Chapter Text
“You wanna do… what now?”
Spoke - one of my best friends - is standing at my door. I had been ignoring his calls and messages all week because I was trying to have some alone time from everything and everyone. But now he’s decided to come to my house for some reason.
He looked super excited as always as I opened the door. He had that same mischievous grin that he always wore, and energy that I did not need this early in the morning. “Start up a café!”
I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at him. “Why exactly?”
Spoke had a tendency for roping me into the most nonsensical things. Though admittedly a lot of the time they turned out to actually be fun - despite how many times I would get annoyed at him, he would usually make the chaos fun. In another lifetime we probably wouldn't have been friends, seeing as we have such differing personalities and all. Me being the more quiet and responsible type, whilst he was more the loud and anarchic type.
He just shrugged at my question. “Why not? I’ve been sooo bored and you and the others are usually free so-”
“Others?” I interrupt.
“Yeah! Like Wemmbu, Squiddo-”
“Hasn’t Squiddo been busy with her own things this past… month? When was the last time you even talked to them?”
I knew my best friend, and I knew that he was rarely ever the type to think things through.
“Like… 3 months ago…” He looked slightly embarrassed, but not enough to get him to leave me alone today.
I sigh in disappointment. This kid was not going to be able to run a café on his own like this. I’d rather he didn’t inevitably mess things up and then pester me for help when the problem becomes worse than it could be. Somehow this kid always manages to get me to do what he wants.
And I mean, something as calming as a café didn't sound that bad…
“This is your way of having something you want be done without you actually doing anything, isn’t it bro?”
Spoke tried acting innocent but I knew him well enough to know why he wanted my help. “Whaaaattt noooo of course not!”
I shake his head and flick his forehead with a sigh.
“Fine. I’ll help with the café. But we are not calling it something stupid.”
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“That is literally the stupidest name I’ve ever heard for a café dude.” Wemmbu says as I take my seat at the table where he and Spoke are waiting for me, having gotten here earlier since I had to help a few people on the way here.
“What name has this kid come up with?” I sigh.
Spoke waved his hands around fervently, like he was trying to get our attention again. He the same dramatic tone that he usually introduced his ideas in. “Okay okay just hear me out… what about… Café… Unstable!”
I stare at him for a bit, an expression that obviously read “are you serious?” on my face. Café Unstable? Really? That was all he could come up with?
He shrugs, frowning a little and crosses his arms. “Well do you guys have any better ideas?”
Wemmbu and I shrug in sync. He wasn’t someone who cared so much that he’d help think of a better name, and I knew Spoke wasn’t going to let me change it. He had the same smug smile that he never tried to hide when he got what he wanted. One that I really wish he didn’t have right now.
“What about the actual building though? How are we gonna get a place to, you know, actually run a café?” Wemmbu asks.
“Aren’t you like, super rich bro?” Spoke replies, obviously suggesting Wemmbu “help” pay for the place.
“Oh yeah.”
By that he probably meant - let Wemmbu handle anything money related. The guy was rich and didn't really care about what he did with his wealth. His "side gig" as a model was more than enough to get him enough fans who even payed him just to breathe. He only did it when he could feel bothered to. It wasn't that he didn't deserved all the fame - he had actually worked hard towards in his earlier stages. But it never took him long to grow disinterested. He only continued doing what he did because it made him money.
His apathetic attitude wasn't something I would usually tolerate for so long. I say usually because - like Spoke - Wemmbu was someone who I probably wouldn't have been friends with under ordinary circumstances. However we've known each other since we were children, all having grown up at the same orphanage and all. We helped each other through life and - despite our personalities being so conflicting - have stuck together. I wouldn't have it any other way, and I don't think they would either.
Though that didn't mean they didn't annoy me from time to time.
And they usually left me to do all the more important things when it came to "group projects" since they both considered them boring…
“I’ve got a good place for the café." I suggest. "It’s not on the greatest side of the city, but there’s been a bunch of people wanting to buy it. Obviously since it's been up for sale for so long, no one has been able to.” The night after Spoke visited with the idea for the café, I decided to research some empty spaces that we could actually run it.
“Because it’s too expensive?” Spoke asks.
I nod and we both look towards Wemmbu, Spoke looking a lot less guilty than I did.
