PART ONE – A CUP OF SELF-CONFIDENCE

“Go talk to her !” Jess shouted at Mark. They sat at the only place students could sit at 2 o’clock : The “MASTER BACHELOR” Café. A Café restaurant for students. Actually, it was an unwritten law. The Master Bachelor was a place for everyone. But most customers were students because it was located closely to the university, and it seemed that workers, professors, seniors felt uncomfortable in a place filled up with people at an age from 19 to 28.

Mark was shocked. Talking to her, that sentence didn’t make sense. You can’t just talk to her. Her ? Who is her, my dear reader, you may ask ?

She was, like in most stories, poems and novels, the most perfect and most beautiful girl in the town. The World. But I ain’t talking shit. She was a normal girl with normal hair, normal eyes, a normal voice and a normal family. So a normal human. Don’t worry. But for Mark, it was the most beautiful girl because he felt in love and, as everybody knows, falling in love makes you blind, so you didn’t see the character or the beauty of other people.

“I can’t talk to her, Jess.” , Mark said finally, “How can I just walk to her, Jess? You know that. She’s Christine. You didn’t go to a girl like her and just talk to her. It must be something special. Like a firework, Jess”. Jess was laughing. ” You are so crazy, wake up, Bro. That’s not a romantic movie. People go and talk to other people, and guess what ? It works. I know it sounds unbelievable, but it’s true.” Chris came to the table to take the order. Jess said to Chris” For me one mocha and for Mark a cup of self-confidence, please. ” “Stop talking shit, Jess. I have confidence. I’ll show you. For me one double espresso, Chris.” Oh! What a brave boy, Jess joked at Mark. “I’m here with you Jess. I can’t leave you here alone. It’s impolite.” “You’re sitting here like a sad clown and blaming the world that you’re not with your dream girl. You would do me a favor to leave me and try your luck on her so that we can finally close the I-stalking-always-my-girl-next-door chapter and open the next one.” “So, you are sure ?” Jess agreed one last time and Mark stood up from his chair and walked to Christine, who was sitting at a table next to the windows.

For Jess, it was the hardest thing to look at Mark with ice-cold eyes and say these words. A few days ago, she talked to Mark in a drunken condition at a house party and told him that she loved him. She had loved him from the first time they met at school. Mark didn’t recognize those words. He thought that Jess liked him very much as a friend. But Jess didn’t like him. She loved him for a long time and never told him the truth. She knew that he would always see her as a friend and if she wished the best for her love, she needed to let him go to another girl with whom he would be lucky. Jess was close to crying. Chris brought the café. “Where is Mark?”, he asked Jess. “He’s trying his luck. Finally, he dares to talk to Christine. You need to know that he had been in love with her for a long time, and she never noticed that. Unbelievable, it is so obvious how can he be so blind.” Chris was surprised and asked Jess “He ?”

Jess corrected herself. ” I mean “She”. It seems that he doesn’t need his cup with self-confidence anymore. He got it at last.”