off a text from her computer of a cell phone. There was a long line behind her which included Jason, who was excitedly waving at me with extremely short hair.
"You want a biscotti?" I motioned over to the array of biscotti's we had in stock.
Her eyes widened and she held up her perfect manicured finger, "One second."
She began texting as I shuffled around Ted who was getting another customer's order. Four cups and a stupid bread thingy… Ugh. One day I will quit this job. Not that I don't love it, because I do, I just rather not deal with such high demands for coffee. This morning rush was different. Why? Because somehow, news leaked that members of Connect Three and Bleeding Sunshine were spotted here, frequently. How right those gossip magazines were for once. Thankfully, Jason was smart enough to dress like a normal person than his usual rockstar getup. Who knew that a small hair and clothes change can make you virtually unrecognizable.
"Oh, I'll have that chocolate bis…thing." The women looked up from her cell phone. I shoved her chocolate biscotti and her four cups of coffee towards her.
"Thirty one, fifty." I read the price.
She handed me the correct amount of changed and took off.
"Welcome to Java Junction." I sighed out to a middle aged woman.
"Just a muffin, please." She stated. I quickly rummaged for a napkin as I handed her a plain muffin.
"That will be-"
"Have you ever seen somebody famous here?" She interrupted. I forced a smile for the hundredth time that hour. It's not the first time someone's has asked me that today. Our morning rush has gotten huge because of that stupid 'rumor'. Just another thing I hate about C3 and BS.
"Why do you ask?" I said in my sweetest voice.
The middle age women swelled up, "My daughter is a big fan of Connect Three and she nearly fainted when we found out that they've been spotted here several times."
I looked pasted her and saw Jason fiddling with his short hair. "Well, you know what they say about rumors, from a gallon of gossip there's only an ounce of truth." I chuckled out. The woman frowned and shoved five dollars at me before she marched off.
"Black coffee." A man said before I got to welcome him. He looked mildly pissed as I handed him his coffee.
"Nearly a ten minute wait!" He shook his head. "I've never seen this place so congested."
I had to agree with him, "The coffee's free of charge."
He warmly smiled and took off. An hour later, Jason was finally at the front. He winked at me as he cleared his throat.
"Can I have a regular latte?" He smiled.
"That will be five-oh-seven." I charged. Ted efficiently handed him his latte and took over the counter. Ever since his date with Peggy, Ted has been irrevocably kind and helpful. I haven't heard from Peggy side at all but by the looks of it, it seems that Peggy didn't mind Ted that much. In fact, I'm beginning to think there's a second date squeezed in this hectic week. The morning rush had died down a bit. I'm guessing that many people were disappointed to hear that we weren't personal friends of C3 or BS. I took the broom and began sweeping the debris left behind from the customers. Jason sat near me.
"How's everything?" He said, speaking to his cell phone. He smiled up at me and winked again. Ah. Using his cell phone as a decoy. Nice.
All I did was shrug.
"What are you doing tonight?" Jason asked.
I shook my head.
"Would you like to join us for the anniversary party?"
I shook my head again.
"Why?"
"Because!" I harshly whispered back.
"EXCUSE ME!" Ted yelled out, "WE OFFICAILLY RAN OUT OF ESSPRESSO. THE ONLY THING ON THE MENU WE HAVE TO OFFER IS OUR PASTRIES."
My mouth dropped. There was no way that we ran out of coffee. I dropped my broom and rushed over to the stock room. It was empty except for a couple of loose coffee beans on the floor. Holy moley, four days of intense morning rushes and we're left with no coffee until the next two days, when we're schedule for a restock. The small crowd dispersed. Nobody really wanted coffee. All they wanted was a chance to meet someone. If they only looked hard enough, somebody could have recognized the boy casually sitting in the corner, sipping his latte.
"Thank God I got my drink before everything ran out." Jason clutched his heart, "I can't live without coffee."
I shook my head, "Who can?"
Jason smirked, "So do you plan on telling me why you won't come? Is it a guy?"
I briefly thought back to Nate. Maybe it was about a guy but not in the way Jason was implying it. It's not my fault he keeps on coming back. I think I made it clear that I didn't want him around. I didn't answer Jason's question. I kept on sweeping on smiling at the picture of a Nate-less life. If you must know, it involves me and with a giant martini in my hand, I'm sure you can fill in the rest.
"Nate's still mad at you. It's nice to see you're in perfect health while he's suffering from a cold." Jason snickered at me.
"Nate can kiss my a-"
"Don't finish that." Jason closed his eyes. "Just promise me you'll go tonight."
"I don't do promises." I groaned.
"Fine, just go."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because!"
"Because why?"
I groaned. I was practically beating the floor with the broom rather than sweeping. Jason looked at his watch and quickly stood up. He took the final gulp of his cup and headed for the door.
"It's going to be at the Ritz." Jason yelled over his shoulder.
"The Ritz Hotel?!" I repeated.
Jason waved, "I'll see you at seven oh clock."
"I guess there's no point on having this open. Should we close already?" Ted asked.
I scoffed, "I don't care."
He smiled, "Good cause I'm gonna go pick up something to wear to Jason's thing."
