That was rude!" Sheela said while hugging Glottis' arm as they walked toward the restaurant. "Can you believe this guy? He literally hates vegans so much he would back off from dating me after hearing I was one!"
"Yeah… unbelievable," Glottis said helplessly. He had no idea why she was so adamant about continuing their date after doing her best to avoid it all this time. 'Is it the power of money? it is, isn't it?' he pondered.
"I'm glad you don't mind it and even took me to a vegan restaurant," she gave him a cute smile and squeezed his arm. "Most guys would just tell me to take the vegan dish of a normal restaurant or order salad if there wasn't any," she shared her dating hardships.
"Yeah… me too," his voice lackluster. He simply did not think about this option. "When did you become vegan anyway?"
"Oh," her face turned bright, "It's part of the journey to inner peace! We learned that you must be kind to all-"
"I'm not converting to your cult, forget I asked," Glottis interrupted her incoming speech, making her pout.
"I told you, it's neither a religion nor a cult, it's a movement. There's nothing shady about it!"
"Other than the fact that it originates from the most corrupted continent on our planet. Anyway, what does your cult say about having sex?" It was one of Glottis' biggest worries. If it banned that, he had been putting up with her bullshit for nothing.
"It's not a cult, and sometimes a sprout of good can come out of a bad place. As for your question, which I'm sure has no hidden motives, the MOVEMENT teaches its followers to be patient with sex. It must come from a place of love and mutual attraction rather than-"
"Oh, spare me the details, what's the bottom line?" Glottis helped her focus again.
"Ah, you lack patience, you will never achieve inner piece like that-"
Glottis could only sigh inwardly in despair, confused about how he got into that situation.
"…Don't you think I'm right?"
He suddenly woke up from his reveries at the sound of a question, having no idea what she was talking about.
'Oh, did she answer my question?' he wondered. 'Wait, do I agree with her or not?" He realized he had no idea what he was supposed to agree with. 'Oh well, whatever.'
"Yeah… you are right," he mumbled.
"Great! I was worried you wouldn't want to wait!" she said happily, making him freeze.
"Wait?" he asked, wanting more details about what he just agreed to.
"Hello! Do you have a reservation?" Before Sheela could reply, they already faced the hostess of the restaurant who was waiting at the door for the new arrivals.
"Oh, no, we would like a table for two, preferably a place outside," he said. It was one of the only luxurious restaurants in the city in which he had no special status, mainly because he never ate there.
"Sure, you can go to table 8, Donna will lead you to your seats."
A pretty woman with dark auburn hair smiled at the couple and beckoned them to follow. They had an area for diners who preferred to breathe fresh air and an option to dine inside the building in a well-furnished space.
'Of course, a vegan restaurant has available tables without a reservation,' Glottis thought with a wrinkle of his nose. Most successful restaurants require a reservation in advance, sometimes even days ahead.
Sheela seemed in her element, perusing the menu with an expert eye. Glottis, on the other hand, was adrift in a sea of unfamiliar terms like 'seitan' and 'tempeh'. When the waitress arrived to take their order with a tablet in her hands, Sheela looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to order first.
He glanced around, leaned in as though to share a secret, and said, "I'll have the fish, please." The waitress blinked, a beat of awkward silence hanging in the air.
"Oh, we don't serve fish here, sir. This is a vegan restaurant," she explained gently, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips.
"But fish aren't REAL animals, are they? They're practically swimming vegetables, right?" he argued back.
"No, sir, we consider them just as animalistic as mammals. We only serve plant-based dishes here," she explained, wondering who can be that ignorant.
"Right, right," Glottis chuckled, scratching his head. "Of course. Then, I'll go for the… uh, pasta with cheese."
"Of course, which cheese substitute would you like?" she jotted down the order.
"Real cheese, obviously, none of that fake stuff. I still have my tasting buds," he joked.
Sheela's eyes widened slightly, and the waitress cleared her throat. "Actually, our cheeses are all plant-based. Would you like almond, soy, or cashew cheese with your pasta?" Her lips twitched as she chose to list all the options from her tablet.
