Chereads / :Hibiscus / Chapter 6 - Chapter Six

Chapter 6 - Chapter Six

After finishing the delectable toffee cake, Isha watched the people come and go, chatting a bit with the old man, and sometimes May. He didn't really want to go home, they still needed to talk about the demon Afterall. That and Zoey knew where he lived, so it was much safer at the cafe.

Mr. Ilan said that traffic died out at around nine to ten, like yesterday, so that's what Isha waited for. While he waited, Zoey continued to call and message him. Each time he dismissed it or cleared the notification.

"She just doesn't get it." He sighed to himself, staring down at his hands, holding the phone flat between them. It was about five now.

"That girl from yesterday?" May popped out from the kitchen, curiosity in her eyes.

"Your mood changes a lot yanno that? And aren't you supposed to be cooking?" Isha narrowed his eyes at the girl.

"Muu. No one is ordering anything right now." She pinched his side. Not too hard, but enough.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, rubbing where she pinched him. "Yeah, it's the one from last night. She probably wants to apologize and force me on another outing to 'make up for it', I just wish she'd leave me be." He let out a sigh. "She even has started trying to get me to date, like yesterday with that passed out girl."

"Oh, she's the reason you're a pervert then? Doing a drunk girl is rape even if she consents after all~" May said jokingly as Isha let out a half laugh, half sigh. "But, why do you just let her pull you around?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Because she knows where I live and won't stop bugging me." He replied, resting his head in his hands.

"Ah, so you'rr one of those people." She stated, staring at him. Isha furrowed his brow a bit in confusion.

"'One of those people'?" He echoed her, tilting his head.

"You just do whatever if your annoyed by it. You figure instead of fighting it's easier just to do what they want." May explained. The old man was coming back from tending to the customers, giving as a smile before setting down the dirty dishes and going to gather more.

"Yeah, something like that." Isha replied with another sigh. She wasn't wrong by any means. That's just how it always was. If he didn't a lot more trouble would more than likely occur.

"Why don't you tell her to just go?" May asked him, resting her head atop her hands, staring up at him.

"I have. In fact that's what led to the outing yesterday. On the Brightside, she's more than likely at my apartment, thinking I'm in there. Or at the library. She has no clue that I'm here, since I was only here yesterday." Isha explained, kind of talking out loud to himself as well as May as he stared back at her.

"You don't get out that much huh." She stated, a small smile on her lips.

"No, not really. Other than you and the old man everyone seems to enjoy just giving me lip service." He replied in a bitter tone, his stare now directed into the coffee.

"What about a restraining order?" She asked. "That would be the best solution right?" She stood up straight. It was kind of funny to Isha, how tall she was compared to the counter.

"Oh I tried. It was a hassle, so I didn't finish really." Isha nodded to himself. As May was about to ask another question, another group of customers came in, sending her to the back to prepare for when they order.

"Muu. Back to work!" She cheered as she entered the kitchen.

He was left to himself for a while Mr. Ilan and May were busy. Waiting didn't bother him much, he just started to read his book again. It's what he'd have done if he was home anyway. He soon lost himself to the pages, sipping from his cup every now and again.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself." Isha almost jumped at the old mans words, not paying attention to what was around him. "You didn't even notice me filling your cup periodically. Almost pulled it when I was pouring more in even!" The old man jeered teasingly at him, smiling and twiddling his graying mustache.

"Ah yeah, I normally read at home. Really the only difference is the coffee, and I have music in the background." Isha replied with an embarrassed smile, scratching his cheek. Mr. Ilan stroked his mustache as he nodded along.

"If your able to, feel free to set up sound here. We've had some requests for it by the younger generation anyways. Money isn't really an issue, it's just that May and I don't really know how to set one up." The old man chuckled.

"You could order installation I'm pretty sure." Isha replied, turning the page as he went partially back to his book.

"Really? I suppose I probably should have assumed that." He laughed to himself in an almost embarrassed way.

"But yeah, I can set it up for you." Isha added, glancing up at him.

"Great! I trust you to select the right one, you can order it after we talk later. Well, in a bit rather." Isha checked his phone at Mr. Ilan's words. It was quarter before nine, time really does fly with a good book.

"Dinner will be served soon by the way, there's not many customers, and it's about the time May makes her dinner." He tilted his head at the old man.

"When do you eat?" Isha questioned, glancing up at him. The old man smiled a bit and twiddled his mustache at the question.

"Here and there. I'm more of a snacker then a meal person." He replied before going to tend to the customers.

As Mr. Ilan said, May soon came out of the kitchen with two set of food, presumably one for Isha and one for herself.

"Here Isha, it's beef and cheddar with cream of mushroom, as well as some leftover shortcake." May cheered happily, setting it down in front of him. She herself had a tuna sandwich, cheese soup, and a piece of cheesecake.

"Thank you May, tuna really must be your favorite then?" Isha asked with a smile forming on his lips as he watched her parade to her seat.

"Of course it is! Why wouldn't it be? Tyuna is great!" She happily started to eat her sandwich, dipping it into her soup like Isha had done earlier.

"Tyuna huh?" Isha repeated to himself, laughing a bit as he started to consume of his meal. As he already figured, the roast beef had no salt. It was weird how much salt affected food, or rather lack thereof. But that by no means stopped the food from being delicious.

Isha was curious about how they were involved with demons but didn't exactly want to ask with other people around. That could become a hassle. In many ways. Glancing over at May, he watched as the small girl ate her food.

"Nom. Nom. Nom." She said with her every bite. Isha narrowed her eyes a bit at her.

"Why do you do that?" He asked her curiously, piqued by her small noises.

"Hn? Do what?" She replied, wiping her face as she looked up at him.

"Nothing…" And with that she went back to eating. The noises didn't annoy him, it reminded him a bit at how some small animals made noises when eating. It was, however, quite peculiar to him. Especially the fact she had no clue she was doing it.

He ended up shrugging to himself and proceeding to eat his meal.

"I told you she would eat soon." The old man stated, coming back to the front. He began brewing another pot of coffee.

"I never disagreed. Does salt really affect food this much?" Isha asked him, head tilted.

"Oh but of course. Salt was one of the earliest seasonings. And it's used when drying most foods as well." The old man nodded, stroking his mustache as he filled Isha's cup, and starting to wash some dishes.

It did make sense when Isha thought about it. Wait, that means he can only buy certain things now. Isha let out a sigh, resting his head in his palm as he ate.

"So, when do you guys sleep anyways. It's only two of you, is this really open twenty-four hours?" He asked, looking up as the old man.

"I go to sleep around midnight normally. Except for last night." May answered this time. "That way Papa doesn't have to deal with many customers alone."

"And I more of take naps. I can sleep standing, and usually sense when a customer arrives. If not May is good at giving me a thwacking." The old man answered his part, rubbing his mustache.

Isha nodded, smiling to himself. That was one way you could do it, he thought to himself. A few minutes later, the last group of customers came up to pay their bill, then left.

"Looks like we'll be able to talk until more people show up." The old man stated. "First I need to go clean off the table." He added, heading off towards where they had been seated.