Business had begun a little later than usual. Now that there were customers eagerly placing orders, preventing Gemina from crying would be tough. A crying baby would surely drive customers away.
"Excuse me, I would like a medium coffee with cream please," a yellow koala with spiky light green hair, a pink shirt, and plaid skirt ordered.
"Yes, ma'am!" chirped Chuck as he wrote down the order on a sticky note. "Coming right up!"
The chameleon stuck his head in the kitchen curtain, "Leon, we need a medium coffee with cream!"
Leon nodded his head. As he prepared the order, Gemina was poking and prodding his tail. Although it was a little distracting, he could still focus. At least she wasn't crying or screaming...
Chuck glanced around the shop nervously. He tried to keep a smile on his face, but he was getting worried about the baby. None of the customers knew that they were hiding a human. If they found out about little Gemina, then the brothers would be tracked down and arrested by the government police. Chuck smiled nervously as he greeted a familiar face. The familiar face was a turquoise turtle with a dark green shell. The turtle wore a yellow shirt with light green pants and blue glasses. It was Filburt. He was a frequent customer at Cafe Chameleon.
"H-hi, Filburt!" stuttered Chuck with his hands behind his back.
"Hey, Chuck!" greeted Filburt. "Where's Leon?"
"He's in the back making the orders," answered Chuck. "Right, Leon?"
"Ja, brother!" Leon called from the kitchen.
"Anyway, can I have a cup of coffee?" ordered Filburt.
"Sure, sure," granted Chuck. "Cream or sugar?"
"I'll have sugar please," replied Filburt, handing the chameleon a 5 dollar bill.
"Thank you, my good friend," Chuck placed the dollar in the cash register. He walked into the kitchen to check on Leon and the baby.
"Are you keeping the baby quiet?" whispered Chuck.
"Yes," nodded Leon as he gently bounced Gemina.
"Filburt is here, and I want you to make a cup of coffee with sugar. Also, do not let the customers know there's a human around. If they do see the baby, say that she's a monkey, got it?"
"Got it!" concurred Leon. "But I already have another order just waiting to be served."
"Oh, goodie! Thanks, dear." Chuck took the coffee with cream outside. "One medium coffee with cream served especially for you!"
The koala girl gleefully grabbed her coffee. She handed him a 6 dollar bill and 25 cents.
"Thank you, come again!" waved Chuck as he placed the money in the cash register. He darted back into the kitchen.
"Did you make the coffee?" he asked.
"Well, duh! I have it in my hand!" Leon sassed.
Chuck rolled his eyes and sighed.
"What about the sugar?" he added, placing his hands on his hips.
Leon facepalmed himself. He slumped over the counter and poured a teaspoon of sugar into the coffee mug. Out of the blue, Gemina squealed loudly like a wounded pig. All the customers stared at the curtains in shock. Even Filburt had no idea where that scream came from.
"Shh, shh! Gemina, use your indoor voice!" Leon shushed her.
Chuck poked his head through the curtains. He gave out a nervous smile and chuckle.
"Sorry, everybody! My brother just stubbed his toe, that's all! Heh heh…"
"Why did she just scream?" Chuck snorted as he crossed his arms.
"She's a baby, she can't help it!" Leon emphasized as he swayed his back gently.
"Then why did you tell her to use her indoor voice?" snapped Chuck, tapping his foot disgruntledly.
"Well, I-uh... Aw, what the heck! Here's the coffee!" Leon rudely shoved the cup of coffee into Chuck's hands.
Chuck glared at his brother as he stomped out of the curtains. He rolled his eyes again before handing the coffee to Filburt.
"Is everything alright, Chuck? You seem mad.." the turtle asked in a concerned tone.
"No, not really… Leon and I are having a hard time with each other right now.." sighed Chuck.
"A hard time with what?!" Leon stormed out of the kitchen.
Filburt was the first to notice Gemina sitting on Leon's back. Who was this human anyway? How did it even get into O Town in the first place?
Chuck shuddered as he looked around the room. He could feel sweat drops running down his head and neck. Even Leon was shivering in fear as he noticed the turtle looking at Gemina suspiciously.
"Who's that on your back?" Filburt pointed at the baby girl, who was smiling at the passing customers.
"Oh… That's a rare species of monkey we found earlier today. It's a-" quavered Chuck.
