Leonardo was nervous to leave the room at first. I had to coax him outside, which he finally agreed to. We took the stairs down to the lobby and then out the front doors. Leonardo froze for a second at the doorway, gazing out worriedly. "I'm not sure about this…." I paused to gaze back at him. "It'll be alright, Leonardo; I'm here." "Yeah but I… I've never done this before. I feel so…. open and exposed." My eyes locked upon him for a second before a comforting grin crossed my face. "Come on, Blue. It will be ok, I promise." Leonardo took him time decide to whether or not he could trust me. But eventually, he breathed a deep breath and crossed the threshold. Once he did, his eyes grew in surprise, delight, bewilderment, and whole whack of other emotions as he beheld the Scottish city for the first time. I smiled at his positive reaction. "Welcome to Edinburgh, Blue."
Leonardo's jitters morphed to pure, unadulterated excitement. His eyes were wider than I'd ever seen them, constantly soaking in everything around us. "Everything's so old!" He gasped enthusiastically. "Why are the buildings' so short? The street is actually made of cobble stones! Oh, look at that! Look, look!" I couldn't help but enjoy his elation. He kept pointing to and addressing random things as we passed them; there was so much that I barely had time to keep up. "This place is soooooo cool!" The turtle proclaimed loudly. "Glad you like it."
My heart skipped a beat however, as Leonardo suddenly scaled the building beside us, climbing to the roof. "Leonardo! What are you doing?! Get down from there!" "Whoa! I didn't there was a castle here!" He completely ignored me. "Is that a real castle? Like real real?" "Leonardo, please come down! That's really not safe!" I begged again, only to notice some older man looking at me in perplexity. "Uh, h-hi," my lips forced an awkward grin. "Oh, look Alcmene! The ocean!" He pointed in the opposite direction of the castle. "Blue, I really have to get to school. Please! We can go to the castle later," my voice was more hushed this time. "Get down!" "Don't worry," Leonardo hopped down in one jump, causing showing off is cool. "I do this all the time at home. Staying on the rooftops lets us get around easier," his arms folded. The turtle only continued at the confused and slightly concerned expression on my face. "Uh, we're not invisible back in New York. We're very visible." "Well, ok," I let out a sigh. "As long as you're used to it. Now come on, we're gonna be late."
I brought Leonardo to my high school which was located near the university. "Huh," he paused only for a second at the main gate. "What?" "I've never seen a high school like this before?" "Really?" I gazed back at it. Looked normal enough to me. It was a four-hundred-year-old, grey-stone building. Yes, it was old but a lot of schools were here. I took him across the yard and inside to where the cultural booths were set up. Our club- the Creative Writer's club- had our stall in the basement, purely because that's where all the tables and chairs were.
"Why are you doing this again?" Leonardo asked me as we descended the stairs. "All students have to join one club. Each club hosts a fundraising booth, or café in our case, for a week during the world's festival." "World's festival?" His eyebrow rose. "It's kinda like a cultural festival. Every club makes money for the school and in exchange, we get credit? I don't know the details, that's our president's job." "And he decided that you guys would do a café?" "Uh, yeah. He has this thing with maid cafés; the ones like in anime from Japan. And since he's kinda bossy, that's what we're doing all week." "I see," Leonardo had never heard of a maid café before and was a little curious to see what they were like. I mean it sound unpleasant to work at but really, how bad could they be?
I got to the door which was locked. That's odd, Scott should be here already. I unlocked and opened the door, only to find to my horror an empty café. There was a note resting on the counter, which I assumed was for me. Leonardo followed me inside, inspecting around while I read it out loud: Dear Alcmene, sorry but you're going to run the café alone this afternoon. Gair and Fionn have class, Tam Lin and Oisin have an algebra midterm, and I'm at the dentist. I'm sure you'll make it work. Good Luck!
I let out a loud shriek, catching Leonardo off guard. "What's wrong?!" "I'm the only one working the café this afternoon!" "Oh?" His big fingers took the note from my hand to give a once over. "Well, this can be a good thing!" "How? Do you know how much work a café is?" "No! Don't you see? You're the only one here, so why don't you shut it down for the afternoon?" An eager smile bloomed across his lips. "We can go to the castle! I bet they really cool medieval swords there." I let a little sigh. "Sorry, Blue; I'd love nothing more but I have to work today. We get a dimeter if we're closed for a whole day this week, plus Scott would kill me if I left now. No, I'm gonna have to stay and run this place by myself…. Somehow."
In reality, I should have called Gair or Fionn for help; god knows how they'd want and expect me to. But I knew they already skipped class to check in on me this morning. Just for curiosity's sake, I pulled out my I-phone; there were three unread text messages. Fionn's read: Hey Meny, how r u doing? U ok? The one from Oisin read: Hi babe. Sorry I couldn't cover my shift this afternoon; forgot about that pesky algebra midterm. But I'd appreciate a pic of u in ur maid uniform anyway ;) And finally Tam Lin's said: Greetings Alcmene. I sincerely regret to inform you that I will be unable to complete my shift at the café today. There is an ill-timed algebra test I must attend with Oisin. I assure you that you will be fairly compensated for the inconvenience. Yours respectfully, Tam Lin.
