Peyton Ackley - The Beginning of Change

Chapter 3 - That One Coffee Shop

I'd only been in London for two weeks but I'd already started some of my studies for my degree. Work takes up much of my time, I rarely get to study during the week so I have to make an effort to study on the weekends. Coincidentally, I'm one of the best people at procrastinating, I could procrastinate for hours on end to avoid a simple task. It honestly made life harder, but at some points, it was a skill I prided myself on. In turn, it meant I got really good at writing assignments quickly, and I don't mean taking a day to write one, I mean like a few hours.

Sadly, this wasn't one of those assignments. I was sat in this coffee shop that had been suggested to me by Miles, and it was honest to heart, amazing. It had some kind of serene feeling, and it was peaceful with the faint aroma of coffee beans in the air. The foe and real plants that decorated the cafe helped centre me and for once I felt like I was actually getting some work done... at a normal pace.

I'm not entirely sure what they call it in England, but back home we call it a thesis, it's something like a dissertation I recall one of my professors saying before I left home. It's basically this really, and I mean really long assignment. My one for my undergraduate was only like 10,000 words, but this one is like 40,000. I'm just going to be thankful though, because some of them are up to 50,000 and I don't think I could handle that.

I'm meant to do some kind of research, relating to sporting injuries. The injury isn't specified, well I mean nothing is specified, just the word count. I hate having to write long papers, the research element is fun, for my undergraduate I worked with some of the researchers at my university to assess Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and the impact it had on the rate of recovery in athletes with muscular injuries. It was actually crazy to do all the research for myself, I didn't expect to actually enjoy it as much as I did but it was kind of cool. It was actually what made me want to master in sports physiotherapy if I'm being completely honest. I was kind of lost in my thoughts when a figure sat down in the seat across from me and gently closed my laptop. 

"Hi," he said with a smile. His hair curled perfectly at the ends to sit just above his eyebrows, his tan skin complimented his dark locks and his green eyes had a smile of their own.

"Hi Miles," I replied with a smile of my own. I'd told him that if he was genuine about wanting to hang out he should meet me at the cafe, turns out he actually did want to hang out because here he is, sitting across from me with his goofy ass smile.

"Do you want another drink?" he asked referencing my now empty cup.

"Uhh, ye- yes please," I stuttered.

"What are you drinking?"

"An iced chai?" I basically asked.

"An iced chai coming right up," he joked as he jumped up from his seat to grab our drinks.

As I reopened my laptop I revisited the still-blank document, I'd even taken to the point of writing 'Thesis' at the top of the page in an attempt to make some progress. Although I first thought this coffee shop was helping with my procrastination the wide open windows were now becoming a distraction from the work at hand. People were bustling past, each with their own agenda, some with bags of shopping, some with suitcases, and others with briefcases. Everyone was in their own world, something that truly fascinated me, how could so many people be functioning in completely different worlds when we all lived in such close proximity to one another? Maybe one day I'll write a dissertation,  on how that works, and how we can all be so different yet so connected without knowing it.

I was eventually taken out of my daydream by a plastic cup being placed in front of me, "my iced chai," I said happily as I took a sip from the straw.

"Good?" Miles questioned in his warm British accent.