Jayden returns to the flat and freshens up.

After heating up yesterday's leftovers, he settles on the couch and turns on the TV and starts eating the food.

"Today's headlines, Mr. Albert Williams of the WilliamCorp Industries Private Limited, has decided to open new branches in Evandale,  Chillington, Amusemetropolis, and Sincere Square Caffeine City (SSCC)." 

"WHAT?! Here in SSCC?" Jayden exclaims.

"It has also been decided that Mr. Thomas Williams, the only heir of Mr. Albert Williams, is going to be handling the branch in the Sincere Square Caffeine City!"

"Oh God! This is getting worse! How can Tom handle both college and work?"

Jay immediately calls his friend. Tom picks up in the first ring.

"Yes Jay? Are you alright? You rarely call at this hour! Do I have to come there?" Tom bombards Jay with questions filled with concern.

"Dude!" Jayden interrupts.

"Dude?!"

"Calm down!! I just saw the news about you being assigned to take over the branch in Sincere Square! That's why I called"

"Oh? You had me worried for a moment there! And yeah, isn't that cool? The new branch would probably be opened in like a month."

"That's when our classes start Tom! How would you manage it? You're gonna be in 3rd year and it's gonna get even harder, isn't it?"

"Yeah, about that... I'm actually grateful that my dad agreed with me managing the Caffeine City branch. He first assigned me to manage the new branch in Amusemetropolis which was literally next to my mansion. He wanted me to stay with him. But I told him I wanted to keep studying, so... this is way better." Tom says casually.

Jayden rolls his eyes "Whatever!" 

"Is there anything else to talk, Jay? My dad's asked me to meet him now. Shall I hang up?"

"Yes, and take care, Tom. Don't stress a lot, alright?"

"Yes, baby! You take care too! Byee!" Tom hangs up.

Jayden groans "I am not his baby!!"

He looks at the clock it was almost 10 a.m.

Jayden's eyes widen. "Oh crap! I was supposed to meet Granny Mel at the park!"

He quickly jumps off the bed. "The art fest must've already started!"

*******_____________*******

He rushes to the park and abruptly stops near the entrance. He sees Mel talking to the girl he saw yesterday.

Before he can decide whether to turn back or walk in, Mel notices him and waves excitedly.

"Jayyyy!! C'mere!"

The girl gives a polite wave to Mel before walking off toward the section where the art displays are set up.

He walks up to her and greets her. 

"Hey Mel, how's it going?"

"I'm doing well, son. How're are you?"

"I'm good."

"Shall we start with the art viewing?"

"Yes gramma!"

"Let's go then!" she says, grabbing his arm cheerfully. 

*******_____________*******

After a while, both settle on a bench, with a cup of ice cream in their hand.

"So, Jay. How's song writing going? Did you write something new?"

"No actually. Didn't write a line since yesterday."

"It's alright. Do you know what is the thing you love unrequitedly?"

"Not yet. But gotta figure it out."

"Also, why'd you choose unrequited love if you know nothing about it?" She asks as she eats the ice cream.

"Others said it was the easiest topic. So I chose it. Didn't know it had these consequences."

Mel chuckles. "Can't you change your topic now?"

"It's hard to do so. I've already made a lot of sample melodies for this topic. It feels like I've started it already and why drop it?"

"Understandable. Hope you do well in this. Gramma Mel will try my best to support you."

"Thanks a lot Mel!"

"It's alright, son. Shall we part ways now?"

"Yeah, so will you come tomorrow?" Jay asks and collects the cup from Mel.

"Well, I won't be coming for five days. Gramma's gotta get admitted in the hospital for severe checkup."

"May I know why you might need this checkup?" He asks, concerned.

"I don't know either, son. My kids aren't telling me anything. I don't want to bother them too. They're in their 40s and stressed because of me."

"Don't think that way gramma! They just might be worried about you."

"Thanks son. See you after five days. My caretaker is here to pick me. Bye!"

"Bye Mel!"

After Mel leaves the park, Jay pulls out his tiny, pocket sized notebook and a pen.

He looks around and sees how cheerful and happy people are when they express their opinions together on an artwork.

He remembers the joy he felt with Mel. The warmth of how gentle and caring Mel is with him made him realise how wide he smiled while talking to her.

She is a fun woman and has a lot of weird unfunny jokes which surprisingly made him laugh hysterically.

Right then, he sees the girl carrying a huge pile of cardboard boxes on her own.

He tucks the notebook and pen inside his jacket pocket and rushes to help her.

"May I lend you a hand please?" He asks as polite and gentle as possible.

She looks at him and nods vigorously, accepting the help.

"Why isn't she talking?" Jayden thinks to himself.

That's when he notices that she had stuffed a bunch of candies in her mouth and a tiny bit of a watermelon candy was sticking out due to the over crowding.

He chuckles silently and grabs a few boxes from her and starts walking behind her.

She wore a cute skirt which reached below her knees. Her slightly wavy hair was tied into a loose ponytail with a pink ribbon. The skirt had watermelon slices printed all over it.

"Cuteeeee!" He starts squealing internally.

She places the stack of boxes near the dustbins. Jay does the same.

He turns around to look at her only to see her holding out her hand for a handshake.

