Resequencing DNA

The following morning, Aaron was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast at the kitchen counter that overlooked the living room. It was at that moment he heard the door to Wesley’s bedroom begin to open slowly before the bathroom door quickly slammed shut.

“Morning Wes,” shouted Aaron with a smirk, “I bet he’s rough this morning,” he thought as he turned around to switch on the kettle and grab two cups as he heard a groan in response come from the bathroom. Glancing up at the clock, Aaron noticed that it was already 10:20 Am, it was unlike Wesley to sleep in this late, even after having a drink the night before.

Aaron made two cups of coffee and carefully set one down on the table near the sofa, just in time for Wesley to emerge from the bathroom. As Wesley entered the living room, he made his way to the sofa and sat down before picking up the hot cup of coffee, his best friend had provided him with and proceeded to take a sip.

“Rough this morning are we?” asked Aaron, “Hungry?” he added as he began to plate up breakfast for himself.

“N…no, I can’t face it…coffee is enough,” replied Wesley rather gingerly.

“You okay?” asked Aaron.

“Erm…yeah…I guess…why?” Wesley answered as he took another sip of his coffee.

“I don’t know…you just seem…off I guess,” stated Aaron, “That wedding thing still getting to you huh?”

“Yeah…I guess so…I just feel a little worse for wear too,” replied Wesley, letting out a slight laugh before his face turned serious once again.

“Somethings on his mind…he seems quite awkward and nervous,” thought Aaron, “Do I pursue the matter…do I risk opening my stupid mouth as I always do?”

The pair sat in awkward silence for a few moments as Aaron ate his breakfast and Wesley drank his coffee.

“I guess you’re not at work today huh?” asked Aaron,

“Nope, I’ve decided to take the day off,” replied Wesley before the silence returned.

“Fuck it, I hate this awkwardness,” thought Aaron,

“What’s on your mind?” Aaron blurted out, breaking the silence once again, although once again wishing he hadn’t asked.

Wesley finished off his coffee and placed the cup down on the table before turning to look in Aaron’s direction. The look on Wesley’s face told Aaron that something was up with his friend, something was troubling him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“I…I erm….I can’t say…it’s ridiculous…” started Wesley, almost snapping his neck as he quickly looked away from Aaron and back in the direction of the T.V.

“What is…come on man, what’s up… you can tell me anything…just go for it,” said Aaron, now feeling intrigued as to what his friend was thinking.

“Well….” Said Wesley, taking a nervous gulp, “I was thinking this morning whilst I laid in bed… what if…what if there was a way…what if there was a way I could get around this whole wedding situation, whilst remaining… comfortable shall we say,” he explained.

“Ok…cool,” replied Aaron, placing his plate in the dishwasher before returning to sit on the sofa beside his friend. “So…why do you seem so nervous about it?” asked Aaron, taking out his cigarettes before placing one to his lips and lighting it.

“Well…would you…would you be willing to help me out?” asked Wesley nervously.

 Aaron took a drag of his cigarette as he sat back in his seat,

“Sure…I’d do anything for my best friend, you know I would,” answered Aaron, slapping Wesley’s shoulder playfully as he smiled.

“Are you sure…you would do…anything to help?” asked Wesley, his face turning rather serious.

“Why do I get the feeling he’s not telling me everything…” thought Aaron, “What’s the worst it could be?”

“Of course,” replied Aaron, even though he had a horrible knot in the pit of his stomach, “What are best friends for?” he added with a smile.

“Thanks, man, I honestly, really appreciate it, what would I do without you,” answered Wesley with a smile.

“Don’t mention it,” replied Aaron with a smile.

The pair sat in silence for around an hour watching the t.v before Aaron decided to speak up once more.

“So…I’m afraid to ask….what is it you need from me?” asked Aaron anxiously.

“I’ll explain the details at a later point in time…if that’s okay that is?” replied Wesley with a wry smile.

This made Aaron increasingly nervous, yet he trusted his friend enough not to question his intentions.

“Erm sure,” answered Aaron,

“I just need to work out how my plan is going to go…if that makes sense,” explained Wesley.

“Yeah…sure…just let me know when you need me,” stated Aaron with a smile.

“This makes sense…” thought Aaron, “Wes is a guy that relies on heavy planning, nothing out of the ordinary. The guy even doesn’t even go to the bathroom without planning for every possible outcome, so the fact he needs to meticulously plan something like this makes sense.”

“So…Aaron…are you working tonight?” asked Wesley rather curiously.

“Nope, I had a few days off to use so I thought fuck it, why not now. And seeing as though you’re at that wedding this weekend, I thought I might plan on doing something myself…I’m thinking of maybe packing up the tent and going away for a few nights, you know, just chilling,” explained Aaron, his eyes not drifting away from the T.v even once.

“Ah… yeah that’d be cool, I think I’ll be staying over the night of the wedding anyway, it’s on the grounds of my parent's house so why not, my old room is still there, plus it saves me getting back here after having a drink,” explained Wesley.

“That’s cool then….it’s not like the house isn’t big enough, the one time I went it was fucking huge, you could stay there and not even see your parents,” laughed Aaron, “Fuck I might camp on the grounds if I didn’t think your grumpy arsehole father would have me prosecuted for trespassing…I don’t think they like me very much,” he added with a chuckle.

“Hmph, yeah that’s true,” chuckled Wesley, “Hey…there is something I could use your help with this evening though… if you don’t mind,” he asked.

“Sure…what’s up,” replied Aaron with a smile.

“I got a text message from Linda at work earlier today asking if I’d pop in and look at the DNA resequencer, apparently it’s been a little skittish and with it being my project, I would prefer to be the one who looked at it. I would really appreciate it if you could give me a lift there and back…I don’t feel up to driving after drinking so much last night,” explained Wesley.

“Yeah sure, that’d be no problem at all…just let me know when you want to go, okay,” answered Aaron with a smile.