Leni's POV;
Leni is completely absorbed in her work, comparing the sketch spread on her table to the one she drew earlier, cross checking if the measurements were accurate. Her keen eyes flit between the two sheets to ensure she didn't repeat her mistakes.
Instead of her being seated, she bent over the table with her waist stuck high in the air, totally ignoring the chair behind her. She could've easily raised the height of her table to a standing position but doing so would distract her.
''Oh! I still have to adjust here a bit.''
Her hand quickly shuffled blindly around her table to find her red marker. The materials on her desk was the supplies she needed to work on her project. In her frantic search, she had to overturn several items. Even her coffee cup was tossed over in the process but thankfully it had already been emptied into her stomach or her efforts since 5:15am would have been ruined. The red marker seemed to play hide and seek as she couldn't find it in the pile of junk on her desk.
''Not now!'' She hissed, a slight frown plastered on her tired face. Her eyes rolled in exasperation as she settled into her seat.
She continued her search this time in a slow pace until her hand grabbed what she thought was a red pen. However, to her surprise it was her stylus pen that she couldn't find early in the morning. She chuckled at the irony of the situation.
''You little bitch!'' This seemed to be a running joke between them. Like whenever she was looking for it, it was nowhere to be found, but when she wasn't looking for it, it was suddenly there. With a sigh she attached the stick to her iPad.
She squinted her eyes behind her reading glasses.
Fuck!
10:05am was displayed on a giant ocean blue ice cube.She didn't realise how much time had passed. The frustrating part was that she hadn't even completed the work she listed today. Her finger tips massaged her temple and she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again.
''If I don't get this done now, I won't have the leisure to spend the holiday how I want to.'' She murmured, feeling defeated.
Taking a deep breath, she stood but the pain that burst through her back pinned her to the spot. At that point, she moved slowly like a sloth. Taking a few steps away from her table, she lifted both arms above her head and began to move them from side to side. She was trying to release tension in her shoulders. After that, she brought her arms down to her sides and bent her upper body towards the floor, allowing the weight of her body to stretch her back muscles, striking a perfect yoga pose. She held that position for 8 seconds before standing upright and repeating 4 more time while taking deep breaths.
''Much better!'' It came out in a satisfied whisper.
Looking at her desk from the angle she stood, her nose wrinkled. She didn't realise how messy it was. What started out as an organized table ended up being like this. She glanced around her room and was pleased to find it in a much better state, only her working table was the odd one.
Leni spotted her coffee mug cramped between her files and junk on her desk. Just staring at the mug was enough to run her mouth dry, craving a certain steamy black drink. She grabbed the mug, the empty pizza box lying on the floor and headed out of her bedroom. The state of her living room was a sight to behold, and she paused to admire it with an unpleasant look on her face...Uhm. Two pizza boxes were stacked on top of each other on her table. They were open and appeared empty but the aroma still lingered in the air after last night's dinner.
She dragged her feet over to the table and gathered them with force, almost as if seeing it offended her. The hetic action caused the three empty cans beside them to lose their balance and fall to the red carpeted floor.
''Dee fuck!'' She cursed under her breath as she bent down to pick up the cans and carefully placed them back in the pizza box on the top. Then, she took a deep breath and headed to the kitchen. Her kitchen wasn't in a disastrous state at all.
''Now that's more like it.''
She sounded pleased with herself. Except for the cups in her washing sink that need to be rinsed and the trash that should be disposed of, everything else sparkled. She dropped her mug in her sink with the rest and forcefully compressed her waste bin to contain the pizza boxes and energy drink cans. She fixed her gaze on it for more than 10 seconds to register the image of her trash bin in her mind so it wouldn't escape her memory easily. She opened her cupboard and got out a clean cup, took water from the tap and poured it half way up.
The pounding in her head was slowly getting on her nerves. She then stirred the water slowly, watching the circles form in the cup as she tried to restrain her thought from wandering. Her head, ears and throat felt hot, and her hands quivered occasionally.
At this point she shouldn't consume any more caffeine.
She compromised to make instant coffee instead of the complicated stuff that requires her coffee machine. She added extra honey and a bit of milk to make it healthy. She microwaved it for two minutes while gazing blankly at the baking pan filled with cookies. She was supposed to store them away last night in her cookie jar but she didn't with the excuse of letting them cool off first but then forgetting all about it.
It wasn't long before she grabbed a cookie, not that she put up any fight to resist. A lingering smile weighed on her lips as she indulged in the sweet treat, its sugary taste intermingling with the comforting smell of her freshly prepared coffee.
She took a sip of her drink, feeling the warmth soothe her as she headed into the living room. She enjoyed the flavour contrast as the cookie crumbled in her mouth and melting in coffee.
There wasn't much to see in her living room. Its size was big enough for her. Her two sofas were arranged to face her TV fixed to the wall with her glass coffee table in the middle. One sofa was big enough to lay comfortably on while the other was too smallfor relaxing unless a sandwich posture is your thing.
The tall iron table in the corner of the living room was the right addition to her living room. Its white colour blended in with the rest of the living room's decor. Few books were well arranged on the table. This shows how important it is to her while the rest of the space was occupied by a completed design that she worked on for 6 weeks none stop.
She relaxed on her sofa with her drink in hand and took a long sip of her dark coffee. The honey was barely able to sweeten the bitter taste. The tapping of her feet was the only sound in the room. She was lost in thought and was unaware of her action. Her gray eyes flickered at the table in front of her. The grease stains from her pizza could be seen from where she was seated.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
''Ughhhh!'' The groan came out in a deep growl. Her frustration was evident as she quickly got up from the table and escaped to her room.
I will clean it. I will! But not now.
