Time Maze

New Friends, Old Problems

The number of dishes piling up on their table started to worry Tyson since he was still uncertain about the new currency and its usage. He couldn't tell if things were too expensive or not, but he had a feeling that the more they ordered, the less likely they would be to have enough money to pay.

Since he didn't know how strict they were about it in Bosnia, he wasn't ready to push his luck. So, he tried to find a polite way of stopping his friend, who started reminding him of a Pac-Man who devoured everything on its way.

"Oh, I wonder what this baklava thing is. It sounds delicious!" Marcus said with a twinkle in his eyes.

He didn't seem to care that he was already eating more than two meals and had ordered two different desserts.

"Ahem, Marcus, I don't want to be a killjoy, but I am not sure we have enough money for you to try anything else. I don't know the worth of this money, and I am not sure if these meals are cheap or very expensive," Tyson admitted.

"Oh," Marcus said, seeming to remember the dire situation they were in.

"Sorry, I guess I got carried away," Marcus added, smiling sheepishly at his friend.

"That's okay, I think we'll be able to cover it, but I don't want to risk it," Tyson said.

"Sure, sure," Marcus said, continuing his quest to clear all the plates that were in front of him.

The pounding in Tyson's head reminded him that he hadn't had coffee for ages, but he wasn't sure he was familiar with the one he saw on the menu. He didn't think it would be good to risk it. However, he wasn't sure that there were that many coffee options at that period of human history.

He was pretty sure that the waiters would've been confused if he was to order caffe latte with nonfat milk, or some of the other fad drinks that were popular in his time. However, it was odd for him that he couldn't see anything that seemed like black coffee. Everything sounded different to him.

"Dude, you look like hell! What's up?" Marcus asked, almost choking on his food.

It was as if the food was so good that pausing while eating it would be a sacrilege, and Tyson was once again shocked by how different he and his friend were. After all, Tyson could eat anything as long as it had enough nutrition to keep him going.

"I need caffeine," Tyson said, not liking the fact that he depended on anything as much as he did on coffee.

"Why don't you just order the thing they have here?" Marcus asked.

"I am not sure if it's strong enough," Tyson said hesitantly.

It occurred to him that anything was better than nothing, but he was still hesitant to try it.

"Oh, I just remembered! I think I smelled something like really fresh coffee before we reached this place. There must be some shop or something nearby, selling coffee," Marcus suddenly said.

"I don't know," Tyson said, scanning his friend carefully. "I don't want to leave you alone."

"Oh, come on! I am not a child. You don't have to babysit me all the time!" Marcus said indignantly.

"Don't I?" Tyson asked pointedly.

"Fine, you might have a point, but this time I'll be fine. I have all this food to keep me occupied," Marcus said, gesturing at the already half-empty plates in front of him. "What can go wrong?"

"That's what I am afraid to find out," Tyson mumbled under his breath.

Another sharp knife drove itself into his head and made the decision for him. He needed some coffee, and his friend was hopefully too busy to mess anything up.