The thought of circling the table another round to irritate the little Giraffe came to an abrupt stop in Clary's mind, as did her steps, when someone coughed and sprayed pink liquid that splashed onto her white dress, leaving droplets of pink.
"Oops! I am sorry for that." Knox exclaimed, swiftly grabbing a tissue from the tissue box at the centre of the table and offering it to the girl. Pouncing on the opportunity like a mischievous monkey snatching a banana, Knox launched into a chat with her. "I was too caught up in admiring your fashion goodies that I forgot my manners. Speaking of which, your Goggles are very stylish. Are you perhaps hired by the Coffee House to entertain customers?" Knox asked with a spark of interest in his eyes.
"I will forgive you since you have complimented my goggles" Clary proudly adjusted her space-styled gears before wiping the spot marks on her dress. She sat on the empty chair opposite Knox surprising the two men. "Speaking of your last question, I am not a Barista to entertain your lattes and cappuccinos. I came here to give a warning to someone." Clary then turned her head to finally face her enemy, who was ignoring her like a kid ignoring the teacher when they hadn't done the homework. Clary wondered why he didn't recognize her but then realized that she was struggling to recognize herself at the moment. "You..little boy." She snapped her fingers to gain his attention. "I want to have a word with you."
Knox purred as she referred to Leandre as a little boy.
Leandre was momentarily taken back when he heard her address him as a little boy. He gazed at her with a mixture of disbelief and amusement, his deep voice tinged with a hint of incredulity. "Hey, circus clown, did you just call me a little boy?" He could sense the whispers in the crowd, their attention garnered here now that this sassy showstopper had stopped by his table.
Leandre couldn't comprehend how this girl was mistaking his towering, muscular form for that of a child. Did the interstellar goggles she wore were playing tricks on her eyesight? His physique was honed through years of rigorous workouts and could give even a Spartan warrior a run for their money.
How dare he call me a circus clown! Clary's anger boiled like a cauldron making him want to smack that loose tongue of his.
Clary pondered whether she should call him uncle and take revenge for bullying her in the morning. The thought was fleeting, but she dismissed it as quickly as it had come, for she feared it would only sow the seeds of doubt if she replicated the events that happened in the morning. "Well, well, well," Clary drawled with a hint of sarcasm. "Probably, I'll stick with a little boy because you seem to don't know the meaning of gentleman."
"Might you not know, I never get a haircut on the day of special occasions, which keeps me off of the gentlemen's list." Leandre taunted, his sarcastic humour rolling out of his tongue at ease with her witty flow. He leaned forward, propping himself up on the table with his elbows, and gazed at her face mischievously. "Who are you, Miss circus clown?"
Leandre felt a sense of familiarity as he gazed upon the girl, though her features were concealed behind the goggles. This was the second time in one day that he had been confronted by a girl with a similar air of arrogance like the impudent girl he had encountered in the morning. The thought of checking for a birthmark on her wrist crossed his mind since she was inside the cafe, but he quickly dismissed it, dismissing the notion that there was no way his birthmark would be screaming for this flamboyant circus entertainer.
"My introduction is limited to only gentlemen, Mr arrogant," Clary countered, imitating Leandre's actions by propping her elbows on the table. Her words and actions amused Leandre as if they both were playing a game of verbal tennis, with each ball a playful insult.
"Hold on! Are you two flirting with each other now?" Knox asked, bewildered. He was astounded to see Leandre engaging with a woman, let alone indulging in flirtatious fun.
"We are not flirting!" Clary and Leandre shot a simultaneous and stern glance at Knox.
Unconsciously, Clary's eyes darted to a woman who had just entered the bathroom. Tropical fruit might emerge out of the bathroom to reclaim his possessions. Clary's heart filled with dread. She has no time to play games with this little Giraffe anymore.
"Listen up carefully, Mr arrogant," Clary turned serious. "I don't have much time. So, I will come straight to the point."
"I am listening," Leandre added in a nonchalant tone.
Clary started, seriousness in her voice. "I don't really care what kind of kinky escapades you get up to behind closed doors. But when you step out into the public eye, I expect you to behave well. Next time, if I catch you harassing a woman and grabbing women's wrists like a deviant pervert, like what you did in this cafe, I will write to enforcers straight away. Hope you have seen Jeff's news to know what enforcers are capable of." Having said that, Clary warned Leandre, rose from the chair, and walked away to find her friend Rick before the Tropical fruit found her.
"Is this why clown was looking at me suspiciously? She even gave a warning of conduct." Leandre chuckled, taken aback by her words. It now dawned on him that she must have mistakenly witnessed holding hands with those women.
