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manfred von karma was feeling restless.
he had been working all day, and had barely left his desk for hours at a time. usually this was not a problem, but currently he felt the overwhelming urge to go someplace. so, when he got home, he expressed this feeling to gregory edgeworth, who had recently begun staying over at the von-karma-and-miles household for extended periods of time. manfred von karma understood that he probably had felt very lonely living all by himself, and so allowed him to stay in one of the many unoccupied rooms of the mansion. sometimes he got lost, and he and manfred von karma had to yell to each other in order to locate the other's position.
"well, why don't we go out to eat," suggested gregory edgeworth, after manfred von karma had told him about his feeling. "that would be an adventure."
manfred von karma didn't think that going out to eat really counted as an adventure. but he agreed anyway.
franziska von karma and miles also agreed to come, and a few minutes later they were all in gregory edgeworth's car, headed towards... some restaurant. manfred von karma had forgotten to ask where they were actually going.
"where are we actually going," asked manfred von karma.
"hm. that is a good question," said gregory edgeworth.
"i know it is a good question," said manfred von karma. "that is why i am asking it."
"i apologize. i meant, by saying that, that i am not really sure what restaurant we are going to," said gregory edgeworth.
manfred von karma had no idea why anyone would just start driving without even knowing where they were going. it made absolutely no sense.
"what about this one?" suggested gregory edgeworth, pointing out the window at a sign.
"keep both of your hands on the wheel," said manfred von karma.
"gregory edgeworth, that is a burger king. it barely qualifies as a restaurant," franziska von karma said, exasperatedly.
"i see," said gregory edgeworth, returning his hand to the steering wheel after manfred von karma stared at him for a few seconds.
they continued driving for around five minutes, gregory edgeworth pointing out just about every fast food place and being shut down by franziska von karma. it was honestly very impressive that she knew so much about what fast food locations to avoid, and manfred von karma suspected that she had connections on the inside, or at least knew someone who frequented those sorts of places.
in the end, they settled on an interesting-looking place with a yellow sign stating its name, 'bob evans'. it was unclear whether it was supposed to be just that, 'bob evans', or if it was supposed to have an apostrophe after the 's', to denote that the restaurant belonged to a 'bob evans'. it was certainly an odd thing. the roof looked very odd, as well.
"it looks like someone took a bite out of it," commented miles.
"don't be foolish, miles edgeworth," said franziska von karma. "what sort of bite-mark looks like that. i say it looks like a keyhole."
"and what kind of keyhole looks like that," responded miles.
"a better one than your bite-mark," said franziska von karma.
manfred von karma lead the way inside. immediately, they were greeted by a set of small couches up against the wall, and a lectern, behind which was a lady wearing a nametag and apron. on the wall opposite, there were several shelves, each holding merchandise of some variety. manfred von karma could see a few small stuffed animals and several tiny snowglobes.
"how may i help you?" said the lady wearing the nametag.
"we'd like a table for four, please," said gregory edgeworth.
"right this way," the lady said. manfred von karma, who had been considering sitting down on one of the couches, reluctantly tore himself away and followed the lady, along with the rest of the party.
they arrived at their seats, franziska von karma and miles sitting on one side of the table and manfred von karma and gregory edgeworth on the other. manfred von karma squeezed himself into the corner. the seat was very comfortable and squishy. it was one of those tables with two long seats on either side, with one side of the table against a wall.
"would you like anything to drink?" asked the lady.
"some hot tea, please," said miles.
"i'd like the same," said gregory edgeworth.
"just water," said manfred von karma.
the lady turned to franziska von karma. "what would you like?"
franziska von karma stared at the menu for a few seconds.
"hot chocolate," she said.
manfred von karma felt proud of franziska von karma for trying something new. hot chocolate could be a radically different experience, depending on where it was purchased.
"alright, we'll be back shortly," the waitress lady said. then she left.
manfred von karma tapped his feet as he waited for his beverage to arrive. he glanced over at the table across from him. there, a parent and their child were playing tic-tac-toe. it seemed as though the child was winning. manfred von karma didn't know if the parent was letting them win or not, but it could just be that the parent had not yet developed an adequate tic-tac-toe strategy.
"i wasn't aware that this restaurant offered crayons to its patrons," said miles, who had also been watching the duel between the family opposite.
"would you like some? i could ask when the waitress gets back," offered gregory edgeworth.
"i can ask for my own crayons," said miles.
"this is true. i am sorry," said gregory edgeworth.
after a few more minutes of waiting, a different waiter came by with their drinks. he also set some rolls on the table.
"excuse me, may i have some crayons?" miles asked as the waiter was about to leave.
"sure thing," said the waiter. "oh, i forgot to give you straws."
he then handed everyone straws, even the people who were drinking hot beverages and therefore would probably not be using the straws.
a bit later, the first waitress returned and asked what everyone's orders would be. miles ordered the roast beef, while franziska von karma decided on the chicken breast. gregory edgeworth ordered the 'classic breakfast', even though it was clearly not breakfast-time. manfred von karma finally settled on a bowl of chicken noodle soup.
more waiting ensued. miles was brought crayons, but the sound they made on paper was completely awful, so miles set them aside and vowed never to use them again.
"i am hungry," said manfred von karma, as he waited for his food to arrive.
"why don't you have a roll?" suggested gregory edgeworth.
"but then i might not be hungry later," said manfred von karma.
"you could just take a few bites, then," said gregory edgeworth.
"hmph," said manfred von karma. gregory edgeworth was making sense again.
hesitantly, he picked up a roll and bit into it. his eyes widened as he slowly realized that the roll was very, very good. it was just about the best roll he had ever eaten.
"is it good?" asked gregory edgeworth.
manfred von karma did not respond, and instead continued to eat the roll.
he had just finished the first one when the waitress came by with their food. everyone began to eat. manfred von karma gave the rolls a longing glance before starting on his soup. there were a few tough noodles, but overall it was a very good bowl of chicken noodle soup, and manfred von karma decided that this was, overall, a pretty decent restaurant.
after they had finished their food, they all ordered dessert. gregory edgeworth ordered some cherry pie. manfred von karma got a sundae, with both caramel and hot fudge on it, because to have just one topping seemed like a waste. they asked for some carryout boxes with which to take home the remaining rolls, as well as the leftovers. they all went back to the car. gregory edgeworth drove them home, and they went to sleep.
manfred von karma went back to bob evans a few times after that, when he had the energy. he generally had a good time, and the staff eventually grew to recognize him. it was not hard, as there were not many people who went to bob evans wearing a navy blue suit and a cravat with a turquoise brooch and matching earrings. manfred von karma was a very recognizable person.
the only issue he had with the restaurant in general was that there should by all accounts be an apostrophe at the end of the name. calling a restaurant the name of a person with nothing to indicate the possessive nature of the word was a strange decision indeed, and someday he would take it up with the owners of the franchise. but right now, he was content to just fume about it privately.
the end