ADULT WOLF (ON HOLD)

THE OCTOBER FALL CAFE

I awaken to the sound of silence.. Nah, I'm kidding. I'd been awake for the past five hours. Things were unusually quiet in the cafe. The radio was on very low, and most of the regulars hadn't arrived to pick up their orders. Even Mrs Dae-Kim was half an hour late, and she's always fifteen minutes early.

It was a calm, summer's day, and the wind was just strong enough to blow a cooling breeze through the open windows. The fan was on overdrive, and the shade of the cafe combined with the wind was enough to keep me from sweating like a pig.

Being on counter duty was always better than being in the kitchen. It was a death trap in the summer months. The chefs had one too many smoke breaks, but who could blame them?

Undoing the top two buttons of my work shirt brought relief. Breathing was so much easier, and the fabric wasn't making me want to itch. My neck was less stiff and free to move about whilst I pondered about some things to the fine beat of That Thong Song playing in the background, which was getting stale now, after a year. Wouldn't like to smell them...

Tapping my fingers along to the beat relaxed those pesky thoughts about her. Gabriella Hayes. She was pretty fly for a white girl. I'd been loco for her ever since she came in and ordered some of those fish tacos last Friday. They were almost as tasty looking as her.

We spoke for a bit, until her jerk boyfriend, Dick Smallwood (yes, I promise that's his name) came in and dragged her away. I smiled at the both, and he shot back a death glare. If looks could kill in that moment, half of the cafe would have dropped dead.

They argued outside for about five minutes. Overheard some yelling, swearing and Dick saying something unkind alluding to a 'pansy bastard', saw some grabbing, and punching too. Couldn't leave my post, because it was actually super busy. People were coming for the Happy Pancake Hour, where the pancakes are free, as part of our business promotion.

Trying to wangle a smoke break didn't work because:

Herman wasn't back from his break yet.

It was half an hour 'til dinner.

Jermaine Parker from the Angelino Packers was about to score an epic slam dunk...

... But those pancakes weren't gonna serve themselves.

After what seemed like ages, they left in Dick's stupid, cheap looking convertible. For a man of 'taste', his car made Herbie look like a brand spanking new Porsche 911. One of those ones with gold alloys and fresh, black paint that can do 0-60 in three seconds.

Looking across the street, I let out a sigh as the car sped off into the distance. Two customers looked at me like I had five heads, and one of them asked:

"Girl trouble?"

To which I nodded back and replied. "I want her to be worth it."

"She will be, if you make it that way."

Before I could respond, the elderly man had smiled at me and left out through the door.

So, I'd begun to take on his advice, and had hoped that things would start to look up (for us both in a way), despite the realism kicking in over the situation. Gabriella would have to get off her high horse, forget about her status, dump Dick and have a mind-altering accident, and I'd need to get ripped, have some money and a Porsche.

My strategy was beginning to take off. All those extra gym sessions (ok, it was two), cars I was fixing in my spare time, protein shakes, extra cups of coffee and car magazines had started to have an effect on my brain.

The perks of being more alert also had its downfalls, though. The extra energy had to go into something else, so I was a lot more fidgety than usual. One moment, the TV was my focus, the radio the next and then the cars parking outside the street. Being in a quiet cafe didn't help things at all.

Hoping for the next custom to show up and collect their Sunday Lunch made the day seem slower. Talking to Herman and the other chefs in the back didn't help much either. We discussed cars, basketball, home improvements and the boring topic of family.

Not being overly social made me seem boring, but the amount of free time was the biggest pro. Fixing up cars, walking dogs, baking, and playing basketball for money were my main hobbies. Having an enterprising spirit was something that came naturally to me.

For years, I was just an average Rod. Never Hot, never Iron. Being "average" was nice; not a social outcast, not super popular, but just content enough to survive without any complications. That's all that really mattered; being comfortable, but strong enough to fight life's battles as they came.

And boy, was I in for one hell of a ride.

The door swung open, breaking my trail of thoughts. In ran Samuel, Mr. Watanabe's nephew, who looked worse for wear. His face was dirty, and he had a shocked expression etched across it.

In the heat of the moment, he slammed his bloody fingers against the desk. He was panting and his eyes were wide open, like something unexpected had jumped out of nowhere and startled him. His heart was beating so fast and hard, I could almost see it ready to burst out of his chest. Droplets of blood and sweat covered the counter as I froze on the spot:

"ROD! I NEED TO... TO USE YOUR PHONE!" He exclaimed as his shaking hands reached over the desk. "NOW!"

Startled, I turned around and grabbed the cordless phone and threw it to him. Almost missed, but he managed to catch it. Convulsing, he dialled the number and moments later, he got through to the Emergency Unit:

"911 what's the address of the emergency?" A muffled voice that sounded womanly asked from the other end.

"... October Fall Cafe... near the forest!" 

"How can I help you?"

"... My Uncle..." Samuel hesitated, wiping his eyes. "He... he's dead!"

For the next few moments, Samuel's heart sank as he burst into tears. He could hardly finish the call:

"Can... I give you to... my friend... Rodney?"

"Can you put your friend on?"

Samuel passed the phone to me, as he collapsed crying. The whole front of the cafe was a mess. Herman, hearing the commotion ran out to comfort him. Several of the chefs stood and watched the drama unfold before them.

"... Hello."

"Is this Rodney?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me the address of October Fall Cafe?"

"6790 Falls Avenue..."

"Ok, we're on our way."

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