Francis swallowed, standing in front of Dominique's Kitchen, wearing a second-hand suit from his father.
The night sky held a bright full moon. Snowflakes danced in the air, before falling to join the white carpet marked with footprints of many sizes.
For what must have been the first time since he was 13, Francis felt nervous about going on a date. He still remembered yesterday night, where Yao had delivered his ominous warning. As the snow fell around him, Francis slowly fell back into his memories.
After Yao's warning, the Chinese man had sent all of the younger children to bed, except for Kiku. The three had sat in silence, Yao ignoring him, and Francis trying to process what Yao had said.
Then, Francis's phone had rung. It had been Antonio, calling to announce yet another disaster in their shared apartment. Francis had insisted that Yao and Kiku need not worry, before rushing back home to a rather… unwelcome sight.
The Frenchmen was shaken back to the present by a sudden sharp, stinging pain in his shin.
"Ow!" Francis yelped, realizing that he had been kicked, "C'est quoi ce bordel-"
He stopped, realizing that Arthur was standing in front of him. He dressed elegantly in a black suit, his hair neat and eyes flashing with annoyance.
"Bonjour," The Englishman snapped.
"Did you have to kick me in the shins?" Francis grumbled.
Arthur scowled, 'Let's get this damn d- er, platonic meal over with."
Francis smiled, but inside, he felt worried. Originally, he had just assumed Arthur was just tsundere… but now, especially after Yao's warning…
"Well," Francis said, offering Arthur his arm, "Let us go in, mon cher."
Arthur smacked him.
"Ah, well," Francis thought, rubbing his sore head, "Perhaps we will get along better later."
Inside, the room was lit by a yellow light. Against the wall, there were adjoined red-cushioned chairs. Polished dark wooden tables held tall wine glasses and elegant silverware. There was a bar area, displaying multiple fine wines.
The place reeked of elegance and class, with paintings and well-dressed people dining primly.
Francis suddenly had a flash of panic about how much it would cost.
Apparently noticing the worry on his face, Arthur said, "Don't worry, frog. I'll pay."
Francis smiled gratefully. He and his two best friends were barely scraping by with what they had, and he didn't want to make them more mad by spending too much money on a date.
Inside, an usher gestured them to their seat, promising that a waiter would be there shortly.
Their table was in the center of the room. The chairs had beautiful carvings on them, and the silverware looked antique.
Their waitress, a young Asian girl, arrived within 2 minutes.
"That was quick," Arthur said, looking surprised.
"We're not too busy today," She replied, smiling, "And we have a lot of extra waiters. Our boss offered bonus money for whoever came on extra days."
"Are you short on money for college?" Francis asked.
"Oh, no," She said, "My parents pay it all. I just wanted to earn some extra money. I would have preferred working at a Chinese restaurant, but I couldn't find any."
Francis nodded. It was typical of Asian parents to pay their kids college fees.
He scanned over the menu, while trying to make conversation with this girl. After all, it wouldn't do for her to be bored by the great Francis.
"So, where were you born?"
The girl instantly looked irritated.
"Tanzania," She said sarcastically.
Arthur blinked, "Really? Your English is good."
She shook her head angrily, "Gah! That was sarcasm, dumb lobsterback! I was born in America! Can't you tell by my accent? Why do people keep assuming I'm from another Asia? Everyone in the States is either an immigrant or descended from one! Even the white guys! Do I ever ask if a white guy is from Europe? No. Then why do you people ask me these dumb questions?"
"Er, sorry," Francis mumbled. That had clearly been the wrong question.
The girl as now scowling, glaring at him as he looked through the menu.
She had changed from happy and polite to furious in a matter of seconds. For some reason, a lot of people tended to do that around Francis.
Francis listed off their order, after he and Arthur had agreed on it. The girl stomped off, muttering things about stupid white guys under her breath.
"Well, that went well," Arthur muttered.
Francis chuckled.
"What is it you like to do?" He asked.
"Oh," Arthur said, "I adore literature. Shakespeare's works are my favorite."
"What about Romeo and Juliet?" Francis asked.
"Well, I think it's a cautionary tale."
"Absolutely not! It is a tragedy about young love cut short by hatred!"
"They were 13 and 16."
"Age doesn't matter in love!"
"It lasted less than a week."
"Because it was tragically cut short!" Francis stood up dramatically, "Love is the most beautiful emotion a human can feel! Romeo and Juliet, rather than living without each other, chose to die together! Their love was so powerful that they were willing to follow each other into death!
"This proves that love can fill up your life with wonder. Love can push you to new limits. It is love that pushed people to fight for legal marriage regardless of race or sexuality. It is love that pushes parents to protect their children. Without love, this world would be void of joy, just like the lives of Romeo and Juliet would have been without each other!"
As Francis's monologue finished, he noticed two things.
First, Arthur was smiling at him. A real, genuine smile. His eyes were shining, his face gentle and free of anger or stress. The light seemed to focus on him, lighting him up like a piece of Michelangelo's work.
"Tu ressembles à un ange," Francis whispered softly.
And the second thing Francis noticed?
It was that the entire restaurant was staring at him.
11/23/2016
Finally! We have reached Surrender Monkey and Eyebrow's first date! After 5 chapters of messing around!
I just finished my big test yesterday (on Tuesday) and I was feeling really worn out so I didn't write any new chapters.
I didn't write anything on Sunday and Monday either because of was studying.
For those of you who care (probably 0% of you) the test is for applying to a private school. I'm having my interview in 3 weeks (December 22) and I'm really nervous! Any helpful advice?
My description of Delmonico's is based on Google Images and a passage I read in English class, so don't judge me if my description is way off!
The waitress featured this chapter is… drumroll please… no one! Just someone I made up.
Her rant in the chapter is pretty true. Everyone in America is either an immigrant or descended from one (the great American melting pot!)
It is very annoying for me (as a Chinese American) to constantly get asked whether or not I was born in America. Sure, I speak Chinese, but a bunch of Americans are bilingual due to their heritage, which I think is one of the coolest things about my awesome country!
Anyways, I'm not sure other Asian Americans feel about this, but it really irritates me. On a side note, Off the Great Wall made a great video about other questions Asians hate! You should watch it, it's very funny (and it teaches you how to be less annoying). They didn't pay me to advertise this, I swear! On my honor and GPA!