Chapter Two: IRL (In Real Life)
Days passed.
And so Luka sat, tucked up on the couch, with a crossword puzzle resting on her knees and a blue pen tapping gently against the page. With every dull thud the pen made on the paper, Luka felt her frustration rising; boiling over the top until a sudden – also violent and unnecessary – arm movement sent the pen shooting across the room, clattering into the opposite wall, breaking in half, and finally laying to rest shattered on the cemented floor.
The crossword puzzle book followed shortly after.
Her fury still unvented, Luka stomped around the house as loudly as she could. Which was not very loud, being barefoot and on solid tiles. A pancake lying dead on a plate could make more noise in Luka's opinion, and it only added to the unwanted anger.
The cherry-haired and busty woman let out a low scream of frustration.
These days passed had been nothing short of the most boring times of Luka's life. For whatever reason, naught she ever did seemed to entertain her in the slightest, and so unfulfilled and impatient, she had resorted to doing even the most mundane activities in a futile quest for enlightenment.
From watching obscure sci-fi shows, to attempting cooking that multi-layer cake in the ancient recipe book she had had literally for ever, to even doing the dusting. Actual. Dusting.
Although being unable to find the source of current grumpiness was the singular thing that ticked Luka off the most. It's impossible to fix a problem when you don't even know what caused it, or even what the problem itself is.
Sighing ever so dramatically – with a slightly bitter edge – Luka rounded her crystalline eyes towards the study room. It was the one place she dared not venture, although these were desperate times. Even when she was cleaning, the study was far beyond any help, with scattered piles of god-knows-what combined with what-the-hell-is-that and also some it-has-suspicious-green-mould-on-it-I-think-it's-radioactive.
It was the last resort in Luka's possibly suicidal plan of becoming un-bored.
Creeping hesitantly inside the torn and mistreated room, she nudged away interfering stacks of paper with her foot, and cleared the dusty air with a wave of her hand. Now standing tall in the centre of the room, Luka surveyed the damage.
..Not as bad as first thought.
Apart from being disorganized, rampant, dirty, mould-covered, smelling like rotten cheese, and with an absolutely ugly colour scheme in the walls and carpet (what on earth was Luka thinking back when she chose this design?), it really was not bad. Not bad at all.
Swerving between a couple of upturned chairs, Luka fumbled her way towards the old mahogany desk.
There wasn't really too much to see on it, but nonetheless, Luka scanned the surface thoroughly. It wasn't like she had anything better to do. Though, there was on thing that caught her eye.
Brushing aside some reams of paper, Luka's eyes widened as her sight homed in on the slightly rugged, old laptop. Worn and cracked all over the place, with unsightly peeling paint, the PC seemed to be reaching the end of its days. Luka remembered back fondly when she would use it almost constantly, for every little thing that needed doing. But, as soon as the bought her new desktop computer, the poor machine got chucked forgotten into here.
Curious, Luka cleared a wider area upon the desk, and pulled the laptop forward. Amazingly the power cord was still connected to the back, and lead away into a socket in the wall. The only thing left to do was switch it on. So she did.
Lights flickered, hard drives hummed, and random beeping noises emitted from the previously dead computer. In a surprisingly short amount of time, considering how long it had been inactive for, the familiar desktop of Windows was glowing on the screen.
Luka wondered…
Clicking on the blue 'e' symbol of internet explorer, she waited for the browser to load. If Luka remembered correctly, the laptop had inbuilt wireless, and theoretically since she had not changed her internet since abandoning it, it should still be working fine?
Smiling smugly when she was proven right, the plain homepage of Google loaded effortlessly on the monitor.
Fingers poised upon the keyboard, Luka mulled over what she could search for. She needed entertainment. Not feeling like browsing YouTube or looking at stupid pictures, with a blink of her blue eyes she knew she needed the human interaction. So, as much as hated those chat sits and the scum that lurked in them, Luka typed.
