“Our drinks will be ready in a couple of minutes,” notified Linh as he pulled out his markers from the canvas bag and asked Aster, “Could I draw on your arm?”
Aster unwrapped himself from his arms and stretched one out while pulling down the sleeves of his oversized hoodie. Linh leaned in to start doodling on his arms and Aster shivered on the first contact as the cold wet touch of the marker began marking him. Aster’s eyes wandered the room while Linh concentrated on drawing on his arms, allowing him to note that the sun was already setting. The cafe they were in had the perfect golden tint to it, with the angle of the sunset casting long shadows across the room. Although the sun responded with a softened glare as if it were exhausted, it had already completed its mission of providing free sunburns to those who were within its sight for too long.
Aster refocused back to Linh as he had finished drawing a few sketches across his arm.
“Look! It’s a really fancy duck!” Aster looked down to find that the so-called fancy duck was merely an excessively shaded rubber duck with an exceptionally large stovepipe top hat about twice as tall as the duck itself. Linh beamed at Aster, clearly expecting a positive response, which he offered: “This duck truly was in good hands.”
Linh bounced his head. “These hands of mine are good for many, many things,” he said, which Aster could only acknowledge with an eyebrow raise.
“Linh, your drink is ready,” called out one of the barista’s within the room. Aster began to rise from his seat.
“I’ll get it.”
Aster put his hands on the table to lift himself up instead of scooting back to walk to the front to grab his drink. He saw the barista who held their drinks and walked up.
“What’s up, Aster! What have you been up to?” called out the barista.
Aster replied, “Oh hey, Renata, I heard our drinks are ready?”
Renata leaned over the counter to grab their drinks and twirled around to face Aster, looking him up and down. “That’s quite the duck you got there on your arm. I don’t remember you drawing like that,” she said, before she shrugged and smiled while handing him the drink. “But who am I to judge? Go you. Enjoy your pink drink and pumpkin spice latte.”
Aster took the drinks while saying, “Linh drew this. I’ll extend your compliments to him.” While Aster turned around to return his table, Renata reached over, taking his shoulder and used the momentum to spin him back to face her.
“Hey, I’m off my shift in thirty minutes, just wondering, will you still be around?” Renata inquired. Aster hesitated for a moment to register what had just occurred before nodding. “Of course I will be. I’ll probably stay around until we complete our work.”
Renata let go, content with the response before letting herself be whisked away back to her work. Aster went back to sit down with Linh, handing him his pink drink.
Linh’s face brightened as he reached for his drink. “My pinkity drinkity!”
Aster sat down back into his seat, glancing over at the sugary pink drink Linh was so delighted with while sipping his pumpkin spice latte. He pulled out his digital art pad from his backpack and began doodling each of his characters again. Aster’s perception of the cafe dwindled, the bubble of his awareness becoming smaller until it only centered on just his pad, with Linh following suit and working on his code beside him.
The gentle clicks of the keyboard filling the background and the smooth strokes on the tablet were all he focused on. His canvas was slowly being filled with his characters together in different outfits and poses. After getting weary of drawing the same characters so many times, Aster began to find himself drawing his best friend. A small smile spread across his face as he drew a few sketches of Linh concentrating on his work, before Aster drew him in a regal robe with flowers growing off of it and his hair.
Linh had noticed him stealing a few glances, so he started to sporadically shift his pose and angles to the frustration of Aster. He began to fail to maintain the consistent shape of amused Linh in his drawing pad with his messy lineart. Linh continued until he almost tripped a passing person as he leaned back with his legs spread like a pterodactyl. This left Aster chiding Linh on manners, while Linh apologized profusely to the patron.
Aster unwrapped himself from his arms and stretched one out while pulling down the sleeves of his oversized hoodie. Linh leaned in to start doodling on his arms and Aster shivered on the first contact as the cold wet touch of the marker began marking him. Aster’s eyes wandered the room while Linh concentrated on drawing on his arms, allowing him to note that the sun was already setting. The cafe they were in had the perfect golden tint to it, with the angle of the sunset casting long shadows across the room. Although the sun responded with a softened glare as if it were exhausted, it had already completed its mission of providing free sunburns to those who were within its sight for too long.
Aster refocused back to Linh as he had finished drawing a few sketches across his arm.
“Look! It’s a really fancy duck!” Aster looked down to find that the so-called fancy duck was merely an excessively shaded rubber duck with an exceptionally large stovepipe top hat about twice as tall as the duck itself. Linh beamed at Aster, clearly expecting a positive response, which he offered: “This duck truly was in good hands.”
Linh bounced his head. “These hands of mine are good for many, many things,” he said, which Aster could only acknowledge with an eyebrow raise.
“Linh, your drink is ready,” called out one of the barista’s within the room. Aster began to rise from his seat.
“I’ll get it.”
Aster put his hands on the table to lift himself up instead of scooting back to walk to the front to grab his drink. He saw the barista who held their drinks and walked up.
“What’s up, Aster! What have you been up to?” called out the barista.
Aster replied, “Oh hey, Renata, I heard our drinks are ready?”
Renata leaned over the counter to grab their drinks and twirled around to face Aster, looking him up and down. “That’s quite the duck you got there on your arm. I don’t remember you drawing like that,” she said, before she shrugged and smiled while handing him the drink. “But who am I to judge? Go you. Enjoy your pink drink and pumpkin spice latte.”
Aster took the drinks while saying, “Linh drew this. I’ll extend your compliments to him.” While Aster turned around to return his table, Renata reached over, taking his shoulder and used the momentum to spin him back to face her.
“Hey, I’m off my shift in thirty minutes, just wondering, will you still be around?” Renata inquired. Aster hesitated for a moment to register what had just occurred before nodding. “Of course I will be. I’ll probably stay around until we complete our work.”
Renata let go, content with the response before letting herself be whisked away back to her work. Aster went back to sit down with Linh, handing him his pink drink.
Linh’s face brightened as he reached for his drink. “My pinkity drinkity!”
Aster sat down back into his seat, glancing over at the sugary pink drink Linh was so delighted with while sipping his pumpkin spice latte. He pulled out his digital art pad from his backpack and began doodling each of his characters again. Aster’s perception of the cafe dwindled, the bubble of his awareness becoming smaller until it only centered on just his pad, with Linh following suit and working on his code beside him.
The gentle clicks of the keyboard filling the background and the smooth strokes on the tablet were all he focused on. His canvas was slowly being filled with his characters together in different outfits and poses. After getting weary of drawing the same characters so many times, Aster began to find himself drawing his best friend. A small smile spread across his face as he drew a few sketches of Linh concentrating on his work, before Aster drew him in a regal robe with flowers growing off of it and his hair.
Linh had noticed him stealing a few glances, so he started to sporadically shift his pose and angles to the frustration of Aster. He began to fail to maintain the consistent shape of amused Linh in his drawing pad with his messy lineart. Linh continued until he almost tripped a passing person as he leaned back with his legs spread like a pterodactyl. This left Aster chiding Linh on manners, while Linh apologized profusely to the patron.