Our best friend sighs with a mildly annoyed smile as he rolled his eyes. “I knew this would happen." But he lets it go, having gotten used to Spoke's requests.
"Whatever dude, let's check it out first.”
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Once all the paperwork for the café had been sorted, I phoned up a friend I knew named Horace to help with the design.
I didn't trust Spoke to come up with something suitable, and Wemmbu was doing his own thing - probably taking on another modelling job - promising that he’d “at least some work when the café opened”. I let it go since he was the one who had purchased the entire building for us. Plus it was better to have the input of someone who had actual experience and cared about his work.
“Wait, Café Unstable? What an… interesting name…” Horace judged on the other end of the call.
I rub my temples with one hand. “You could probably guess bro but Spoke chose the name.”
Horace seemed to share my disdain. He hadn't known Spoke as long as I did, but he still had his fair share of grievances when it came to dealing with his… "helpful" input. It didn't take long to know what he was like.
“Well anyways, I’ll send you the rest of the designs I came up with and once you decide, I’ll get my team to help make the café look good. And don't worry about payment, just being able to do something is enough. I haven't been able to make anything for a good while now since commissions have been slow.”
"Oh really? I could ask Wemmbu if-"
"Nah it's okay, just not a good season, y'know? Things should be okay next month."
“Alright. Thanks again Horace. If you need anything just let me know bro.”
"No problem Parrot. And thanks, you know I will."
I hung up the phone, slightly anxious about Horace. Him and most of his team relied on the money they made from commissions. They worked in all different kinds of architecture, and sometimes they got an overwhelming amount of customers since they always did exceptional for prices cheaper than you'd expect. However when commissions were slow, they only barely just got by. I wanted to do more to help, so I made a mental note to ask Wemmbu if he knew anyone who needed that kind of work done. Horace might have declined, but he probably still needed the help.
Speaking of Wemmbu, I had to meet up with him next to buy equipment and such for the café. He didn’t want to use “poor quality equipment” and opted to go with me to buy whatever we needed. Which, understandable, but it felt like just another excuse to blue a whole lot of money again.
I opened my door to find the dragon/demon hybrid, waiting for me outside.
“You gonna get in or what?” He asked, leaning on his black and purple Ferrari.
I was slightly confused as I locked my house door and checked it was okay, before getting in his car. I didn't like riding in vehicles like these - my wings were always in an awkward position. I hoped this wouldn't take a while. Wemmbu didn't really mention where we were going, he just told me to be ready at a certain time.
Well at least he seemed comfortable in the driver's seat. His bone tail lay curled up in the passenger seat next to him, and his wings were neatly tucked behind him.
I wasn't used to seeing Wemmbu drive either. When did he even get his license??
“Uhh I was okay with flying myself?”
He ignored my protest, pretending to not have heard as he drove to… wherever he was taking us.
I sighed and looked out the window as I watched the trees fly past. It wasn't unusual for Wemmbu to do things without explanation. In fact it seemed like there was never any drive behind his decisions, other than to cure his boredom.
An hour later or so we arrived at Redstone Centre, one of the largest districts in the entire world. It was a massive treasure trove full of tons of useful shops selling even more useful items. I’ve never been here myself, but I knew of a few good stores here that had exceptional reputations. Most of the places at Redstone Centre tried to either scam you or steal from you, but from the research I did a while ago, there are some trustworthy places.
“Okay we're here. You know where we're going right?” Wemmbu asked after parking his car and getting out, locking it behind him with a “beep”. His driving wasn't too bad, but I don't think I would be his passenger again unless I had to.
“Uhhh I thought you knew where to go?” I ask. If he brought me here, shouldn't he have known which shop to look in?
“No? I know what to look for, just not exactly where. I brought you along because I thought you would know.”
"Ohh I see."
He wasn't wrong. Since I did do some research on Redstone Centre for a previous project, I knew of someone we could go to who I knew of. From what he just told me, it seemed like he only brought me along to locate what we needed. Though that didn't make too much sense to me either, since he could've just bought everything online as usual.
Wemmbu always confused me. He probably always would.
“Okay, let's go bro. Lead the way.”
We made it over to a place owned by a guy named 4CVIT. He was someone I had only met a few times and didn’t know personally, but I knew him well enough to trust that he wouldn’t scam us.
