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Eric groaned and rubbed his eyes as he sat up in bed. His room was dark in the evening light, with only his lit-up phone screen casting shadows around him. According to his alarm, it was 7:00 p.m. on Friday, and his post-work nap was officially over. He tapped his phone until it stopped making noise, and looked blearily at what had been said in the group chat while he was unconscious.
Andrew [6:12pm]: I’m just now leaving work because my asshole coworker scheduled a five o clock meeting on a fucking Friday. Where are we drinking so I can forget that work exists for two days?
Jack [6:16pm]: Finally, someone asks about our plans tonight. I thought y’all were going to pussy out after last weekend’s aggressive blackout sesh. I’m down to start casual. Maybe that new sushi spot? They do a sake deal on Friday nights…
Kyle [6:27pm]: I literally just got over my hangover from last Saturday and you animals are already talking about boozing again? You disgust me. I’m down for the sushi place.
Jack [6:44pm]: Sound good dudes. Eric, you’ve been notably silent during this whole conversation…too busy drunk texting your ex or what?
Eric stared at the text conversation for nearly three straight minutes. He knew that if he wanted to go out, he would need to get his ass in gear and hop in the shower. But he just couldn’t make himself do it. He checked his maps app to see how far this sushi place was. A five-minute Uber rude. He checked the weather. It was looking to be a beautiful night. Great. As he realized he was officially out of excuses, he also realized that it didn’t matter. He just wasn’t feeling it. Night after night of getting too drunk, attempting to hook up with girls, and feeling like garbage at work on Monday had taken its toll. He needed a weekend off.
His fingers flickered over his screen as he carefully typed, deleted, and retyped the text he would send. Should he be honest? Should he be vague? Should he just ignore the chat completely and claim he fell asleep? No, he would still get roasted and then convinced into going out tomorrow. Suddenly, he knew what he had to say.
Sorry dudes, I’m out. I caught the flu going around and I’m taking the weekend off. Good luck out there.
He smiled contentedly at his phone, secure in the knowledge that he was finally going to get a refreshing weekend he so desperately needed. Then he turned his phone on do not disturb, placed it face down on his nightstand, and went the back to sleep.
By Saturday afternoon, Eric knew for a fact that his decision to relax all weekend had been the right one. While his friends were in the group chat, simultaneously complaining about their hangovers and planning what to do for that night, his mind was clear and stress-free for the first time in weeks.
He wasn’t worried about what he had done the night before. He wasn’t stressed about whether or not he was going to get laid tonight. For once, his weekend was devoted to bettering himself. He had crushed his gym session earlier, taken care of some chores around the apartment, and was now on his way to a sushi rolling class he had found on Groupon. He had never been the kind of guy to take classes, or even go anywhere alone, but for some reason, today the idea struck him as a good one. He didn’t like the person he had been recently, and maybe making some positive changes might be a good thing.
Any trepidation he may have about the class melted away as he flexed his sushi-wrapping skills and realized, much to his surprise, that he was a natural. After the elderly Japanese instructor complimented his roll for the third time, he heard a soft voice whisper to him from the table to his left.
“Hey sushi superstar, if you help me fix this disaster I’ve made, I’ll pay you in wine.”
Eric turned and was disarmed by the cheeky smile affixed to a petite black-haired girl. He had been so focused on his sushi, he hadn’t even noticed her standing four feet away from him. He returned her smile and shifted over to her table as he agreed to the terms of her trade.
“I mean, I’ll see what I can do about your roll, but I don’t think I can help with all the rice in your hair.”
One playful arm slap later, it was clear they had a natural chemistry. She introduced herself as Kelsey, and explained that she was hoping to learn how to make a sushi dinner as a surprise for her dad’s 60th birthday. He had immigrated from Japan almost 30 years ago, and had, by her account, spent most of those years complaining about the lack of good sushi. Eric remarked that he was probably going to have to wait even longer due to the monstrosity on her plate, and to his surprise, she took the ribbing with a laugh and returned some teasing of her own.
The rest of the class flew by in a blur of wine and seaweed, and by the end of it, Eric was the proud owner of not just a perfectly wrapped California roll, but a new phone number. He parted ways with Kelsey with a promise to give her a call later in the week and his face remained set in a goofy grin the whole ride home.
“I should really branch out with my weekend activities more often,” he thought as he laid on his couch, phone held loosely in his hand as he half-watched sports highlights on ESPN. Feeling confident enough in his night that he could risk the FOMO of seeing what his friends were up to, he fired up Snapchat, checked his notifications, and froze.
The name Rachel was featured prominently next to a purple square. Eric double checked to make sure that it wasn’t just a new story she had posted, knowing that Snapchat’s update had tricked him in the past, but his initial assessment had been correct. His ex had sent him a personal video, the first form of communication to come from her in weeks. She hadn’t responded to his text regarding her new boyfriend, adding insult to injury and ensuring that she was winning the breakup. And yet, now she was breaking her silence?
Eric turned on his volume and tapped his screen, unsure of what he might see. The video was only eight seconds long, but it told him everything he needed to know. It was a selfie of Rachel pouting in a bar as a familiar Drake song blasted in the background. A pretty standard drunk girl video, except for the caption. Eric’s lips moved as he slowly read it.
“When our song comes on and I miss u.”
His mind raced. As much as he’d been doing better in recent weeks, he’d be lying if he said he was over her. What did this snap mean? Had she broken up with that douchebag Jason? Was she trying to get back together? How should he respond? And then, in a moment of clarity that he’d been lacking the last few months, he knew exactly what he had to do.
For the second time in the last 48 hours, all his problems could be solved with one simple motion. He turned his phone upside down and laid it on his chest. Rachel was in the past. He wanted to see what the future held. .
Respond
Nick Arcadia
The opposite of a life coach. Email or DM me if you want some bad advice: nickarcadiapgp@gmail.com
@noampao
noamio
I think the best bet in this scenario is juggling both Kelsey and Rachel until it inevitably blows up in his face and he has to start fresh.
This was so satisfying.
You know an article is well-written when you forget you’re reading about a writer’s muse and nod in approval of their character’s final actions.
I was worried that last line wasn’t going to happen. #TeamKelsey
Looks like Eric unwittingly took Victoria’s advice about the Groupon date. Also, sushi rolling classes just sound fun.
Congrats on not having post break-up sex with the ex.
This is the Friday ‘tent we need
Eric showing some great self control there. Strong moves.
Gotta hit that delete friend button on Rachel
Nah, leaving her on read is the power move
This girl gets it^
That felt good man.