A man with curly brown hair, MICAH, is sitting outside on one of the college benches near the function on campus. He is surrounded by his friends, DANIELLA and TANNER, who are also dating. Micah is writing lyrics and music notes in a notebook when he looks up and sees his friends getting really flirty and showing a bit too much PDA for his liking.
Micah: Guys, you think you could wait until later to suck each other’s faces off?
Daniella: Lighten up, Micah. It’s just kissing.
Micah: More like two minutes away from fucking.
Daniella pushes Micah and rolls her eyes. Tanner is laughing, probably because he knows Micah’s right. A guy’s intuition probably. Daniella gathers her stuff and prepares to leave the boys. She kisses Tanner before departing.
Daniella: Well, I’m out of here, I gotta get home to pick up my little sister.
Micah: Isn’t Nicolette a bit old for you to be “picking her up”?
Daniella: *intently stares at Micah* Aren’t you a bit young to be acting like my damn dad?
Daniella walks away from the boys. Micah laughs and shakes his head, closing the notebook he was writing in.
Micah: How do you deal with her, Tanner?
Tanner: I don’t get under her skin like you do.
Micah: You just get on top of it.
Tanner: *smiles* It’s one way to get on her good side.
The boys laugh; they are truly brothers from another mother.
Tanner: But man, when are you going to get yourself out there again? I know you haven’t gotten laid since-
Micah: Don’t even finish that sentence, man.
Tanner: I mean, it’s true though.
A thick cloud forms between the two boys. They are practically telepathic. Micah’s face tenses up, while Tanner is walking around eggshells trying to get his best bud to open up.
Tanner: I know you don’t like talking about her, but I think it will be good for your soul to do so. I mean, shes-
Micah: *interrupts, now annoyed, in a sarcastic voice* Nah, it’s not about the fact that Kalia just packed up everything to move to Sweden with her movie-star dad and their Broadway-actress step-mom to become one with the polar bears and penguins or some shit without giving me a head’s up or a damn call!
Tanner: *quietly* Mic, Sweden is not Antarc-
Micah: *keeps going* It’s not like I devoted all my time and love for her because I thought she was going to be the one I’ll be with for the rest of my life, y’know it’s not like she was my first love and she just didn’t care to see that! Nothing like that, so yeah, let me forget about a person who made a huge impact on my life!
Tanner is speechless and tries to choose his words wisely.
Tanner: Look man, I get it. Kalia broke your heart, but it’s been two years already. We were practically children back then.
Micah: … She was 20, Tanner.
Tanner: But you were just 18. Maybe she wanted more?
Micah gathers his stuff, preparing himself to leave both the bench and his conversation with Tanner. Tanner tries to reassure Micah.
Tanner: I’m not saying you weren’t enough, man, I was just-
Micah: *sighs* It’s cool man, the past is the past.
Micah walks away from Tanner, not leaving the conversation on a good note. He’s now annoyed, aggravated, and all he wants to do is just go to his last class of the day so he can go home and do what calms himself the most: make music. Micah is practically power-walking in anger, just hoping he could get the girl that broke his heart out of his mind, until BAM! He smacks himself against a person who was walking in the opposite direction.
He looks up to see a girl that’s all tattooed up; she’s basically a walking art piece. She has brown curly hair with different colored highlights going throughout. She has some face piercings and hazel eyes. She looks annoyed as she picks up her stuff from the ground. Micah picks his own stuff up from the ground as well.
Micah: I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you coming up…
He looks at the girl’s black t-shirt; it has a name tag with the name “ROSIE” on it.
Micah: … Rosie.
Rosie looks down at her shirt where her nametag is. She takes it off.
Rosie: Yeah, well next time don’t look so dazed on a crowded-friggin’-campus.
As Rosie stuffs her bookbag with her belongings, Micah just looks at her. He doesn’t understand why he can’t move, and he doesn’t understand why he keeps looking at her. Clearly, she’s just as annoyed about something as he is, but yet he feels a wave of calmness in this exact moment.
Micah: *reaching out for Rosie’s hand* Micah.
Rosie: *looking up* What?
Micah: My name is Micah. Nice to meet you. Y’know, decent etiquette.
Micah smiles at Rosie, still with his arm out to help her from off the ground. She reaches out for it.
Rosie: Yeah, but nobody asked for it.
Micah: It’s still what a gentleman does.
Rosie: Well keep your 1950’s ideology away from me.
Micah: Feminist?
Rosie: Something like that.
They both awkwardly stand there like they owe each other something.
Micah: So, you work at the campus bookstore?
Rosie: Look, thanks for helping me with my stuff, but I’m not here for small talk. Find some other girl to pick up and bring to your dorm.
Micah: *scrunches his eyebrows* Not every man is trying to get in your pants, y’know. So if you think I’m being nice to you for that, then I truly feel bad that your only nice encounters with guys were when they were trying to sleep with you. Sorry for “bugging you”, have a good day.
As Micah walks away, Rosie turns around and calls for him.
Rosie: I’m sorry, Micah. I didn’t mean to come off like a bitch.
Micah turns around and looks at Rosie. The sun is hitting her olive skin, and the wind is blowing through her curly locks. She’s beautiful when she’s a little soft.
Micah: None taken, Rosie.
She walks up to him to actually talk to him.
Rosie: Yeah, I work at the bookstore. I just got off from my shift.
Micah: That’s cool. Is this cheap ass college actually paying you guys enough?
Rosie: *laughs* Not enough to actually help me stay awake during my shifts.
Micah is completely at awe with Rosie’s laugh. It was pure, snarky, raspy; different than the other girls he has heard.
Micah: I don’t blame you. You’re supposed to keep up with your classes and be nice to customers?
Rosie: They got the wrong girl.
Micah laughs. In a head trace, he snaps out of it and looks at his phone for the time; class starts in 5 minutes.
Micah: Well, I’m totally going to be late for my next class. Why would I ever agree to take a 4:40 class, only God knows.
Rosie: Ah, you’re one of those honor roll guys?
Micah: You mean dean’s list?
Rosie: You call it dean’s list, I call it something intangible with absolutely no purpose.
Micah laughs. She has some spunk in her voice.
Micah: Nah, I’m not, just can’t afford to be late for a class I’m almost failing.
Rosie: Is it a science class?
Micah: When is it never a science class? Like, who gives a shit about how the human body works? If mine is working, then that’s all I care about.
Rosie: Right? Like let it do its thing, it’s not my job to understand what the fuck is going on in there.
They both laugh as they both reached a path where it’s time to go their separate ways.
Rosie: Well, it was nice meeting you, Micah. Sorry about how I came off earlier. I’m not prone to people actually being nice to me.
Micah: You don’t have friends on campus?
Rosie: Nah. I don’t trust bitches and I don’t trust dickheads. I just do my thing and get the fuck off of campus.
Micah: Well, I assure you I’m not a bitch, nor am I a dickhead.
Rosie: People who use words like “assure” and “nor” are pretty dickhead-ish if you ask me. *laughs*
Micah: It was better than saying, ‘I ain’t no bitch or dickhead, son’.
Rosie: True.
The two of them stand there awkwardly.
Rosie: So, uhm, I’ll guess I’ll see ya around.
As Rosie walks away, Micah looks at her and calls out for her.
Micah: Kamalani!
Rosie turns around, and stands there, looking back at Micah.
Rosie: What?
Micah: My last name is Kamalani, just in case you want to keep in touch online or something. Just search for Micah Kamalani.
Rosie looks at Micah from a distance and smiles.
Rosie: Delgado. Rosie Delgado.
— The End —
*You could read more about Rosie HERE.
Letters From Liz. 