His store didn’t have too many customers once we arrived, which was good since we didn’t need to wait long when we were paying for our things. But from what I read and heard about this place, it was usually flooded with customers. It was the most trustworthy store in Redstone Centre and had a good reputation for a reason.
Someone greeted us from seemingly nowhere as we entered. “Welcome guys! Sorry, I'll be with you in just a sec!”
I looked to see a blue slime man with goggles resting on his head, carrying a coffee machine in his hands that had fingerless gloves on. According to the articles I read, he usually wore to not get his slime on anything, since it apparently could be poisonous at times. Especially if ingested by other species. Just a self-imposed safety precaution as to not discourage customers, which was further proof to me that he was a good person.
He placed the coffee machine down on the desk before turning to me. “Alrighty, now what can I do for y- wait Parrot??”
“Hey 4CVIT. Uhhh how have you been?” I greet, a tiny bit awkward since it's been a long time since I've talked to him directly.
“Not bad, what about you man? And we've met so just call me 4C!” His beaming, innocent smile was infectious, and my anxiety eased a little.
Wemmbu had immediately gone off to - I assume - choose out the things we needed. He did say he knew what to get after all. Meanwhile, I decided to chat with 4C.
“Oh right! Sorry, business first. What have you come to buy?”
“Oh, you know, just some things for a café I’m opening up with… friends.” I shrugged, glancing in Wemmbu's direction.
“Wow really? When does it open? I might come visit when I can if that’s okay?” The blue slime's barrage of questions slightly reminded Parrot of Spoke, yet it didn't feel as overbearing.
“Uhh I think we’ll open by sometime this week or next week? And of course you can visit whenever you're free bro.”
We talked for a little longer about our own lives, until we were interrupted by someone waiting at the till.
“Uh hey, can I pay for these now? I have something to do later.”
Wemmbu had already returned with a huge cart of things that I assumed were mostly for the café during my conversation with 4C. He didn't sound impatient, but you could tell he didn't want to wait for long. The purple hybrid always had a "talent" in masking how he truly felt about things.
4C apologised quickly before meeting Wemmbu at the counter and ringing everything up.
“Ah right! Before I forget, if you ever need repairs to these then there’s a guy named MrCube who I know and work with. He’ll be able to fix up anything broken super easily! Especially things bought from here since he's used to it. There's a lot of people who misuse my machines just because they thing it'll do everything for them, or they don't maintain things properly.”
I thanked him and waited for Wemmbu to finish paying with that same black and purple card I always see him carry around - it's almost a miracle it hasn't been stolen yet.
Almost, I say. Because despite his looks the guy also knew how to fight. And he rarely ever lost.
I waved goodbye to 4C and once we were out, Wemmbu told me that he’d install everything into the café with Horace’s help and input. So I could just go home by myself.
Though I suspected the real reason was because he didn’t want me going back with him in his car. Since one, my wings couldn't fold properly and kept getting in the way, and two, I accidentally left a few feathers in whilst getting out. But I wasn't hurt by it. I knew that he enjoyed keeping his things clean, and I was planning to fly back on my own anyways.
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As I made my way to the new café I flew past a few posters advertising Café Unstable. I sighed as I saw them - these were so obviously made by Spoke. Colourful and chaotic, just like him.
I landed outside the café, bracing myself to clean up a mess right before we opened. I opened the door to see… nothing that unusual?
Strange. By now Spoke probably would've had half the tables overturned, giggling like it was the funniest thing in the world. Or he would've changed the light bulbs to make them all rainbow like the bright racoon tails in his hair and accessories he decorated himself with. He always used to dye his hair different colours every year, and this year he decided to dye it every colour at once.
Anyways, Spoke would've pulled some kind of prank - he wouldn't miss such a "good opportunity".
Was I just early?
But that couldn’t be the case, the lights were on. And I knew for a fact that I didn't leave them on yesterday when I checked up on the place.
Just then, a loud crash came from the back, and I realised where Spoke probably was.
“Okay Spoke.” I sighed as I entered the kitchen. “What have you-”
I stopped immediately.
My feathers slightly raised in caution as I saw another figure behind him momentarily, but realised that he likely didn't mean harm because he was clearly unable to keep his composure as he giggled along with Spoke - who seemed to be telling whoever this was off halfheartedly.