Seeing him hesitate, she grabs his hand and places it on hers. She vigorously shakes hands, indicating she's thankful for the help.

She waves and turns around the other side and walks away.

Jay is left blushing slightly due to the physical contact.

"Her hands were soft... Am I being a bit creepy?!"

"I don't even know her! And she definitely doesn't know me at all! Why do I feel this way?!"

He looks at the sky and sighs heavily. The sun was setting.

He exits the park and walks slowly towards his apartment while thinking about why he felt that weird feeling towards that random girl in park.

The fact that Mel won't be showing up for a few days saddens him.

Glancing up at the sky once again, he sees how it darkens up pretty soon. He increases his speed so that he'll reach sooner.

"Guys are afraid of the dark too!" He huffs in annoyance about the thought that only women are considered as the ones that can be scared.

*******_____________*******

As soon as Jayden reaches his apartment, he is stopped by the receptionist, who steps right in front of him with her arms crossed.

"May I enquire you about something, Mr. Holmes?"

"Yes?"

"Have you paid your rent, maybe?"

"Yes, we've paid our rent."

"Have you paid the rent?"

"Um... yeah?"

She glares at him with a very judgemental look.

"If I may? Excuse me, please?" Jayden asks, completely uncomfortable by the receptionist's judgemental expression.

"No, you may not. You have received a mail from Mr. Williams"

"Mr. Williams? Which one?"

"Mr. Thomas Williams, your roommate, I suppose."

"Mr. Thomas Williams? Hahaha! I call my homie Tom!" Jayden thinks to himself.

"Yes"

"Here you go," the receptionist says, handing him the envelope. "Check if everything's in order and sign this register."

Jay opens the envelope and finds a cheque for fifty dollars addressed to Jayden Holmes's bank account, neatly signed by Thomas Williams. And a short letter "Pocket money for my baby who's surely missing me! Hope this makes up for the time I'm away! Call me whenever you miss me! I'll pick up immediately, no matter how busy I am!" These exact words were written in it.

"This dude really thinks I'm his sugar baby," Jayden thinks, internally rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Yes, everything's in order. May I sign it now?" he asks politely.

The receptionist hums, still glaring at him. "Hmm. Proceed."

After signing the register, Jay heads back to his apartment and plops onto the couch.

"Um... what shall I cook? I surely cannot trust Tom!" he mutters, staring suspiciously at the kitchen.

"Lemme YouTube it."

He grabs his phone and types, 'How to cook a simple dinner.' The first video that pops up is a 2-minute clip titled "Simple and Perfect Dinner Hack." by a channel named Wassaaaappdooodd?!

He clicks it.

A cheerful voice blares through his phone speakers.

"To cook a simple meal, y'all just need a bottle of water, good air conditioning, and a device with internet access-and of course, a few bucks in your account!"

"This is gonna be a very easy dinner trick! Bottle, check. Air conditioning, check. Phone, check!"

"Now find a cozy place to park your ass. Make sure to have your phone with you-it's the main thing."

"Open a delivery app-preferably FoodAtYourDoor. Choose your favourite food, check the costs, and buy your desired meal."

"If you're low on budget, drink the water from the bottle and rock-a-bye in the air conditioned room, 'cause there's no way you're eating dinner today!"

"Bye guys! Don't forget to hit that like button and subscribe to my channel-and share this with your other hungry homies!"

Jay stares at the screen, speechless, as the video ends.

He scrolls through dozens of videos, each more ridiculous than the last, until one finally seems decent.

"Hey guys! Amy here! Let's prepare a simple dinner!" the woman talks with way too much enthusiasm. "First, we need whatever you have in your fridge. I have caviar, gold flakes, A5 Wagyu steak, and truffle!"

Jayden nearly drops his phone. "The heck is she gonna do with those ingredients?! Cook a Michelin-star meal?!" he exclaims, staring at the screen in disbelief.

"I'd need to sacrifice an organ to have those things lying around in my fridge!" Jayden groans, throwing his head back. 

He gives up and falls dramatically on his bed trying to sleep.

His attempt is interrupted by a knock on his door.

"Who's knocking at this hour?"

He gets up lazily and walks to the door.

Looking through the peephole he sees a person standing with something in their hand. Their head facing the floor.

"Such a short person."

He opens the door and sees Adrien standing with a lunchbox in his hand.

"Jay, if you won't mind, can you try the dinner I made? I promise it won't be bad!"

"Alright come in" Jay let's Adrien in and closes the door smirking to himself.

"Here, try it dude!"

Jayden absolutely devours the free meal with total satisfaction.

"How's it?" Adrien asks curiously.

"It's edible!"

"Jayy! Be serious! How's it?"

"Okay! It's delicious! Happy? I love it! Can you cook dinner for me everyday please!!"

"Oh my! Sure! I always wanted a friend who'd be willing to eat the food I cooked!"

"Thanks Adri!"

"We don't thank our bros, dude!"

"Alright bye mate, see ya tomorrow!" Adrien winks at Jay and leaves.

After Adrien leaves, Jay drifts off to sleep, entering the land of imagination.

-To Be Continued

YOU ARE READING: Heartstrings!