Space and Time

Mixing Coffee with Painkillers in the Gen Z State of Being

"Lev, I thought you said you'd be done soon." 25 minutes of waiting in the foyer is too long. I'm about to drag Lev away from his second floor cubicle-desk, out of the library. My fingers are twitching.

"Listen, I didn't think this would take so long. I swear they're trying to kill us, Aika," he says, dramatically banging his head against the mess of textbooks and papers on the desk. "Can you beat them up for me?"

I'm already sighing before I can help it. "I'll put them on the list. How much longer do you think you'll be?" I ask.

"Ah, I'll finish this all later," he growls. He slams his textbook closed and I briefly look around to make sure we're not making too much noise. I don't need a bunch of glaring young adults on my case. Especially since someone downstairs already recognized me from the NCC and absolutely had to rapid-fire a million questions at me about my training regimen. I do not need more reminders about that particular circle of hell.

"Is it really that busy right now?" I ask as we walk out of the fancy glass-paneled building and onto the rest of campus. Now that we're outside, I can see that Lev looks a bit scragglier than usual. His hair's a bit dishevelled and he's wearing an expression that screams 'stressed out.'

He nods. "It's just midterms and assignments from now until forever. Then, when those are over, BAM! Final exams that are designed to make us all cry."

I give him a sympathetic frown, but I know he'll be fine. He's cut out for this sort of thing: the consistent running pace, always busy, always learning. But I guess even he could probably use a break. "Do you want to grab a coffee? And maybe a snack? When was the last time you ate...?" His guilty expression tells all. "OK, on me. Starbucks. You got any on campus?"

"Yeah, about three in every building," he laughs. "Not all of them are called 'Starbucks' though. Just as pricey anyway."

"Sounds like a student heaven."

"More like an undead heaven. Most of us are either staring blankly and ordering on autopilot or are so hyped up on caffeine our skeletons are probably rattling."

"And which one are you?"

"I'm in the minority who fall asleep on the floor before they even make it to the coffee shop."

"Is that why you were taking so long to finish your work?" He didn't fall asleep at that godawful cubicle-desk, did he?

"...Maybe..."

I shake my head at him. He is right about one thing, though. As we round the corner, I spot three coffee shops, one of which is actually a Starbucks, all clumped together on the same street. I'm surprised none of them have risen up and put the other two out of business. I guess there's enough of a student supply to counter any serious competition concerns.

"So, how are you feeling about your fight with Vid?" Lev asks as we wait for our order. I picked the real Starbucks. "Their fight with Evren last year was epic. It was the semi-finals. I think you were out for your brother's birthday or something?"

Oh, yeah, Takumi's birthday. That'll be coming up. I should probably start thinking of a gift now. Another exclusive Aika Inoue autograph won't cut it this year. "Yeah, Dad and I took Takumi out go-karting. We were even nice and let him win." Lev gives me a look like he doesn't believe me but he doesn't interrupt about it. "As for Vid, I think I should be fine. Evren and Nevaeh are both confident." Lev smirks at that.

"Training with the Grand Champion's got you all rogue, huh?" He's waggling his eyebrows at me. Rogue? "You have me to thank for that confidence," he continues. I still don't get what 'rogue' means, but I think he's pulling one of those 'this probably means the same thing in English as it does in French' moments. I think I get what he means, but that doesn't mean he's right.

"Hey, I'm still mad at you for that stunt you pulled at the Haunt," I reply. I've only mostly gotten over that. He was a douche.

"Caffè Misto for Shanaya," I hear the barista call out next to me. Lev and I shuffle out of the way as a nearly six-foot tall student barrels over. Her arm bumps against my head in her rush and she squeaks out a quick sorry before sprint-walking out of the establishment, I assume, late for class. I can already feel a headache coming on from the impact by the time we get our order.

"No, but seriously, how are you feeling?" Lev persists when we both get seated.

"Like someone's gently hammering the inside of my head," I say as I massage my forehead.

"Oh... I meant, uh, about Vid and the NCC. But, yeah, now that you mention it, you did just get elbowed in the head while you're still recovering from a concussion. You need Advil or anything? I think I have some." He starts rummaging around in his backpack but I tap his arm to stop him.

"Thanks, but my doctor said only Tylenol for pain relief. Something about certain drugs potentially exacerbating the injury." I shrug. Lev gives me his typical Mama Bear look.

"And caffeine isn't one of those?" he asks suspiciously.

I shrug again. "It's probably fine..."

"And wait, hold up, I've been talking about your next NCC fight but are you even cleared to keep going?"

I shoot him a glare. "Of course I am. I wouldn't give this up for anything, concussion be damned." He's not convinced; he still looks concerned.

"Yeah, but I don't want you to get injured-"

"I'm fine, Lev, trust me." That might've come out a bit too aggressively. Take a breath, Aika. Chill. Lev's just looking out for you, because he cares. "Thanks," I add more nicely.

"Sure," he smiles. Looks like he's not pushing the topic today. "So how are you going to approach Vid, with your injury?"

I think about it for a moment. Evren told me Vid fights with an acrobatic Kung Fu style, using their heights figure to essentially jump on to people's shoulders and trap them with their legs. It's not an ideal situation for my head. That's precisely why I intend to avoid him, only closing in when I'm confident I'll land a strike. "I think I'll have to stay as far away from them as possible, until I see a clear opening for a takedown and knockout. And I should probably be careful to protect my head if Vid's going to be jumping all over it," I say. Lev nods his approval and seems to relax. Good.

We're sitting in silence now, but it's a nice sort of silence. The café is humming with students running in and out, chattering away about their courses. Man, am I lucky to be a professional athlete. If this were my everyday environment I think I'd go insane.

I'm thankful Lev isn't hammering me with questions, like that 'fan' did earlier. I definitely love and appreciate Lev's enthusiasm and support, but sometimes it's nice to just be calm and not have to justify myself. I'm not sure he's giving me space on purpose, though. He could just be too exhausted to care right now.

Honestly, that's fine.

"Hey," Lev suddenly interrupts my thoughts, "want a piece of my cookie? I know you're a supporter of all things rainbow."

I swat at him, but still laugh at his quip and accept a piece. "Why would they only put icing on half of it, though?" I say as I bite into the sprinkle-covered sugar cookie.

Lev shrugs. "Aesthetic?"

"Fairenough." The cookie is a bit too sugary for my liking, but my coffee dampenssome of its sweetness. The bitter-sweet combo suits my best friend perfectly.