Search: chat site
Moving the mouse down slowly – she had forgotten how annoying laptop touchpads are to use – Luka lazily hit the 'I'm feeling lucky' button. She just wanted to go to a chat site, and not rummage through the thousands, even millions of results Google was sure to pick up.
As the page loaded (it took quite a while, there were many unnecessary graphics), Luka's eyes widened in horror.
It was that site.
Swirling hearts, romantic slogans and an overload of pink once again raped her vision. Her poor eye-virginity was utterly crushed by now.
But, really. The chances. Of every single chat site in the entire internet, it was this one Google landed on. Talk about 'feeling lucky'. More like feeling cursed.
Ah well. At least she wouldn't have to sign up again. Aiming the pointer towards the login box, Luka typed in the username and password she only remembered through a stroke of fortune, and waited for the lagging site to redirect her towards the member's page.
Exactly two minutes later, she was in.
Clicking on the same 'instant chat' button she had in her last encounter with this site, Luka hoped the freaky, gay guy would not be there. And to her immense sanity and relief, he was not. In fact, there were other people actually online, and having a normal conversation. Maybe things were starting to look up.
It took nearly an hour for Luka to realise that a 'normal' conversation was not what she wanted. The ones in the chat, if anything, all seemed to be lonely losers, completely uneducated in how talk to someone of the opposite sex.
Of the ones Luka did not scare off with her blunt statements, the others were boring. Forced conversations not going anywhere, and an excess of awkward silences filled the virtual chatroom.
Finally, without as much as a goodbye, Luka signed out of the chat, and slammed down the lid of the laptop.
Okay, this was it. She needed to get out of the house.
Stalking into her bedroom, lazily grabbing a coat and handbag, and only pausing at the doorstep to slip on a pair of sandals, Luka strode out of the house.
And then had to rush back to go and lock the front door.
Window-browsing at a small cluster of shops, Luka had yet to spy a store of interest. Many odd-shops presented obscure knick-knacks for sale, yet she was not the person to buy useless items. She had learned that lesson from the study room.
Feeling disappointed in the lack of anything worthy, and also feeling the ache of standing on her feet for too long, a much deserved break was in order. Spotting a fairly decent and homely looking café, she meandered over easily. Yet when she got close enough to read the sign titling the name of the establishment, she repressed a snort.
'Le Café'
Luka applauded them on their originality.
Well, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. So pushing all thoughts against the name away, Luka entered, sending the little bell attached to the door jingling.
The café was rather well-kept, with no peeling paint or scruffy chairs. Actually, it was rather inviting, with a warming, creamy colour scheme and the orangey afternoon sun filtering through the clean glass windows.
Making a beeline towards a small, sheltered and vacant table in the back corner, Luka sighed and collapsed down into the comfortable chair. Slipping off her sandals and propping up one of her feet on her knee, Luka massaged the sore sole. She knew that this small amount of walking shouldn't bother her so much, but she wasn't exactly the type of person to workout too much. If there was a way to avoid exercise, then with full effort Luka would try and take that easier path no second thoughts.
Swapping legs to rub at her other foot, Luka stared unseeingly at the blank wall across from her, zoning out for a minute or two. Closing her eyes, she probably would have drifted off into a light sleep hadn't a polite voice woken her.
"Excuse me, Miss. Miss?"
Shaking her head and blinking the near-sleep from her eyes, Luka snapped to attention and turned to see who had required her interest.
Luka gaped.
Standing a few paces away was a waiter, small notepad in hand and a respectfully unemotional expression on face. But that was not the reason Luka was now staring at him like a deer caught in headlights.
"Would you like to order now, Miss?" the waiter asked, and brushed a small unruly strand of purple hair away from his face.
That's right – purple hair.
Long, flowing and lavender, it was tied up into a neat ponytail at the back, yet random pieces of fringe attempted to align themselves in the way of his vision, hence the constant flicking and fixing.
