Homeless

Alex set up the kettle to make tea. He laid out various tea-boxes and I was to choose. I hovered over them for a long time before choosing a tea called “Nana Mint”. Alex smiled and nodded.

“Lovely choice. It’s a mint tea from Morocco and it’s the mintiest thing ever,” he said. When the water was boiling, he poured it into his glass pot and set it on the table between us. He got out two small cups and the sugar pot. “It doesn’t take long until it is ready. So, tell me about yourself!” he requested.

I felt very insecure all of a sudden. It was something I was used to but now, it was especially bad. I desperately tried to think of anything about me besides the incident and my homelessness. I decided to bring on some basic facts.

“Uh well, I’m Jack Barakat, I’m 21 years old and I live in the streets,” I mumbled. Alex smiled and nodded as if to say ‘Go on.’

“I last worked in a factory for shoelaces but I wasn’t able to work properly anymore so I got fired,” I added. I felt so ashamed to say that.

“What do you mean you weren’t able to work properly anymore?” Alex inquired. It hurt to think back and I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. I had written a lot about it but saying things out loud was always more difficult.

“I… I had some problems with my health,” I replied. That wasn’t even a full lie. I had indeed felt physically sick back then.

“I’m so sorry,” Alex replied. “I hope you’re better now though,” he added.
“I am, thank you,” I said, smiling a little bit.

The tea was ready to drink by now so Alex poured us both a little cup. He put in two sugar cubes; I only dared to take one but I already felt ashamed. I tried it and it tasted great. It was indeed the mintiest thing I had ever tried. It smelled and tasted like one was in a mint field. It reminded me of summer.

“Do you like it?” Alex asked. I nodded eagerly.

“So minty and fresh! I can’t believe it,” I answered.

“I know…”

After some more sipping, I decided he should tell me about himself. “Tell me a bit about you yourself now, please,” I requested. He smiled.

“I’m Alex, I’m 22 years old and I work for an advertisement company. But I really want to be in a band,” he said. I quickly looked up from my hands.

“Do you play any instruments?” I asked.

“Yeah, I play the guitar and I sing too. What about you?”

I smiled. This was nice because I actually played an instrument.

“I play the guitar too but I can’t sing that well,” I replied. “I once had a guitar but someone took it from me while I was asleep.” I still missed that guitar. It had been a great instrument and a good source of income.

“You know what buddy? You’re gonna show me some day,” Alex said, grinning.

“That would be so cool!” I exclaimed and blushed instantly.

“You will,” Alex promised. This was great, I missed playing so much.

“What else do you like to do?” the older boy asked.

“Well… I write a lot,” I said shyly. Writing was my way to let my feelings out whenever I needed it. Therefore, most of my pieces were pretty dark. I had used to write lighthearted, happy poems but since the incident I hadn’t managed to do so.

“What do you write?” Alex asked curiously. I hesitated for a bit before replying.

“Poems and lyrics mostly,” I answered.

“Oh really? I do too,” Alex said happily. I smiled at him, blushing again. He was so perfect. We had some more tea in silence but it was a good silence, not awkward at all.

I decided to talk about a picture I had seen in here. It showed him with a caramel-haired woman and a little, happy little girl with brown hair and eyes.

“So, do you have a family? I saw a picture of you,” I said. I just really wanted to know if he was straight or not.

His expression changed from ‘happily slurping tea’ to ‘I want to cry for 3 days’. It made me sad too and I immediately knew I had made a mistake.

“I… That’s a story for another time I think,” he pressed out. He got up, put everything back in place and forced a smile for me. “I’m going to be in the bathroom now, help yourself to whatever you want,” he announced.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, but he didn’t reply, already on his way to the bathroom. I was starting to have the knots of regret and anxiety form in my stomach. I drank up and left for the couch. I started crying, small tears rolling down my cheeks.
What had I done?

Notes

Aw aw aw :c

Hope you like it though, give me comments! :)
How was your weekend?

-Laura