11 Chapter 11

Nick entered Glen's and took a table near the glass window. After he had settled down, he took out his smartphone and looked at his reflection on the screen. He tried to adjust his hair using his fingers which made it messier, so he stopped.

It's quarter to six, he read the time on his phone. He was fifteen minutes early. He was so nervous about the meeting that he was sweating uncontrollably. He sniffed his armpits a few times to check if he was smelling bad or not. Thankfully, the perfume was strong enough to camouflage the foul odors.

He was tapping on the table being tensed when the manager came over to him.

"Jesus Christ, are you going to have a heart attack?"

Nick was so engrossed in the thoughts of his meeting partner that he got startled by her sudden appearance.

"Oh Sydney, didn't notice you there."

"Of course, you didn't," Sydney said resting her body weight on the table. "You are deep within your fantasy world with the girl you are about to meet."

"How do you know it's a girl?" Nick said. "I never mentioned her gender."

Sydney sniggered. "Are you kidding me? People can smell that perfume from miles away. And I bet you have emptied an entire container of hair gel on your head!"

"Is it that obvious?" Nick asked checking out his reflection on the glass window.

"Seriously? It's like you are a wild animal spreading pheromones and waiting to perform some sort of mating dance !"

"Do you think it's a little too much?"

Sydney scanned him from head to toe and said, "Are you going to meet a director for tv commercial?"

"No," Nick said, wondering how that was relevant.

"Then yes, it's a bit too much."

"What should I do now?"

"No need to do anything," said Syndey. "What's done is done. All I can say is that 'Good luck' because you will need it."

"Thanks," Nick said. Then he picked up the napkin that was kept folded on the table and dabbed it all over his face to get rid of the sweat droplets.

"So this meeting of yours," said Syndey. "How long is it going to take?"

"No idea. It depends on the situation. It can take anywhere from twenty minutes to maybe an hour, I don't know."

Sydney raised his brows and said, "But you promised to work tonight? You missed yesterday's shift."

"I know, Syndey, I am sorry for that. It doesn't matter how long it takes today, but I swear I will joint the work as soon as I am done."

"Let's just hope it stays that way," she said and went back to the cash register.

Nick stared out of the window with much anticipation. She could be there any minute now!

As he sat there waiting for his first-ever crush to show up, bundles of memories from middle school rushed into his consciousness.

The first time Nick 'saw' Julia was at the annual sports meet in his first year. Before that, he had heard about her because of her tremendous popularity and saw a few times in the school periphery, but at the sports meet, he got to finally see how amazing she was and fell for her instantly.

She performed a set of gymnastics on that day. While other boys were maliciously checking out her close-to-perfect body outlined by the tight outfit she was wearing that day, Nick was mesmerized by her graceful movements and captivating attitude. She was not only good at sports but also good in arts, drama, and other such co-curricular activities alongside academic aspects. She was the perfect allrounder in the school among all the students across all the grades. The almighty had made her with extra love and care as if she was God's own child. Naturally, the entire school, all her juniors, seniors, and batchmates, both boys and girls, was crazy about her. Every day she would find tons of love letters in her school locker from her admirers, which was a lot.

People used to say that she only needed the beauty to survive in this world, and the rest of her talents were useless in that matter.

Nick actually got to know her more when they performed in a play, written by their drama teacher, in eight grade. Nick had a minor role in the play, fitting for his average acting skills, whereas Julia was in the lead role for obvious reasons. The rumor was that the drama teacher wrote that play keeping Julia as the protagonist in his mind, which was not far from the truth. Needless to say, everyone hated her, because they were jealous of her and at the same time, they had to admire her for her brilliance. Melissa, her rival throughout middle school, desperately wanted that lead role but she was strictly denied by the Drama teacher. Melissa got so furious that she even tried to jeopardize the play on the final day which she ultimately failed to do, thankfully. And after watching the performance by Julia on that night, she went to the dressing room afterward to praise her personally and apologized for trying to ruin the play. That was the power of the great Julia Ambrose! She was the most hated and at the same time the most appreciated person in the school.