"She gave a warning to the enforcers indirectly. Didn't you hear that?" Knox cackled up. "She is a real spark plug, Leandre. I am just imagining the look on her face if she found out she warned the founder of the enforcers!" The sarcastic warning she delivered to Leandre was like a firecracker explosion, sending Knox into a fit of laughter.
What a nutcracker! Leandre shook his head, getting up. "Let's go. The impoundment lot will close if we are any late by seven."
"I'll just wash up my hands and be right back," Knox said. Despite using the tissue to wipe away the dragon drink residue, Knox felt a lingering stickiness on his hands.
Leandre gave a nod of assent and made his way towards the exit, informing Knox that he would wait in the car.
Knox made his way to the restroom, and just when he pushed open the door, he was taken aback by the relentless pounding on the door and barrage of curses from the bathroom stall. He hesitantly unlocked the door. Upon the door opening, his jaw dropped open, seeing the man standing before him. "Pineapple? What are you doing here?"
"You hooligan! What took you so long to open the door? Burying your loot inside the cafe?" Pineapple barked as he unzipped his pants, revealing his treasure chest. A woman had come earlier, but that hooligan didnot open it.
Pineapple brushed past Knox and charged to the hand dryer, unbothered that his underwear was on display to Knox. Pineapple lifted his pants to the machine, letting the warm air blow on his pants.
Knox was gobsmacked as he stood behind Pineapple. With Pineapple's shirt riding high, he caught a glimpse of the elastic band on Pineapple's pink underwear, boasting its brand name 'Ball Basket', but that was not the real kicker. His undie was emblazoned with the words Gas Station scrawled across the fabric in bold, striking letters. Right under the word gas station, there was a burly cartoon bear perched on a bench, fueling up an Isuzu car at a petrol pump. Knox stifled his laughter. Given Pineapple's habit of releasing toxic farts after taking strength-boosting pills, the gas station undies were a fitting choice for him.
"Hey, Knox!" Pineapple turned to Knox as he dried his pants. "Did you see a girl wearing a vibrant wig and space-styled goggles outside?"
"How do you know her?" Knox asked, confused. By chance, does he know her? One strange thing that Knox noticed was that Pineapple didn't seem surprised by his arrival when he opened the bathroom door. This had Knox pondering if Pineapple was here on a mission to stalk Leandre, given his fascination with him.
"How do I know her, you ask?" Pineapple's jealousy burned hotter than dragon's breath. "That thief stole my wig and goggles and locked me in the bathroom. Quickly tell me where she went."
"I_I saw her going out of the cafe," Knox said. What's with her connection to Pineapple? Knox wondered.
"That bandit." Pineapple was ready to bolt out of the bathroom when Knox called him.
"Put on your pants, you fruity pervert!" Knox shouted. That gas station underwear would be a true carnival for the onlookers.
"Do you think I am not aware of this?" Pineapple shouted at Knox before slipping into his pants and hastening outside to track down the culprit.
Meanwhile, Clary returned to Coffee House again when she couldn't find Rick outside the cafe as well. In the chaos of dealing with the tropical fruit-headed man, she had carelessly left her phone in the bathroom. "Where on the earth are you, Rick?" The coffee shop manager is also missing. Clary muttered to herself, and just that moment, a head crowned in tropical fruit caught her eye as he emerged from the bathroom. With lightning speed, Clary scurried under the empty table to avoid being spotted. She held her breath, watching the man slip past her table, making his way out of the cafe. With a sigh of relief, Clary came out of the table and quickly rushed to the bathroom to retrieve her phone. On her way, Clary saw the man who had earlier splattered her dress with droplets of pink drink, and she waved at him before slipping into the bathroom.
Knox: " "
"What the hell!" Is she going to the bathroom to hide from Pineapple? Are these two playing hide and seek? Knox decided not to be part of their game anymore.
Clary breathed a sigh of relief as she spotted her phone resting on the washbasin countertop. Upon unlocking it, she noticed saw seven missed calls from Rick.. "This is called miscommunication," Clary said, yanking off the wig and goggles and sighing in relief with the gooey wig finally taken out of her head. "My scalp feels like it's been dunked in a pot of boiling magma. How on earth did that tropical fruit endure wearing this?" she exclaimed, fanning herself with her hand.
"Finally, a moment of peace. I can relax now that tropical fruit and the little Giraffe have left the cafe." Clary muttered with all the energy drained out. She hopped onto the countertop, took the wig in her hands, and playfully twirled it as she dialled Rick's number. Before the phone chirped a couple of times, the door creaked open, and entered a man.
"I must say, your grand unveiling is a feast for my eyes to behold!"