"So, where did you go last night?" Baron asks Aaron as he slides past the receipt to Baron's arms on the hardwood table, varnished with brown-caramel accented colors of oak.
"Not telling."
"Well then— I'm telling your mom."
Aaron scratches the receipt over to Baron's hands as their arms lean over the wooden table topped with bubble tea and Baron's steaming bowl of pho soup.
"Look at this. This pho costs more than two days of my meals alone. If you're telling my mom about what happened last night, I'm telling everyone on how deceitful and opportunistic you are."
"But I never—"
"No questions. Just eat the damn soup already!" Aaron seethes at Baron as he grabs a big cup of passionfruit bubble tea and starts sipping on the straw. The pho on Baron's side of the table lets out soft steam as the small froth of gas flies through the café's atmosphere. Baron exhales apprehensively, slurping down the long noodle strand drenched in sliced vegetables and well-boiled beef broth.
"Well, you know what they say. What happens on Vegas, stays on Vegas— or Street 88 for this matter."
Aaron leers at Baron, who was now drinking a deliciously sweet side of caramel macchiato bubble tea. "It'd better stay there. I don't want to talk about it. Especially in the likes of you."
"The likes of me? THE LIKES OF ME? Is it because you think that I'm going to tell your mom? Is it because I'm such a blabbermouth?" Baron protests, his mouth full of tapioca pearls ready to burst out of his chomper's openings. Aaron chuckles at Baron's indecency and satirical face and expression.
"You said it, not me."
"You said it, not me." Baron mockingly imitates Aaron, his eyes wobbling around.
The café's windows cloud heavily as the heavy raindrops onto the cold pavements. The people outside run to the nearest shelter while Aaron looks at them through the stained-glass window.
"It sure is raining cats and dogs," Baron commented.
"It sure is."
The café's bell rings as two people drenched from the rain enters the café. They puff-off the water from their clothes and head directly to the counter. Aaron looks over by the cubicle dividers on the Café's cubicle-styled interiors and eyes, both Jude and Ivy on their school uniforms, drenched in the rain lining up to the counter. Aaron looks at them thoroughly, tapping his hands on Baron's arms.
"Yo, Baron. I think I need to go to the comfort room."
"The comfort room? But you just went in five minutes ago!"
"Ughhh, but my stomach really hurts," Aaron complains, his hands on his stomach, expressing a constipated look. "I really need to go, please?"
Baron rolls his eyes over. "Okay, okay, got it, man." Baron nods weirded out by Aaron's sudden outburst.
Aaron takes off and hides behind the cubicle dividers, hoping to not be seen by Baron's busybody senses, and swoops over to the counter, grabbing Jude's hands, dragging her over.
"Woah, where do you think you two are you going?" Ivy exclaims as she grabs Jude's other hand, stopping her from being swooped over by Aaron.
"I've got something very important to say to Jude and—"
"What kind of important?" Ivy asks, arching a brow.
Aaron scorns over Ivy and bends over, whispering to Jude. "I need to talk to you about last night."
Ivy eyes the two of them as Jude's eyes change from an oblivious gleam to Halloween horror. Jude sighs heavily and taps on Ivy's back.
"I'm really sorry, Ivy. I need to talk to Aaron. Get me my usual order in the meantime, okay?" Jude walks along with Aaron, following him into the utility room where Ivy goggles over the two's weird interactions.
"What do you want?" Jade asks Aaron as she shuts the door behind her.
"I need to talk to you about something."
"And you needed to blackmail me?"
"No, no, no. You got it all wrong— I'm not trying to blackmail you or anything."
"Then what is this then? Just using physical force?" Jude scorns over him as she shows Aaron his hands grasping over hers apprehensively. Aaron sheepishly laughs as he lets go of her hands. "Listen, I'm here to tell you that—"
"I'm not listening to this shit." Jude turns around and faces the door. She was about to open the doorknob when Aaron grabs her hands again.
"No, no. Listen to me carefully, Jude. I just want to ask you something."
"Ask what?"
"I mean, you do remember me from last year, right? The guy you met at the amusement park, the eat-all-you-can buffet guy."
Jude loses her rude demeanor and faces Aaron entirely. She forces out her hand out of his. She gulps and arches his brow. "Yes, I do remember you."
Aaron looks at her, confused, gritting his teeth. "Then why did you pretend that we were strangers? You wouldn't even look at me at school. Whenever I tried to greet you, you wouldn't even face my direction. After that day— I thought that we were friends, but in hindsight, all you did was ignore me and act all embarrassed of me. Is it because I'm not famous? Is it because I am not attractive enough?"
"No, it's not that it's—"
"Then, what was it?" Aaron exclaims, clutching his arms, squinting his eyes in total vexation.
What follows is silence. Eerie, deafening silence.
Jude looks down on her sneakers as she fumbles over her toes.
"I— I uhm..." She stutters over a few words as a million thoughts run through her mind. She struggles to formulate a proper statement. "It's because of my—Uhm, my ah— my j-j—"
"It's because of your job." Aaron remonstrated, his face exhibiting an as-a-matter-of-factly look. Jude nods her head over his statement. "Why—? What— I promised you, didn't I? I promised you that my views about you won't change even if you're an orphan, from a broken family, and dirt poor. Heck, I don't even look at you like you're a hooker. To me, you're not a hooker. To me, you're, well— you're Jude."
"Well, I'm not just Jude. To everyone concerned, I'm Jude, the hooker. To everyone else, I'm just a petty lady willing to sell herself for a little bit of money."
