The door creaked open, making the bell above it chime melodiously. Olive, Victor, and Sarah emerged from the door, entering the cozy café.
Olive looked around for a table to sit at. He looked and looked until eventually, his eyes landed on a circular table next to a window with four chairs.
Olive did not know why the table was unoccupied, but he was not going to complain. After all, the table has a cozy atmosphere from the lighting coming through the window, giving anyone who sits at it a sense of comfort.
Turning toward Sarah and Victor, Olive gestured at them to sit at the circular table next to the window.
They understood it instantly and headed to it without any words. All of them took a seat the second they arrived at the table, all except Olive, who was standing while looking at them.
"I'll order the food, what do you guys want?"
Hearing it, Sarah and Victor contemplated for a while. Eventually, though, they answered:
"Hot chocolate and a chocolate chip cookie."
"Black coffee and a croissant!"
The before came from Sarah, and the latter came from Victor.
Olive nodded and went up to the counter where the barista was.
There, at the counter, a rather long queue could be seen at the front of the counter, with customers waiting while doing their own thing to pass the time. Talking to their cell phone, tapping their feet, cracking their fingers, you name it.
Olive sighed, knowing he was going to stand in line for a long period of time, and joined the line at the end of it.
And who could have guessed? His assumption was indeed true after all.
Because up ahead, at the line's head, a customer was stammering, feeling unsure of what to order.
"I'll order... Uhh... A pancake! Wait no, a cupcake."
The barista looked at the customer with doubt.
"Are you sure...?"
The customer, with a smile on his face, just nodded.
"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"
"Fine..."
As she was about to put the order, the customer interrupted her.
"Wait! I changed my mind! I'll order a cookie! Wait no! A scone! Wait, no! A sausage…!"
Olive closed his eyes.
With nothing to do, he studied the café's interior. Hopefully, by then, the customer had already placed his order.
The walls were built from exposed bricks, some of it were weathered, caused by the effects of time, while some of them were pristine. Its floors were covered with dark wood planks, along with the tables and chairs arranged in the café. Rustic vases could be seen almost at every corner of the space, if not corners, then maybe at a place with flat decoration if left unattended.
Various green plants were planted in those rustic vases, some small, and some big. The smaller ones were placed on the hanging shelves on the walls, while the big ones were placed on the floor.
Up above him, the ceiling, a few lamps, along with a few fans were hung on. The lamps emitted a yellow and orange light, while the fans spun, producing a small gust of wind that slipped through his shirt would hit Olive's skin, making him shiver a little.
If there were words Olive could say about the café, he would say cozy.
Really cozy...
After all, the combination cold color of the dark woods, the greenery, and the yellow and orange light suits well...
...Olive studied the interior for a surprisingly long time. But not long enough to get him at the far end of the line apparently. A one or two customers were still ahead of him, fewer than before at least.
'I could deal with this. No problem.'
... Minutes passed. Both of the two customers who had previously stood in line were now sitting at their tables. And finally, it was time for Olive to place his order.
When the barista saw Olive at the counter, she greeted him with a smile.
"Oh, hi Oliver."
Smiling back, he replied with a nod.
"Hi, June"
Olive let out a relieved sigh.
"That took a long time. Has the café been getting popular lately?"
With a chuckle, she answered:
"No, I don't think so. But they sure took their time, weren't they? Like how you're taking your time talking to me instead of ordering."
As she said that, Olive gave her an offended look, looking at her from the side.
"Alright, alright. I'm on it. Geez..."
So, he placed his order.
***
"Uh-huh, got it, and you'll be eating here?"
After making sure that the order displayed on the screen was correct, he nodded.
"We are."
"Alright, you can go ahead and wait at your table while the food is being prepared."
Giving her a thank, Olive took a step forward and headed towards the table where he had left his friends.
But strangely enough, there was no one.
The counter was placed near the far end of the café, so maybe that was why he had not noticed them leaving the table earlier...
Looking at the now-empty table, a sense of uneasiness dawned on him, for some reason. He looked around the dining room, trying to search for their silhouette. But each time he looked, all he saw were strangers eating their food.
Finally, when he was sure that they were not inside after checking everywhere, he exited the café. Immediately after though, the sight of pedestrians walking along the sidewalk quickly filled his view the moment he stepped outside, but not enough to block it completely — his view.
Olive was in a hurry, so he began looking instantly. His eyes darted everywhere, far and wide, only to be met with air or a passerby every time. Nonetheless, he kept searching.
At last, not long after, Olive was washed with a sense of relief when he finally spotted Victor, walking alongside four random strangers...
Strangers?
'Wait a minute. Why the hell is he walking with them?!'
Olive was baffled.
Sure, he found his friend. But he was not alone. Next to him, four strangers were escorting him, acting all friendly and stuff. One of the stranger's arms was wrapped around Victor from the side. With one glance, he knew that Victor was being forced to follow.
Victor was not a socially type person, and Olive knew it.