Ugh! They were all useless! I know that's pretty mean to think of your friends but I was more than annoyed right now, given the situation. Leonardo meanwhile, seemed to be having a great old time. Well at least that's one less thing I had to worry about. I knew he'd be bored if he stayed around for my whole shift, so I had half a mind to tell him to go explore the city if he'd like. This went against my original plan, but it was pretty clear by now that he was invisible to everyone but me. But that would leave me here alone… alone, in a maid costume, on a high school campus. Hmmmmm, maybe I could think of a better idea, and I did within seconds. Leonardo didn't look like he had much experience with café food but perhaps we could strike a deal.
"Blue?" "Yes?" Leonardo called from behind the counter he was inspecting. "How would feel about this? I work out front, greeting and serving customers while you make the drinks and food?" He looked up at me in surprise. "I can't cook; that's Mikey's job." I assumed Mikey was another turtle but I didn't have time to ask about that. "You don't have to cook; just make parfaits and cut cake and stuff." "Hmmmmm, I'm not sure," his fingers twiddled a tad. "Please, Leonardo; I don't know what else to do. I can't run this place by myself, despite what Scott thinks," I added under my breath. "And if you help me, I'll get takeaway for dinner from anywhere you want." "Really?" This seemed to entice him. "Yep!" "Well, ok… but you're gonna have to tell me what to do." "Perfect, thank you! Just stay behind the counter; I'll bring the orders to you."
In the half an hour we had before official opening, I had just enough time to teach him how to make a chocolate and strawberry parfait as well as pots of tea. Then, with minutes to spare, I ran to get changed into the maid outfit Scott bought online for me. Oh god, why did we have to have such an eccentric club president? He was more like an anime character than real person, I groaned inwardly. But no time to worry about that now; I quickly got changed and ran to open the front door. The mid-day bell rang indicating that all booths were supposed to be open for business now. Oh great, my eyes rolled as I opened the door to the make-shift café. Well, this wasn't my decision and it'll be hell to pay if I don't comply; here goes nothing.
As expected, no one came for the first twenty minutes or so, even though I did rush to get us open. Leonardo was busy making himself an ice cream sundae- a lot of ice cream sundaes- over behind the counter. It didn't have a clear view of the dining area so no one could see that heh, "no one" was making the orders. I was sitting at a table bored when he called out to me. "So what is a maid café exactly?" He finally got around to asking. "It's like a regular café expected you're served by maids- both male and female." "Guys can be maids?" "Male-servants, yes," I sighed. "So what makes it Japanese?" "It's a Japanese idea; we don't have them here in Europe. I had to watch all of Maid-Sama and He is My Master in preparation." "You what watched now?"
Before I could answer, someone appeared at the doorway. It was two guys, likely twelfth graders. Oh, it's show time! I immediately jumped to my feet racing over to stand in front of them. I bowed as respectively as possible, making myself consistently grin. "Welcome home, Master." Oh god! That sounded so unnatural! This was not a thing here in Scotland and I didn't know how they'd react. They both instantly turned a bright shade of red- a happy red- while I heard a sudden crash followed by a bang from the kitchen. A frantic Leonardo ran out with the most dumbfounded look on his face. "What did you just say?! Who's masters?!" That's when he saw me in my maid getup for the first time; his own cheeks sizzled so hard I think I could actually hear them. "T-that's a maid outfit?" His big green finger pointed up to me as his jaw hung open.
"Dude, she's so hot!" We overheard the two guys say to each other. "We should totally have maid cafés in Edinburgh!" "I didn't know maids could look like that!" "Please, this way, sirs," still wearing a forced smile, I led them both over to a table. "Thanks," they sighed as I pulled out their chairs and placed napkins over their laps. This is so humiliating, I couldn't show how much I was grinding my teeth. I'm a high schooler; this shouldn't even be legal! How did Scott ever get the club's legislative to agree to this?! I bet he brided them, again! Nugh! He's not the one who has to wear an exposing outfit and be objectified by other students. And on top of which, Leonardo's here too! Why? Just why?!
"Here are some menus. Please take your time, masters," I gave another bow before getting the heck away from them. An unamused Leonardo was standing behind the counter with his arms folded. But I didn't have time to go see him; another set of costumers had arrived by then- a guy and girl this time. "Welcome home, master and milady." "That sounds so weird!" Blue hollered over, making my eyes inwardly roll. I know! But I'm just doing my job! I must have done it well to since we were pretty swamped by the end of the hour.
I came back to the first guys after ten minutes or so to finally collect their order; the whole place was full by then. "What may I serve you, masters?" "I'll get a parfait." "Chocolate or strawberry, sir?" "Which do you like?" Ugh! No! "I like chocolate myself," I said with a cute little giggle. "Then I'll have chocolate!" "And I'll have a slice of cake with a pot of Earl Grey. Can you manage that, sugar?" This guy was more brazen. Ok, so maybe it was a good thing none of the other guys were here; they'd really have a problem with this. Still, I had to act like a robot who thought nothing was wrong. "Certainly. I'll put in your orders promptly, masters." "Hurry back!" The arrogant one called out to me as I left. I went over to see Leonardo for the first time since opening. He did not look pleased at all, though he couldn't help but blush at my outfit.
