I woke up to the spinning of the ceiling fan. I hopped out of bed and walked downstairs to get some water. I held onto the railing and slowly went down step by step. I heard my phone buzz from upstairs. I thought it was in my hand? I shook it off and grabbed a glass from the top shelf. I filled it up with water and put a few ice cubes into it. After chugging the water, I walked back upstairs to get my phone. It wasn’t on my nightstand where I thought it was. I searched for it, but I realized it was in my pocket the whole time. I checked the weather so that I could decide what to wear for the day. High of 49, Low of 40. I pulled out my favorite blue sweater and a pair of black leggings. After, I went into the bathroom and brushed through my thick, brown hair. The tangles came undone and my natural waves were uncovered. I grabbed a hair tie and threw my hair into a braid. 

Just as I was going to grab my phone again, I heard the doorbell ring. Puzzled, I went downstairs and looked through the peephole. There stood a man with short, blonde hair, and a giant smile. He was holding a bouquet of flowers filled with buttercups, roses, and tulips. I didn’t remember this man, yet he looked so familiar. I was sure I hadn’t met him though. I also didn’t remember inviting him to my house, especially when my parents weren’t home. 

“Who is it?” I called from inside of the house.

“It’s me, Simon! I brought your favorite flowers,” he called. 

Simon? Favorite flowers? I was confused. Yes, buttercups, roses, and tulips were my favorite, but I’ve never met a Simon ever before in my life.

“How do you know me?” I called suspiciously. 

“You have to remember me! We met last night at the party. You were there with Grace and Lily. We met and we drank all night. We kissed and you told me to meet you at your house,” he called, sounding desperate for me to remember any of the memories. 

I could faintly remember getting dressed up and seeing Grace and Lily. But a party? I never go to parties. Especially with Grace and Lily. This story didn’t make much sense. 

“How can I trust you?” I replied. 

“You told me that your favorite food is popcorn!” he called in an eager voice. 

That was true. Popcorn was my favorite food. I always tell anyone I meet that. It’s a good conversation starter. 

Convinced that he was who he really said, I opened the door. He was about 6 inches taller than me and thus, looked down as he spoke to me. He had a soft expression on his face that made him seem welcoming and kind. He had blue eyes and dark brown hair that covered almost all of his forehead. 

“Hi, Emily! Is everything okay? You said you wanted to get pancakes, but I guess I could come another day. Or I guess you could wear your PJs to breakfast,” he said kindly. 

I looked down to see I was still wearing my dark grey sweatpants and an “ I Heart New York” t-shirt. Strange.  

“Wait a minute, I still don’t exactly know who you are,” I said.

“Well, I know that you have two best friends named Grace and Lily, your favorite food is popcorn, and your favorite flowers are buttercups, roses, and tulips!” 

This was all true, but he also had already said all of these things. He honestly didn’t know much about me at all. And I still didn’t remember him. 

“I’m sorry, I just don’t remember you.”

“Well even if you don’t, can we start over again? My name is Simon, and I would like to take you to breakfast.”

I thought about it for a minute. I contemplated going with him. What if he really wasn’t who he said he is? But what if I was just being delusional?

“Ok, I believe you. I’ll get ready and I’ll go to breakfast with you.”

“Great. I’ll wait outside.”

I walked back up the stairs and into my room. I looked in the mirror to see that I was wearing the outfit that I originally thought I had on. I shrugged and walked back downstairs.  I grabbed my hat and walked back outside. Simon turned to me and smiled. We walked over to his car. It was a blue Toyota that had a bumper sticker that said, “Harvard University”. I got in the passenger seat and he started to drive. We stayed silent, but I watched the orange and red leaves on the trees fly by as we went down the road.

After 10 minutes, we got to Joe’s Diner. The breeze was so strong that it whipped around my hair as I was walking towards the entrance with Simon. 

“How many?” the waitress with platinum blonde hair asked me.

“Two, please,” I said to her.

Simon sat down on the other side of the booth and removed his bomber jacket and black hat. I took off my coat and set it aside.

“What are you going to order?” Simon asked me, breaking the silence.

“I think I’ll have pancakes.”

“Me too.”

We sat there, looking at each other as we sipped our coffee. He hadn’t stopped smiling since he had knocked on my door. Simon was so cheerful; I couldn’t believe that I could forget him with that kind of personality.

“Hello, what can I getcha today?” the waitress said in a thick New York accent.

“Can we have two orders of pancakes?” I asked.

“Sure thing sweetie. I guess you’re pretty hungry!” the waitress said as she walked away from my booth. Strange.

“Emily, I’ll be right back. I’m going to the bathroom,” Simon announced with a cheerful face.

I nodded and sat back in my seat. I looked around at the cakes spinning in their display. There was red velvet, my favorite. I smiled and grabbed my phone out of my pocket. There were two missed calls from Grace. Puzzled, I called her back.

“Hello?”

“Hey, where are you? We had to see the movie without you. You said you were coming!”

“What are you talking about?”

“We made a plan to go see the movie and then get some food after. You totally ditched us!”

“I am so sorry. I completely forgot. I’m with Simon right now.”

“Simon? Who’s Simon?”

“He was at the party last night. He even knew your names.”

“I don’t know who you’re with right now. We met no one last night at the party. We were together the entire time.”

My face turned pale and my hands started shaking. 

“I’m going to have to call you back,” I said, hanging up the phone. 

I looked around the diner, and Simon was nowhere to be found. If that was even his name. How could I be so stupid? I knew something was off about him. 

“Sorry sweetie, but the pancakes are already ready,” the waitress said to me. 

“That’s fine. You can take one of the plates back though. The guy that I was with will not be sitting here,” I said to her.

“Honey, what are you talking about? There was no one with you in the first place. Are you feeling alright?” the waitress said, looking deeply concerned. 

I widened my eyes and looked down at my feet. What was going on?

“I’m going to bring you another coffee, Sweetie, that should do you some good,” the waitress said.

She walked back over to the kitchen and I was left alone. I started feeling lightheaded and dizzy. I took a few bites of my pancakes, then saturated them in syrup. I needed to collect myself. The waitress brought me my coffee and a packet of sugar. I dumped it in and took a sip. 

………

30 minutes had passed, and I had long finished both my coffee and pancakes. Simon was still nowhere to be found. I paid for my check and left the waitress a generous tip. I dragged my feet outside and directed my eyes over to Grace’s car. She honked and waved at me to get my attention. I walked over to the car and got in the back seat. Grace and Lily turned to me with sad eyes. 

“Thanks for picking me up,” I said, still looking wary. 

“No problem. You just need to stop doing this. This is the third time this month,” Grace said. 

I nodded and closed my eyes. I needed to rest.