The Summer at Camazotz

Twenty-Nine

When Jordan takes me to one of his favourite coffee shops later in the week, he's mildly disappointed that I'm not in love with their coffee. To be fair, being raised by a family that makes a killer French roast is hard to beat. I've become as picky about my caffeine as my mom and grandmother are.

"So, do you ever go back to visit?" Jordan asks upon the mention of my family back in Quebec. "I mean, it must be hard since you're at school most of the year."

"Yeah, it is, but we make it work," I say, swirling the coffee in my mug. "We usually visit during the summer and around Christmas. If we're really lucky, we make it out for a birthday or two."

Jordan nods and takes a sip of his own coffee. "Are you going to see them before school?"

I shake my head. Because of camp and some other things, my parents decided that it would be easier to skip our usual trip this summer and extend our winter stay instead. I'm a bit disappointed that I have to wait another four months to visit home and some family, but it'll be worth it. "Too many complications this summer," I explain. "We're gonna stay longer during winter break instead."

"Do you still have friends there?"

"Not really. I moved years ago and I guess my friends and I weren't properly equipped to stay in touch, so we just. . . grew apart." Sometimes I wish I had kept in touch with my old friends so that I could visit them now. Maybe I would have been able to tell them about Jordan since they're half a country away and not down the street. I've probably seen them during visits, too, but because it's been so long, I doubt I'd recognize them.

Jordan frowns. "Sorry, that must suck."

I shrug. "I guess. But I have other friends now and I don't plan on moving away from them." I ditch the mug of coffee and go for my scone instead. "How about you? Do I get to meet your infamous friends?"

"God, I hope not."

"Come on, they can't be that bad."

Jordan taps his fingers against his mug and sighs. "No, but they barely have a filter. Not exactly the greatest at reading the room."

"I'm sure I can handle them," I reassure and he smiles timidly back at me.

We chat for a while, taking our time drinking our coffee and eating our snacks. Well, I take my time with the coffee. It's not necessarily bad, but drinking it too quickly will probably upset my stomach. Jordan, on the other hand, downs it in minutes and makes quick work of his muffin.

I try to take my time to make it look like we aren't loitering in the coffee shop. We've been here for over an hour at least and while we are paying customers, I feel bad taking up space other people can use.

Around the two hour mark, both our mugs are empty and our plates cleared. We clean up the table and make our way out of the shop. There's a growing smile on my face from the casualness of it all. It feels so easy to go out with Jordan, like it's something I've done a million times before. I try to work up the courage to grab his hand because it just feels right.

A boisterous voice disrupts my thoughts before I can contemplate further.

"Jordan!"

We turn at the sound of Jordan's name. Two guys walk towards us, one with long, shaggy brown hair and the other with clipped blond hair. Though they probably aren't going anywhere special, they're cleanly dressed in dark jeans and button down shirts. If it weren't for the obvious facial differences, I'd say they look like twins.

"Hey, guys." Jordan looks torn between excitement and worry. "What are you doing out here? I thought you guys were helping out at the library today."