FROM THE AUTHOR

Back At The Cafe

College is a pain in my ass and I haven’t slept in hours. English literature is a lot more rigorous than I anticipated. One would think creative writing would be an easy A. I sit at my desk still in my pajamas and bonnet writing a poem I’ve been stuck on for God knows how long.



“(y/n), you’re still stuck on that assignment?” My roommate Rose teased. I jokingly give her a dirty look before going back to my paper.



“I just got writer’s block. I finished my assignments so I have more time for this. It’s just a poem but I’m absolutely stumped.” I explain. Rose comes closer to my desk and ties her locs into a ponytail.



“Well, what is your poem about?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Oof, and it’s due on Friday. We need to brainstorm, quickly.” She stated before sitting on the end of my bed. We spent at least 20 minutes spitballing before a lightbulb appeared over my head.

“Rose, you remember Derrick?” I ask. Her face turns sour at the sound of the name.

“That idiot that called you fat and cheated? Yeah, I remember him.” She replied with distaste. I still don’t understand why he called me fat, most people would consider me “slim thick”. I guess to put another bullet in my heart. That twat was bad in bed anyway.



“Maybe I should write a poem about how he broke my heart?” I suggested. A big smile then spread across her face.



“Do it! Turn your suffering into art!” Rose encouraged. I began to write impulsively while Rose watched tv in the living room. I let my heart pour out onto the paper with a feeling of weight being lifted off of my shoulders. My pain screams through my pen, wanting desperately to be heard. I then walked out of my room, victory written all over my face.



“I’m assuming you’re finished?”

“Let’s get some coffee!” I shout while starting to unbraid my hair. Rose just playfully rolls her eyes.

“I swear you are 70% coffee.” She teased. I style my hair in a usual braid out and just wore a simple off-shoulder top and jeans that fit my curves. Rose was already dressed so we immediately left. I honestly am extremely thankful for campus apartments, those dorms are way too crowded and noisy. We make our way to the campus cafe and I see one of my classmates outside the entrance.

“Good afternoon Kakyoin!” I greeted and the redhead waved back.

“Hey (y/n). Looking beautiful as always, Rose.” Kakyoin greeted back, sending a wink Rose’s way. Rose starts to get shy and playfully rolls her eyes at him. Gosh, I wish they would just date already.

“Did you finish your poem yet?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m just not looking forward to presenting it in front of everyone,” He answered with a light chuckle.

“Oh, shit…” I muttered as I mentally facepalm. Kakyoin then shoots me a look of concern.

“You didn’t write anything extremely inappropriate, did you?” He questions with a raised eyebrow.

“Nah, she wrote about her ain’t shit ex-boyfriend.” Rose interjects. How did I forget about that part of the assignment? Well, at least it isn’t too emo…

“Well, it shouldn’t be too bad. Plenty of poets have turned their suffering into art.” Kakyoin stated.

“Yeah! That’s what I was-”

Suddenly, a bunch of girls started to yell and holler like they’re at a rock concert. Across the street, a mass horde of girls created a crowded circle around someone that’s crossing the street. As soon as I can make out the screeching, I instantly shake my head with pity. Poor guy can never get a break to save his life. From the looks of it, he’s about to snap.



“Jojo!”

“You’re so hot Jotaro!”

“What’s your number?!”

“We should head to my place and-”

“Shut the fuck up! You bitches are so annoying!” Jotaro bellowed, earning stares from the surrounding students and an “oh shit” from Rose. The fangirls then dispersed in different directions while Jotaro kept walking towards the cafe. The tension in the air became thick and I started to feel uncomfortably anxious.

“Um, anyways I’m gonna get my coffee.” I deadpan then quickly went inside the cafe. I secured my spot in the short line as I always get the same order, a sea salt caramel latte. A few minutes in and the guy in front finishes his order. Finally!

“I’m assuming the usual (y/n)?” The barista teases.

“You already know, I love the hell out of caramel.” I joke back. The barista chuckles softly and shakes her head.

“It should be ready in 15 minutes, and please try to cut your caffeine addiction.” She scolded me as I found somewhere to sit down.

“No promises.” I shot back. I find my seat and wait for Rose to meet me. I pull out my journal and start to read over my poem to check for any errors. It doesn’t take long until I find several grammatical errors.

“This is what I get for being so damn emotional.” I mutter to myself as I violently erase my mistakes. The fact that his actions still affect me pisses me off to no end, especially since he is dating that sorority chick that he fucked.

“An order for a sea salt caramel latte.” The male barista announced. I came to get my drink and thanked the barista. Walking back to my table, I feel someone’s eyes on me. I don’t wanna be all paranoid now, but my intuition rarely fails me. Whoever is staring, If they're even looking at me, is staring extremely hard. Rose finally comes in and I wave her over to my table.

“What held you up?” I questioned.

“Oh, Kakyoin and I were just chatting.” She replied, obviously hiding the fact she’s blushing. This girl kills me.

“Honey, you may have all that melanin, but you aren’t fooling me. You should ask him out already, he’s obviously feeling you too.” I pointed out while sipping my latte. She just laughs me off and looks at her phone. I start to look over the corrections I made and I’m finally satisfied with this poem. As I look up, I see Rose trying to look behind her without being too obvious.

“Dude, what’s up? You’re acting sus.” I whispered to her, trying to see what caught her eye. I follow her eyes to see Jotaro staring at us, scratch that, staring at me . I don't know what it is but the intensity of his icy blue eyes sends a shiver down my spine. It’s like, I don’t know but I’m mad uncomfortable. It’s hard to read him, especially with his hat always covering half of his face.



“Umm, I-”

“I’m guessing he’s trying to see if you got that WAP.” Rose taunted, holding back her laughter. I almost burst out with laughter but my hand saved me from embarrassing myself. This girl plays too fucking much.



“You irk my damn soul, I gotta go to class. I’ll see you later girl.” I said as I was gathering my things. As I walk out with my latte in hand, I hear a booming voice that causes me to turn around.

“BOOTY SO BIG, LAWD HAVE MERCY!”

I turn around and give Rose the finger before leaving for class, still seeing Jotaro’s eyes on me.

What is his issue?