Chapter Four

Peeling Back the Layers

"So where are we going?" Lettuce asked Mint as they made their way down a street filled with shops sellingexpensive objects 'de art.

"I know a nice little place that makes a killer pot of tea." Mint replied, not looking back at the girl who was following her. "It should be around here somewhere." She said, turning on to another street.

When Lettuce looked around, she noticed that they were in Mint's neighborhood. In fact, they were down the street from Mint's massive mansion. Oh Lettuce thought, secretly relieved that things started to feel familiar.

"Here it is." Mint said, stopping short and almost causing Lettuce to run into her. "Let's go in."

When they had been seated and had ordered, Mint looked at Lettuce intensely. No conversation was exchanged between them. Lettuce was beginning to get nervous and was about to dismiss herself, when their order came up and they were presented with two cups of steaming tea.

"Um, was there something that you wanted to talk to me about?" Lettuce asked as Mint poured sugar and cream into her cup.

"Like I said back in the alleyway, I want some answers." Mint replied glancing up.

Lettuce sighed. She was seriously getting tired of these guessing games.

Sensing her frustration, Mint decided to clarify. "What's going on with you?" She asked. "I've never seen you like this before. I can tell something's bothering you, and as much as it goes against my nature," she continued, rolling her eyes, " I want to try to help. Just don't tell any of the others, I do have a reputation to uphold you know."

"I don't understand what you mean." Lettuce said, deciding that she would try to deny anything Mint suggested. It was just the easiest way to deal with the situation-to deny it to everyone but herself.

"Come on Lettuce, aren't we friends? Aren't we all there for each other when we need to be?" Mint asked.

"I wish that were true." Lettuce whispered quietly, looking down at her tea and absentmindedly stirring it with her spoon.

Mint sighed sadly, and Lettuce fell back into the habit ofinstantly felt guilty. Here was her friend, trying to help her, and she was being completely rude. Lettuce lifted her eyes and looked into her friend's hazel eyes where a slight look of hurthadappeared. She sighed and started again. "I'm sorry Mint. I'm just all over the place these days. Something happened…something that I can't control, and it just killed me. I need some time to recover…and to catch up on other stuff. It'll be hard, but don't worry. Once I've worked past it, I'll try to come back to the café. I promise." This seemed to make Mint feel better, and the pain was removed from her stare.

"Good. We all miss you at the cafe. Especially Ichigo. She wouldn't shut up about how she wished you were back."

Lettuce flinched slightly at Ichigo's name, but Mint didn't see.

"She was telling me today while I was on my break that you always made the cafe brighter. She was even kind of sad when there weren't any broken plates to clean up at the end of the day. 'Sure she was clumsy' Ichigo said, 'But she was so sweet, it was easy to forgive her.' Anyways, now that that's settled," Mint continued, "I want to know why you were out here tonight. I don't usually see my coworkers in this part of town unless they're visiting me. You however, seemed to be on a mission of your own. Were you trying to work past whatever it is that is bothering you?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Actually, I had no idea where I was." Lettuce replied honestly enough. "I was just taking a walk after I ran into Masaya-"

"You ran into Masaya?" Mint asked, interrupting for a second. "Where?"

"In a bookstore." Lettuce continued, and the whole story came out. About her meeting Masaya's cousin, and then Masaya, and even her thoughts about taking the book.

Mint actually gasped when she heard the last part. "Oh Lettuce, I'm so glad you didn't. Whatever you're going through, you shouldn't resort to petty theft to solve your problems. If you ever need to vent, I'm here for you to talk to."

"Thanks." Lettuce said, but was unsure. After trusting Ichigo, she was cautious about talking to anyone else. She looked at her watch, and was shocked. She had spent almost an hour here with Mint and was ten minutes late for curfew. "I hate to cut this chat short," She said, looking back at Mint, "but I was due home almost ten minutes ago."
"I'm sorry to have kept you." Mint said. "I'll have my driver take you back home immediately." She flipped open her purse, dialed a number on her cell phone, and a few seconds later she was saying goodbye as Lettuce got into the car.

"Thanks again Mint!" Lettuce said again, getting a wave from her friend as the car sped off in the night.