Arcane

Chapter 3: Gangster

ROWAN

I hate this. I hate sitting on this boring chair and listen to people talking about themselves, their fortes, their passion and bla bla bla. ( It is your job dumbass. You are the chief director, Remember? It is your job to manage and guide the interviewers, Remember? ).
" I will try my best t-to b-bring positive changes in t-the department and-". "Next" I cut off the stupid interviewee stammering in front of me as his face paled in fear. 'Bring changes in the department ' I scoffed. Who does he think he is? Like the chairman will let him. Kids these days. I shook my head, sipping on my cappuccino. I was spinning a pen with my hand, other hand managing the weight of my cheek as I went through the resume of the next candidate. This was the 15th one. This one seems familiar, kinda? I don't know. The photograph was a little blurry. No one out of the previous ones were hired, they obviously were not upto the standards of The Allisons. They know nothing. There was a knock on the door and a honey like, appealing voice called out saying "May I come in?". It's a girl? Yup, the second one. The previous one got rejected and went out weeping. "You may enter" Mr. Steve(one of the interviewers) announced.
She entered and- and..why does she look so damn familiar? I came out of my thoughts when she yelled " OMG! MR. DARLING, IS THAT YOU?!". She then covered her mouth with her palm, cheeks turning red as she looked around and apologised for shouting. She must have realised that I was not the only one in the room. Then it hit me. "LADY BOSS?!" I exclaimed.
~FLASHBACK~

The weather is lovely today. It is the day when I feel the happiest, Sunday. duh. It is evening and I am going out, to meet the love of my life. I wore a simple white hoodie with light blue skinny jeans and a pair of white sneakers. I pushed away my curly blonde bangs from my forehead.I felt elated seeing the sight in front of me. The creamy, soft and velvety cakes were placed on the glass shelf. Heaven. The delicious, marvellous aroma filled my nose. I looked at my favourite flavour, butterscotch, dreamily. Well, 'THE LAURENCE BAKERS' is my favourite bakery and the most pleasant thing to think about. It is owned by an old couple who have some sort of magic in their hands to be able to create such masterpieces and I am obviously friends with them. I visit here EVERY Sunday, and only the power of god can stop me from doing so. I skipped my way happily to the store, opening the door and standing in the queue. Only two to three people stood in front of me. It is a less known place, not expensive. Sometimes, I wonder that how can people not know about such a heavenly place. It was peaceful , had a cozy ambiance and vintage vibes. Well, figures. It is far away from the main city, in the suburbs. I was waiting patiently for my turn until someone decided to break through the queue and stand in front of me, pushing me backwards. Who the fuck dared to? It was a VERY muscular man, filled with tattoos and gold jewellery. Is he some kind of thug? I gulped. But, anything for the cake. "Excuse me. Mister, whoever you are. You do realise that I was standing here first and you should be standing behind me, don't you?" I said, trying to be as polite as possible. He turned around and I took a step back, his face was dangerous with loads of nose and ear piercings. " Do you have a problems, kid?" He grumbled harshly as a shadow crossed my face. "Show some civility and wait for your turn mister and I am not a kid. If you are not blind, you should be able be able to see that I am a twenty four year adult. " I fired back, pissed. He laughed. He DID WHAT?
" Let's teach you a lesson kid, you must know how to respect your elders." He barked, cracking his knuckles. Now, we were the centre of attraction. Great. He was coming towards me as I stood there without backing off, ready to fight. ( you might break a bone or two, Rowan). "Stop right there Mister!" A soothing yet stern voice of a lady called out. I turned back, only to see an angel. She's..... gorgeous. She had a long and slender figure.(shorter than him of course). She wore a long knitted purple sweater, reaching her mid thighs along with some black stalkings and white shoes. She had thick, soft, wavy, chestnut brown curls. A cute white woollen cap was also worn. Her skin was bright and clear that appeared to be pale due to the weather. Her almond, round and hazel eyes were daring. She had a round yet pointed nose which was red due to cold. She had soft and fluffy cheeks. Her lips were heart shaped and plumpy, red coloured. She looks so......squishy, adorable, and huggable.(Stop checking her out and burning her with your stares). "And WHO might you be little girl?" the muscular dumbshit spoke. Ahhh, this bull- "I am Alora, the grand daughter of the owner here and I have been listening to your conversations for a while now. It is time for you to behave and apologise to the man there" she completed, pointing at me. "And what if I don't?" that dipshit said, smirking. I looked at him as my expression hardened. How dare he- " Let's do it your way then" she calmly said and shrugged. She rummaged through her bag, taking out her phone and..doing something?
"Hello 911? This is Alora Laurence calling from 'The Laurence Bakers' on street ' park mania' to report an aggressive customer, threatening another customer and disturbing the ambience here" Atta girl.I glanced at the dipshit fuming in rage and he stomped towards Alora. That's it. You can't touch her. He was about to snatch the phone away from her when I held his hand and twisted it backwards, causing him to groan. He looked at me angrily and was ready to throw a punch until Alora kicked him in the calf muscle of his right leg causing him to fall forward. "You forced me to use violence, Dear customer" she emphasised on the word 'Dear'. Wow, I am totally impressed. She is VERY daring and righteous. If anyone else was in her spot, they would not dare kicking this muscular pig. "What's going on here?" Grandma said, coming out of the kitchen( Rowan calls the owner slash Alora's grandmother as grandma).
After explaining everything to Grandma and handling that scum to the police, Alora and me were outside, she was sipping her hot chocolate and I was eating my precious cake which Grandma gave as a token of apology and even after denying it for a hundred times and offering to pay for it, I HAD to accept it.(just Grandma things). "So, what's your name mister?" Alora began. Oh, she finally managed to ask me that question. Let's have some fun. "My name's Darling, lady boss" I said as I put my hand forward for a handshake. She tilted her head in confusion as her lips came out in a pout. "Ehh..?" she questioned. The duality of this girl, she was acting all brave and courageous in front of a gangster and turned to a cute kitten now. I nodded and my head, grinning and indicated her towards the hand that was put out for a handshake. She chuckled and shook my hand. " You already know mine, Mr. Darling" she spoke in her feathery voice. "Yeah. Alora is a pretty name" I marvelled at the sound of her name coming out from my lips. She was just so inviting. We talked for a while. We even argued over the fact that 'I call HER grandmother as Grandma' and exchanged numbers. I named her as 'Lady Boss' and she smiled so beautifully at that. She called me as 'friendly' when actually she was the very first person to talk to me in such a frank way. Damn. Fun fact: She has a VERY pretty smile. She is able to bring a smile on anyone's face by beaming hers.