iridescent

(1) One: yellow beginnings

The little cafe at the blue corner was open. With its purple aura and green scent it brought everyone inside like a marionette with their puppets. On a Wednesday afternoon, the school had just ended and everyone wanted to come in for a special bring your cup, we'll fill* your lemonade for free** (*only for cups up to 20 oz, **no refills) The café was filled with chairs and stools and tables and people. Danny, who'd rushed from school to get to work, had served 17 glasses of lemonade already (11 of them were for the special offer) and 23 chocolate ice cubes. Everyone loved the ice cubes.

"But seriously, Danny, why not Edinburgh?"

"Because it's so far away! It's, like, 350 kilometres away."

"Danny, you know I love you, but you're way too pessimistic about new things. You know Edinburgh offers great education, and it's still close enough to home that we can always visit on breaks."

"I still like Manchester's university better."

Naomi, who's always at the café with Danny on Wednesdays took a sip of her coffee. "You know," she replied to Danny's antics, "you're so gloomy you're more bitter than my coffee."

"Ha-ha-ha. Not funny." Danny knew he'd dried the clean mug for more than ten minutes, but he'd rather dry it for ten more just to talk to Naomi than converse with customers. Danny had never been the outgoing type.

Danny and Naomi, who'd soon be celebrating their one year anniversary, continued bickering. They didn't seem to notice when the bell above the door chimed and a new customer entered. Not until the strangely clad lad sat down next to Naomi, who'd sucked in her lips in surprise.

"Where can I find a human?"

Danny drew his brows at the new customer, "Pardon?"

"You know what a human is, danja?" Danny and Naomi shared a bewildered look.

"Uh..." Intelligent, Danny.

"Piblo, do you know if there's a human in this area?"

"Well, yes. But, uhm, why are you asking?"

"I require assistance from a human."

Danny had found it intriguing how the customer pronounced 'a' as 'ay'. Not that he hadn't heard it before, but it felt so orange that he couldn't find an explanation as to why he found it thought-provoking in the first place. "You know, normal people usually don't walk around asking for humans..."

"I still require assistance from a human." Could he be more blunt?

"What can I help you with?"

"Are you a human, piblo?"

"Yes." Duh.

"I require assistance."

"I reckon that. But for what?"

"That is what humans call a, hmm, secret."

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you if I don't know what you need help for. Care for a lemonade?"

"No thank you, piblo." The man stayed rooted to the spot even though he seemed to be in a hurry.

"Are you sure we can't help you, sir?" Naomi asked.

"Quite."

"All right. Sorry then, lad." Danny replied. He didn't want to seem hostile, but he liked to stay out of any kinds of trouble as much as possible. And he didn't want anything to do with this man. Or boy, rather. The customer couldn't be much older than Danny himself.

"Or," the man frowned, as in a deep conversation with himself, "I believe, perhaps, you two could be of help."

Great.