"You're going?!" I frantically asked.
Ted nonchalantly shrugged, "Peggy invited me."
Figures. I gritted my teeth as Ted took off his apron and headed for the door.
"See you there."
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I don't know WHAT possessed me to buy a designer dress. I was passing by a window display and I saw this pastel teal colored dress. It was gorgeous. I stood in front of the display admiring it and I caught myself thinking a horrid thought.
That would be nice to wear for Jason's…what am I thinking?
I began to walk off but the dress called me back. For all I know, I should be running away from here. I shouldn't be thinking about how good I would look in that dress at the party. I had successfully walked two paces away from the window when I looked back for a final glance at the dress. I swear on my grandmothers grave that dress was sad to see me go. I could see it crying for goodness sakes. I just ran inside and paid a painful six hundred dollars for it. The worst part is that I was skipping all the way to my apartment swinging my bag around like some rich school girl.
The moment I was home I threw my bag across the room and took a nap.
Hey, shopping can be very exhausting. I was in the middle of a great dream containing a lifeguard, my pathetic acting, and a small island. It was great.
I stirred from my sleep when I heard a knock on the door. Without thinking much of it, I dragged myself off of my couch and answered the door.
Lucky me. I just received my own personal Nate to ruin my day today. I guess Jason was right, Nate looked terrible, once again. In fact, I didn't want him to step inside in fear that he might contaminate the place.
"Why are you here?" I groaned, trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes.
Nate pushed past me and stood in the middle of my apartment, "Peggy sent me to make sure you came tonight. And that's what I'm here to do."
I rolled my eyes, "It's noon. Go back and bother someone else."
"I think I rather bother you." Nate bit his lip.
God, I hate him. If you seriously thought that Nate was the kind, serious, nice one in the band, you're horribly wrong. That's hands down Jason. Nate on the other hand is almost as bad as Shane, perhaps even worse. And I can't believe I just said that. I shoved past him and walked to my room, where I could lock myself up properly without any Nate interruptions. I was looking to getting back to that dream, the life guard just saved my life. Nate was in there before I could close the door. I was burning mad when he stretched out on my bed and slightly messed up my already messy bed. How dare he? He looked pleasantly relaxed when he began making bed 'snow angels' on my bed. I hate HIM. As if my life couldn't get any worse, Nate shows up and attempts to make it better. And let me say, he's failing miserably at it.
"Why!?" I whined to the God above. Nate sat up.
"I already told you. Peggy-"
"Oh shut up." I snapped. I marched off, "I heard you loud and clear the first time. I just can't understand why nobody can seem to give me a break. I mean, c'mon! If I don't want to go then it's my decision. It's people like you that make the world insufferable to live in, you know that?"
Nate appeared at my door frame, crossing his arms as he lean against it. His clothes looks slightly ruffled and his hair… I stopped thinking before I could get carried away. There isn't anything remotely sexy about a guy dragging himself out of my room like that.
"So you think we're all against you?" Nate tried not to smirk, but he did.
"I don't think." I glared, "I know."
Nate stuffed his hands in his pockets and proceeded to follow me around, "So you think Jason and Caitlyn only want you there to torture you to no end. Because, you know, if you didn't catch on they totally hate you."
I stopped and raised a finger at Nate, "Don't you dare try to use that reverse crap on me."
Nate held up his hands in surrender, "Fine. I won't."
Before he could add in another word I finally escaped to the bathroom. I was surprised that Nate almost attempted to come in with me. Seriously, what if I really needed to go? How sick was he? I began to wonder how dedicated he was to keep his word to Peggy. Now that I think about it, I read an article about Nate and his undying loyalty to his friends. He would do anything they would ask him to do. I just really wished Peggy wouldn't have asked him to stalk me right now. Nate pounded on my door while I turned up the volume of my bathroom radio. Psh, yeah I have a radio in the bathroom. I use it as an aid to sing in the shower. Anyways, all I heard were the muffled yells of Nate and John Meyer singing on the radio. I began to obnoxiously sing along to Why Georgia while Nate yelled obscenities at me. I smiled at myself. This was almost perfect. I only wish my bathroom had a window so I could escape and never go back. Well, my bathroom does have a window in a form of a skylight but that's totally impractical at the moment. Once, Nate stopped trying to break the door down, I sat on my toilet and sighed. I could stay here for twelve hours and I would be happy as long as Nate isn't here with me.
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Ok, so maybe I over estimated how long I could stay here. After the second hour, I was ready to face Nate because anything is better than staring at four blank walls. Heck, I even took a shower, hoping that would make time fly faster. My radio blared the cruel hour at me.
"It is now 2:37 pm here in sunny warm New York. You're listen to the vast variety of music on 96.3 KISM. Up next is the mellowing voices of Bleeding Sunshine-"
I quickly unplugged the radio. Ugh. I stared into the mirror that reflected a tidier version of myself. In another attempt to waste time, I actually blow dried my hair to a neat little style. It was a change from my average pony tail. I would never admit it but maybe I should start letting my hair down. It was then when I noticed a stillness. Could it be? I felt like a was alone again. There was no way Nate could stand still for so long. I seriously watched 5 minutes tick by when I quietly unlocked the knob. I took a deep breath and clutched the knob in my hand. Another minute passed by and my ear was glued to the door. Silence. Slowly but surely, I turned the knob and it clicked the moment I creaked the door open. I peeked through the small crack and scanned the room.