"Miss?" he repeated, aware of her gawking expression and obvious failure of comprehending what he was saying.
"I.. Uh.. I-I haven't decided yet!" Luka was nearly shrieking at him from uneasiness, and immediately she grabbed a menu lying on the table and buried her face in it, not daring to look up again until she could be sure he was gone.
"Please take your time." He told her politely with a curt nod, yet not without a slight eyebrow raise at her strange behaviour. He then moved on to busy himself with the other customers, leaving Luka alone behind her menu.
Like a child playing hide-and-seek, Luka poked her eyes over the top of the page. There was no mistaking it. Watching him move around the modest café, the unambiguous river of purple could belong to none other than the same, perverted man she had briefly chatted with online.
Yet... he wasn't acting much like Luka expected at all.
Judging from her previous virtual encounter, he should be constantly mentioning eggplants, trying to seduce at least 99% of the women in the shop, and basically being an all-round annoying idiot. But he did none of that.
Following him with her eyes, Luka watched him carefully take down orders, nodding and smiling in all the polite times. Even when serving women, Luka assumed he would have a hard time keeping his eye contact directly to their faces, but surprisingly not.
He didn't even glance down at Luka's chest when he had talked to her before. And Luka's chest was pretty hard to miss.
Growing uncomfortable from being in the same room, Luka finally couldn't stand the atmosphere anymore. Standing up quickly, making sure she had her purse, jacket and shoes, Luka swiftly exited the café.
It seems she would be, again, holed up in her house, fighting the never-ending war against her own boredom.
That night, Luka went to bed early. Therefore, when she woke up, it was early. Oh how wonderful obvious logic is.
So after having an early rise, Luka was now sitting silent in the kitchen, munching on a piece of toast, and pausing every-so-often to take a sip of milk directly from the carton.
Getting three-quarters of the way through the toast before deciding it tasted like cardboard, Luka chucked the remainder in the bin, and with a final swig from the milk, shoved it back into the fridge.
The ticking of the clock and the hum of the refrigerator were the only sounds left within the room, and the low noises started grinding on her nerves. Rubbing her temples, Luka moved out, and mooched her way over towards the bathroom.
Half an hour later, feeling showered, clean and refreshed, Luka deemed herself ready to face yet another day of death-by-monotony. Throwing herself down onto the couch, she flicked on the TV.
It was only five minutes into a current affairs show when the house begun to feeling very stifling. Constantly shifting position, Luka could not get comfortable on the suede sofa. She tossed. She turned. She rolled; and subsequently fell off the couch much to her infuriation.
Getting to her feet, a feeling of claustrophobia overcame her, and for not another minute Luka could stand being inside. For the second time in two days, she had to get out of the house.
Following the same pattern she did yesterday, Luka adventured out into the world. Only this time, she remembered to lock the door on the first go.
10 minutes later, Luka found herself standing at the doorway of so eloquently named, 'Le Café'.
Almost as soon as she had left home, obvious lack of breakfast began to take its toll, and Luka had to try hard to disguise the grumblings sneaking out of her belly. Eventually she gave in to the cravings, and started looking for a store which was open at this time in the morning. She would take any one she got, Luka's stomach wasn't feeling particularly picky about what it wanted to eat. Just a good, cheap café would do. Decent food would only be a bonus.
Alas, no store seemed to open so early in the morning, and to no surprise. When Luka looked around, there was barely another soul in sight.
A sinking feeling was just beginning to penetrate, when her eyes drew themselves towards a single place.
And now here she was.
It really must be the working's of the Goddess of Fate, because Luka could not believe this was the only café that opened at 7.30 in the morning.
Sighing, Luka pushed on the metallic door handle, which happened to be bitterly cold. Shivers ran up and down her spine, and Luka could not help but think this was some foreboding message being sent to her.
Turn away! Turn away now! Or forever be damned!
Or something like that.
