The Things I'd Do

Chapter 3 - Estria

The wind was particularly cold with this gust, my bangs going back into my eyes for the millionth time today.

"I really need to get my haircut again." I muttered to myself.

My phone buzzed with a notification from my messages, fingers quick to enter my passcode and check who it was from and what it said.

"Just a spam number." I complained, tone hushed to not disturb or concern the people around me.

I put my phone back into my sweater pocket, the weight adding a noticeable sag on the side, my steps making it sway with more force than the rest of the sweater. My feet hit the ground with louder thumps than before because of the concrete, compared to the previous soft, wood floors of Kyria's dorm room.

My brain filled with excitement and anticipation as I neared my destination, the little cafe down the block, another gust of wind knocked me out my thoughts yet again, followed by a harsh shiver.

I looked upon the mass of people who were also on the walkway, probably going to classes or places to study, or coming from those. The crowd forced me to weave in between bodies to avoid a collision, any issues would just be downright embarrassing.

Through the massive waves of people, I saw a familiar face. A tuft of brown-blond hair on a head connected to a fit body.

"Sebby?" I used the nickname from highschool that I gave to the mound of man that was a few meters away from me.

"Oh, hi, Estria. Been a hot second." Sebastiano said with a toothy smile, his eyes closing for a moment when his grin reached its peak.

"Yeah, it has. What are you up to?" I inquired, curious as to what he had been up to since we last spoke. It hadn't been that long since our last interaction, but it had been enough time that the question didn't sound dumb or rude.

"I was just going to go get something to drink, something warm. The temperature is a bit too low for my liking." He said, wrapping his arms around his torso, his hands cupping the sides of his ribs.

"Oh I was too! Wanna join me? Kyria has class at the moment and it's the one that always runs long, so I'll be by myself for a while." I murmured, hand coming up and scratching the back of my head and ruffling my hair.

"If you don't mind, yeah." Sebastiano responded with a laid back tone, to anyone else he would have sounded uninterested, but he was really shaking with joy at being invited by a friend.

The stroll to the cafe was filled with entertaining conversations and giggles that would make a comedian jealous. Quips and snarky sayings filled the air around us, like how my walk with Kyria earlier was.

As we neared the quant cafe, there was a sign on the door, not out of the ordinary for this place, as there was always something new happening or information about any university events that needed to be spread. The sign had the words 'Apologies for any slower service you experience today, many staff have called out due to exams or other issues.' written on it.

"What classes have exams? Isn't exam season not until April or May?" I questioned, the required intelligence ever lacking in the phrasing of the question.

"I think it's for Computer Science students. Most of their professors are leaving for a conference during the traditional exam season. My buddy Kirk told me about it, he's in for his master's." Sebastiano explained, pulling open the door to the small cafe, while the aroma of coffee beans and sugar-filled pastries launched a barrage on my nose.

"Oh, that makes sense." I said, walking into the cafe, bowing my head swiftly as thanks for Sebastiano holding the door for me.

"He might've been wrong but oh well, it doesn't matter anyway, neither of us have exams soon." Sebastiano ended, surveying the small cafe.