Glottis reclined in his chair, feigning contemplation. "Hmm, which one is closest to the real deal? You know, the kind that comes from cows, not trees."
The waitress tried to maintain her composure, though her smile was now tinged with a hint of strain. Sheela, meanwhile, fiddled with her napkin, clearly uncomfortable but also fighting back a smile at Glottis' oblivious remarks.
"Fine, I will have a 'tofu steak', medium rare please," he chose something at random and hoped for the best.
"Sure, right away," she nodded, not adding anything to make the situation any more awkward. Sheela knew what she wanted, and her turn did not take long. The waitress tapped her tablet quickly, placing the order before leaving.
As the waitress walked away, Glottis bent and whispered to Sheela, "You should eat chickens. Their inner parts are better than your inner peace, especially the hearts."
"That's disgusting! They deserve to live, too!"
"You're right. You are selling me short, you know, my family used to have a pet once. A rooster, he would wake us up every morning. We called him Mercy as an inside joke – we would say he is merciless for never allowing us to sleep after sunrise," he shared his pro-animal past.
"Aww, really? That sounds so cute! Did he die of old age already?" She noticed the past tense.
"No, my brother and I wanted to sleep more, so one afternoon when nobody watched us we sneaked into his room with a knife and butchered him. Our parents did not even know they were eating Mercy that dinner because we threatened the chef, hahaha!" He burst into laughter when he recalled his sister's expression when they told her amidst a mouthful of chicken wings.
"That's horrible," she muttered in shock, unable to come up with any other words.
After that story, thankfully, they sat silently until the food arrived. After a meal from which Glottis took only one bite before he learned it's better to stay hungry, he called for the bill as soon as he could – with Sheela's last bite.
"Hey, do you have plans for later?" Sheela asked. Despite the small setback with the rooster story, she did enjoy their date, and she knew a meat lover couldn't be changed in a single day.
"Yes, I'm going to the strip club with my friend, he is the owner. One of my favorite dancers is performing tonight," he told her directly, catching her off-guard. He knew how to shake off girls when needed.
"Ah… really?" She asked, unsure how to react to the revelation.
"Yes, would you like to join us? Candy's body is like a doll, it got perfect proportions, you don't wanna miss it," he offered.
"Ah… no, thanks. I will just see you at school tomorrow I guess," she could see the hints that he had enough of her for the meantime.
"Hello, here's your bill. Would you like to pay with a credit card?" the waitress returned with the tab. She placed it in the middle of the table, not wishing to assume who pays.
"Yes, take this, thanks," he handed over his black card without even looking at the price. "Take 15% as a tip," he added.
She pulled out a card reader and placed the card on top of it.
*Beep beep*
Red lights flashed twice, making Glottis raise his eyebrows in surprise.
"Wait, let me try again," he said and fixed the card's positioning more carefully.
*Beep beep*
The red light flashed twice again, making him laugh awkwardly at this mishap.
"Are you sure this thing works?" He asked.
"I am, it says that your card was blocked, sir," this time her smile was gone, and her lips twitched in annoyance. She wasn't used to having broke customers in this district. Only the rich came to dine there, and most thieves didn't choose vegan restaurants for their dine-and-dash.
"Let me try my Melon Pay," he clicked the app on his phone and aimed his phone at the device's chip.
*Beep beep*
Just as he tried to understand what the hell was going on, his phone rang, prompting him to check the caller.
"Just a second, I will check what is going on here," he told the seller with a straight face and answered the call, letting the two ladies look at him conversing.
"Leo, good thing you called, I just had a problem that I need you to look into-" Glottis answered the call and talked without letting the other speak.
"Woah, woah, Little Brother, wait," Leo's voice stopped him. His voice sounded suspiciously… happy?
"What is it?" Glottis asked.
"I only called to notify you about something," the older brother said. This time Glottis recognized it. It was gloating.
"What did you do?"
"I have done nothing, I only followed Mom's instructions. A few days ago, just before your birthday, she told me to block all your financial sources. She said it's for your own good, to teach you to manage your budgets and rely on yourself," Leo's lectured with his most irritating tone.