Jack did not know what to expect from the woman who bothered him in a way that irritated him. You could say that it was not really his evening. After a busy week of a lot of work, things that were not solved and especially the case that kept the whole city busy, this was really something for him to take the rest, to forget everything about what happened and just enjoy a beer with his friends. His friends who now let him down, actually did not let themselves be heard and after half an hour sent him only a message, telling him they were coming, but did not know when. It did not make for a happy face with him, absolutely not, and of course that was really understandable. When something was wrong with him, it did not matter what, Jack could hardly accept that. It sometimes caused complicated situations at his workplace, especially because he was the leader of his own team. Jack was seen as a serious, sometimes miserable, searching agent. For many people it was difficult to work with him in a team, even his own boss hardly get control over him and let him go his own way. Of course he knew the risks of the work, of course he knew when he chose the wrong path, but Jack always knew what he was doing, every day, every moment. He did not let himself be stopped by other opinions, certainly not from other teams. Jack could work together, that was not a problem at all, but when it was his case, it was only his case. He ignored people who thought they knew better, that they were better than anyone else, but he believed in the talents of his team members. It was that he was allowed to choose them and that a few belonged to his group of friends, but he was like that. You could say what you think of him, but it did not interest him much. He believed in what the people were, deep inside, straight from the heart. And the people who knew him knew exactly how he was, different from what the strangers thought. But his job was actually everything for him, he would do everything to find the solution. And perhaps that was his biggest obstacle.
Actually, from the moment Jack took his first steps towards her, he did not know exactly what her idea was, why she thought she was funny to throw scraps of paper at him, just because she was bored. Certainly how he felt now, he could hardly accept this. Yet he could not deny that it was a woman with a good appearance, she actually looked perfect and yet he felt a kind of strange feeling flowing through his body. What was the matter with him? “ Then you go to the playground. And when you do that, I will have here the rest I was looking for. ” he said slowly nodding, but apparently she did not want to listen to him and she did not care about every word he said. Just when he wanted to tell what he thought of it, she turned her focus on other people in the cafe. What was she doing? Was she trying to steal the show? Did she want attention from other men? Jack actually could not follow what was happening and looked surprised when she seemed angry. Jack took a sip of his beer and actually he could enjoy it here. This was more spectacular than what the whole game was. Slowly he began to think she was drunk, that she was calling things she would not know tomorrow. Jack shrugged and shook his head as the man on the other side of the cafe looked at him as if he were her boyfriend. When Jack gave the sign that that was absolutely not the truth, he wanted to turn around and walk back to his own table, waiting for his friends who would have to arrive at a moment, until her focus was on him again. Again he could hardly follow her, she talked a lot and there seemed to be no stop. Jack nodded, pretended he understood everything she said and gave the sign to the bartender for a new beer, but also one for you. Apparently she managed to get his attention, because he stopped and normally he would immediately walk away and no longer seek contact with her. Something in her said something to him, something in him made him stand with you. “ I’m not going to do anything with you, if that’s what you hope,” he said with a cautious smile on his face, shaking his head again. When she started talking about her life, that she often made the bad choices, he took a sip of his new beer, what was given by the bartender. “ Making bad choices is perhaps something you should do more often. Often these are the right choices, only you must have no fear and be afraid to try that. Only then will you be successful. ” he said in a clear voice as he looked around to see if there were people who focused attention on them. “ Jack is the name. And more than that you will not know, that is something I can promise you. Unless you come with very unexpected things. And win from me? That’s never going to happen. I will not let myself be defeated like the team what is now behind the facts in this match. ” he said in a voice as if he were challenging someone. Actually his friends could now wait for him, she seemed to win his attention and it even seemed a bit exciting. Exciting… that was something Jack did not experience much with other girls, but she was special in a way he did not know very often. He still could not understand what was going on, but this would be an evening he would not soon forget.
