Leon sat on Elr's bed, his tongue sticked out to a side as he clicked furiously on his laptop. If there's anything he had to do, it was to set enough traffic for Albert's Restaurant which was to open miles away from where they reside.
Elr stood at a corner, tapping his feet impatiently, his gaze moved from Leon who had taken over his bed space with all his weird gadgets to Albert who was ram-sacking his closet, seeking a decent outfit for him to wear.
His ears where steaming up in rage. " You guys.." he started, *looking for a nicer way to say it*. "You can't just barge in here and disrupt the flow of things.
"Here, try this on," Albert said, shoving a pair of suit at him.
"Tch. You're not even listening to me!" Elr cried.
" Kathy!" Leon called. " Elrin is throwing a tantrum again!"
"What do I look like to you? A Three-year-old? "
" You sound like one, "
"Tch. Have it your way then." He clutched the suit and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door hard behind him.
" Just a little one here.. and there.. and.. Voilà!"
" I've retouched your hair pretty nice. Pardon if I tied it a bit tight." Ari said, sliding shut the lid of a gel she had just used on Kurv's hair.
Kurv picked up the hand mirror on her dressing table, her eyes lowered in disappointment.
"Great. Now I look like a Disney princess."
" She doesn't even need makeup!!" Sammy sniffled. What was all her hardwork searching all the makeup stuff for?
At this rate, just any guy would want to date Kurv –which wasn't their objective.
"Remember Kurv, stick to the plan. No meaningless conversations."
"Except when need be."
Sammy was busy, trying on Kurv's oversized glasses, which looked like two wheels bonded with a boomerang. She really didn't care about what they were saying, or want to even add her own opinion.
"Sammy, give that back. You know I'm half-blind without those."
"Bleh!" She stuck out er tongue at me. I pounced forward at her,
" You won't be needing that again." Ari told her, driving a wedge between the two of them.
"..."
Ari opened her makeup kit, " I felt really bad that you had to wear that piece of junk all year, so I got similar lenses for you."
" For me? W-really?" Kurv bashed her puppy eyelids.
" Not so fast. They'll be yours, if and only if you succeed. "
" Not everyone has the best experience when it comes to blind dating. "
" Yeah.. some are kicked out for no reason at all. Ya know.." Sammy waved her hand, "..rich people stuff. "
Kurv turned pale. They were really going to send their friend to a place like that?
"Don't worry. You're pretty and all. Anyone would look away for your sake."
" That's just how pretty privileges work."
" And that's the recipe for my signature pepperoni."
" Oh. No."
" What?" Albert looked up in the direction of his brother's gaze. His face darkened with horror.
"Elrin. What. happened. to. your. hair??"
A satisfied smug spread across Elr's face. If they were going to force this blind date nonsense on him, then he was going to have it ~his~ way.
* * *
I nearly tripped over myself in the strapped back gown that Ari had sown for me before-hand. And oh, did I mention? She's a fashion designer.. so.. yeah.
Sure. The dress was pretty, I like the colour -milk and all, but it was just too tight cuz she tightened the straps too tight. And the length? It swept the floor right behind me. Quite embarrassing that I had to walk all the way to the Restaurant.
It was a twenty-minute walk but worth the hassle.
Looking up at the building right before me, my jaw dropped. How could a restaurant like this open just a few minutes away from my apartment and I DIDN'T notice it??!
Maybe Sammy was right about me being too boring and old-school.
"Ehr. It's just a restaurant. Why does she have to come over-dressed?"
" Right. I admit. I like her dress--" The black-haired girl dressed in pink blouse and blue shorts said. "-But she looks so classless."
I blinked twice and turned around to see the three walking up to me. Talk about mean girls from highschool. Ari had warned me that there'd be social bullies around but I didn't think they'd be this direct.
Women are especially cruel to their own kind. Mostly to those that are better than them.
I thought of what to say, rage boiling up within me. If I didn't reply then they'd just do it again.
I faked a clean smile and walked up to the tallest of them.
"Hey. Excuse me."
She looked straight up at me with irksome eyes, her stare cold like a dagger.
"What?" She managed to say, crossing her hands over her half-covered boobs.
I suddenly gasped "Is this real?" I asked, pointing to her silver bracelet.
"What? This?" She held her hand up and scoffed, her friends hitting on me with the same expression.
"It cost me a hundred and twenty dollars. Worth more than your cheap wardrobe."
" Right. It does." I replied with a smile, " And I'm the one who's over-dressed."
With that, I walked away. Whimps like her just had to be put in their place. I could hear their curse words getting louder as I walked away. Bitches.
What a bunch of gold diggers. But then... I'm not in the right position to say that either, given I was here for almost the same reason.
``Free Food!``
My stomach grumbled at the thought of it.
At the reception, I showed my virtual card to the front desk manager.
"That's number nine... Table 4, two tables to the right." she said handing me a card. The blonde lady was especially nice. Maybe trash only hung around at the entrance.
"Hey. I'm Bradon."
~Rule number 2 on Ari's guide to Blind Dating ``
•Be nice to absolute strangers
Yeah.. I completely missed that earlier. But hey, I can't afford making the same mistake twice.
"Kurv. Nice meeting you."
I said to him with a smile.
" I like what you did out there. It was so bold of you. "
Bradon was exceptionally sweet, his green hazel eyes just had a way of making you want to trust him. And I like the way his brown hair was slicked up from behind and gave that curly phase at the front, curling down into an `S` between his thick straight eyebrows. Vetto would be so jealous standing right next to him.
Before I knew it, we were chatting nonstop like we'd known each other for a long time.
He told me he once dated the lady that mocked me earlier,
"Her name's Stacey. I loved seeing her put in her place.."
Bradon's voice was musical and the way he spoke, in fitting melodies.. I almost thought he was actually singing.
Then the thought struck me.
~What if..
"Tell me something, Bradon--"
"Brady." He corrected.
Right. `My friends call me [This] kind of stuff..``
I looked up at the stars high above me, the night was chilly, the cool wind gusting through my hair.
Bradon.. I mean--Brady had brought me up to the terrace to escape from his own blind date. It was disappointing enough that he wasn't my online match but I was comfortable with skipping my date with him.
Whoever my Prince Charming was, I didn't mind keeping him waiting.
Now, back to my question before I'd actually forgotten.
I looked up at him, my gaze piercing into his eyes. Pinning for an answer.. My answer.
~`Rule 8 on Ari's guide to Blind Dating,
•Maintain close eye contact when speaking with him``
Okay, maybe I was overdoing it just a little.
"Do you.. Are you.. by chance.. "
I took a deep breath, allowing the words flow through me before I actually regretted saying it,
"Are you the Masked Pianist?"
Next Chapter: It Happened By Chance