We chose this life

Chapter 8 - Whom to ask for a favour?

Few days have passed, and I was lying on my bed, with my eyes almost glued to the ceiling. All I could think about was the fact that I needed somehow to extend my visa. My head was spinning, and I felt that I started panicking. It was at that moment that I reached out for my phone and started quickly typing a message to Nathan. I started in one way, then erased it, then started in another, then again, erased the content of my message. After several minutes of undecisive typing, I quit and decided not to send anything. But just as I put my phone next to my head, I was startled by the notification of an upcoming message.

"Hey there, it's been a while, and I haven't heard from you. Are you alright?" Michael was sending me a message through f*******: messenger. He was really a nice person, but I couldn't understand what he wanted from me. Clearly, he wasn't that interested if he didn't already kiss me the last time we saw each other.

"Hey, I'm fine. Having some minor troubles. What about you?" I typed without paying too much attention to the tone of my reply.

"What minor troubles? Would you like to talk about it over a drink? Or maybe a dinner at a nice tapas restaurant I know? ;)" Michael was trying hard to get a date with me again.

"Sounds like a good idea, although I don't really want to bore you with my troubles." I concluded fast. After all, how could Michael help, apart from listening?

"Don't worry. I'll make a reservation at the tapas restaurant for tonight."

"Tonight?" I replied quickly, but I was surprised that he didn't propose something next week.

"Yes, why? Are you busy?" I could read a bit of disappointment in his questions.

"No, no. Tonight is fine. What time?"

"How about 8 pm?"

"Alright, that sounds great. See you soon. :)" I tried closing the messenger application on my phone when Michael's message came.

"It just dawned to me. We have never exchanged phone numbers, Annie. ;)"

"Indeed..." I also found this to be quite peculiar. In the age when everybody is so dependent on the technology and their cellphones, how come we went on our first date without having each other's phone numbers? I typed mine to Michael, and in return, I got back his this time. As soon as we finished, I went to take a shower. I have decided to ask for a favour to Nathan in the end. After all, asking doesn't cost anything. In the worst-case scenario, I would lose the time I spent in the UK already, and it will be noted as if I made a break in my stay, which meant that the administration would start counting again from zero and it would take me a lot longer to get the citizenship. 

I retook my phone and started typing a long email to Nathan, explaining all the things about my residence visa. I asked him if he could vouch for me so I can extend my stay. I clicked on Send and sighed.

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The night came so fast, and I was getting ready to meet with Michael. I was feeling a little more confident about my stay now that I knew that it would just be longer to get to the citizenship step if Nathan couldn't help me. I put on a pair of jeans, an ordinary white T-shirt and a blazer accompanied by a silk scarf my mother gave me for my twentieth birthday. I put on the classic boat shoes and some mascara, just a bit, I didn't want to exaggerate with my looks.

The restaurant was near the university campus, so I had to take a bus to get there. It was not so warm, so the packed bus was somewhat bearable. Once I got off at the stop, I slowly started strolling down the street. Students were drinking and eating in a line of bars and restaurants and celebrating the end of the summer. They will all soon be stuck in their classrooms and amphitheatres, so they enjoyed what's left of their free time before the studying begins again. I didn't miss those times. Not because I didn't like my studies, but because back home, we all had to fight for our rankings and everybody was too competitive. We were not really friends or classmates. Rather we saw each other as the opponents, ready to strangle the other person in order to survive. I did envy the UK students for being more friendly and for really enjoying their student life. 

I was right on time to meet Michael who was already in front of the restaurant's entrance. 

"Hi!" I smiled and went for the classic kiss on the cheek. Michael followed.

"Hey, Annie! How are you doing?"

"To be honest, a bit worried, but let's not talk about that. Right now, you should be worried because I am starving." I teased him.

"Luckily, I got us a table. Let's go." He offered me to enter before him. When we stepped into the restaurant, I realized it was a bit dark, but I figured that it was supposed to be like that. The place was quite calm, and obviously, it was very popular around couples who only started dating. The waiter showed us to our table, and we sat.

"The menus... I'll leave you to decide. Would you like to drink something?" The waiter was, of course, a young student, trying to pay for his room at the dorm and have some extra money for drinking and going out.

"How about we start with some aperitif?" Michael proposed.

"Sure. I'll have a Martini Bianco, no ice." I answered immediately. Michael took a bit more time to decide what he would like and then went on and ordered a beer. The waiter left our table and was back in a few seconds with our drinks.

"So, tell me... What is worrying you?" Michael insisted I tell me him what my troubles were.

"Oh, nothing special." I tried brushing it off. "I have to extend my visa on time; otherwise, I will have to wait way longer than I hoped for citizenship."

"Aha... And what is necessary to extend your visa?" Michael was clueless. After all, I guess he didn't meet too many people coming from outside of the EU. 

"Well, a contract as proof I will have some income, previous residence card, a photo... That stuff."

"And you will miss the deadline because the contract will be finalized after your residence permit has expired, right?"

"Correct." I confirmed. 

"But you can stay?" Michael showed some signs of fear in his eyes. 

"Oh yes. Don't worry." I seemed more confident than he did at this point. "But enough of this. Tell me how your summer was? Did you enjoy Italy with your friends?"

"I did..."

We spent the rest of our dinner talking about his roommate, my brother, the music, and holidays.