Chapter 30: Naughty and Nice Cafe

Theriault leaned back against a tree, the sun shining on his face as he had his eyes closed, resting.

Suddenly, a presence made him open one eye, revealing the face of a beautiful girl in front of him. "I can't even have a second of peace?" He complained as she smiled her perfect smile.

"C'mon, you've been by yourself all morning," She shot back, falling into his lap as he smiled, wrapping his arms around her.

Stroking his hair, the girl snuggled against Theriault. She stared up into his grey eyes, her warm breath tickling his pale skin.

"Theriault..." She whispered into his ear as he closed his eyes again.

"Yes?" He said with a smirk.

"It's your fault."

His eyes snapped open as he saw burning buildings, and dead bodies scattered all around him, his ears were numb from all the explosions happening around him.

"Ahh!" Theriault yelled, waking up from his vivid nightmare, looking around and trying to see where he was.

"What the hell man!" Hunter yelled, jumping out of his bus seat, "We're trying to sleep!" He yelled as Theriault regained his composure, looking at Hunter with indifference.

"Oh, my fault, go back to sleep..." He said, his hand shaking slightly.

"Forget it, this is our stop," Shen Yi said, looking sleepy as the bus stopped in northern Ireland.

"Guess we're walking from here on out... Unless we get some more money," Theriault said, walking towards the door.

They got off the bus, seeing a large building behind them, which looked like an old hospital or something of the sort.

"The way you dropped a billion dollars on the Pheonix key I assumed you were rich beyond my imagination," Shen Yi said, rolling her eyes as they looked at their surroundings.

The town was pretty rundown, with only a few people passing by, but everyone kept their distance.

"Ah finally, a small town, these are my favorite... There's never any trouble in these towns..." Theriault said, sighing as he walked down the sidewalk.

Hunter followed close behind as Shen Yi looked at the sky, noticing the stars twinkling brightly above them. It seemed so peaceful, almost surreal, especially for someone like Shen Yi who lived in a big city.

She watched a car pass by slowly, the driver staring straight ahead, not paying attention to anything else.

A strange feeling overcame Shen Yi. It wasn't uneasiness, but more caution. It was simply too peaceful...

"You're only uncomfortable because you've gotten used to adverse circumstances, just relax, adventuring isn't all danger around every corner you know?" Theriault said, seeing the look in her eye as she looked around.

"Well, maybe..." Shen Yi replied, still feeling uneasy about everything.

"So... That was as far as our money would take us? What do we do now?" Hunter asked, looking toward Theriault as the older boy looked around the city, thinking.

"Well... That's the question isn't it." Theriault muttered quietly to himself, then turned his gaze toward the large hospital across the street.

"Hey, why don't we go inside there, looks like they might be hiring..." Theriault suggested, pointing at the hospital as the others looked at each other.

"Uhh... Did you graduate college?" Shen Yi asked confusedly.

Theriault rolled his eyes. "I thought we established I'm older than you think, I've been to college..." Theriault said with mock offense.

"... Of course, I never graduated and I don't even exist in the record books to modern society, so scratch that plan," He finished, going back to his mental drawing board.

"How about we buy some phones... Oh yeah no money huh," Hunter said, still looking at Theriault.

"No phones, no jobs..." Shen Yi added.

"Maybe we could find work on the docks or something..." Theriault mumbled.

"And how many years of experience do you have with that exactly?" Shen Yi said, her frustration creeping into her voice.

"More than you know..." Theriault snapped back, an annoyed look on his face. "Since every idea is clearly not up to your standard, what do you suggest?" Theriault asked, smirking as he saw her shocked look.

"Uhh... I, well I don't know" Shen Yi started to say before Theriault cut her off.

"Ah hear that Hunter? The one shooting down my suggestions doesn't even know what we should do herself, this is called irony," Theriault said, chuckling to himself.

"I think you should apologize to me... You know, for being so judgemental," Theriault continued.

"I'm sorry... You must have had a tough life to be such a prick." Shen Yi spat out sarcastically as he sighed.

"Don't worry too much. We have a goal, we're broke, and we have no hope of finding The Master Key... This is how it's all supposed to be, now this is an adventure!"

***

The three walked down the streets, looking at the buildings and houses in the small town.

No one paid them any mind, they got some strange looks every once in a while, but no one bothered them.