A helpless frown was visible on her face as she chanted that same phrase in her head.
Her bed was more appealing to her at the moment than going back to her table. She picked up her phone from where she left it on her pillow only to see a notification that she had missed a call. Her finger swiped the screen up and unlocked it.
''Claire?''
Her eyes moved thoughtfully when she saw the name displaced on her call history.
It's only been few seconds. She'll probably call back.
She sipped her coffee, her eyes still on her screen. Out of habit she loosens her hair from its messy ponytail and lets her black locks fall over her shoulders. The soft brushing of her hair on her skin was pleasant. To prevent herself from returning the call, she kept the phone face down, but only to pick it up the next milliseconds and disable the silent mood then tossed it at the far end of her bed.
The warm cup in her hand reminded her of her coffee. With ten fingers wrapped around the cup she brought it close to her mouth, sipping the black-honeyed liquid slowly while her bare feet tapped the cold tiles in a rhythm.
A sudden loud music startled her, causing her to jump and spill coffee on her shirt.
''Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!'' She hastily dropped her coffee on her night stand and pintched her top to prevent the wet clothe from clinging to her skin.
How could I've forgotten how annoying you can be?
The blaring piano sound was coming from her phone. She glared at her innocent phone for a whole while before grabbing it.
And just as she guessed, it was Claire. She groaned inwardly, already knowing what the call was about. If she recalls correctly she hadn't replied to Claire's chat. Leni waited many seconds before answering the call.
'' Bitch, I can't talk now. Busy at the moment.'' That was the first excuse she could come up with and the only excuse she has used for ages now.
What sounded like an exasperated sigh came from the other end of the call. This made Leni's mind conjured up an image of Claire rolling her eyes.
''Lovely morning to you dear.'' Claire's voice sounds sweet, perhaps a little forced but nothing like her usual snappy tone.
Leni's eyes narrowed. ''What is it now, Claire?''
Claire chuckled softly. ''Oh! Nothing, just letting you know, we're having coffee at noon in Muller's Café at Bahnhof.''
There was a small pause on Leni's side.'' Wait what?... We... Today?'' She was taken aback by the sudden declaration.
''Das darf nicht Wahr sein! (That can't be true!) It would've stuck in my mind if that was the case. SO, it can't be.'' She stood and walked to her desk to grab her mini calendar.
''I really can't recall agreeing to such an arrangement.'' Leni looked like she was saw someone with one eyes. She kept blinking and frowning her brows, clearly searching her memory.
''Yeahaaa... about that '' Claire stressed the word in a falling tone.
''The thing is ... you see, we have a pleasant weather today. Probably the last before the temperature drops. Sooo, I was thing for a café catch up. Are you down for it?'' Claire's voice hasn't being this polite in ages.
''No!'' Leni's answer was flat with an invisible full stop at the end. She dropped the calendar back and slumped in the chair.
''But Leniii...''
''I can't add you to headache, Claire.'' She cut her off. ''I agreed on the coming weekend Not today. So why the sudden change of mind?''
''No! No! No! Leni, next weekend still holds. It's the holiday after all. So don't even think you can escape that. Just take this as an extra chit chat.''
''Today is what you call extra? Well not to me, Claire'' She sighed, pinching her nose bridge. ''I don't have such luxury nor time. There are lots of things on my hands at the moment. And how many times do I have to remind you not to expect me to agree whenever you make plans without first giving me a heads up?'' Her tone kept on rising.
''I'm sorry. I thought it was perfect timing for us to cool off. You know, from life and stuffs. I haven't seen you in what? 9 weeks, Leni. That is too long for two people living in the same country'' Claire spoke softly but a bitter taste could be dictated. ''And knowing you too well, you must have been buried in work... or cramped in your apartment all these while. So come on, let's take a brief break today."
Leni was unwilling to comply with Claire's request, at the least not too quickly ''I just can't today. I have piles of things to do...''
'' More reasons to take a break o do you want me to come get you? With a train I can get there in less than an hour.''
''Fuck no! Don't even think about it, and besides I'm not home.'' Leni bit her lips. She had to make sure Claire didn't come.
''Lair! It's Sunday, where else could you be. I bet my boobs you're most definitely at home.''
Leni sighed. "I'm not lying! I'm just...not available right now," She removed her glasses and placed then on her dark blue pillow.
"You're Not coming here. Fertig! ( Period!)." She declared with all the harshness she could muster. Because if she didn't set the tone right she would likely show up in her door step in the next few hours.
"Then say yes to me! This is for your own good after all.''
''Don't pull that crap on me, Claire. You are calling me to be your crying pillow again'' The tapping of Leni's feet increased in rhythm, a bitter smile drew at the corner of her lips and her phone pressed tightly to her ear.
''Ouch, now you've done it! Don't expect me to let you off the hook. You are getting that coffee with me today.'' Claire insisted.
''This is ridiculous. Get off my line! It's not like you can't get anyone else. Is Boris out of town?''
''For cheese sake's! It's not the sameee!. Forget him, you're my bestie and I want to increase th amount of time we see in a year''
Leni breathed deeply to get off her high horse. ''FINE! We can have that damn coffee while I get my work done.''
''Took you long enough!'' She barked.
''But no talking about shitty stuff, verstanden? (understand?)'' Leni warned her with her German accent.
Claire chuckled. ''Alles klar, Bis später! (Alright, later)'' peep!
Even though the line was already dead, She still placed her phone to her ear for a long moments before snapping out of it. She flopped her phone on her desk out of habit but then picked it up and tossed it over to her bed.
''That sly bitch. I can't believe I indulged in her plea again.'' She shook her head and sighed.
The wet patch was already feeling uncomfortable.
''I better start getting ready.''