There I was, stuck in a women's bathroom, waiting for a girl with a shark's tail to bring me a waiter's suit and help me do a job. I don't know how, but in the end I ended up accepting his proposal, as if nothing had happened, something that could bring me problems in the future. Although, on second thought, perhaps it would be better than being in front of Nekomata eating and receiving uncomfortable looks.
It has been three minutes since the girl left the bathroom when, finally, the door opened. I was still in the bathroom, with the door closed, but that didn't stop my nerves from increasing radically every time I heard the sound of the door opening.
"Are you still here?" asked a familiar voice, identical to the girl's.
"Yes, I'm still here," I replied, trying to sound more confident than I really felt.
"Come on, get out of there, I've got the suit," he said, closing the door behind him.
Hearing her words, I quickly stepped out and stood in front of her, looking at the suit she was carrying in her hands.
"It may be too small for you, but hey, what does it matter," he commented, in a muffled tone of voice.
I wasn't so sure that "who cares" was a good answer.
"And if it's not good for me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, as I assessed the suit.
She sighed deeply and stuffed another lollipop into her mouth, not losing her cool.
"Why do you have to complain about everything?" He said, with the lollipop still between his teeth.
His answer was so direct and unfiltered that it left me speechless. For a few seconds, I stared at the suit, looking for a way to make up my mind. Finally, I took it with resignation and put it on.
"Can you go?" I asked him in a somewhat more serious, though still uncomfortable, tone.
"Why?" She replied, clearly curious but without showing much interest.
Without saying a word, I gestured to the suit, indicating that I needed some privacy to put on my jacket.
"Didn't it occur to you to just take off your jacket and put this on?" She replied, pointing to the suit as if it were the most obvious solution in the world.
Of course, I realized that the suit was nothing more than a simple tuxedo: black jacket and pants. It was simpler than I thought. I put it on with some embarrassment, still feeling like I wasn't up to the task, but at least I was doing something to help.
When I was done, I looked in the mirror quickly and asked the dumbest question in the world.
"Do I look good?" I asked, my nervousness on the surface.
She, without taking her eyes off the lollipop she was chewing, simply shrugged her shoulders without saying a word. Total indifference.
"They'll be about to arrive. Come, accompany me to the counter, I'll give you the coffee I made," he said as he opened the door, letting me in first.
I walked out of the bathroom, feeling a little relief that no one had seen me leave. She closed the door and walked to the counter without comment. I followed her closely, nervously, because I knew my classmates were around, and I didn't want to be caught doing something I shouldn't have. However, my joy did not last long, since, as if everything was against me, one of my colleagues called me, thinking I was a waiter.
"What's wrong?" I said, my voice a little deeper than usual, to prevent him from recognizing me.
Anby stared at me, with a doubtful expression, but as soon as she saw that I wasn't the waiter she expected, she turned her focus back to her burger.
"We'd like to ask for one more bottle of water, please," Nicole said, with a kindness so natural that it almost made me feel worse for lying.
"Of course, I'm bringing you one right now," I replied, trying to keep my composure, although discomfort invaded me.
And before I could turn around, Nekomata added, without taking his eyes off his plate:
"And one more thing...
I turned quickly to her, my nerves multiplied and a little annoyance pent.
"I'd like to ask for a glass of milk, if possible."
Milk? In a restaurant? I didn't quite know what to say, but I felt compelled to do the job right.
"Of course, I'll bring it to you right away," I replied, although a little puzzled.
Before I could leave, however, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I stopped in my tracks, knowing exactly who I was.
"I'll take care of it." The coffee is on the counter table, take it away now," the girl whispered with her shark's tail.
I listened to him without hesitation. I picked up the coffee and quickly made my way to the counter. In New Eridu, living with such peculiar people was common, so my mask didn't attract much attention. Still, I felt strange with him, but I couldn't risk it.
I walked down the long hallway of the restaurant, passing between tables where people ate quietly. Finally, I got to the counter and had the coffee. As I picked it up, I noticed something peeking out from under the cup. It was a small note. I quickly picked it up and read its contents. I felt like the protagonist of an action movie, staging the biggest heist ever, and somehow that made me feel incredibly important.
Almost running, I went all over the restaurant until I reached the place where the man described in the note should be. I found him, sitting quietly at his table. I approached without hesitation.
"Hello, sir," I said as I put down the empty plate and took the cup with my other hand. Here's your coffee.
The man, who didn't look more than 50, looked at me with a mixture of bewilderment and uncertainty, but eventually his gaze locked into the cup and stopped.
"And-I didn't ask for this," he stammered, clearly surprised.
He looked at me again, this time with much more trepidation.
"They're looking for me, right?" He asked, looking around nervously.
I nodded silently, waiting for him to get up so I could guide him to the back exit of the restaurant, near the kitchen. It took the man a second to make up his mind, but finally got up, as if he had no other options.
"Tell me you're going to get me out of here," he said, in a tone of growing despair.
"Follow me," I replied, trying to sound as confident as a movie hero.
I began to walk quickly towards the kitchen, convinced that everything would be fine. However, just before reaching the back door, a pair of hooded men burst into the restaurant.
"WHERE IS HE?!" They shouted in unison, looking for the man I had guided.
My mind was clouded in a matter of seconds. Fight and risk revealing my identity? Run with the man and see what happened? I thought quickly and decided that the only option was to flee. I took the man by the hand and we both ran into the kitchen.
Before I got to the back door, I saw the shark-tailed girl pushing a metal cart covered by a blanket. I didn't know what she was wearing, but at least I felt calmer when I saw her.
Upon reaching the door, I stood and looked at the man, breathing deeply.
"We're done," I said, relieved.
"N-I don't know how to thank you," he said, completely nervous.
"Don't give them to me, I'm just the real heroine's assistant," I replied, opening the door with a smile.
What I didn't expect was that, when we opened it, we would find two of those men right on the other side.
"Shit!" The man exclaimed, terrified.
The two guys stared at us for a few seconds, processing the scene, until they finally realized who he was. We didn't know how all this was going to end, but the only thing we knew was that it wasn't going to end well.