The sensation instantly disappeared though as Luka stiffly walked inside, letting the door close behind her. Le Café still had that warming, homely feel, and Luka immediately felt like sinking down into a chair and drinking hot chocolate… Yeah, that would be nice.
"Excuse me, Miss."
Luka whipped around, to find the overly – and astonishingly – well-mannered purple-man looking at her.
He fiddled with the notepad he usually carried when working, before replying, "I'm sorry, but we're not open-…"
The waiter stopped talking the moment he glanced at a hanging clock on the wall. Dead on 7.30am. Shaking his head, he made a dismissive wave towards Luka, as if to say, 'Just take your seat anywhere...'
Luka watched him as he disappeared into the back room, probably to go do some secret employee stuff. Seriously, what did they do in those mysterious employee-only areas? Maybe Luka should try working in a café, just to find out.
Clearing her head of the off-topic thoughts, Luka ended up placing herself in the centre of the room. Without too many people, she was less inclined towards the edges and corners like she usually was.
Gazing out the window, she stared as the sunlight flittered through the leaves of a tree outside. It casted unusual shadows, constantly shifting and flickering as the tree bent in the wind. The little jewels of sunlight were rather entrancing, catching the eye with their unpredictable moves. The natural occurrences of nature seemed to be the best. Suddenly, a particularly violent stroke of wind hurled itself at the swaying branches, pushing them further than ever to the side. The sun, which was mostly obscured behind those branches, for a moment became fully revealed. And the blinding rays blasted Luka straight in the face.
"Argh! God damnit!" Luka swore, and turned her face away. Even after she opened her eyes looking to a much safer and darker part of the room, little spots and stars still danced across her vision.
Luka was not impressed.
As her sight was slowly becoming normal again, purple-haired-gay-waiter-man returned from his mystifying adventure in the back. Naturally, he approached Luka, notebook ready in hand, preparing the take her order.
"What would you like this morning, Miss?"
"Oh! Uh..." Momentarily Luka forgot what she was going to get. But soon enough the thought popped back into her head. "I would like to get three pancakes and a hot chocolate, thank you."
Pulling out a pen from behind his ear, he quickly jotted it down, and with a polite 'Thank you', turned on heel and departed to retrieve her order.
Left alone, Luka flipped her eyes around the room, paying special attention to avoid looking towards the windows. She was slightly bored, but not for too long; being the only customer had its perks.
Soon, he rushed back, steamy chocolate in on hand and a warm plate of pancakes in the other. He placed them and her bill on the table and with a last glance walked away.
The first thing Luka did was pick up the bill. Eh, not that bad. Looks like they even had decent pricing here. Placing that aside, the real test came up – was the food actually good.
Sniffing the hot chocolate, as much as it smelt delicious, it was still a little hot. So, Luka pushed that aside for the moment. Picking up a knife and fork, she stared at the pancakes. She gave them such a glare it was almost like she was preparing for battle with them. Luka chuckled at her own inside joke, but quickly stopped, realising she would look like a total nutcase laughing at a plate of pancakes.
Finally putting the utensils into use, and brining a small cutting of pancake to her lips, Luka cautiously took the first bite. It was… really good. Really, really good!
Perfectly fluffy texture and that buttery yet distinctly pancake-like taste… it had been so long since Luka last had a decent lot of pancakes for breakfast. Wasting no more time, she dug right in.
At first only the sound of knives and forks scraping on plate filled the room, but about three-quarters through the meal, Luka noticed a quiet tapping noise. Pausing, she looked for the source, and not a few tables away she found it.
Reclining back on one of the chairs was none other than internet-pervert-yet-real-life-nice-guy. He looked bored, yet no surprises; with no patrons to serve what was a waiter to do?
Rocking his chair, the sound of the metal legs contacting the floor made the patter Luka had spied before. Watching him, the repetitive movement of going back and forth, back and forth, cast some kind of trance over Luka.
