The encounter existed in a bubble that no one else knew of. In fact, the cursed banana muffin sat on his kitchen counter, uninterrupted, for the rest of the weekend. It reminded him every day he left the flat of the green-haired girl. Finn spent his free time tutoring since his junior year of high school. He was acquainted with the oddballs and causeless rebels. But Ken left him with more to consider. Where did she come from?
He scrambled around to find her real name, only to learn that their social cliques weren't close enough for intel. Barely even the surface stuff. Her major: communications. Her part time job: bee keeping. But some of the obscene things she did during their high school career came cropping up. Some unsavory rumors, too. But of all the things he came across, learning that they attended the same high school was hardest for Finn to believe.
After his morning class, Mondays were relatively quiet. His job at the local tech store was satisfyingly mild. Most of the people who visited Han's shop, Millennium Parts, weren't very tech savvy, which meant nobody hassled you about repair costs. The two visitors that stopped by during his shift were welcomed distractions. Once they filtered out and he was left taskless, Finn skimmed through his social media accounts to pass the time. A chime interrupted him. The number unsaved. Where r u? The text read. He thumbed his way to his inbox, inquiring who it was. The following answers would be something he would not like.
"Is that not the most inconsiderate thing a person could do?" He griped as he did a quick rinse of his tupperware in the employee restroom. Standing a few paces away was his co-worker Rey, chewing at a granola bar while watching him practically foam at the mouth. "I specified my availability on my flier and in person to avoid this sort of thing. Like, what the hell? How did you get Monday from Tuesday? They don't even sound the same!"
"Same amount of syllables." Finn shot her a look and she matched it with a dubious pout of her upper lip. "What?"
Finn shook his head and turned off the faucet, shoving his belongings in his backpack. Rey stalked behind him as he punched out on the dusty timeclock.
"Don't worry about it. My dad is fine with you leaving early. You're always on time anyways. Plus it might make me look good if you actually weren't so punctual."
Finn's hardened demeanor softened with a laugh. "You still haven't explained to me how you're late to a job that's a floor below your own house."
"Think outside the box, Finn. Anything's possible." She grinned at him when he kissed his teeth at her teasing. "Drive safe. See you tomorrow."
Staff members huddled under roof edges, taking chances sprinting over paths that were now puddles to their cars parked roadside. Stand in the midst long enough, and it's deceptively soft downcast would have your brows dripping like a sink edge. Finn crossed the street one stride after the other, kicking his toes to the air for the satisfying spray of droplets to go everywhere as he made haste. Luckily for him, today he wore boots.
Unlucky for him, the library doors were locked shut! He'd thought he'd soon be slipping down the soggy layers, chastising Ken real good about knowing her days apart when his usual door swinging entrance was snipped by a cheeky jam of the handle press. The door stood firm like it was proud of itself. Everything was personally attacking Finn, from the bully-like weather forecast to the space cadet who summoned him here. The window glass inside the door was narrow but close enough to see a head of green plaits some feet away on the other side. Their color was a separate entity from the dreary world around them. The library, as it typically was on earlier days of the week, was vacant, but today especially empty. The thundering clouds outside filled the window frames with shuddering clamor, as if to say, I'm not done with you yet. Old lamps served greenish orbs along tabletops, umbrellas of light against thick shadows that hung from the high ceilings. Her energetic voice mingled with the librarians, an older white woman who nodded and happily prattled along with her. The anger that was fueling him diluted the further they talked. The librarian, who seemed indifferent most of the time he was here, took so well to her that he doubted the brief glance away was enough to catch her attention. It did, but he shouted for her just in case.
Finn walked in and they were still talking. "Thank you," he muttered to the librarian, or rather her back. She was already walking back to the front desk.
"Hi Finn! We were just talking about you." She gave her hand a flirty toss at the side.
"Nothing but good stuff, I hope." He felt himself smile before he could decide.
"Nothing but the good stuff. I'm going to the cafeteria, babies. Don't need my help until I'm back."
Finn nodded and smiled until she was gone. He sat at the seat opposite of Ken, who was already on her phone.
For a moment he was silent, deliberating on letting out the frustration burning his lungs. He felt like he would implode. "Are you really trying to get help? Are you just messing around with me?"
Ken paused then looked up at him. "Would I be here?"
"Technically? No. You'd be here tomorrow. On Tuesday. The day we agreed on."
Finn watched her mouth rise up on the side. "So're you gonna be mad at me the whole time I'm studying? Cus –"
"You're the one who should be mad. I have to leave in twenty minutes for my next class. The time being wasted here the most is yours, not mine."
"Fine." She pushed her weight into her chair and balanced herself on the wooden hind legs. "So what would you like to do, Finn?"
He was blown away by her intentional topic-swapping. "I want you to take things seriously for longer than a week."
"Don't you go to the second campus?"
Finn debated on confirming, worried she'd get a bright idea. "Yeah but I don't take all my classes on-site."
"I was gonna say, I can make it up to you and treat you to some Insomnia Cookies."
In a mirage-like way, the business emblem, all glowy and purple, came across his mind. He shook his head, and imagined the thought as a tangible cube falling out his ear. "I gotta take you back home, too?"
"Jeez, boy!" She was laughing but he also heard himself. Well. He had to stand on it now. The hard ass treatment didn't work if you folded before any real compromise. Or so someone told him.
"Buy me two cookies and we're square. Buy me five and I might give you a ride back home."
Ken reached out to shake on it so he did the same. Only, she stuck out her pink/thumb and gave him a quick lock and stamp as insurance. The both of them headed for the exit.
"So," How did she have the stamina? He sighed deeply. "You got bluetooth in your car?"
He laughed. He was in so much shock he actually laughed. Kenisha's face lit up. "I'll be damned. . . you touch my radio."