Where's 'it'

02

Zon polishes yet another glass as he tunes out the murmur in the bar. It was an awfully slow day for a Friday. The number of patrons could be easily counted. The dim and sombre ambiance of the bar was making him sleepy especially since he was repeating the same mundane routine. His eyes widened as he checked the cleanliness of the glass against the light. The clear reflection brought him out of his reverie and was staring back at him oddly. It reminded him of a particular patron that loved to antagonise him.

"Hey baby, I was so sad that you didn't call me." the man cooed and pouted.

Zon turns around annoyed and straight-faced. "It's you again. What do you want?"

"Call me by my name. I gave you my namecard the other time, didn't I? As for what I want... maybe you?" the man smiles and his eyes turn into two crescent moons.

Zon sighed and said in a dead-panned tone, "Mr Saifah, you are already breaking the policy. Why do you keep bothering me? I will never be in your list of conquests because I'm straight. So, just give it up and one more thing, stop calling me that pet name."

"Thanks for remembering me, baby. Anyways, why must I call you by your fake name when I can call you my baby? I know how names work around here."

Zon takes off his apron and slams it down the counter. It created quite a scene considering the calm atmosphere. Eyes were overlooking the scene and the murmurs of gossip were getting louder.

"Do you think I'm easy?!" Zon talked through gritted teeth while staring menacingly before turning to leave abruptly.

Saifah stood stunned at the bar, looking like a withering tree in fall.

*

Zon stomps over to the locker room, throwing his apron to the laundry basket haphazardly. He was clearly having a bad day. First, it was his persistent sister. Then, it was his shitty boss forcing him to come to work. Now, that stupid vexing man. Zon cursed passionately under his breath. A hand held his shoulder. Zon turned around ready to throw hands towards the offender. The wrinkles in Zon's face smoothed out when he saw who exactly was the offending man.

"Tutor. You scared me"

Tutor laughed and hugged Zon. It was so comfortable to hug Zon given how small he was. Zon accepted the hug and hugged back, tucking his head in the crevice of Tutor's shoulder. He felt the body warmth comfort and soothe his inner turmoil and he slowly began to relax.

"Are you ok? What happened? Did that patron sweep you off your feet yet?" replied Tutor in a teasing manner.

"Are you crazy? No! That man came to disturb me again. I'll punch his face if I ever see him outside. He's lucky I'm still in uniform." The anger Zon had had was revived the moment Saifah was mentioned.

"You?! Fighting someone? You think you can do it? You'll run off and hide like you always do." Tutor's eyes gleamed and he raised his eyebrow mockingly.

"URGH!" Zon sulked and turned to his locker to change out of his uniform thinking of a comeback. Zon turns back to face Tutor after only changing mid-way when the idea struck him. "How about you with your Mr. Koala! I bet there's something going on! He's been requesting for you so often and coming with his annoying friend."

"HAHAHAHA. That's the best you can come up with? Yeah, he has a great build." Tutor says wrapping his arms around himself while sliding down the lockers in a sultry fashion. "Well, I have the skills to keep them coming back."

Zon rolled his eyes and turned around once more to finish changing.

*