Marina glanced at him before giving him what she assumed was the longest eye roll in the history of times. “You mean go back to this drag they’re calling a soccer match? Or maybe you mean going back to sitting there by yourself, looking hopefully at your phone every time it buzzes. Let me tell you something,” she paused in her words, giving him a few moments to properly adjust to the announcement she was about to make. “Whoever you’re waiting for isn’t coming. And if they were, are you sure they would be worth all the time you’ve already wasted waiting here? Cause, in my books, very few people actually are.” Marina stated. Her words might have been harsh, but they came from the experiences she had had. Unfortunately, it seemed like Marina had only had the opportunity to see the worst in others, which naturally turned her into someone skeptical and cynical. She didn’t easily allow others in, and she was under the constant assumption that they would just let her down at one point or another. If she convinced herself they weren’t worthy, it was uncomplicated for her to keep them away, or for her to just walk away as if nothing had ever happened. Marina didn’t care what others think or how they might perceive her for her sometimes aloof behavior. This was her life, and she was tired of letting people break her heart. She wouldn’t allow anyone else to do it ever again. With that being said, it was clear that patience wasn’t one of Marina’s virtues. Whenever she was supposed to wait for anyone, if they took more than ten minutes to show up without reasonable explanation, she was out. And, depending on the person, she would never speak to them again. She had learned, in a disturbing way, after all, to give herself more value, and respect the sort of person that she was, regardless of other people. Those who liked her wouldn’t require her to change her ways. Those who didn’t, didn’t matter after all.
When the man she had shown the finger began acting as if she needed to be restrained, Marina gritted her teeth, jaw clenching. “Now, you listen to me very carefully,” she warned. “I do not need a babysitter. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, and if anything happens,” a dry sound of laughter erupted from her lips. “He’s not going to be the one who holds me back, so I suggest you mind your own damn business,” she dismissed, sipping her beer in order to calm herself down. Marina hated when people acted like that, as if she was crazy for calling them out on their bullshit. Suddenly, she was the bad person just for saying things like they were. It was a sad, sad world they were living in, one in which one would prefer to blame others for something they were guilty of. It was pathetic. Soon enough, that bottle was gone and replaced by the one he was paying. “Funny you should mention that,” Marina refuted his statement. “Because I could so easily argue your logic. I mean, didn’t you just buy me a drink? I don’t know if it’s something different where you’re from, but where I come from, this actually qualifies as doing something. So, I’m confused. What exactly did you mean?” Marina wondered, a pleased little smile playing on her features as she said it, basically because she wanted to see what he would do when his words were twisted against him, oh, and how she enjoyed finding these loopholes! “Success and failure are matters of perspective. My parents find me a huge disappointment and would label me as a failure at any given time. Does that mean I agree with their point of view? Absolutely not. I may not have followed the path they have traced for me, but I’ve managed things on my own. That means something to me, so, even if the course I’ve made alone has led to countless mishaps, the fact that I’m still here, proves it had its dose of success. People just end up getting too fixated on an ideal, and, sometimes that’s not where the focus should be. Sometimes the journey is what really matters,” Marina shrugged her shoulders, the comment seeming actually quite deep given their initial interaction. “I have a question for you. Has anyone ever told you, you sound like one of those self-help books? Because you do. I wonder, when was the last time you actually went ahead and did something you considered ‘a bad choice’?” She taunted, drawing air quotations around the expression. “Just checking whether you’re one of those who live by ‘do as I say and not as I do,’” she pointed out. “Okay, so, maybe I was wrong about the name part,” she started, her tone anticipating there would be an adversative to follow that sentence. “You do give your name out just like that,” Marina flicked her hand, as if it meant it wasn’t a big deal. “Which doesn’t mean I will do the same for you, Jack,” she used the name he had given her. “You want to remain a mystery, that’s fine by me. We meet an extraordinary amount of people we won’t ever see again anyway. But it’s gonna take a whole lot more of you to drag anything from me. Could be a fun little game.” She found herself smirking. “Does that mean you don’t like losing, Jack?” Her voice posed almost a dare.