That which was at first improbable had fast become reality. Here was a young man with the world at his fingertips yet despite his leg-up in life, he found himself sitting in a dingy cafe facing a broad window that looked out onto the sodden streets of London. He was leant heavily against the scarlet booth. His coffee had gone cold, his fork was slack in his hand and the cigarette he’d lit had long since burnt out in the plastic ash tray it had been placed in. The half-finished drawing of one of the waitresses lay on the table, partially obscured by the packet of Marlboro’s that had been discarded on top. His dark, impenetrable eyes were fixed on the world beyond the window, unmoving, as if he expected someone to enter.
In reality, he was staring into space.
It was a Saturday night. Instead of being sat in a pub with a few friends drinking his allowance, Elijah was hunched over a generous slice of cheesecake contemplating his life and its lack of worth. He should have been drinking though. That was something he’d always done in times of stress. He smoked too, to accompany the drinking, and did so in excess. Elijah found though that he had little energy. He so desperately wanted to go home and crawl into bed but he didn’t want to have to speak to Stelladora. His children had spent the day with his father and so they would have gotten home late. Elijah figured he had another hour before he could go back safely and avoid the Bulgarian version of the Spanish inquisition. He could deal with it tomorrow; not now though.
The sound of plates coming together made Elijah jump. He broke his gaze with the outside world and looked over to see one of the waitresses clearing a table. Her struggle was obvious so Elijah threw down his fork and rose to his feet. He put a hand on her back and smiled gently at her. He took the plates from her arms and she began to thank him. Elijah gestured for her to head through and he helped her get the plates into the sink before retreating back into the cafe.
He took his seat once more and reached over, tugging his hoodie towards him. Elijah pulled the royal blue piece of clothing over his head and poked his arms through. Once it was properly on, he picked up his fork again and began to properly eat this time, deciding it better to ignore the world outside.
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