Breakfast, and With It Two Offers

You wake up bleary eyed, checking the time on your phone. It’s 8:35.

There’s still 2 hours before class, but you might as well get going with the day now that you’ve woken up. It takes you a couple minutes to ready yourself for the day, and then you head to the dining hall, picking up some toast, egg, and a small blueberry muffin. A man’s gotta get his fruit somehow.

You spy Dominic sitting at a table with Arthur, a guy that’s properly stuck-up from your limited interactions with him.

“How’s the day going,” Dominic asks you as you slide your tray onto the table. You notice a pretty-looking blonde girl giving you a strange look, which almost throws you off your response.

“Not bad, cured cancer and won the Nobel Peace Prize; how’s your morning been?”

“Well shit, I broke my razor while I was shaving, so sounds like you’ve been a bit more productive than me,” Dominic says. “Hey, Arthur and I were planning to hit the gym right after breakfast - you want to join us?”

“Sure -” you begin, but Arthur cuts you off: “I don’t remember agreeing to extend the offer to Alex.”

“Whoa, a little harsh there, don’t you think,” you say, and Arthur shrugs.

“Yeah sure, I’m cool with it, but you know - maybe ask me next time instead of presuming I’m ok with it?”

“I got you Arthur,” Dominic says, giving you a look that tells you he’s had quite enough of this kid. “Anyways, meet you in the house lounge once you’re ready yeah?” He rises to leave the table, and Arthur follows close behind, leaving you alone at the table to finish your breakfast.

You notice that the blonde girl is still giving you glances, as if uncertain of something. After the third or fourth time, you catch her eyes and give her a smile. She decides to approach you then, playing with her hair a tiny bit.

“Hey,” she says, “are you.. are you Alex Knight? The guy who did the Daft Punk remix?”

“Holy shit, you’re like the second person to ever recognise me,” you say, amazed at this massive coincidence. “And the first time was at an EDM festival, so that doesn’t count because it’s practically home turf.”

“Ahh this is crazy! I didn’t realise that you were coming to Stonewall! I’m so shook! Wait, I have a massive favour to ask of you, but can I get a selfie first?” the girl says, the words pouring rapidly out of her mouth.

“Yeah, sure” you say, and you wrap an arm around her shoulder as she snaps a couple of photos - you can see the excitement buzzing in her eyes.

“Man, I knew the song did well on the charts, but I didn’t realise that I had like… actual fans?” you say.

“I mean, I’m way big into the house scene, so like of course I would know you, but still… Getting a song onto the top 50 is crazy!” she says. “Like, I know so many people who would kill to have half your talent!”

“Thanks,” you say, feeling a little awkward. What are you supposed to do in situations like this? You’ve just enjoyed fiddling with different software for the past few years, and happened to make something that sounded good. “Uh.. you were saying you wanted a favour?”

“Oh wait, right, the favour!” she says. “So basically, my name’s Jeanne, and I’m a writer for the newspaper - the Stonewall Grey, you know - and um… I’ve been pretty bad with my stories, so basically, I need to turn in a fairly long piece today that I’ve supposed to have been working on for the last while, or they’re giving me the can… but I haven’t actually been working on anything. And I was thinking, could I maybe please interview you right now? It would be a fast thing. Like forty-five minutes, and then maybe a couple more just to go back and confirm what will actually go into the article?”

Jeanne

“Wow, I’m flattered,” you say, and you are, but you did also just agree to go work out with Dominic and Arthur a couple minutes ago. On the one hand, this girl’s cute, and having a profile in the school newspaper would probably be good for your reputation (you’re not that inarticulate, right?), but then again, getting in Dominic’s good books is probably important for your future at the college, and with the hospital stint, you really need to be getting back in shape as quickly as possible…

Arthur +1
Dominic +3
Jeanne +15