Julia was quite fond of Nick which fueled the relationship between them. In a school full of guys who would give anything to get in her pants, Nick was among the very few who treated her with respect and dignity. It would be wrong to say that Nick was not least bit interested in having sex with Julia Ambrose, the most desirable girl in the school, which he very much was, but it wasn't his first priority. Not to mention that he possessed neither the courage nor the caliber to approach a girl just for the sake of satisfying his physical needs. If he were to get physically involved with someone, it would have to mean something. Nick would never be able to have a one-night stand with anyone. It's not hard to imagine that Nick was the perfect kind to get friend-zoned and that's what he was to Julia - a friend. Julia would never run out of potential candidates to have a romantic relationship with, but what she truly needed was a friend. Nick was just the right person for that.

Nick had a close relationship with her for a year before they split apart and went to different high schools. Since then, their interactions had decreased dramatically to the point where they hadn't talked to each other for years. But that one year, the final year in his middle school was the sweetest year he had spent so far. They used to hang out with each other so often that Nick became infamous among the other guys who were jealous of him. They would call him names, try to demean him in front of the others, and even sent him anonymous death threats. Nick ignored all the bullying and spent the most amazing times with Julia. They were not dating, but their relationship was much stronger and much more meaningful than that. Nick wondered how they even lost touch with each other over time. They were so close to each other once and now they were so far apart as if they never had played an important part in each other's lives. Nick was scared to realize how dramatically relationships could evolve as time changes. The friends he had now might not remain as close friends in the future. It was a scary thought but it was also the harsh truth.

The entry bell rang as someone entered the diner. Nick quickly looked ahead in anticipation, but it was a random couple. The diner was mostly empty around that time. He figured it would be a good meeting place for them, not just because the place was affordable but also for the fact that he felt confident to be at a familiar place, not to mention that it was his workplace too. Confidence- he needed that a lot. Sure, it was just for a picture of together that they would have to upload later on the contest website, but to Nick, it was much more than that. He was going to meet his middle school crush, his first-ever in that matter, after a long time. His legs were trembling in anxiety; his tummy was gurgling in anticipation. There was too much tension in the air around him that could be cut through using a knife.

Five more minutes till six, he checked his phone.

As time passed by, panic surged in him.

How should I address her when I see her? What should I tell her first? Should I directly jump into taking the picture or should we talk first? If yes, what should we talk about? Should we talk about our time together? But won't that make things uncomfortable?

Nick pulled his hair in frustration.

Earlier, he had briefly chatted with her through a social media messaging service about meeting up for the picture. Julia agreed to meet him at Glen's and then they both agreed upon a time. So, he didn't have the chance to know much about her beforehand.

Now he had to come up with a solid plan to break the ice between them. He even doubted that a popular girl like Julia would actually remember anything from back then. To her, Nick might have been one among the endless list of boys who was ever interested in her. Would she even remember how special the relationship was to Nick?

Nick could not believe himself. Once upon a time, they used to talk for hours, and now here he was, sitting at a diner, preparing himself not to be awkward in front of her, and even strategizing about how to converse with her. How time flies by!

Nick was too immersed in his thoughts that he did not notice when a girl had stopped in front of his table.

"Hello," said the girl in a polite manner, "Is this Nicholas Fowler?"

Nick broke out of his world of thoughts and got too surprised seeing her and failed to muster the courage or strength to speak up at first.

"I am sorry, but I am looking for a guy named Nicholas Fowler. You seem to look like him but I might be wrong."

Suddenly Nick was energized enough to find the right words to utter.

"It's me. I am Nicholas Fowler. Then you must be...."

"I am Julia," she said with a smile before he could finish. "Julia Ambrose. Nice to meet you."