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Does that sound sappy? Maybe that’s too much. I cringe as Noah types, and then stops, the three dots disappearing from the screen.
NoAgenda:Me too.
I realise I’m smiling at the screen. Smiling at the stupid cat drawing Noah uses as a profile picture. I wish he’d use his own photo. I wish I could see him right now.
NoAgenda:Listen, I’ll be frank—I’d like to see you again.
My heart falters. I read the message again, and again, until another comes through.
NoAgenda:If you’d like that.
NoAgenda:If your work allows and you’re not getting on a flight home tomorrow.
I can’t help but smile at his message. If I want this friendship with Noah to have any chance of moving forward, I have to put myself out there. How much longer am I going to allow being afraid to stop me from getting what I really want? And right now, I want to explore this; whatever it is.
Hungrygabriel73:I’d like to see you again, too.
And then, mustering up my courage, I add an emoji of the Pride flag to the end of my sentence, and send it back. Noah sees it. He heart reacts the message.
I guess that’s that.
NoAgenda:So MCG? Tomorrow?
Hungrygabriel73:Can Ilet you know? I’m not sure what will happen at work.
NoAgenda:Sure. The MCG tour is on a few times a day and now that the tennis is on, you can get a ticket to the general grounds for free when you book. Might be fun?
‘Gabriel, Gabriel, Gabriel,’ Victor tuts as I emerge from my bedroom, hair wild and my body severely in need of caffeine. ‘The cards are not happy today.’
There’s no way I can humour Victor’s bungled tarot readings without coffee. Especially after what happened yesterday. ‘Are they still plotting my demise?’
‘Worse,’ he mutters. So much for no bad readings. ‘There’s a storm brewing on the horizon. A conflict. A battle.’
The coffee machine whirrs to life and golden nectar drips slowly from the spout. ‘O’Lachlan will be hard to beat,’ I say.
Victor shakes his head. ‘I’ve already asked the cards about your match—they responded favourably, of course. This is telling me about what’s in store for your immediate future.’
I take my coffee from the machine and walk to Victor’s side. There are three cards on the table in front of him: the Wheel of Fortune, the Emperor and Judgement.
‘An inevitable rebellion against authority or rules,’ Victor translates.
I scoff and grab a banana from the fruit bowl. ‘It’s not like I’m going to the dark side.’
‘You are a young Padawan, and I’ve heard you fighting with Obi-Wan.’
‘They’re cards, Victor. Also, I didn’t tell you to lie to Papa about where I was last night. You could have told him the truth.’
That makes him sit up straighter. ‘You’re right. Whatisthe truth, Gabriel?’
He only says my name when he wants to make a point. ‘That I was out for a walk,’ I say lightly.
‘Long walk.’
‘Big city.’
He snorts and shakes his head. ‘I know how intense your father can be, and Lukas was an easy scapegoat. He agreed to go along with it.’
I’ll have to thank Lukas later.