No Nate.
Celebrate.
The door flew open and I was confused. I didn't have time to do my victory dance because Nate snatched the door open with the stupidest grin on his face. I frowned.
"So you're going." He said in a statement more than a question.
"No." I sourly said.
I tried to yank the door away from him but that was no help. Nate held up that same dress I purchased earlier. The price tag was swinging around, signaling it's new fresh self.
"Then was this?" Nate asked.
"A dress."
"By the looks of this receipt." Nate took a look at the piece of paper that proved my purchase. I was going to kill him.
"Seems like you were shopping at the up scale Bethany's Boutique at exactly 11:34 this morning. Nice store, if I say so myself." Nate shoved the dress at me. "Try it on."
"What?"
"I want to see it." Nate urged.
"Nate," I whined, once again, "Don't you have some where to be like with Tess or something?"
Nate's face was cold, "I don't think she'll mind at all."
I scoffed, "Oh great, your girlfriend is worse than I thought."
Nate laughed, "You're something else Mitchie."
"What kind of girl let's her boyfriend bother some poor innocent girl." I shook my head, "I don't understand, I thought Tess was the jealous type."
Nate shrugged, "She is."
"Then what's wrong with her?" I scrunched my nose.
Nate pushed me back into the bathroom, "Try it on."
I protested against his wishes. Was he avoiding my question? I pushed back at the force that was ushering me back into the bathroom. What was frustrating was that all my efforts felt like I was pushing against a stone wall. Nate just stood there amused that I didn't want to go back into the bathroom. I scowled at him.
"What's the deal with you and Tess? Are you guys swingers or what? Because if you are that's really gross, Nate." I said with a final push. I gave up and sat on the toilet with the dress in hand. Nate closed the door.
"I'm not going to try it on!" I yelled.
"That's fine with me." Nate yelled back.
I hate him.
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If you think it's impossible to find a source of entertainment in the bathroom, I'm here to tell you that it is possible. Now that I'm unwillingly lock in here (Nate barricaded me in here, the jerk) I had to find something to do. I resorted to count the amount of freckles there is on my back. You would be surprise how many I had. I had five freckles. I had to crane my neck to get a good look at my back. After I had a sore neck, I amounted to five freckles. Amazing isn't it? It killed an astonishing hour. After that, I was dying to get out of here. I was starving, the radio was boring me to death now (a Connect Three song was softly playing) and I might be suffering from claustrophobia now. Thanks Nate.
I knocked on the door.
"Let me out!" I cried.
"Do you have the dress on?"
"No."
"Then you can't." Nate cleverly said.
I groaned, "But I'm hungry!"
"There's food at the party." Nate said.
"I have my own food." I growled, "There's plenty of left over's in my fridge. I prefer that from a catered party."
"Really? What do you have?" Nate piped up.
"I'm not saying."
I heard something shuffle and I automatically thought of the worse. Nate was going to go through my fridge. It's not that I mind, it's just that I only have enough food for the week and I don't plan on visiting the old dump of a grocery store down the street. I ripped off my clothes and hopped into this stupid dress I regret buying. I zipped it up and pounded on the door.
"I HAVE IT ON! OPEN UP!" I yelled.
A second later, Nate swung the door open pleasantly eating a sandwich he must of have made himself. I had the feeling that he already went through my fridge before I mentioned anything. I crossed my arms and stormed off.
"How dare you look through my things!" I ranted, "If weren't such a nice person I would have called the police to whisk you away for breaking and entering."
"If it helps at all, you're right on time for the party." Nate smiled.
"No."
"Oh, c'mon you're already dressed!" Nate shrugged, "And I'll forgive you for making me sick."
"I'm not apologizing." I spat.
"You don't need to." Nate took another bite of his (my) sandwich. "I'll take the high road and forgive you any ways."
"Oh, nice to know that you're so humble." I mumbled. I was walking towards my room when Nate popped up in front of me. What is he? My shadow? His head stooped dangerously close to mine.
"Mitchie, you have no idea how much this would mean to Caitlyn and Jason." Nate whispered. I took a step back and my shadow consequently took a step forward.
"If I go, can you promise me something?" I struggled out. Nate chuckled and I shivered, "What?"
I turned around, "Please, can you just leave me alone?"
I didn't see Nate's reaction to my plea but I think he was happy enough to take it.
"Yes." He said.
I felt a bit crushed. As mush as I wanted him to leave me the hell alone, something about him being so willing to agree to my suggestion hurt. I bit my lip and hopelessly turned back around.
I forced a smile out, "I'll go."
Nate hugged me again. It didn't felt like the last time he hugged me. I just had this bad feeling inside me. Have you ever had that feeling that something was about to go so wrong that scared the crap out of you? That's the feeling I had. And the worst part is that I fully aware of this feeling and I couldn't run away from it, because I promised.
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