Chapter 3: Sudden News

Conrad wakes up to the sound of his alarm on his phone. Turning off his alarm, he gets up, fixes his bed, and prepares for his last day of work at Ultimo Coffee.

He was about to go out of his room until his Aunt Christy calls him. He answers the phone expecting that it might be news about his place in New York.

“Hey, Aunt Christy.” Conrad greeted.

“Conrad, I have good news for you.” She said excitedly.

“What is it?” He asked excitedly.

“I found a place for you.” She answered. “The place is great and it’s near at the Institute of Culinary Education.” She added. “Wait let me send you a pic of the place.”

Aunt Christy sends a picture of the apartment to Conrad. By the time Conrad receives the picture, he was amazed. The walls are sky blue, it had windows, the whole apartment is fully furnished and the kitchen is equipped with everything I needed.  He then thinks about the price of the apartment since it looks too good to be expensive.

“Aunt Christy, isn’t this expensive?” He asked astoundingly.

“It’s not and don’t worry about it because I already took care of your first three months there.” She said.

“Thanks, Aunt Christy.” He thanked. “This is even better than the dorms or the one I found.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. You need to be there by tomorrow before five in the afternoon or they will be giving away your spot.”

“Wait, what?!” He shouted confusingly.

“I’ll send you the details and the paper works.” She said in a hurry. “Call me if there are any problems when you arrived there.”

“Wait, Aunt Christy…” Conrad stops and left speechless as Aunt Christy ends the call.

Conrad starts to worry about leaving. He also worries about his mother and grandmother’s reaction to him leaving tonight since everything was so sudden. He takes a deep breath and calms himself as he goes out of his room.

As he went down, he notices that his mother is still cooking breakfast. He takes a deep breath once more and gathers up the courage to tell the news to her mother. He goes to the kitchen and greets his mother.

“Good morning mom.” Conrad greeted as he kisses her on the cheeks.

“Good morning.” She greeted back. ”You have work today?” She asked.

“Yeah, I have” He answered. “It’s also going to be my last day there.” He added.

“Well, make sure to thank them for having you work there before you leave.” She said.

“Hey mom, I kind of forgot to tell you something.” He said worriedly.

“What is it?” She asked.

“I…” Conrad stopped as her mother’s phone suddenly rang.

“Conrad, can you tell me later?” She asked as she picks up her phone. “It’s my boss…” She said uncomfortably. “Also, can you continue cooking breakfast?” She added.

“Sure thing.” He answered

“Thanks.” She thanked me as she answers the phone.

Conrad sighs as he continues to cook breakfast while her mother is talking to her phone. His grandmother then enters the kitchen and she notices Conrad being bothered.

“Is everything okay?” She asked worriedly.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Conrad answered sarcastically.

“I know there’s something wrong once I see your gloomy face.” She said as she grabs Conrad’s right hand. “You can tell me.” She added.

“Well, you may not know this yet but, I’m leaving for college tomorrow morning.” He said worriedly. “Aunt Christy found me a place to stay there where there’s a kitchen.” He added.

“Why not leave a week before your semester starts?” She asked confusingly.

“There’s a catch actually.” He answered. “The catch is, if I don’t get to that apartment by tomorrow before five in the afternoon, they’ll give my spot to someone else since there were a lot of people who wanted the place and Aunt Christy already paid for it.” He added.

“Can’t blame Christy.” She said. “She’s fast in making decisions.” She added. “Does your mother know about this?” She asked.

“Not yet and that’s my problem right now.” He answered sadly. “I was about to tell her but her boss suddenly called.”

“If you want to get her attention, make it special.” She suggested as she gives Conrad a pat on the back. “Is breakfast ready yet?” She asked. “Can’t start the day right without breakfast.” She added as she takes a seat.

“I’ll bring it to the table grandma.” Conrad said.

Conrad finishes cooking breakfast and turns off the stove as he starts to prepare the table. While he prepares the table, an idea struck him on how he will get his mother’s attention.

By the time Conrad finishes preparing the table for breakfast, his mother suddenly rushes to the front door. Conrad chases her to the front door and stops her from leaving.

“Conrad, I’m sorry but I need to leave for work.” She said holding on to her things. “My boss needs me to do something important for him.” She added.

“Can’t you do it after breakfast?” Conrad questioned her. “Besides, your shift doesn’t start this early. In fact, it starts in an hour and a half.” He added.

“How did you know about my schedule?” She asked in confusion.

“Mom, I helped you with the spreadsheet with your schedule just last week.” He said. “C’mon, you also said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” He added as he imitates her mother's voice.

“Alright, I’ll eat breakfast, but I’ll have to leave after.” She said after staring at Conrad for imitating her.

She puts her things on a table near the front door and joins Conrad and his grandmother for some breakfast. As she takes a seat, Conrad gives her a plate, a fork, and a glass of orange juice. While they’re eating, Conrad suggests that he’ll cook dinner tonight since he’ll only work until four in the afternoon today. They all agreed and his grandmother takes the hint that that will be his idea in getting her attention.

Minutes later, they finish eating breakfast and Conrad starts to clean up the table. He puts everything in the sink and his mother kisses him on the cheek as she leaves for work. With the front door closing, Conrad’s grandmother takes over in cleaning the dishes as she reminds Conrad that he still has work today. He says his thanks to his grandmother for taking over in washing the dishes. His grandmother also tells him to change his shirt since it smells like cooking breakfast. He goes back to his room to change his shirt and get his things before he leaves.

He goes into his room, gets a clean white short-sleeve button-up shirt in his dresser, and changes into it. By the time he wears the button-up shirt, he looks in the mirror and sighs knowing that he’ll be leaving the house soon. Noticing the time, he grabs his things and the key to his car as he goes down.

While going down the stairs, he notices his grandmother waiting by the staircase.

“Are you okay staying here by yourself grandma?” Conrad asked.

“I’ll be fine.” She answered

“Well, if you get hungry, there are leftovers in the fridge, you can heat up in the microwave.” He said, “Also if you get bored…”

“Let me stop you there.” She interrupted. “Don’t worry about me. I know how everything works in this house.” She added.

“Okay, I won’t.” He said as he kisses her grandmother on the cheeks. “See you later grandma.” He said as he leaves for work.

Closing the door behind him, he unlocks his car, goes inside, and starts it. He leaves their driveway and goes to work.