L'affaire Bob

7. To Share and Care

I slowly lifted my eyes to where a sign hung over the door. Painfully, I deciphered the nine letters that were on it.

Back in the agency, I was quite known for my flawless and stupendous vision; everyone asked for my help when it came to cracking unreadable letters from criminals, or important documents with unclear handwriting. I was always right. Not once was I mistaken or wrong about it, and I couldn't be more thankful for these prodigious visual abilities that had served me so well over the years.

However, at this moment, I didn't feel so grateful anymore. I hoped with all my might that I was, just for this time, wrong, and prayed that I had developed some kind of eye disease or vision disorder in the last few minutes. But the deplorable sign above the door made it clear that whatever was behind that doorway was, indeed, a cafeteria.

Not wanting to admit my defeat, nor that this girl, whoever she was, was right, I bravely turned my head towards her and let out a hopefully confident: "Yeah, I knew it already..."

In response, her infuriating grin widened even more.

-"Oh, as it happens, I was just heading to the cafeteria! Wanna join?" she added mischievously.

I plastered a fake smile on my face and managed to utter: "Sure, let's go!" through gritted teeth.

She pushed the door open and set foot in the cafeteria, surveying the room with her eyes like a queen greeting her subjects. She walked inside and seemed to conquer this uncharted territory with her powerful gaze. 

I followed her into the room and to the cafeteria lady.

-"A chocolate bar, please," I told the middle-aged woman who was standing in front of me.

-"Good morning to you too, young man," she replied with a genuine smile on her face.

-"Oh! Umm, good morning," I said hurriedly, a shade of innocent guilt in my voice.

-"Now you can have your snack, sweetie."

-"Yeah, sorry about that... I got a bit distracted and forgot to greet you."

-"Distracted, huh?" teased me the annoying girl; "By what, pray, or should I say by who?" she added, and wiggled her eyebrows, teasingly.

-"Yeah, whatever." Turning towards the cafeteria woman, I thanked her for the chocolate bar and went to sit on one of the tables nearby.

-"Great choice, by the way, you know. These are one of the best chocolate bars in Paris. Soon, you'll find yourself buying one every single day. And I'm talking from experience, trust me."

-"Who said I could trust you? Who are you anyway? You can't just follow me inside the cafeteria and start a conversation with me out of nowhere!"

-"Emmanuelle Rousseau, nice to meet you. And yes, technically, I can. One also might refer to this social interaction as a way of getting to know each other better. And I'm afraid, communication and cooperation would be necessary in that case, since you're new here, and it is in our traditions to welcome the trainees and newcomers warmly and make them feel comfortable and at home."

-"So you're a time-traveler too?"

-"Indeed I am, and I'm proud of you to have figured it out. Great job, niño! Continue like that, and you might reach the intelligence of a 10-year-old!" She clapped her hands excitedly and smiled at me as if talking to a fifth-grader.

-"Why is everyone assuming that I'm dense and thickheaded? I was, and still am, a detective, for God's sake!"

-"You are?! Oh dear, I give you my sincerest apologies. Although if you think of it, what I've seen the last few minutes proved me otherwise. It's okay, you know. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Not everyone is perfect, and everyone has some flaws. It is, after all, in our human nature, right?"

-"Miss... Rousseau, right?"

-"Yes."

-"Can I ask you something?"

-"Sure! Go ahead."

-"Shut up and eat."

-"But I don't have any food with me... Oh, you mean to give me a piece of your chocolate bar? How sweet of y..."

-"Are you out of your mind? Surely not! Go buy yourself one. And be quiet!"

-"Ah... The concept of sharing... One of the most beautiful notions on this planet. Great satisfaction comes from sharing with others. And as they say, sharing is caring!"

-"Exactly. I do not care. Therefore, I will not share."

-"Oh, come on! Don't be such a stick-in-the-mud!"

At this point, I didn't even bother talking back at her. Instead, I sat there and tried to peacefully enjoy my snack.

Surprisingly enough, she gave up, and silence fell on our little table. She then stood up, strode past me, and towards the middle-aged woman.

When she returned, with a chocolate bar in her hands, I had finished mine and was about to leave.

-"It's a shame that I finished my meal," I said, trying to sound apologetic. "I would have gladly stayed with you, seeing how friendly, approachable and not-mean-at-all you are, but alas, I'm afraid I would have to leave you. My first lesson starts in a few minutes, and we wouldn't want the newest recruit to be late and unpunctual, am I right? It would just give a bad impression to whoever is going to be teaching us. Ciao!"

I let these words hung in the air for a few seconds and, without waiting for a reply, left the room victorious, leaving her speechless and dumbstruck.

Or so I thought.

Little did I know that she was never one to quit.

Or that what awaited me was much, much worse than what happened right now.

And as I walked down the corridor on my way to the training room, thoughts about this mysterious girl started swirling in my head.

I was so absorbed in them, that the few words that echoed in the distance seemed pointless and insignificant.

Had I known this girl better, I wouldn't have been so lost in thought and would have concentrated on her words a little more.

Unfortunately, I did not, which is why I missed the little remark she threw at me when I was out of the room:

-"Oh, don't worry about making a bad first impression on the coach. You've already done it!"