(Author's Note: I've moved the location to the UK. Ana, Jose, and Paul have also been aged up to between 26-28. Christian has loads of underworld connections in London in this version. Told from Ana's P.O.V. Enjoy!)
Jose was pacing the floor while I calculated the amount on my phone; we couldn't afford a calculator. He nibbled his thumbnail until I was done tallying. "Well?" "Excluding our phone bills, if we eat peanuts and grapes for the next three days that'll leave us with… 2.85," I announced, and Jose shrugged. "That's more than I thought." "What if I walk down to the Tesco's? Peanuts are on sale there," I suggested, but Jose's head shook. "That's a forty-minute walk to save what? Thirty pence?" "That's thirty pence more than we'll have if I go to our regular store." He huffed throwing up his arms. "Nugh, I hate this! When will we be able to just get up and go to a McDonalds whenever we want?" "We can't afford McDonalds. Maybe during our next holiday," my grin didn't placate him. He just shot me a deadpan expression from across the room. "Seriously?" "Well we're kinda strapped for cash until our next stipend cheque comes in," my hand ran through my hair warily. Jose let out a groan, tossing his head back up towards the ceiling. "I hope Paul aced that funding interview….."
Speak of the devil, both our heads turned as the front door of our tiny apartment opened. We looked to see a worn-out Paul come inside, dropping his backpack on the floor and throwing his raincoat off. Our faces both lit up with excitement to see him and dismay at the oncoming news, presumably "bad" news. "So….. How'd it go?" Jose was hesitant to ask. One look from Paul dashed any leftover hopes we had. "They said they'd always welcome another application next year," he sighed, going over to plop himself down on the couch. "But we worked on that application for over two months! Did they say what was wrong with it?" Jose cried in despair. "Not enough experience, and we need a better research proposal," Paul explained. "Better research proposal?! We had three profs look that thing over!" Jose's voice just kept raising and raising. "I know…." The former sighed again, letting his eyes casually drift over to me. I was sitting there in relative silence and devastation; applying for that grant was my idea, after all. Paul stared at me a moment, then grinned lowly.
"Hey, Ana? Think you can go get me a cold cloth for my head? I've got a bit of a headache." "Sure thing," I got up from my chair to go into our shared bathroom. When I emerged cloth in hand, both he and Jose were standing at the counter with big smiles on their faces. In Paul's hands was a small vanilla cupcake with a single candle burning in it. "Happy birthday, Ana!" They yelled in unison. Pausing a moment to gather what was going on, a wave of surprise washed over my face. "W-Wha…. What's this?" A grin began to form on my lips. "You didn't think we'd forget your birthday," Paul took a step towards me, still holding the cupcake out in front of him. "N-No, but I thought…. We were all preparing for the interview and…" Chuckling a little, he approached me just so the cupcake and flame were in blowing range. "How could we forget? This is our fourth year celebrating it together. We'd never forget your birthday." "Paul…" I smiled warmly at him. His hands brought up the candle a little more. "Now make a wish and blow out your candle." "Wish for more funding!" Jose called from behind. I giggled in response. "That's the same wish we make every year." "And it still needs to come true," Paul remarked. With one last smile his way, I shut my eyes and blew out the flame. Jose clapped his hands cheerfully. "Yay!"
I flashed them both another new grin upon reopening my eyes. "Thanks, guys. This is really sweet. Let's spilt the cupcake three-ways." "Oh no, Ana; not your birthday cupcake." "Yeah. It's the only whole cupcake you get all year….. And that's not much of an exaggeration either," Jose added. I shot him one of "those" looks. "I'm not gonna eat a whole cupcake while you get nothing. It's my birthday, and I wanna split it. Oh by the way, we're having grapes and peanuts for dinner tonight," I told Paul, who mirrored my playful expression. "Mmmmmmmm, my favorite," he teased, making me shake my head. Then my calm, contented smile returned in full force. My gaze lowered gently on my two roommates and best friends.
"Thank you for this. I honestly kinda forgot about my birthday myself; was too anxious about our funding application. So it really means a lot to me that you both remembered. I know you're working on chapters of your own too….." "What, are you kidding? We love you, Ana. Plus you did most the research and writing for that application; we owe you." "Jose's right; there's no way we'd ever let today pass like that. Not when you're so damn precious to us," Paul leaned forward, putting one hand on the back of my head. His hand was so big, it nearly covered all the back of my hair. I blushed just a tiny bit, making Jose all excited. "Now kiss!" He urged in that fan-boy way of his. Paul immediately removed his hand and gave him a disapproving glare. "You know we can't do that. We work in the same department; we're not allowed to date." "Yeah, but after you graduate….." Our friend continued to tease. Jose has shipped me and Paul since we started PhD back in the day. I admit, I did have a crush on Paul for a time, but our solid friendship knocked that outta me a long time ago….. or so I thought. Anyway, who had time to date? Or money to go on dates? Definitely not the three of us. Hard to get passionate with anyone when you got strict deadlines constantly looming over your head. Still, we were blessed enough to live and work together, and that was enough for me.