Aaron whisks his hands as he tries to avoid her gaze. "I can't believe you just said that. I can't believe that you— Jude of all people, think of yourself that way. What about those people cheering for you on the field, whenever you shoot a spike and win the game? The people who look up to you and think to themselves, 'I wish I was like her.' What about Ivy? Does she look at you and say, 'There's Jude the hooker'? No! Do you know what she thinks? She thinks that in front of her is a friend. A best friend, an ally, a place of solace." Aaron clenches his hands even harder. "And what about me? Do you think that whenever I look at you after I learned the great truth, I think of you as Jude, the prostitute? Do you think that I am that superficial? Do you think that I'm that juvenile? Being a prostitute is a profession, not a life. To me, you are Jude, the person I met a year ago, the person that smiled at the wheel, the girl that I promised to fulfill her wishes with, the girl I—" Aaron pauses, gasping for air.
"The girl you what?"
"The girl I like."
"The what?"
Aaron rolls his eyes as he grabs both her hands. "Fuck it, Jude. I like you, why don't you get it?"
***
"So, what did you two talk about?" Ivy asks Jude as both Aaron and Jude sit down on the table Ivy is sitting in. Jude hides her face under her hair as Aaron looks away in the distance. Ivy notices the tension between the two. "Wait—what did the two of you talk about making you all flustered and shit? Both your cheeks are sullen red."
Aaron grabs one of the bubble teas on the table.
"Hey— you didn't order anything through me." Ivy protests as she grabs the cup of bubble tea Aaron is holding.
"I'm sorry." Aaron apologetically states, his conscious mind slowly returning.
Aaron lets go of the cup while Jude follows suit and grabs the other cup of bubble tea. Ivy looks at Jude's face, all oblivious, staring into the distance.
"Hey— that's my bubble tea, my very own matcha flavor. This is yours, winter melon!" Ivy gawped, her hands spanking on Jude's, giving her the other cup on the process. "What's with you two? Why are you acting all awkward with each other? Did you make out over at that room or did something naughty you can't possibly tell anyone—"
"No!" Both Aaron and Jude answered simultaneously. Ivy looks at both of them, her eyes showing a suspicious grin.
"Whatever you say, darlings."
Jude rolls her eyes and faces Aaron, her cheeks blushing. "Anyway— Aaron, you told me you were going to t-tell us something."
"Uhm, yeah. I want to talk both of you into something."
"What is it about?" Ivy asks.
"It's just that I need a job for university cred, and I don't care if I don't get paid. What I want is a job with all the familiar people. A job with I don't know, friends."
"And since when were we friends?" Ivy raised a brow.
"How about now." Aaron smiles at her sarcastically.
Ivy nods her head. "Go on."
"So, I think that it would be a good idea to be a part of your team," Aaron explained.
"Our team?" Jude asks, her brows furrowing.
"I— I want to be a middleman in-between a middleman."
"Say what? Dawg, was that English or something?" Ivy asks.
Aaron ignores Ivy. "So yeah, I want to ensure customer satisfaction for your, you know—" Aaron bends over, whispering. "For your clients."
Ivy bitterly looks at Jude while she apprehensively waves her hands.
"You told him about that?" Ivy seethed, whispering over.
"No, I didn't! He accidentally found out all by himself! Anyways, long story. So, what were you saying again, Aaron?"
Aaron sighs. "So, I want to become someone that does research about your clients, their fetishes, their country of origin, their types, their hidden desires."
"I'm sorry, what?" Ivy scoffed abruptly.
Aaron rolls his eyes. "Look, I may be stupid on philosophy classes, but I tick all the right boxes for my calculus and statistics classes. All I want to say is that —"
"I'm not saying your stupid. All I'm saying is get to the point!" Ivy protests.
Aaron taps his fingers over the wooden table. He eyes the two girls as he rests both his hands. He clarifies his throat and starts speaking.
"I want to be an assistant for the both of you, free of charge. I want to work at Bar Fantasia."
***
Aaron tightens up the shoelaces on his dark-blue denim sneakers as he whisks off the dirt, sticking to its surfaces from the nearby asphalt road. He puffs out his t-shirt as he inhales, walking up to the entrance of Bar Fantasia.
"Sir, we're sorry, but we're accepting reservations only—"
"He's with me." Ivy taps the guard's back and holds Aaron's hands. She drags him quietly through the bar, its halls empty and quiet.
"It's pretty lonely around this time of the day, eh?"
"That's because you came quite early," Ivy replied.
He walks through the secluded doors and into one of the red-painted walls. As soon as they enter, Ivy locks the door as Jude and others wait inside the room.
"Are you sure about this, Aaron?" Jude asks as she grips her leather jacket, her lips, crimson-red.
"I am."
Mark seethes as he sees Aaron walking through the corner. "...and what's this guy supposed to do again?"
"He'll do research," Ivy responds.
"For what again?" Mark asks, miffed by Aaron's presence.
"For customer satisfaction."
"And is he capable of doing research? I mean, I don't judge people by their covers, but this guy just screams trouble for me. Is he even capable—"
"Yes, he is capable. He's my student, after all."
A man leers from the dark corners of the room as his reading glasses shine right through the light of the nearby light bulb. He slowly walks as he approaches Aaron, his mouth chewing on gum. "You are capable, right, Aaron?"
Aaron freezes as he sees the man, walking out of the shadows, smirking as his sharp jawline shows up on his tall, muscular build. Aaron blinks once. He blinks twice.
That's it. There's no other explanation. In front of him is Mr. Grant, alright.