Olive's face darkened when he saw them, the four strangers, pulling Victor into a dark alleyway far ahead.
Suddenly, the air around him turned icy cold, as if the surroundings around him had been hit by a blizzard.
With a dark look on his face, he lifted his foot and followed them, preparing for the worst...
Step. Step.
Each step he took was muffled by the sound of his shoes hitting the concrete ground. But somehow, despite all kinds of sounds coming from everywhere, his heart seemed to beat louder.
He walked, closer and closer to the dark alleyway until he heard a muffled thump echoing in it.
Thump!
Panicked, Olive took a peek inside the alleyway and saw Victor being pushed back against the wall by one of the strangers, this one looked bigger and taller than the other three behind him.
'Their leader, maybe?'
Their appearance looked intimidating, all of them, with heights surpassing Victor's, along with broad shoulders and curved muscles almost everywhere. Other than that, they appear to be older than him by a span of four years or so.
Of course, Olive could not study them longer. Because in the next moment, he saw the leader slap Victor repeatedly, while muttering something:
"Come on, what's the big deal? Just give it."
The leader's slap was hard, but not hard enough to make Victor's cheeks swell.
Olive was just about to take the step when Victor raised his voice against the leader, halting his step.
"Go to hell, you bastard! How many times do I have to say? It's a no. You deaf or something?"
'Him and that mouth of his.'
Momentarily, the leader was stumped, Victor took that advantage and placed his hands on the leader's chest and pushed him with all his might.
Imbalanced and unguarded, the leader took plenty of steps behind, further than Olive would have thought. Hell, he even fell!
What a strange, twist of fate!
Olive had expected him, the leader, to take a few steps behind — since he was bulkier than Victor — what he had not anticipated, however, was for him to fall! It would be another story if the leader took steps behind.
Victor seems like he was thinking the same too... judging by the face he made.
"You!"
The leader yelled as a fist flew toward Victor's abdomen. Too late to react, Victor received a painful blow, making him groan. Falling to his knees, Victor held his abdomen with both his hands.
His sight was pathetic, to be honest. But Olive couldn't care less.
Now, it was time to step in. This time, he will not let his objective be distracted...
...The leader looked at Victor's kneeling figure before him. Then, he scoffed.
"This could be avoided if you just gave us–"
"Hey, bastards."
Victor's eyes widened when he heard Olive's voice. He lifted his head and glanced at the alleyway's entrance. His face paled when he saw Olive, currently looking at the four strangers with a dark look.
All four strangers raised their eyebrows when they saw Olive.
Feeling curious, one of the four strangers asked:
"Who're you supposed to be? And where're your manners? Didn't your parents teach you about it?"
Olive sneered, hearing the stranger's bold question.
"Well, aren't you the one to talk–"
"Enough! Get to the point! Who are you!"
The leader snarled, his face carried the look of impatient.
Olive was silent for a second. Eventually, he answered:
"I'm his friend, you slow–headed fools."
"His friend?"
The leader looked at Victor — who was currently kneeling in front of him. When a sudden realization hit him, his eyes widen slightly, followed by a chuckled.
"Ah, you're the shorty who came to the café with his girlfriend. Why? Is there no one to babysit you? Well, I wouldn't he surprised, actually, considering your attitude."
The leader chuckled again, along with the other three.
"Go back brat. This is a grown–up matter."
Olive's expression turned even darker.
'A shorty he said?'
Not wanting to negotiate any longer, he demanded, his tone sounding threatening.
"Let go of him."
...He raised his foot and took a step toward the four strangers without a slight hint of fear on his face.
"Now I'm starting to suspect that you're his brother."
The leader gestured at his friend, motioning him to take care of Olive walking toward them.
Understanding it, he walked toward Olive.
"Don't go too hard on the kid. We don't want a scolding parent pressing charges at us."
"You got it."
When Olive arrived half a meter ahead of him, the stranger said.
"Sorry kid, this'll hurt."
He raised his hand, forming a fist, then brought it toward Olive's abdomen.
Olive looked at the fist flying toward him without any thought in the world.
The fist was mere inches away from Olive's abdomen when he took a step to the side, dodging the blow. His step was slow and unhurried, and yet, the stranger failed to deliver a punch to his opponent's abdomen. Perhaps it was because of Olive's quick reaction to dodge a fist mere inches away from him.
The stranger was startled for a second.
...But it didn't matter.
Because the exact moment the stranger's fist flew right beside him, Olive leaned forward, closing the range between him and the stranger. He brought his arm closer to his torso, while his hand was forming a fist. Immediately, Olive's fist flew upward and hit the stranger's chin from below.
Olive had delivered, a swift, and powerful blow.
So much so, that the stranger swayed the second he received it.
Blood flowed from his mouth, and his focus was starting to loosen.
Unable to bear the pain any longer, the stranger fell on his knees, and finally lay down.
From the look of it, he seems to have passed out.
The three remaining strangers were in utter shock when they saw the scene that had transpired before them.
But the culprit, remained Indifference...