Paul brought the cupcake back over to the counter where Jose was waiting. I was about to join them when my phone started vibrating. As you can guess it's an old phone but still a smart phone. A quick check of the cracked screen revealed my mom's picture. I held up a "wait" finger to them. "Can you cut the cupcake, Paul? Mom's calling me." "Alright. Just hurry up; we'll wait for you to eat." "Thanks!" With that, I ran into my bedroom; the biggest room in the flat, which isn't saying much. I was the only one to have my own room consistently, while Paul and Jose took six-month turns swapping between the other bedroom and the couch. As you can probably envision, our apartment was tiny.
Once the door was closed, I clicked "answer" and held the phone up to my ear. "Hello?" "Hi, baby! Happy birthday!" "Heh, thanks Mom. How's California?" "Oh, you know- hot. But enough about me. How are you?! How'd the funding interview go?" "Uhhhhhhhhhh…." My voice pittered off; I didn't like giving her bad news over the phone, or in general. There was a pause. "That good, huh?" She said in that sarcastic tone of hers. "There'll be other interviews. The funding wasn't for that much anyway," well, not THAT much. I conveniently left out the fact we were about to have peanuts for dinner. I heard Mom suck in her lips.
"Well, alright then, if you're sure. Hey! You haven't asked what I got you for your birthday yet!" "Oh uh, right. What did you get me?" It felt weird asking that aloud. You could hear her eagerness through the phone. "You'll never guess!" "Is it a new… bedsheet?" I didn't have any imagination left that day; I spent it all working on my chapter this morning. "Pfffffffft, no. I got you… You ready for this? I got you aaaaaaaaaaaaa… boyfriend!" "A…. boyfriend?" I nearly dropped my phone in disbelief, and not the good kind. "Yes! It's only for one night, granted, but I got you a date! There's this service, you see, that does casual dates with rich, handsome guys." "Sounds like some sort of scam," I said drily. "It's not! It's totally legit. It counts as an act of community service for these guys; all the money they raise goes to charity." "Community service…..? You mean these guys are criminals?!" My voice rose in disgust and horror.
"No! No, no, no, honey; not "criminals". Petty infractions; white collar crime. No one got hurt, I assure you." "Sounds like someone might have gotten hurt," my eyes narrowed entirely unimpressed. "These aren't violent men, Anny; trust me. They do background checks on all these guys and the programme is run by the National Crime Agency." Oh my god, kill me. "It's perfectly safe! It's called: The Cinderella Foundation," Mom continued. I pinched the bridge of my nose in irritation, reminding myself to count to ten.
"Mom, I don't wanna go on a date with a felon. I work at a university! I'm a PhD student, for crying out loud! It can't get around that I was seen with a criminal." "He is NOT a criminal, Ana; he's a reformed citizen who wants to do some good for his community." "Did the website say that?" I rolled my eyes. "No, his lawyer," Mom said with no hint of irony. I wanted to bang my head on the wall. It took everything I had not to scream into the phone. "Look, thank you for the gift, Mom. I'm sure that it wasn't….. cheap. But I really, REALLY don't wanna do this. Is it too late for you to get a refund or….?"
"Anastasia, really! Do you know how much time I spent looking into this for you?" "Yeah, but…" "And do you know how many people have asked me when you'll finally get a boyfriend?" "I told you, Mom; I don't have time for a boyfriend," I sighed, pinching my nose's bridge again. "That's what you said in Masters! It's been three years since then and still no boyfriend!" "I will find somebody eventually! Can't it just wait until after I graduate?" "I've waited long enough. I think your issue is that you don't know how to put yourself out there. This date tonight will help you to break out of your academic shell into a woman. Think of this as a test-run for a real date!" Mom exclaimed, making me shutter. "But Mom, I really don't want to! Please don't make me do this," and I know what you're thinking. Ana, you're a twenty-six-year-old woman. You don't have to go on this date if YOU don't want to. Hahahahahahahahaha, you obviously don't know my mom.
Mom's tone went back to its usual calm, maternal self. "Now dear, I'm sure you're going to have a wonderful time. You should see the man I chose for you; he's gorgeous! He's the CEO of some company in London- I forget which- and he's loaded! Like mega-loaded; we're talking billions here." "Great. My first date since high school will be with some criminal CEO who probably thinks I'm on the same social level as a worm," I felt my inners melting. Mom scoffed. "He will not! Don't forget, he's doing this for charity." "Nooooooo, he probably doing this to avoid jailtime." "Tomayto, tomahto. Look, just have fun, Anny. He's going to take you out for a night on the town. I got you the whole package! It's your classic first date; dinner and a movie! Isn't that exciting?!" "As about as exciting as a trip to the dentist," I spat. "Oh come on, sweetie. You'll love it! It's just for one night; just give it a try! He got great reviews from other clients, and he'll be soft on the eyes if nothing else." "Mom…." "Just one date, Ana. Just one- that's all I ask. Who knows; you might actually enjoy yourself!
Who knows what'll happen."