"North American Paprika Chimpanzee…" Leon finished.
Filburt paused to examine the baby. The brothers looked at each other and whimpered in fear. They began praying that he wouldn't call the police on them.
"She's cute!" Filburt cooed.
"Phew!" the brothers swept their foreheads in relief.
"Can I hold her?" Filburt held out his arm. "Pretty please?"
The brothers' chests became tight with anxiety. Gemina had already cried nonstop for 4 hours today, and they didn't want to make her cry again. So removing her from Leon's back would be a potential risk. They didn't want to say no to one of their best friends, however. Both of them took a deep breath.
"Sure, make sure you support her body." Chuck carefully handed the baby to Filburt. He cradled her in one arm. Gemina immediately went quiet as if she was scared. She looked at Filbert's face and sighed unhappily.
"She's not crying?!" the brothers shuddered in unison.
"What's her name?" Filburt asked excitedly.
"Gemina," answered Leon with Chuck nodding in agreement.
Filburt smiled at the frightened baby. Gemina tried to turn her head away from the friendly face.
"Awwww, don't be scared... I'm a nice guy!" comforted Filburt. "You want a kiss on the cheek? A friend kiss?" He puckered his lips and began kissing her chubby cheeks.
Chuck whispered sarcastically to Leon, "This is going to be fun.."
The turtle's "friend kisses" were the last straw for Gemina. Her face made a wobbly frown and her eyes filled with tears. She started to cry on top of her lungs. She kicked the turtle in the face in defense. Filburt got so startled by her sudden crying, that he spilled his coffee all over her. That, in turn, made her cry harder and longer. The chameleons shook each other in panic.
This moment was when the customers finally noticed the human. All of them began leaving one by one, each with their fingers plugged into their ears.
"That's it, I'm outta here!" a purple alligator grumbled with his hands clamped over his ears.
"Who brings a baby into a cafe?!" a red biker elephant groaned with an annoyed look on his face.
A pink rabbit wearing a dress strolled casually towards the chameleons. She gave them a disgruntled face, "You two are bad parents! Learn to control your kid!"
The rabbit stormed out of the shop without saying another word.
Filburt shoved the baby back to Chuck as if he was infected by a bacterial virus. The crying was so shrill, that his glasses shattered. He ran out of the shop with his hands clamped over his ears.
"Way to go, stupid!" Leon scowled as he crossed his arms.
"We did this to make our friend happy, but it went all wrong!" Chuck snapped as he rocked the baby back and forth.
"You should've not removed her from my back!" fumed Leon.
"Yeah, apparently everyone hates us now because we have a baby!" snidded Chuck. "And worst of all, it's a human baby! You know what this means, my brother?!"
"We get discriminated from society and have to spend the rest of eternity in prison?" Leon answered.
"Yes, and we don't want that!" Chuck pulled his brother's face close to his. "We are the Chameleon Brothers, and we aren't going to let anyone know that Gemina is a human! We will keep it a secret! We will fight back because we are-"
"Okay, okay, I get what you mean," Leon interrupted. "Now can you put her on your back so she shuts up?"
Chuck placed the baby on his back. Like always, she stopped crying. The brothers' backs were like a pacifier to her. Considering she was a newborn who almost died falling over a thousand feet in the sky, she probably felt safer sitting on their backs. Not only it cushioned her fall, but it also made her feel comfortable in the big outside world.
"Let's go home," he said.
Chuck grabbed the unfinished bottle, while Leon carried the rest of the supplies. The two shut off the lights and walked out of the building. Chuck flipped the sign from open to closed. Business wasn't as successful as it usually was.
Gemina giggled happily as she hugged Chuck's neck. The brothers couldn't help but smile at this. For every crying moment, there was always a smile or a laugh. Or even better, a cute hug.
"We'll have a better time at home, sweetie," reassured Chuck as he stroked her hair. "I know today was rough. I understand that you're new to this world. But don't worry, we'll help you grow up to be a strong and healthy girl." He kissed her on the forehead.
"We'll also make sure that you won't get taken away from us. We'll put ourselves before you if anyone tries to hurt you..." Leon added as he nuzzled her.
Everything was going to be alright for Gemina. With two caring lizard fathers, she would have a good life in her hands.