"It's just a calm lovely town that minds their business... You don't get a lot of these nowadays you know?" Theriault said as they stopped in front of a diner.

As if on cue Hunter's stomach growled. Looking at Theriault with an embarrassed smile he gestured toward the building.

"Any money left for food?" He asked hopefully.

"I'm sure I have enough... Man, I'm starting to go into debt..." Theriault thought to the people's money he was spending, it was inevitable he'd have to pay them back... Eventually.

"We'll be fine, let's just check the place out first," Theriault answered, walking right up to the door with a confident grin, even though his true feelings didn't reflect that outside behavior.

He opened the door, the smell of freshly cooked meat filled his nostrils as he went in. The diner had a dark wooden counter and booths around the walls, all the tables were full.

Theriault saw an attractive red-headed woman behind the counter, her hair tied up in a ponytail. She smiled at them and waved. "Welcome to Naughty and Nice Cafe! Where if you're naughty my husband will rough you up real nice!"

The woman said this casually, smiling as if she was sharing a joke. The trio sat at the booth, looking at the illuminated screen with all the food and beverage options above the woman.

"Any drinks?" She asked, still smiling as she looked over each of them.

"Do you think you can mix a cappuccino and latte together? Like just the cappuccino, but I want art on the top," Theriault asked seriously, looking the woman in the eyes as a weird feeling started to brew within him.

"Uh... What? Are you stupid?" She asked bluntly.

"What? I know they're fairly similar, but I don't want cappuccino art on top, it has to be the latte leaf you know? The one in commercials and stuff."

The woman stared at Theriault with a confused look on her face as the boy looked over the menu. "Nevermind, just give me a warm blueberry bagel please..."

"I'll take a hot chocolate," Hunter spoke up, taking out his wallet and pulling out a few euros his father had given him.

Shen Yi ordered her drink next, a normal black coffee, nothing special. Unlike Hunter though, she had no money to pay for her drink, especially no European currency.

"Your money is no good here, don't worry about it," The woman said, shaking her head and not accepting the cash from Hunter.

"Huh?" Theriault said, the weird feeling growing, "What do you mean? How do we pay?" He asked. This was it. The weird feeling he'd been feeling. He knew it, of course, there wasn't just a peaceful city to relax in, this was the part where they'd be attacked and the barista would say they pay with their lives.

"It's all free, compliments of my husband, he says everyone should be able to enjoy a coffee free of charge, he thinks it should be a god given right..."

Theriault nodded, still feeling uneasy. He looked around at everyone else enjoying their beverages, but he couldn't shake the feeling.

"Well, thanks for the offer, but I can't take advantage of your kindness..." He said politely as he got up from his seat, turning around with a smile.

"Speak for yourself weirdo," Shen Yi said, grabbing the black coffee that was set down in front of her. Hunter silently agreed, sipping his own drink with satisfaction as he put away his money.

"You wouldn't be taking advantage... You ordered a food item, not a beverage, so you still have to pay," The woman said, looking at Theriault with a soft smile as he felt his face start to burn up.

"I need more loyal companions," Theriault muttered as he sat, sliding a plastic credit card across the table.

"Huh... You must be quite rich to have one of these cards, I hear the fee is more than some rent," The woman said as she swiped the platinum card, successfully paying for Theriault's bagel.

"Yeah... I wish," He said, snatching the card away.

The woman smiled a bit as she turned and went into the back kitchen.

"Huh, what a nice lady..." Shen Yi said, smirking at Theriault, who shot her a look and relaxed into his cushioned seat.

"Yeah, I don't know... Somethings just... Off about this place you know?" He said, putting away the platinum card.

'Even more debt...'

"So what do we do now?" Hunter asked, looking around at the others as he took another sip of her hot chocolate.

Theriault sighed and looked at them. "Well... It's pretty obvious isn't it? Relax here for a while and make a plan of action... We need money, at least enough to get to Germany..."

Shen Yi looked at Theriault, surprised he had finally told them where they were headed. "What's in Germany?"

Theriault wasn't able to answer before a plate with a bagel was set in front of him, the woman back, her hair down now.

"Prince Sno, the leader of the Sno faction..." The woman said, smiling widely at Theriault's surprised look.

"I thought you looked familiar, but I didn't think you'd still look the same after so much time... Theriault," She finished, causing both Hunter and Shen Yi to look at him in shock.