It was my first weekend morning, waking up without roommates whose tiniest sounds could drag me out of sleep. Now this was life. Before heading to the bathroom, I pulled up my most upbeat playlist on my laptop and hit play.
I slipped into a comfy pair of leggings and one of my matching sweatshirts. After giving the messy bun on top of my head a quick check, I was ready to head out.
My first stop was the little café on the ground floor of the building, where I treated myself to a quiet, delicious breakfast. The sun was at that perfect spring warmth—gentle enough not to suffocate you, warm enough to feel good. Fueled by breakfast, I moved on to the first mission of the day.
I sighed helplessly as I stared at the final state of my shopping cart. The tiny amount of muscle mass I possessed whispered that there was no way I could carry all of this on my own. So I immediately called one of my oldest friends from school.
"Hey, my dearest neighbour, what's up?.. I'm fine. Can I ask you for a favor?.. If you're free, could you come to the market and help me? I may have… slightly overdone it with the shopping. Okay, I'll wait." When needed, I could flatter people well enough to end a war. It was one of my core survival skills. I hung up and headed to the checkout.
By the time I finished packing everything into bags, Yiğit had arrived. His eyebrows shot up when he saw me surrounded by bags of every size.
"Since we're not expecting a famine anytime soon, what's all this? Doomsday prepping?"
I laughed and lightly smacked his arm. "Stop teasing and help me." I handed him the heaviest bags and took the rest myself.
"Don't you think it's about time you found a decent-looking, strong, smart, funny guy?"
"Why do I feel like I've been caught sneaking out by my mom's knitting-circle friends?"
"See? This many people care about you. What more do you want, you heartless creature!"
"It's all your fault; you keep raising my standards."
And I meant that sincerely. My friend was both handsome and the kind of genuinely polite guy you barely encountered these days. Plus, he was full of entertaining stories you could listen to for hours without getting bored.
"Sure you do. Which is why you always manage to find the biggest jerks around!"
He wasn't exactly wrong about that. Aside from a guy I briefly dated back in high school as a 'why not,' I hadn't had a single proper relationship. And on the rare occasions I actually liked someone, it always ended in disappointment—turns out they were either cheating on their girlfriends or just hunting for a bit of short-term fun.
"Ugh, okay fine, I'm done looking at men altogether. I'll apply to a convent soon and continue my career as a nun. It's a respectable profession, you know—might even take me all the way to the Vatican."
"You'd probably end up crushing on one of the gay priests, anyway."
I narrowed my eyes and shot him an annoyed look. "Your faith in me is genuinely touching."
He winked and grinned. "This is what we call experience honey."
By then, we had reached my apartment door. I set the bags down at the entrance.
"If you're not busy, come in for a coffee."
"I promised Pelin I'd go to the movies with her. And even if I hadn't, a single coffee wouldn't be enough after hauling your groceries. You owe me a full meal, you evil minion."
"As long as you don't lecture me about my terrible taste in men, I'm fine with that."
He smirked. "And give up my favorite hobby? Not a chance."
I shrugged and laughed. "Hey, at least I tried."
"See you, minion."
"See you buddy."