He looked the same today, shining lilac hair in a casual ponytail. Though, in real life, Luka thought it didn't look quite as gay as it did in that photo on his userpage. Cameras must really not like that man.
Starting to feel a bit weird for staring at him, Luka struck up a conversation. "Hey."
He turned, surveying her with bored eyes. "Yes?"
"Do you work here a lot or something? I've seen you everytime I've been here."
Not really much of a statement, Luka had only been here once before.
He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. It's not a very flattering job, is it?"
"I wouldn't say that." Forgetting her food in the meantime, Luka turned her chair to face him better, so she was not leaning over the back rather uncomfortably. "It seems like a pretty decent place to work, if you ask me."
"Mmhm." He didn't sound like he had all that much conviction. "In the beginning, I guess. But it becomes kinda… monotonous. Sorry if you're a regular or something and I didn't recognise you, I don't really pay attention to what people look like anymore."
Well, that's nice. Although Luka could understand where he was coming from, it must be rather dull to constantly serve people over and over and over. She admitted that even she would probably stop concentrating on people's faces too.
"I can understand that." Luka agreed, nodding. Turning back towards her table, she reached for the hot chocolate and took a small sip.
"Really?" He asked, some genuine surprise in there, "Most women would throw a fit over that, not happy that a man didn't notice them."
So the sexist in him was not lost in the real world!
"I'm not most women."
At that remark, a real grin spread over his face. "It's good to see someone with a bit of wit about them. Too many people are so uptight these days."
"I can't disagree with you there. One time, I was standing in line, and just because I took an extra second to catch up with the next person, the guy behind me started yelling and hurrying me up."
"People these days."
"It was so rude and-…"
The leftover pancakes and hot chocolate grew cold by the time the conversation ended. And the only thing that stopped them from continuing was the incoming of more customers. Abruptly stopping their chat, the waiter had to return to his work.
Luka made her way home, surprisingly contented. Even when she unlocked the door with a creak, and entered the cloggy house, it was more welcoming than it had been in days.
But no way was she going to say it was because of one stupid conversation with one stupid person. Oh no. Luka's social life couldn't suck so much that a brief chat with a closet pervert – she was sure that the arrogance he had when online was in there, somewhere – would make her feel better.
No way at all. Yeah. That's what she told herself.
If there was one good thing about talking to him, and this is only if she had to name something, it would be that she at least knew his name.
Gakupo. Kamui Gakupo.
Now she could refer to him as something more than 'waiter' or 'gay-man' or that idiotic screename of his, 'Dancing Samurai'. Speaking of which, he probably would be on tonight. Luka contemplated jumping on the computer later this evening, in a hope to chat to him.
Not like she wanted to chat to him. She just wanted to see if he acted all perverted again. Y'know, just out of curiosity. Pure curiosity.
That's all it is.
You have signed into InstantChatRoom61 as MaguroLover
Dancing_Samurai(9.01pm): What a surprise! It's you again, lovely. Haven't seen you around in a few days~
MaguroLover(9.01pm): Ugh. You.
Dancing_Samurai(9.01pm): I could never forget that sharp language of yours.
Dancing_Samurai(9.02pm): So, are you going to tell me today what your bra size is~?
Looks like things never changed. But fine. This time, she'll accept the challenge. If he wanted to play the perverted game, she would too.
MaguroLover(9.03pm): Fine. I only didn't want to tell you earlier because I was embarrassed. I'm… only an A-cup.
Dancing_Samurai(9.05pm): …oh.
In front of the computer screen, Luka smirked.
"In your job you may not pay attention to looks, but it actually means a lot to you, doesn't it, Gakupo~?"
Hah.
A/N: So yeeaaah. Been a while, huh? I hadn't had much inspiration for writing recently… but suddenly, BAM. I wrote this whole thing in one weekend.
Don't expect further updates any time soon, though xD;;;;;