A stranger’s help
1167 Words
Anabeth’s POV
My alarm blared loudly, waking me up from my deep slumber. I turned it off and stayed lying on my bed for another minute or two, staring at the blank ceiling, a reflection of my life.
After a while, I stood up from my bed and headed to the bathroom to get ready for my 9 am class. I washed up, decided to leave my hair down and curl it slightly, and then I applied some light makeup.
I decided to go with vintage blue washed jeans, a short-sleeved black baggy top and black Converse. Stepping into the kitchen, I made my morning coffee and some toast for breakfast. I checked the time to see it was 8 AM, meaning I still had 30 minutes before leaving for school.
“Hi roomie”, Mia called out as she walked into the kitchen, making herself a cup of coffee.
“Morning,” I replied and took a sip of mine.
She glanced at me and asked, “What’s wrong? You look upset.”
“Lost my wallet at work yesterday.”
“Oh no, did you check with the bar?”
“Not yet. I’ll do that after classes. Thankfully, the campus is just a 30-minute walk from here. I can manage.”
“Maybe someone decent found it and handed it to the manager.”
I raised an eyebrow at her words.
“In New York? In a bar?” I scoffed. “Not in the slightest.”
“Fair point.”
Mia walked into her room and came back out, handing me her bus card.
“Here”, she said, holding out her bus card for me to take.
“Mia, it's fine. I can walk. Besides, you also have classes today.”
“It's fine. My classes have been moved online, so it works well for both of us.”
I reluctantly took her card, thanking her and promising her to return it and pay her back once I secured my wallet.
I quickly finished my breakfast, grabbed my bag, and headed down to the busy streets of NYC to catch my bus.
Once I reached school, I headed straight to my first class with only five minutes to spare. I sat down in the middle row and pulled out my laptop from my bag alongside my notes. Today’s class was going to be about DNA formulation, and I was super excited to learn about it.
Our professor walked in, looking ragged as usual, and thus we began our two-hour lecture.
Once class was over, I stood up from my desk to stretch my body. I packed my things, said bye to some of my coursemates and headed to my lab class.
On getting there, I heard someone call out my name.
“Anabeth! Hey Anabeth!”
I turned to see who it was, and a girl was running towards me, looking out of breath.
“Damn girl! You walk so fast.” She said in between breaths.
“Sorry, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Thanks,” She reached into her jeans pocket and brought out what looked like my wallet.
“Here, someone found your wallet and asked me to give it to you.”
I quickly took my wallet, relief rushing over me.
“Omg! Thank you! Thank you! Who? Where’s the person?”
“I don’t know. He came up, asked me if I knew you and gave me your wallet. He didn’t say his name.”
“Oh, well, thank you so much for making sure it got to me. Really appreciate it,” I sincerely thanked her.
“It's no problem. Besides, between you and me, he was fine!” She said that last part quietly.
“Girl, seriously? Gotta go to class, but thank you so much.”
I waved her goodbye and walked into my lab class, setting my things on the empty stool next to me and quickly opening my wallet, checking to see if anything was missing.
I sighed with relief when all my cards and ID were intact and wondered who the person was who had made sure I got my wallet back.
“Finally! I can breathe,” I said to Jake as we exited my school.
“Let's get a drink. It's on me.”
“Yes!”
We walked into McCafé, which was opposite my university. Jake got a large Iced Macchiato while I got a large strawberry matcha. We sat down close to the window and talked for a while.
“You got work today?” he asked.
“Not really. The manager called and said he’d be closing today because of an emergency. I got clinical work on Saturday, and for some reason, I’m dreading it,” I mentioned
“It gets rough, sorry. But regardless, it’s going to help you retain your scholarship.”
“Yeah, at least.” I fiddled with the straw in my drink.
“And your landlord?” Jake asked, concern hinting in his tone. He knew about my struggles with paying rent and always offered to help, but I always declined.
“It's being taken care of.”
“Mia called, and it did not sound like ‘being taken care of’ ”, he quoted, repeating what I said.
“How much?” Jake ask
“You know I won’t collect anything, Jake. I’ve been surviving on my own for a while now. I’ll be fine.”
“And how? You have three days left till the end of the week.”
“I’ll figure something out. Take an extra shift at the hospital if I have to. But I am not collecting a dime from my best friend. It wouldn’t sit well with me.”
I took an aggressive sip of my drink, feeling the cold rushing through my teeth instantly.
“I just want to help”, Jake finally said
“I know. I promise when it gets difficult, I’ll accept your help, but right now it's not. The solution is still doable.”
Jake sighs in defeat and promises to still drop me off at home like he always does.
After the Cafe, we stopped by a convenience store and got a few groceries before heading home.
“Thanks for today”, I said, getting out of his car with my groceries in hand.
“There's no need. Get some sleep, okay?” Jake said and hugged me before getting back in his car and driving off.
I took the keys from my bag and unlocked the door, setting the groceries on the kitchen counter. Mia wasn’t home, and the place was dead silent.
I flopped on the couch, feeling too exhausted to move. My mind wandered to the mysterious person who found my wallet, curiosity seeping in.
I wanted to know who he was, and for some reason, I had this inkling feeling I was going to find out soon.
- Writer
