Into the Starry Night

Nineteen

When I woke up on Sunday morning I felt strangely refreshed despite having slept for only four hours.

My phone rang just after I had finished organizing my makeup products and was standing in the middle of my immaculate bedroom at 6:30 in the morning wondering what else to do with my life.

When I snatched it up I found it was a video call from Sylvanus. I had given him my number last night after we had our ridiculous dance session.

“Hey you,” I answered and positioned the phone so that my face was visible. “This one you're calling this early I hope you haven't been kidnapped.”

A frown appeared between Sylvanus' strangely sculpted eyebrows. “Come on now, you should know better than anyone that if anyone was ever stupid enough to kidnap me they'd return me immediately, with apologies.”

I laughed and plopped on my bed. “It's true, so what's up?”

“Oh, nothing much. I'm just bored at work,” he adjusted the plain white button-down he was wearing and spun in his chair. The top buttons were undone showing off the gold chain he was wearing.

“At work? But it's Sunday.”

“Well, that's the glamorous life of a lawyer for you.”

“What the hell kind of law do you people practice? Also, I can't believe you actually became a lawyer, you!” I grabbed a pillow and hugged it to my chest.

“Hey, don't sound too surprised,” he stood up and walked to a large window. “If Daniel hadn't shown up when he did I would've collected that Best in Arts and Humanities award.”

“Speaking of the Devil, how is he?”

After Sylvanus and I had reconnected last night Daniel spent the rest of our time in the club in a disgruntled funk that I couldn't explain.

“He's fine, at least I think. I've actually never seen him that mad at anything before. Usually, he finds the strength to tolerate me but last night, man, I don't even know what happened there.”

“It was me.”

“You? What do you mean you?”

I hesitated. I didn't know how to answer that question or even if I wanted to. I didn't know Daniel's thought process and I wasn't about to explain our weird situation to his best friend.

Thankfully Sylvanus read the reticence in my face and didn't push it.

“Never mind that. Lately, Daniel's just seemed to have a stick up his ass for reasons I can't quite fathom. Moving on, what are you up to?”

My breath filled my lungs easily as the lump of apprehension that had grown in my chest dissolved. “Nothing much. I'm supposed to move to my apartment today and I'm just contemplating how I'm going to do that now that Kenny is not around and Yemisi is no doubt sleeping off a hangover.”

“Wait, Kenny? As in our Kenny? The one from school? Shit, you two still talk?”

“Of course. I wonder why everyone is surprised that we're still friends.”

“Because considering how you insisted you didn't want her friendship the first time you guys met I figured you'd take the first chance you got to cut her off.”

“Well, she's grown on me. Like a leech that sticks no matter how much you try to pull it off.”

“Of course she has.” He chuckled and shook his head. “What do you say I come over and help you out?”

“Aren't you busy at work?”

“Nah, I'm just about done here, just came to reassure a panicky client who was about to do something really stupid that would've screwed up what is otherwise a slam dunk case.”