beep beep beep
beep beep beep
....
beep beep beep
"Alright, alright, I'm up," Keith groaned as he turned off the the alarm he had set, he checked for the time on his phone, 6:40 am, he dreaded waking up early, but he had to as his job required him to be there by 8:00am.
He stepped out of bed and walked out of his room, the apartment he lived in was fairly large, there were five rooms and a balcony, the living room which had a couch, coffee table and a TV, the kitchen which was openly connected to the living room, the balcony which came out from one side if the kitchen and had a single lawn chair and a few potted plants, a bathroom down the hall from the living room, and two bedrooms, one for him and one for his roommate, Cole.
The bathroom door opened and out stepped Cole, he had just taken a shower as he was wiping his hair with a towel, "You're finally up, that alarm has been going off for 10 minutes," he teased, "I guess I should actually be happy, this is the shortest time you have spent before waking up,".
"Well at least I don't take forever in the shower," Keith retorted.
"Yeah yeah yeah, you know I have to shave everyday not everyone can be like you,". He wasn't wrong Keith's beard took weeks to grow out so he barely shaved, he just kept a bit of stubble unlike his friend Cole whose beard grew so much that he needed to shave daily.
"Anyway, Happy birthday, man," Cole said changing the subject," How does it feel to finally be twenty one after all these years," he teased.
"Hey you were twenty one just last year too,"
"Yeah, but I'm not anymore"
"Whatever".
Cole always did this partly because he was older than him by one year but mostly because they were best friends. Ever since they met studying the same course in college they had stuck together.
"So how are we celebrating this year? " Cole asked as he headed into his room to dress up.
"I don't know, maybe same as last year, we just hang out here, invite a few friends..."
"Seriously, again," Cole said as he walked out of his room dressed for work as he continued, "Come on, live a little, I can invite some of my friends and we can...."
"No", Kieth spoke up, he knew what Cole meant when he said 'invite a few friends' it was going to turn into a while full out party and he wasn't about to spend his birthday at a party full of people he didn't know.
"Oh! come one, why do you always have to be such a buzz kill, "
"I'm not a buzz kill, I'm just not as confident around new people,"
"Whatever you say," Cole said sarcastically, "Fine I can arrange a little get together, our personal friends only, you can invite your sister but can we atleast go to a bar or something"
"Fine," Keith said giving in, "But no hitting on my sister," Keith knew Cole had always had the hugest crush on his sister ever since thet met, she was around Cole's age and was also a bit of a party animal like him.
"Hey!" Cole said making himself a cup of coffee, "I'm hurt by that, you know I have a girlfriend,"
"Yeah, that's what you said the last two times"
"Well this time is different, I really have a connection"
"Sure," Keith said in disbelief, "Hey, can you make some coffee for me too."
"Nah, make some yourself, I'm gonna be late for work" Cole said jokingly as he grabbed his coat and headed out the door.
"Fine" Keith said as he rubbed his eyes.
He checked the time and saw that it was just 6:50, it had always amazed him that even though he and Cole studied the same course, Cole ended up getting a better job and earning more money, he couldn't help but be a bit jealous, someone so wild and out going was also surprisingly smart and organized, it was a strange mix but Cole made it work.
Keith just sighed and headed to the shower.
************
"Happy birthday indeed," a mysterious voice said, "it's almost time to begin. "