The shape-shifter turned to me and tried to assure me that this was just one of his friends. He never intended any real harm with his mischief, so, he usually reassured me that things were okay. I didn’t believe him at first, until I finally recognised who it was.
It was Mapicc.
Another one of Spoke’s childhood best friends.
I let myself relax, seeing it wasn’t some stranger here to wreck the place. Well… only the first part of that was true…
I looked around to see the mess the two of them had created.
Bowls and dishes on the floor - laid out to make some sort of race track - a small pile of broken ceramic likely from dropped mugs, wires connecting the coffee machines to the wall sockets dangerously tangled, knives precariously placed at the top of an unbalanced stack of wine bottles and shelves, and somehow our only ice-cream machine broken. I knew something like this would happen, but I always found myself surprised at the sheer absurdity of the chaos he caused.
If I calculated how long this would all take to clean up… it would take at least 4 hours to do so myself. Not enough time to open the café and have everything ready. But if we had to delay the opening, that was what we do. I could not let future customers let this be their first impression of the café. Taking the time to clean everything up and stall the start would be worth it in the long run.
And I was not trusting these two to help…
“Get out and wait for customers to come or… something. The only thing you’ll do here Spoke is take orders and serve, since you clearly can’t do anything but that. You won't be allowed in the kitchen anymore.”
My frustration towards Spoke seemed to be something I kept feeling a lot more nowadays, and I was aware of how much more aggressive I was with him. But I couldn't help it. He seemed to want me to get annoyed at him at this point, since he always promised to stop each time yet never upheld that.
“And get your friend out of here, anyone who isn’t working isn’t allowed back here. You know that bro.”
It was barely even the first day. and I would not put up with whatever shenanigans he was the cause of. I was well aware we hadn't specifically chosen a manager for the café, but I seemed to be the only one taking things seriously here.
Spoke tried to make up an excuse with an obvious lie as usual. “But he wants to work here! And I was just showing him aroun-”
“Even if that was true,” I interrupted, my irritation failing to cease. “I wouldn’t allow him to work here. You really think I would've anyways, seeing the mess you two have made?”
They both looked around them - Mapicc looked a bit genuinely guilty, but Spoke clearly wasn’t too troubled.
Once again, I ask myself, what did I get myself into?
As they both got up I heard the ring of the café doorbell. Wemmbu seemed to have come in early too, probably having nothing else to do but come here before we opened.
He walked right to the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks in shock. The stack with the knives placed atop it fell, clattering on the floor noisily. He quickly regaining his composure and groaned, holding his head in his hands. Wemmbu wasn't the type to care about things that he didn't feel concern him, however everything here was bought by him. So he was just as fed up as I was, not appreciating our friend likely costing him another few hundreds for any repairs we had to do.
“Spoke, I might just have to kill you dude.”
The shape-shifter laughed nervously, immediately grabbing Mapicc as he rushed out after hearing Wemmbu’s threat. Angering both me and him at the same time seemed to be enough to get him to leave. I usually let things go because Spoke was one of my best friends, but the purple hybrid wasn’t someone to take lightly, even if he didn't seem serious. Being one of the best and well-known fighters you'll ever meet, yet also mysterious and keeping to himself whenever possible. Even as a well known-model, it actually wasn't hard for him to keep his privacy. Almost no one knew much about him, and that included me and Spoke who had been friends with him since we were little.
All I did know however, was that Wemmbu liked and preferred to keep his things clean and - especially since he was the one who technically owned everything - he decided to help me clean up the mess. Or well, it was more so he told me what to do to help him.
We silently started cleaning up, trying to put everything back carefully so that something didn't blow up. Knowing Spoke, I wouldn't be surprised if the way he tangled all those wires caused it to happen.
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After just 2 hours, we were finished.
And just in time for the opening of the café.
The bell rang as someone entered. I was a bit surprised to see there was already someone here literally as soon as we opened, but after Wemmbu lit up when seeing the customer it made sense.
