oke quickly to bring his attention back up to my face. “Hi, Chris, how's it going?”
“Hey. I'm alright. Pretty hungover, but surviving, yo. What's going on?”
I had forgotten that he lived here, as well. I had really hoped that it would have been Emerson who opened the door.
“Well, I'm volunteering for RAG at college. Have you heard of them?”
“Not interested,” said Chris flatly.
Well, that was pretty downright rude.
“Hang on a second, I haven't even—”
“I've got no spare cash right now, okay? Sorry.” His tone said it all. There was no way he was gonna buy one of the plants.
I sighed and turned away. “Alright, no worries,” I said in a resigned tone. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“Later,” he said, before closing the door in my face.
What a jerk. I couldn't believe Emerson was friends with that guy. As I turned around to walk down the hall though, I saw a familiar silhouette rounding the corner, coming out of the stairwell.
“Emerson!”
“Hey, Brooke, how's it going? Were you just coming out of my place?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I was trying to see if you guys were interested in buying a plant or two for charity, but your roommate wasn't, uh, wasn't very receptive.”
“Oh, sorry about that. I guess he's feeling pretty hungover from last night.”
“And you? You were looking a few sheets to the wind when I saw you on the roof last night.”
He chuckled self-effacingly. “Yeah, I was a bit, but trust me, I wasn't blasted. I actually feel alright. I stayed out on the roof for a while after you went in and then drank a ton of water and ate something before bed. I got a decent amount of sleep, so I felt okay when I woke up.”
“That's good to know. Anyways, I gotta get going and sell some of these plants.”
“Well, hold up a sec, I'll take a couple of 'em. How much are they?”
“Awesome, thanks! Pretty much however much you wanna donate.”
“So, will you take like, ten cents for one of those bad boys?” he said with a wink.
I fired a fierce mock-glare at him. “I'd rather eat it than sell it to you for ten cents, Emerson.”
“I'm kidding, I'm kidding,” he said with a chuckle. “What charity is it for, anyway?”
“It's for the Johnson Children's Home. It's a charity downtown.”
“You know, I've actually heard of that. They do a lot of good things for inner city kids. They get 'em motivated and inspired and give them opportunities to better themselves and learn new skills. Yeah, I'm totally down to support an initiative like that. And, good on you for volunteering to do something like this. You never cease to amaze me.”
My cheeks heated as I tried to avoid making direct eye contact. I didn’t want anything else heating up, too. “Aw, thanks, Emerson! I've always had a soft spot for helping others. I've been doing charity work since I was a kid. Started out tagging along with my mom when she went. It's something I think everyone should do at least once in a while.”
“Ya know, you’re right. Not that I've done much myself, but yeah, more people should get involved. It really would make the world a better place.”
“It certainly would.”
“Alright, I've got twenty bucks on me. Is that enough for two of those plants?”
“Yeah, that's perfect. Thanks! Which ones do you want?”