I've had a few attempts at writing so far, but I've never made what I wrote public, so I've never had feedback. Please enjoy, or don't. Keep in mind that English is not my first language :) feel free to share any opinion regarding the assignment.

My view

I woke up today heavier than usual. Snoozed my phone five times, got out of bed only when I could not fall asleep between the alarms. The cat was not in bed, even the fat, snub-nosed cat turned out to be more productive than me in this regard. On instinct, I went to the kitchen, craving for coffee and a cigarette. It’s already 7 AM. Yup! Today I'm going to be late. It’s decided.

I sat in my kitchen corner for about an hour scrolling to the phone deciding if those sneakers worth buying. I bought them…I've neglected this aspect for quite some time now and I can't make it through spring with just one pair of shoes. The day feels better. Finally had a shower, got dressed and headed for the office.

I like to walk the distance between home and office, sometimes that's the only exercise routine I do in a day. Today's weather is nice, the sun is warm and cozy, and the breeze gentle enough to keep me from sweating too much until I get to work.

On my usual walk I stop by the Coffee shop, mmmmm…. the smell of a fresh latte with a pinch of coconut makes me want to pick up the pace. But I don't do that, I cheat. I changed the song in the playlist with the fastest tempo so that I could enjoy both, a good song and a dream of the coffee.

So here I am, standing in front of the line at ”Beans and Dreams”, waiting for my latte admiring how the sun shines on newly leafed trees. Fresh vibrant green. Suddenly, out of nowhere, it reveals its presence... walking his way to my special place like a conceited person who thinks he's the owner of the place . Dude…. you have a coffee machine in your office which you don't share with anyone (except for those who have made flattery a virtue). So what hell on earth is this? I can actually feel my eyes rolling as I turn my body away. He probably saw me… rolling eyes and all, I don't care, it's been a few months since our last argument (the one that broke seven years of ”friendship”). I try not to let him throw me off, but I can tell it still gets him. Every time… every single time we ran into each other, he did something that day to show off — like he’s trying to prove the world would fall apart without him.

I think that he's not really upset because we are not friends any more, but because our disagreement has shown other people its abject character? I don't know why I still try to understand that, I should not care. I've always known that his relationships are transactional. Why I expected mine to be different? … well… I don't know. Maybe trust in humanity? Oh .. I know. It's that childish belief of mine that all people have something good in them and that if you treat them nicely the snowdrops will come out of the snow and everything will be just fine. Well… I turn around and say ”Hello!”. I take my coffee and leave. Walking as fast as I can so that he can not catch up with me.

And so the ”Golden Dread” begins….

The other side

The baby woke up at 4 a.m. this morning. There is nothing I can do, so I made coffee and opened the PlayStation. If I woke up this morning I should at least enjoy this time before work.
C (my wife) is walking, feeding and cradling the baby, through the entire house. At least when she is eating she is not crying.
This is the time of day when time seems to pass the fastest. I get dressed and leave food work.
C put the trash in my arms to throw in the trash bins and the bags of bottles to recycle. Great… Now when I come back I'll have to stop for the groceries also.
I get in the car, light up a cigarette and start driving. It's very busy on the road today, traffic jams everywhere. Let's turn up the music a little, maybe it'll wake me up a little, you know, change the mood.

As my patience is limited I can't stand to sit in this traffic for 45 minutes for a 10-minute drive. The emergency lane is free, if I'm lucky there's no policeman at the intersection. I press the accelerator pedal hard and slip into the lane quickly. What could go wrong, I did this yesterday and it was ok. While standing at a traffic light, I receive a message... "Boss, we're out of coffee at the office".
Really? And you decided to tell me now? when i have already passed all the shops? Fine! When i get there ill give her some money to go buy some. But…. But why did the stock run out so quickly? Someone is drinking more than they should. You know what? I'm not King Musa! From now on everybody buys their own coffee. And since I'm already on this lane, I pull over, put the car in emergency mode, and get out to go to "Beans and Dreams". Someone stopped behind me and started honking their horn insistently. "What are you doing in this lane if you're not allowed?" I yell back. It doesn't matter that I'm parked on the same lane. Anyway, he makes a few maneuvers, goes around me and continues on his way. I've solved this one easy!

Look who's here.....the arrogant one. The lady who doesn't buy salami. Pff if it weren't for me... who knows where she'd end up working. Instead of gratitude I get arrogant treatment. She’ll see one day who’s the boss, the time for feedback will come. I'll solve everything then.
Anyway, I'm at the counter now. “A coffee with milk. But a decent one, please. Not like the sides you serve the others!”

Angela Mihalcea

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