It was Eggchan, Wemmbu’s best friend who had come here to seemingly just hang out with him. The two of them greeted each other with grins as Egg took a seat at the table closest to the counter. He quickly greeted me too, before Wemmbu moved towards him. It wasn't like we had much to do yet so I didn't care too much if he didn't really work right now. Plus so long as he was behind the counter like he should be during work hours, I was okay with it. Wemmbu was responsible enough anyways that even if we were busy, he would at least be doing work whilst chatting.
Spoke was “busy” explaining some sort of “grand scheme” with his friend Mapicc. Despite the two of them being in the furthest corner of the café, I could hear everything he said since he wasn't exactly being quiet. I wasn't too interested, so long as they didn't interfere with me working.
That being said, it had been about an hour and there hadn't actually been anyone to serve.
I decided I might as well call one of my own friends to come visit the café, since spending the rest of the day with no customers wouldn't be a good idea at all if I could help it. I scrolled through my contact list to see who could be available. Most either had their own jobs or simply just weren't available, so I mentally crossed off a good list of people.
I didn't take long to find the perfect person to come visit.
The phone rang a few times before someone picked up.
“Parrot? What's up?”
“Hey Wifies! Are you free right now?”
“Well, I'm planning to meet with Ken and Wato, why?”
Ohhh… I forgot the three of them did that ever so often.
“I wanted to ask if you'd like to visit a café I’m working at. Me, Spoke and Wemmbu decided to start one and we haven't really gotten any customers since it's the first day, and there isn’t much to do right now. But if you're busy I could just-”
“Oh, no no! We can all come over and hang out there, we didn't really have anywhere planned for today anyways.” Wifies sounded excited to visit. If you were around him long enough, you would notice that - despite his monotone-sounding voice - there was actually a great deal of emotion behind his words, mixed with such a genuine demeanour I didn't usually find in people. He was also one of my best friends, us having met a few years ago. He was smart, and we meshed well together, solving puzzles and discovering lost treasures and such in the early days of our friendship. Though nowadays, he mostly spent his time with Kenadian and Wato. It had always been the three of them, but for a little while it was just me and Wifies. They invited me to hang out with them occasionally, but I never wanted to intrude. As much as I did miss hanging out with the guy, I'd never want to be the cause of a great trio growing distant.
“Alrighty if that's good with you. See you guys later!”
I hung up the phone and waited for them to arrive.
"You seem happy." Wemmbu observed with a grin.
I shrugged, tying to play it off. Not that there was any reason to. "Yeah, Wifies said he was gonna come by."
He cocked his head slightly, a bit confused. "Uh… who's Wifies again?"
"You know, the really smart guy? The guy I used to hang out with every day like last year? The guy who you literally threatened because we-"
"Oh yeah! I remember him now."
I couldn't tell if Wemmbu was being serious or not, but I didn't press him. He had a tendency to forget people he either didn't interact with often or if they hadn't made a huge impression on him.
About fifteen minutes later, the café bell rang.
Through the door came in Wifies, Wato and Kenadian - 3 of the smartest people I knew of and was friends with. From what Wifies told me once before, they meet together at least once a week to do things like discussing and debunking puzzles, fun murder mystery games or designing escape rooms of their own for fun. I’ve done some of them a good few times with Wifies of course - the two of us play-tested ones that people have commissioned them to design.
A voice I did not expect to hear ask a question came from besides me behind the counter, evidently confused.
"Wato? Why are you here?"
Wato barely even looked at Wemmbu and just ignored him, sighing with what sounded like disappointment as he took his seat near Ken and Wifies.
I never knew these two knew each other, let alone be in the middle of what looked like some kind of argument. I expected Wemmbu to start a fight, since he was the type to do so if someone ignored his questions. But whether it was because of where we were right now, or because of whatever past he had with Wato, I wasn't sure.
He merely scowled as he retreated to the Staff Break Room. Egg had seemed to have left, either going home to rest or going to his next modelling gig. He and Wemmbu both worked together often, though the angel took his job a little more seriously. Spoke narrowly avoided him as they passed by each other at the door.
“Where’s your friend?” I asked, raising an eyebrow as he picked up the notepad he had left earlier to take down orders.
He shrugged. “I let him leave through the back.”
I sighed, a bit annoyed as usual, but it wasn’t something that was much of a problem right now. “Whatever bro, just go take their orders.”
“Whaaatt why can’t you or Wemmbu do it?” Spoke whined.
“Spoke.”
