The grass beneath me is damp with cold, the sun peeking through tree branches that I am sitting on a mix of light and shadow. People pass at a various paces and cars roll by, adding to the harsh hum of the lawn care service next door. I slide my hand through my hair as I inhale the smell of cut grass and coffee as I take a drink. My morning promptly free after deciding not to go to class. I lay among dandelions and beer cans as I watch campus life wake up. A familiar voice shocks my system as I turn to see my roommate walking towards me. A mocking tone in their expression as they appreciate my people watching post. Taking a mental note of the time, and my location to deduce that I did not quite make it out of bed in time. They slide in next to me, 10am and they are already energetic. Morning people are not meant to be trusted.
“There’s coffee inside,” I gesture with my half full cup. Typically, I don’t make a habit of sharing my food, but it was actually their coffee. I could hear the smile in their sigh as they took humor in the fact that I made them their own coffee.
“Thanks, did you dream last night?” I had dreamed last night. I nodded my head as my mind worked to pull together the details of my subconscious journey.
“I was in a super market, grocery shopping for an event. It was like we were going to have a party, but we weren’t hosting I just had to get all the supplies?”
“Ew.”
“I know, I don’t know why. All the sudden someone puked in one of the aisles so I ran over to see who puked, but they were gone. And then I got a phone call, but someone ran over to me, took my phone and said it was for them.
“’Oh there it goes’”
“and they wouldn’t let me talk on my own phone!” my roommate’s laugh was a kind hearted cackle at the expense of my dream counterpart. I smiled along with them as their laugh seemed to echo around the street. I felt the grass shift as my roommate stood in one movement, making a grunt as they shifted their weight forward, pushing their feet into the ground creating a shadow as they rose.
“I’m going to grab some coffee, do you need anything from inside?” I squinted towards the street as the sun began to wiggle itself free of the branches.
“Some sunglasses would be great” I responded to the rhetorical question. I could feel the smile again as they disappeared into the apartment.
I wedged my coffee between the soft grass as I laid back and closed my eyes. The grass bending to my presence as I absorbed the sun for the first time this season. I meditated to the chirping of birds and tried to find a suitable day dream.
“Hey there” the voice jolted me from my thoughts to reality. I sat up quick enough from my head to float off as I peered towards the sidewalk. Two figures passing by below me. I blinked furiously to balance the colors of my environment. Momentarily distorted by blues.
“Friends” I called down. I knew who they were with or without my vision. They climbed the hill as my eyes balanced and my childhood friend and their significant other moved in. My roommate reappeared at the door holding their coffee, wearing my sunglasses on the top of their head, their own on their face. I wondered if it was too early to call a wash on the day and slip something stronger into our mugs.
“Hey friends,” my roommate called to our company. I tried to think back to when we began picking up on one another’s speech patterns. I resigned that thought to be a life mystery and tabled my curiosity.
“Where were you off to?” I directed individually to both of them
“We were going to get coffee,” my friend responded
“We found friends and coffee,” the significant other chuckled. Bouncing back and forth excitedly. Their energy makes me smile. Their statements always end in a chuckle as if they are constantly in on a joke with themselves. They move their hands to my friend’s legs and jostles them around a little bit. As if their excitement is too much to hold still. I smile and wonder why they would ever need coffee.
“Stop it,” my friend whines. We both know they don’t mean it. Their significant other chuckles in response as the door behind me opens. “oh coffee” the significant other quip as they raise themselves to take the mugs from my roommate’s hands. They hand it to my friend next to me. I take my roommates mug from them so they can sit down. The indent in the grass from where they had been previously remolded to fit them once again. The mug warm in my hands as I pass it over. The heat remaining only for a moment as my attention to it fades.
“I used your milk,” my roommate notes to me. I smile as our actions balance out. The sun becoming increasingly warmer as we chat back and forth to one another. I lean all the way back to lay down, laughing with my friends in the sun as we drink our coffee.
