Basil

Wasted Tea

With a sigh, Basil sits back and stretches his arms above his head. Blinking slowly he looks around him to find that he was the only person left in the library save the librarian who seemed to have fallen asleep at the front desk. 'That's enough studying for one night.' He thought to himself. He begins gathering his books and pencils leaving just one book remaining on his desk. No matter how important an upcoming test may be, Basil always found time to find a book to read for pleasure during his trips to the library. Pushing his headphones down so that they hang around his neck, he pauses his music, shoulders his bag and approaches the front desk. "Excuse me." He calls out softly, trying not to startle the old man napping in the chair behind the desk. After a few more times trying to call out, he reaches up and taps the little bell. Nothing. With a sigh, he brings his hand up and back down quickly causing the bell to release a shrill ding. The old man jumped and yelled out, "the library is closed come back tomorrow!"  Still half asleep. "Sorry sir, I believe you may have forgotten to close up, I myself lost track of time as well, would you mind ringing this one book up for me before locking up?" With a grunt, the old man held out his hand expectantly. Placing the book into the worn hand before him, Basil bean to search for his library card. Pulling it out of the pocket of his bag at last, he set it down on the top of the desk. When the old man finished and gave him the card with the due date on it, he was already falling back to sleep. "Good night." Basil whispered and as he walked through the doors, he pulled the spare key from his front pocket that the past librarian had given him and locked the doors so that at least the old man would be safe. Turning to face the dark streets ahead of him, Basil felt an overwhelming feeling of restlessness in his heart. He had never been cut out for living in the city. With a sigh he ran his fingers through his thick curls and began walking back to his apartment rather then catching a cab. Sometimes, a good long walk to clear your head was just what you needed. As he walked, he took a deep breath. Although the air in the city was no where near being considered, fresh air, he still took comfort in the feeling of filling his lungs up until he felt a slight ache and then releasing it back out into the night. By the time he got home, he had a clear head and the since of restlessness had lessened. As he unlocked the door to his apartment, he slipped off his shoes and headed to the kitchen. Pulling out a bag of black tea, he put some water in a pot to boil. While he waited, he pulled off his jacket and sweater so that he was left in his jeans and under shirt. By the time he had finished hanging up his jacket and folding his sweater, the water, though not at a boil, was now, in Basil's opinion, hot enough. While pouring the water into a mug, he let out a yawn. Sitting down at the small table that he had in the kitchen, he sat dipping the tea bag in and out of the hot water. Although he had been living in the city for almost a year now, he didn't have any real friends. He went to school and knew plenty of nice people but he never hung out with or talked to any of them outside of their classes. Hell, he barely talked to them in class. The school year was coming to an end and although he looked forward to returning home for the summer and being able to breath fresh mountain air again, he knew that he would have to face the inevitable questions that his family would have ready for him. Questions of if he had a boyfriend or a girlfriend, questions of if he had any close friends, questions of what he did in his spare time while living in the big city. Sighing, he released his hold on the string connected to the tea bag and put his head down into his arms. During the day, while studying, or walking, or reading, he didn't really take note of how he truly felt. It wasn't until he returned to his cold,  empty apartment that the truth hit him, hard. That he was lonely, so so lonely. He knew that he needed someone, a friend, a lover, someone but he felt no connection to the people around him. They were all from well off families, they had all been born and raised in the city, they had never set foot on a mountain, had never breathed fresh air. They were all worried about what they wore, and heaven forbid they scuff their shoes. Surely, in a city so large, there had to be someone like him, someone that he could connect with. It wasn't logical to think otherwise. As a tear rolled down his cheek, he took a sip of his tea. He could never make it right but it was better than drinking the plain tap water. He could taste the chlorine in the tap water, could taste the chemicals. It didn't taste like drinking water at all. Standing up, he poured the rest of the tea down the sink and watched as it swirled down the drain. Another day with nothing in his stomach but a sip of tea because his thoughts made him lose his appetite. 'Oh well. Maybe tomorrow will be better' he thought to himself as he walked to his fold out bed and flopped down. For some time, he lay awake, staring at his ceiling. By 1:00 am, his thoughts threatening to consume him, he grabbed his headphones and turned up the volume.He focused his whole mind on the music and about half an hour later, sleep finally found him.