“Okay fiiine I’ll do it… sheesh…”
Spoke muttered something under his breath that I couldn't catch before going to take their orders. I had a feeling he was going to do something that caused more problems if I didn’t watch him or give him something simple to do. I know he can't help pulling a prank or two, but sometimes he didn't know "how far" it was okay to go. Everyone has different levels of tolerance when it comes to stupid things like that, and Spoke's seemed to break the scale. He sometimes did look genuinely guilty and apologetic after he had gotten caught, but something about whatever he did made him always want to do more. Maybe it was the thrill he got, or maybe it was because he actually enjoyed tormenting those around him.
Ken, Wato and Wifies had all sat at a table pretty close to the counter, so it didn't take long for Spoke to make his way there and back with their orders.
The three of them didn't order much, since there wasn't much on the menu as of yet. Spoke assured me that he would be able to handle the menu at the very least, and I am I believed him. Usually I wouldn't have allowed it, but I agreed when I was extremely tired and not thinking straight. He probably had planned to ask it then, so he would just not stop pestering me until I agreed. Once I had a better night's rest, it was already too late to make any big changes or additions just yet.
I decided to bring the trio their orders so that I could sit to talk with them for a bit. It was awkward momentarily, before someone broke the silence.
“Sooo..” Kenadian said, turning towards me. “A café, huh?”
I shrugged. “It wasn't really my idea. Spoke uh.. convinced me to do it. Not really sure why though.”
“And Wemmbu? From what I know he was never the type to do things like this.” Wato asked.
“You're right but… how do you know Wemmbu? I don't know why he decided to agree to help, especially since Spoke was the one who had asked him. But you seem to know a bit more about him than I do.”
I was curious since the purple hybrid never talked about any past of other friendships he had. It wasn't any of my business who he befriended or made enemies with, but since I was friends with both him and Wato I was curious to know.
They sighed before answering, as if giving into an option she didn't really have. “I used to help him with a lot of stuff in the past. Well he kind of… threatened that I helped him, but at least I got somewhat paid for it. I didn't really mind since after a while we had gotten to the point where we could call each other friends. Though he had to ruin it all by inviting some of his other friends. Ones that he probably isn't friends with anymore, since I know for a fact he just used them to gain popularity as a model. And it worked. A lot of the time it honestly just felt like babysitting.”
“Wow. I… didn't know that.” Wifies said, pretty surprised he hadn't heard this before.
Wato was slightly hurt, and the slight passive-aggressive tone towards Wifies didn't make his feelings towards the situation subtle.
“Yeah well, you never asked. And when I was alone and finally out of that situation, Ken helped me recover from it all whilst you were doing… something. Probably with Parrot, I don't know. You have a tendency to fixate on one thing or person or something every so often y'know.”
Wifies went a bit quiet with that. He didn't seem 100% guilty, but at the same time he was feeling bad that he wasn't there for Wato.
I was still a bit confused though. “Wait so why exactly did you guys look at each other like that when you came in? I know Wemmbu might act like…”
“An asshole?” Wato had a bored tone to his voice.
“Yeah that, but what ended up being the breaking point bro?”
Wato sighed again before answering, not really wanting to talk about it. “He basically betrayed me and left me for dead. Quite literally.”
Ken nodded, backing up his story. I didn't ask further since I didn't want to invade their privacy.
A brief moment of silence filled the space before Wifies asked about the menu.
“I noticed there isn't much on there, do you guys want help with it? Maybe things like ideas for new stuff or something?”
Wifies always seemed to know what to do and how to help me, even when I don't ask for it. He always did just enough for me, nothing more nothing less. But never made me feel guilty for having his help either.
“Actually yeah that would be great bro. If you guys also have a few recipes to share that would be appreciated so I know what to ask Wemmbu to get for next time.”
“Alrighty, for this KWW meeting, we're coming up with recipes to help Parrot!” Ken announced as she pumped a fist into the air with a grin. We all cheered after her in union, the tension in the air instantly dissipating.
Being around these three always eased my stress and anxiety by a lot.
Well that was until we were startled by a loud BANG not even twenty minutes later, followed by the slight smell of burning and smoke coming from behind the counter. I sighed, apologising quickly before getting up to check what happened…
Spoke had seemed to have broken a coffee machine.
