(You are reading Episode 5 of The Transition Series. Read Episode 4 here | Read Episode 6 here)
The Empty Chair
Ceritasakti.com - The small bell above the coffee shop door rang quietly. Kiki walked inside and shook the cold raindrops from her umbrella. The café smelled strongly of roasted beans and sweet vanilla syrup.
She occupied a small corner table near the large front window. Usually, she needed a large table. Usually, Odinn demanded extra space for his long legs, and Otto needed room to spread out his massive history books. But today, Kiki only needed a tiny round table for herself.
She placed her thick college application folders on the smooth wooden surface. The adult world demanded a lot of paperwork.
Kiki looked at the empty chair across from her. Two months ago, they spent every afternoon together. Now, Odinn worked heavy shifts at the warehouse. Lanny volunteered at the city hospital until late evening. Otto locked himself inside his room to prepare for the state exams.
The silence in the coffee shop felt incredibly heavy. She missed the loud arguments about pizza. She missed the terrible jokes.
Kiki opened her blue folder and picked up a black pen. She tried to focus on writing her college essay, but the words did not make any sense.
The front door bell rang again.
Jun walked into the café. He wore dirty blue jeans and a dark gray t-shirt. His hands had dark grease stains from working at the mechanic garage all morning. He spotted Kiki in the corner and quickly walked over.
Jun leaned over the back of the empty chair. "I only have a ten-minute break," Jun said, breathing heavily. "The garage is incredibly busy today. But I wanted to bring you this."
He placed a small paper bag on top of her college folders. Kiki opened the bag. It contained a warm chocolate pastry from the bakery next to his garage.
"You remembered my favorite," Kiki smiled.
Keeping the Connection
"Of course I remembered," Jun replied. He rested his elbows on the table and looked at her tired eyes. "Everyone is completely exhausted lately. I talked to Odinn last night. He sounded very tired. Otto is stressing out about his math scores."
Kiki took a bite of the warm pastry. The sweet chocolate made her feel slightly better. "We are drifting apart, Jun. The schedule is pulling everyone in different directions."
Jun shook his head firmly. "We are not drifting, Kiki. We are just growing up. Growing up requires a lot of hard work. But a busy schedule cannot break what we built."
Jun checked the dirty clock on the café wall. He sighed. His ten-minute break was over. He needed to go back to the loud garage and fix broken engines.
"I have to go," Jun said. He tapped the wooden table twice. "Keep writing that essay. You are going to get into a great school."
Kiki watched Jun run back out into the rainy street. The coffee shop felt quiet again, but the empty chair did not feel so lonely anymore. She picked up her black pen and finally started writing.
