Mediocrity: Chapter 4

Chapter Four

When you’re waiting to video chat with someone far overseas, it’s usually rather tedious. Australia is nine hours ahead of us, which means I need to wait until after ten at night or make sure I’m online before noon. I’m usually at work between eight and three, which makes things rather limiting in the workweek. It’s perfect for weekends, but my cowardly butt didn’t have the courage to talk to him this morning. So now I need to wait until he wakes up on Sunday morning, which makes it a late Saturday night for me. He was probably online this morning, wondering where I am. I usually check in with him during my Saturday mornings. My video chat has been open and online since seven this evening, in case he logs in early for some reason. I’ve been cooking, cleaning and listening to music until now, trying to distract myself from that cursed red dot next to benedictory314. I reluctantly walk back to kitchen to pour the colourful stir-fry in the pan into a bowl. I grab a fork and walk back to my computer.

Nothing.

I decide to eat in front of the television while watching some movie. After the last bite I realise I never added rice to my meal. The rice was still standing in a pot behind the pan on the stove. I sigh in frustration, and start packing the food into two containers for lunch on Monday and Tuesday. Now I have extra rice. Great. I spoon the rice into a separate bowl, and place all the leftovers in the fridge. I walk back to my computer quickly to check. Still nothing. My computer’s time reads 22:46. I walk back to the kitchen to wash up and clean the counter space.

That takes me ten minutes. I switch off all the lights and walk back to my room. Kristen is staying over at Henry’s tonight, so I have the house to myself. I close my door and drop down onto my bed. I close my eyes and my mind drifts through today’s events. Our hike lasted quite a few hours, so we only got back home after two. I took a warm shower to get all the dirt off my ankles, lower arms and neck. My hair also needed a wash. I climbed into bed and took a nice long nap, partly knowing that I would be up late tonight. I’m not going to get up again to check the computer. We’ve auto-connected our channels, so once both of us are online we can connect through video without any ‘call requests’ or something.

I turn onto my left side to open the curtain to look at the stars. I just see the reflection of my room’s roof. I jump up to switch off the lights and return back to bed. The clouds have completely cleared now, meaning the sky is dotted with stars, and the crescent moon is looming in the distance. I leave my curtain open and just lie there and watch. When I have my own house one day, I’m putting a glass roof in my bedroom so that I can fall asleep to this every night. I wonder if he’s still sleeping or if he’s already clocked twenty kilo’s on his Garmin…

The first thing I notice when I wake, is how freezing cold I am. I grab the blanket folded at my feet and throw it around my shoulders. The second thing I notice is a voice coming from my desk. I leap from the bed, switch on the desk lamp and sit down in front of my computer in two swift motions. Just my luck that I didn’t fall.

“Good morning!”

I smile tiredly at his face coming through the screen. His brown, messy hair looks wet, he must’ve taken a shower recently. “Morning. Had a good run?”

“Yeah, I made good time. The cool weather really helps. I actually didn’t think I’d find you online at this hour. Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

I look down at the time and nod slowly, “Yes, I should be. I forgot to log off, so you woke me with your talking.” It’s just after one at the moment. I yawn at the thought, but somehow I know I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again anyway.

“That’s funny, you never forget to log off.”

“Right? Makes this even more unusual.” I quickly change the subject, “So, South Africa, huh?”

He sits up in his chair, but his expression remains unchanged. Something flashes across his daze. “I thought it might be a good idea to visit an underrated country where I would know a pretty good tour guide.”

I stop breathing for a short moment. “Hah. I think there are better tour guides you can pay a small fee for.”

“It’s always better to see a new place through the eyes of a local.”

“I’m not a very good local.”

“But you’re a local.”

I sigh, looking down at my hands. “Can I be frank?”

He gives me a sarcastic look. “You never ask before you are. Why now?” he laughs.

“Okay, okay. Look, this, what we’ve had for over a year now, has become something I thought would remain a constant. I always thought we’d keep keeping one another company for years to come, and perhaps fade away as we start our respective lives. I guess what I’m trying to say is that… meeting up might change that. You might realize that I’m not really that interesting. And you might be too happy to leave the country soon after and most probably never see me again. Thankfully in that case.”

He cocks his head to the side, “Or maybe you might realise I’m not that interesting.”

“But you get my point?”

“I guess I do.”

He sits back in his chair and folds his arms over his opposite shoulders. “Well, even though your point is valid, your time is running out. I’ll be there in three months’ time. It would be nice to meet and see you in person. It’s up to you if that happens or not. All I can tell you, is that if we don’t meet, the chances of me coming back there soon is very slim. There’s much to see across the world.”

“God, your life sounds awesome. Can’t wait till I can finally go somewhere far, far away.”

He smiles, picks up his water bottle next to him and takes a few large sips.

“I’ll meet with you Ben. Just let me know where you’re thinking about going, so that I can make travel arrangements. It will be nice to meet. And what will happen, happens.”

“About that…” he starts.

I stare at the screen, silently waiting. As if his visit isn’t surprise enough. He better not want to come crash at my place for a few days. I do know him quite well, but it’s only responsible to meet a guy in a public place first. I cringe at my mother’s voice suddenly bouncing around in my head.

“I’m looking at doing a road trip through the country, staying a few days here and a few days there. I think that’s the best way to get to know a country apart from walking through it. I had hoped you would help me with choosing those stops, and then ultimately… joining me if you’re satisfied with my character after spending a day in your city… what is it called?”

“Durban.” I blurt out bluntly.

“Yes, in Durban.”

Millions of strands of thoughts are currently being knotted into a big ball the size of the sun in my brain. I’m trying to formulate an answer. Which words to use…

He smiles hopefully, but the nerves are very clear in his eyes. He’s just as bad at hiding what he’s thinking as I am. I wonder when I’m going to be able to open my mouth to tell him why I haven’t moved for the last ten seconds. I decide to go with a genuinely excited smile.