He turned to me sheepishly, not even nothing to try and cover his mess. Maybe he knew there wasn't really a point in trying to do so anyways. I sigh in disappointment, yet again giving him an annoyed look as I walk over to inspect the damage.
“Are you serious right now bro?”
“I- I was just trying to use it, promise!”
"I told you that you weren't allowed behind the counter! Are you trying to get us shut down? It hasn't even been a full day!"
I never usually raised my voice, but all the stress he gave me was just too much sometimes.
"I know but- but I was just trying to help! I just wanted to- to… to help…"
He sounded genuine as he looked away, but I could still see that smile on him, which made him seem like he was lying again. Again. He was trying to hide it with his sleeve, covering it like that would make things better. I sigh, dragging an awkwardly laughing, jokingly shrieking Spoke by the collar into the back where Wemmbu was sitting. He got up - picking up on the fact he should probably work now just in case, as well as how I was about to tell Spoke off again - and left the room, closing the door behind him. He didn't want to get in the middle of this one bit.
I threw Spoke onto the sofa - a bit harshly - and crossed my arms.
“Spoke bro. What in the world are you doing?”
He didn't answer at first as he sat there awkwardly, seeming to be coming up with something that I could believe. He tried sulking to act like he did nothing wrong and make me feel bad, but realised quickly that it wouldn't work.
“Okay fine… I really was trying to use it but then there were so many buttons that I got distracted and started pressing them all and having fun! I don’t even get what you’re problem is-”
“You broke a coffee machine, messed about with your friend and let him in an area where he wasn’t allowed in, made me and Wemmbu tidy up after you, you almost tried to put foil in the microwave twice on shift, you never properly work and I don't even think you're taking this serio-”
“Okay okay! I get it bro I get it. No need to be so mean about it…” He looked like I was the one in the wrong for telling him off.
I just couldn't with him. First he coerces me into running a café, then he messes things up, then he practically tries to ruin it all.
“Sometimes I wonder why I'm still friends with you bro. Like actually.”
A look of hurt quickly flashed across his face.
“Oh.”
I immediately felt guilty for saying it. I always feel guilty, it's why I've stayed friends with him for so long. It's not like it was his fault he was like this.
“Spoke I'm sor-”
He quickly changed the subject and laughed it off. “Well it's not my fault you don't know how to have fun. You're like, really boring nowadays!”
I take back whatever I just said. There is no way I was feeling sorry for him after that. Who even says that to someone? Directly to their face?
“Okay dude, look. I don't care that much about what you do, whether you wanna talk to someone during shifts or slack off in general or whatever. Just as long as you stop acting like this and causing trouble bro. Wemmbu? I don't care if he doesn't work as much right now, because he knows there's almost no customers right now, and he doesn't try to break the equipment.”
“It's not like he bought it…”
"He DID buy it! Why else would he have helped clean up??"
"Oh."
I just stare at him, taken back at how unaware he is with everything. I was still confused on why he even wanted to start a café despite not seeming to care about it.
“Spoke bro. Wemmbu bought literally everything functional here. I'll be surprised if he doesn't punch you for it if you keep doing this.”
Spoke let out an uneasy laugh at that.
Then I just left him there, leaving the door slightly open as I walked out and room light on because I knew he didn't particularly like the dark. I wasn't going to be petty and turn off the light, because I didn't want to deal with an angry voidling because I triggered him on purpose. No matter how annoyed I was with him, I knew there was no point in trying to provoke him using his fear of the dark.
I sighed, reaching for the phone in my pocket to call 4C, since he said he knew someone who could fix this…
✧✦═══··✧-✦-✧··═══✦✧
The doorbell rang, signalling that someone had entered.
“Hey, welcome to Café Unstable blah blah blah.” Wemmbu “greeted” the customer, laid back in a seat behind the counter and seemed bored out of his mind.
“Wemmbu you know you shouldn't-”
“Yeah yeah whatever Parrot, it's not like we've had a ton of customers today. Just your friends and Spoke’s friend. And Egg, but he had to leave ages ago.”
I sighed, apologising and properly greeting the person who came in.
The person who came in assured me it was alright. “No no, don't worry! I'm actually here since 4C told me there was a broken coffee machine here?”
So this was the guy 4C was talking about.
