Chapter 3 - CHAPTER THREE

At Klingon Bar, where Noah usually visited in order to have some fun, and take his mind off worries, he stood and watched around, hoping he would meet Mr. Kenneth, his adviser.

It had been two hours, Noah hadn't even heard of the man. Several peeping through his window didn't work, especially when he found out from Sarah that the man had travelled for a tour.

Noah yawned. Sarah offered him a chair as usual, but not with any soft drink. He called her, talking to her as if he was joking. "Sarah! Won't you offer me a drink at least? I trust you for the delicious… orange juice."

"Hmm…" Sarah returned, her response conveying the same thought as Noah's. "I think we have a small extra here, I'll be back soon." She entered to get one cup for him and arrived so quickly with a straw neatly pierced in it.

"I just like your hospitality, Sashiee…" Noah appreciated her, and took his eyes away, when a man whose face was frowning, gazed at him and took his face off again.

"Feel free, Master Noah!" Sarah said, as she walked back into the bar. She was the waiter on duty exactly the time Noah asked for a drink, so anyone would think Noah bought it.

Noah couldn't help watch the faces that continued to peep at him. "What is really… wrong…?" He whispered in a very low tone, and strolled back to the house.

The juice was sweet to his taste, but his situation was no better. Nothing ameliorated yet. Noah sighed, and went for a shower in the bathroom. Within some time, he fell asleep.

An alarm rang.

The full aura remained the same. Noah knew he had just taken his bath, but then that he fell asleep. His tongue returned a slight taste of the juice he sipped, but he still felt bad. Finding himself still at Mr. Cooper's house remained a stomp in his throat. "Ah! My chest smells well as usual, but what good does that do to me?" He lamented, his eyes remaining stiff as he gazed at the mirror in front of him.

"I hope I locked the main door?" He wondered, trying to reduce and retract an adamant yawn.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door. Noah's room was the smallest in the Harris' house. He was even less fed, and slightly well treated and considered as a member of the family, by Mr. Cooper. The sound made by his door often sounded like the clinging of two bells, a sign that the doorknob needed a repair. "Who's there?" Noah asked, as he slowly approached the door.

"It's me, Eric!" The visitor responded emphatically. Eric was a middle-aged friend of Noah's, but he often scorned him due to his challenges, almost every time they discussed. Noah was elated to see his friend notwithstanding.

"Oh, come in…!" Noah invited him in, flinging the handkerchief that he held onto his eyes beneath his bed. He wouldn't let Eric, his rival-like-friend know he often cried, and bemoaned his poor situation. As Eric walked in, Noah's sight immediately caught the nylon bag in his hands rapidly, so he bowed and smiled. "Eric, my wonderful friend!" Noah hailed him, and offered him a seat, right by his side, close to the window. "I didn't know you were the one, sincerely."

"It's me." Eric replied, smiling. "Were you scared though?"

"Not really." Noah suggested, spreading his arms, his face still glued at the nylon bag. I guess I didn't lock the main door."

"No, you didn't…" Eric replied to Noah, and placing his hands on his own chest, he signalled to Noah to be calm. "Just know that you must shut it properly next time, because of Mr. Cooper."

"Thank you, Eric." Noah appreciated him. "How have you been? It's been a while, gold-digger!"

"Healthy, comfortable and wealthy, as usual." Eric responded proudly, complementing the appraisal Noah showered on him, his face blushing with a kind of grandeur as he opened the nylon bag.

"What's in there?" Noah asked him, humbly intending to rebuff any rude reaction from his friend, he consciously and slowly groped the nylon bag with his hands, and felt a solid substance in it. "Is this…"

"Hmm…" Eric returned, unintentionally interrupting him. "What does it look like?" He opened the bag, and brought out the wad of dollar notes that he had conserved there.

"What!" Noah interjected, his mouth opened agape for surprise and shock. "Do you mean you won the money?" Noah asked his friend, as his eyes blinked for joy.

"Which money?" Eric returned a contrary reaction, turning his face suddenly at Noah's, directly looking into his eyes. He held the wad up and said, "I made this in just a few hours, but I actually have a plan on how to spend it."

With an abruptly evoked sad mood, Noah's smile reduced as his mind hurried back to his pessimism within a few seconds. He expected that the money would be meant for him, that the other object in the nylon bag which looked like a document, would be a letter of application or employment into a company, for him.

Noah grumbled in a low tone, under his breath and tried to hide his mood. "What about mining, your investments, and your office?" Noah questioned his friend, intending to change the subject matter. Meanwhile, Eric got him.

"I know you might feel bad about what I said…" Eric explained, leaving Noah in shock and sudden hope, at the same time. "I actually planned to give you this, Noah…"

"Me?!" Noah exclaimed, not letting Eric complete his statement, tears almost dropping down his cheeks. "Eric, you mean you are giving me all these notes?"

"Hmm…" Eric said, in agreement, trying to put his hands in the back pocket of his trousers, and Noah noticed there were still some dollar notes in it. "Yeah!" Eric suddenly interjected, as he brought out some money from his back pocket. "This is a sum of $500 too." Eric stated, patting Noah who was about to cry, at the back and making him sit. "This is specifically meant for you to start a business. Perhaps an ice-cream shop will do it, or online mining…"

"Yes, the mining!" Noah interposed, trying to refrain his mind from accepting the first job offer, which Eric recommended.

"Whichever one." Eric concluded, as he held the nylon bag tight again, with the documents in it. "I will visit you later."