"Here's the order for the first table," I placed a sticky note on the counter; I preferred to write on them. Leonardo just frowned. "This is stupid." "I know! It wasn't my decision," my hand ran over my eyes; this was going to be a long afternoon. "Just please fill the order." He kept frowning but went on to get the food and tea ready. "You having fun?" I think he wanted to show his concern for the situation in a non-creepy way. "I wouldn't say that," I chuckled. "But it's not too horrible. At least the time's flying by." "I never realized…." "What?" He didn't answer right away, taking his time as if to be collecting his thoughts. "I didn't realize there was so much I didn't know." "Haha, you think ignorance about maid cafés is a bad thing?" "Not just this; all of this- this whole city. There's so much here." I didn't say anything to this; what could I say? He was right…. and there was nothing I could do about his situation back in New York.
The café stayed open until five o'clock, when the school bell chimed indicating that it was time to close up. I finally got out of that god-forsaken costume and went to join the now worn-out turtle. It had been a successful- which means busy- first day. Both of us starving, Leonardo let pick where to get food, as he was too tired to go over his options. I got us fish an' chips from a local joint. We went to eat back in my dorm room. Leonardo tucked in immediately, consuming one whole piece of fish before I had even started on mine. "What's this?" His fork poked at the mushy peas on the side. "Mushy peas; it's like smashed peas." "Peas?" His eyebrow rose. "What would anyone smash peas?" This made me laugh. "They're really good. Try 'em." "Hmmmmm," he scanned the food suspiciously before taking a bite. His eyes lit up, though not as much as I thought they would. "Not bad! Not bad at all!" And he proceeded to empty the container in his mouth.
After dinner, I brought our takeout bags to the garbage outside and cleaned up a bit. Leonardo plunked himself onto my bed and spread out his long, buff arms. I texted Fionn and Scott to tell them about how the first day went and how I was doing. Then I threw my phone off to the side and sat on my office chair opposite Blue. He just looked at me and smiled- a genuine smile. "Well, that was a fun day." "Really?" "No," I giggled lightly. "But…. I'm really happy you were there." "Y-yeah?" This made him blush for some reason. "Yes, I don't what I would have done if you weren't there." "Well, t-thanks," his big, green hand rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "For waking up in a strange city with no idea how I got here, it wasn't a bad time." "Yes?" "Yes," wearing a grin, his head gave a soft yet sincere nod.
I smiled too; a nice, calm, happy smile. "I know how you feel. I'd never met a mutant turtle before but… it was a good time. I never thought I'd be in this situation, ever. But I'm happy." "You are?" "Yeah, I got to meet you." "Huh, that's right," his eyes glossed over in realization. "I got to meet you too." Neither of us said anything for a little while after this. The mood got…. somewhat gloomy all of a sudden. And I think we both knew why. Time was passing; we still had tonight but it would be over soon. This was hitting us, definitely me as I stared down at my hands thoughtfully.
"I'll find you a flight tomorrow; even if we have to leave Edinburgh, we'll find you one," I heard myself say out loud. Leonardo nodded; a sad, sober nod. His eyes were locked on the floor with his hands folded out in front of him now. Another pregnant pause broke over us. "It'll be good to go home," the turtle finally said, still not looking up at me. "I bet. You must miss your family, and they must be worried sick about you." "Yeah…." Another long quiet. "Do you…. think you'll ever come to New York?"
This caused my head to tilt up to face his, and we stared at one another for a minute or so. "I don't have the money for that kind of flight and I don't think my father would let me go; definitely not alone." Leonardo's gazed rolled downwards in obvious disappointment. "I get it," at least he knew it wasn't my fault. His reaction left a sour feeling in the pit of my stomach and I was suddenly overwhelmed with a desire to make things better. "But… we could still keep in contact?" I gave a little shrug. "Yeah?!" This immediately perked him right up, only to make him blush slightly. "I-I mean, that would be cool," he said, his eyes moving shyly to the side. With a gentle smile, I opened my desk drawer and pulled out a pink sticky note and pen. Leonardo watched as I scribbled down my name and number. I didn't have FaceBook and I doubt he did, so texting seemed like the best modes of communication.
Finishing up, I turned to hand it over with a smile. "Here you go." But to my shock and instant terror, Leonardo was nowhere to been seen. "L-Leonardo?!" I gasped, getting up from my chair. He was gone; just like that. He literally disappeared without a trace. He couldn't have made a run for it; I would have seen him go either to the window or door- I room was that small. Still, it was eerie. Blue left my lift just as unexplainably as he came into it. I waited for a few minutes, listening and watching for something to happen. When nothing did, my head down fell a little. "Leonardo….." With that, I crumpled up the sticky note in my hand and tossed it into the garbage can.