“Oh alright then this way bro.” I showed him towards the coffee machine that Spoke broke. “Your name's MrCube right?”
He nodded. “Just call me Cube. And you're Parrot right? 4C told me a little about you. We go way back, probably since we were about 14? Anyways, which one of these is bro- oh.”
It was pretty clear which of them was broken.
“Is this fixable or do we need to buy a new one?"
“Of course it is! I just need a bit of time - maybe about an hour - and it should be done. Oh and don't worry about payment, 4C said he covered it for you guys since he was really happy with how much you guys bought!”
"Really? That's… actually really nice of him."
"Yup, he's always been like that."
MrCube shook his head with a smile before bring the coffee machine down and crouching to do his thing. I decided not to watch, since he likely did his work better if he was alone. At least, that usually was the case with me so I figured this would be the same,
Since I had time and there didn't seem to be any more customers, I decided to sit back with Ken, Wato and Wifies to continue coming up with menu items. It didn't take long for Wemmbu to get bored of doing nothing and join us. Eventually, Spoke did too. He had that same stupid grin on him, but I could see the hurt in his eyes from earlier.
Maybe I did regret saying what I said to him…
An hour later - exactly how long he said he would take - Cube had finished with the coffee machine. It looked as good as it did when it was bought.
He declined the offer of a drink but not a tip as he left, giving us his business card in case we ever needed anything in the future.
It had gotten pretty late by that point, and - seeing as there was probably no one else who was going to visit - I decided to close up the café for the day. Wemmbu left first, only a few minutes after Cube. I made sure Spoke left before me so he couldn't try anything, though he didn't protest as usual. Ken and Wato had left soon after too. I thanked them for coming and invited them to come over anytime. The only ones left were me and…
“What are you still doing here Wifies?” I wasn't sure why he was still here, even after everyone left.
“I can stay around a bit longer right?” He shrugged.
“Sure but, I'm closing up shop now.”
“That's okay, I just want to keep you company if that's alright?”
“Sure bro.”
I never knew what Wifies was thinking, but I'm glad he stayed. We talked whilst I closed up, turning off all the lights and machines, and locking the back doors and staff rooms, the kitchen, the bathrooms and eventually the café door itself.
“Hey uh, is it alright if we hang out sometime when you're free?” He seemed a bit awkward, not sure if I would accept or not.
“Sure bro, but why? Don't we already hang out sometimes?”
We used to hang out almost every day last year, but even as we grew a little more distant and a little more busy, we made sure to meet up every once in a while.
“Well it's just… I've missed hanging out with you. I know we still do sometimes, but Ken and Wato have other things to do most of the time, and I don't really know what else to do in my free time anymore.”
“THE Wifies not being busy?" I joked. "Don't you have like, a ton of stuff to do bro?”
Last I heard, the guy was part of a good amount of extracurricular activities both in and out of his university. It was one of the reasons we kind of grew distant - he spent more time on those than hanging out. I didn't really mind because I'm not going to dictate his actions. But admittedly I too missed being with him.
Wifies just shrugged at the question, either avoiding it or just not having an answer.
“Okay well, you could come hang out more at the café now?”
He paused, pondering the offer. "Sure. You'd also maybe want some company whilst working when days don't have many customers right? Oh! And maybe I could help out sometimes?”
Wifies? Helping me? Oh this would be a dream come true! Being able to work with a close friend who actually listened and kept things in order would help so much, especially with whatever was likely to come.
“Sure bro!”
He seemed happy with that as we talked some more about it - when I went in tomorrow I could get him started!
We waved goodbye as we parted ways, Wifies taking the bus home and me flying home.
As I returned home I still thought about one of the questions I had forgotten to ask Spoke earlier. Just why did he want to start this café? Why a café at all? There were so many other options to choose from to get me to do something for him, so why this?
I didn't really know, and if I asked he would likely just dodge the question somehow. I decided to give up on trying to look for an answer to that for now and just cleaned up to head to sleep, but whenever I got the chance I would find out why Spoke decided to start up a café. Or maybe he didn’t have a reason at all other than just to have fun. His version of fun. It was a relatively basic reason but tended to explain a good portion of his actions and pranks.
I sighed as I let my eyes close, allowing myself to drift off to sleep.