A Special Drag of His Day 2

The car starts to move, after the boys say the name 'Tenkai' to the robotic driver. Its eyes flicker into different colours for a moment, then a few seconds after its eyes go back to the original colour white. "Tenkai Restaurant, Vietland Brich, Hong Sau Road?" - It asks the boys in the car with an electric buzzing yet crystal clear voice.


"Yes!" - The guy with yellow dyed hair - Conner Kent says.


"Connor Kent as well... Kuga's right-hand man, quite popular amongst us, and as ever, he is also from a rich family like Kuga and like most influential students in our school."


"That is why we tend to hate each other?"


Finally, the thin wheels of the cars start rolling and the music in the car starts to turn on, banging the entire car. The boys turn their faces to their side facing towards Kuga, wave their hands at him along with the girls standing by him.


Banging music thrusts through Alexander's ears, but he is completely dismissive about the music. Instead he looks at the moving scene through the window, of the Vietland Birch and all the substances and the constructs within it, in which all of them embody the city life image of Brightwill Lake, of the life that Alexander goes through with everyday.


At this moment, the car turns slowly at a junction, pedestrians walk with their phones on the pavement and the tall grey buildings in dim light colours with black squares of windows are plucked into their surfaces evenly and orderly. On the pavement, there are also small houses in dim white just like the buildings where the residents and students reside after a busy school day, in a motionful life of constant passes like a quick flow of river and yet it is in order and repetition in Alexander's view. He turns to the windshield of the car; ignoring the modern and electric components inside the car, ignoring the digital screen with moving neon pixels inside dancing as the beats and melodies of pop music bursts through the speakers, alongside with the boys behind just keep popping their heads and singing babbling words that Alexander can never decipher.


"Ah... This city, the sky has blended into the greyness of this industrial colour of this city... I have nothing to do today, so I hang out with these people." - Alexander thinks


Thuking thuking, the music bangs into his head, but it's all fine in Alexander's domain, according to his own tongue and thoughts. "Who cares about this music anyway... They are childish, obnoxious, and most of all, soulless and bland... But somehow, they are so alive together, they are living their lives despite the bad taste of music. Somehow... this generic music clings onto their Living Areas and Avatars in a way that they are happy."


"I don't know anymore... I have nothing to cling onto to be fun, to feeel fun... And I have tried, but my heart feels nothing and only empty as ever. And only short form indulgents may distract me, but I will go back to the original state... of 'dragingness' through days."


"Now I get to go with these guys, but they are no fun... But to hang out with more people, I think I have to."


After a few stops and turns, the car finally stops under a small rectangle building standing at 3 stories.


"There we are... at the Tenkai Restaurant!"- The robot driver says.


"Okay, dookie! How much is it?" - Alexander thinks.


Having paid for the driver, Alexander and the boys get out of the car and stand on the edge of the pavement. Until quickly, a car arrives immediately not long after Alexander's previous ride departs. Walking out of the car, busting the door open, exits the big boy Kuga, stands aside for the ladies in school uniform to follow in line crawling out the car with their slim legs and crouching postures. The girls shyly and reservedly enclose their arms into their bodies holding their small bags. Kuga shuts the door by slamming with such force before the car runs off.


He turns to all the boys- his boys and the girls, gesturing to them to get inside of the restaurant. Alexander quickly walks through the automatic door, but then he sees Connor walking the same way. Immediately he moves to the side, letting Connor to walk through, entering the restaurant, which the girls slowly follow, then finally Kuga. They walk slowly in the line, with eyes staring into their phone screens after they take their phones out, or staring forwardly into the restaurant. Finally, Alexander enters behind them.


Sizzling food is served, soft jiggly meat dishes are made through grilling or raw are put on top of the slick wooden tables. Bowls of brown gold liquid bring out a pleasant smell that thrusts through the noses of everyone here, the smell that is deeply in different spices and flavours: vinegar, soup stock, or soy sauce tickling the nerves in the noses of all customers. They find themselves seats, and finally be settled. Kuga's male friends are seated at one side with Alexander sitting at the outermost. Kuga sits with the girls at the other side, oppositely facing the boys. And so as they immediately start to talk to each other, with the girls leaning towards Kuga looking at him when all of them surround themselves around Kuga, listening closely to his story.


Alexander turns his face towards Kuga, hearing his story as if he cares. However, his eyes don't stay stationary, but they move around, looking at the girls and at the boys. Staring at their faces , expressions and at their big circular eyes as they are listening to Kuga, when he's telling about his experience in Nation of Rising Sun, as he turns his face and nose around the smell and the sight that the restaurant's aesthetic brings through its furniture design of paddy wooden floor that is seemingly thin with bland brown colour, that resembles small and thin cutting boards where salmon and Wagyu beef pieces lie on, laying on top of the waiters' fingers as they are being served; sliding doors that sound like cardboard, but has a soft delicate yellow colour that have simple coloured paintings on their soft papers section.


He hears more about Kuga's story as he was in Nation of Rising Sun, about "This restaurant looks like the ones in Rising Sun.", "We have these samurai blades that are like Genoblades!"


Alexander thinks: "Samurai blades? Seriously? That is called katana, dumbass."


The girls stare at Kuga more attentively, they slip their fingers letting their strands of hair slip into their hands. The boys smile and seem to ask more about what is there in that country, does it look like anything they've seen from anime? From social media? Kuga smiles with them, a bright smile with his deep cheekbones that makes him strong and attractive to boys and girls, as if he's being himself... as a model of something they like.


Alexander thinks: "Talking, communicating, chiselling yourself, decorating your Living Areas, presenting your Living Avatar well... Kuga does that really well, really good. Sometimes, I admire him, I like him. So much so looking up to him as a friend idol."


Kuga smiles, tells them a little piece of story, of memory when his family went to the Nation of the Rising Sun when he was little. That story was a fun memory he had, and then he delivers a joke to them that makes them laugh. All of them, the boys cover their mouths, burst out their loud laughters, and the girls wheeze their laughter back to their tummies, and chuckle really hard. Alexander looks at the group, sitting at the outermost and he barely hears anything from Kuga story no matter how much he leans towards the group and their atmosphere, he can never imagine Kuga's story nor does he ever get to know Kuga's Living Area.


"He is so good at it... And yet, he asks me for my money, I know I want to decline him but... this is the only chance to network with some people, not necessarily friends! Just being present!". Alexander takes himself away from the pushing into their bubble, stops acting like he cares about Kuga's story. He pulls himself away from the streaming of the conversation, because he feels like he isn't involved at all despite him being the one who pays.


"But regardless, you are a moron, Kuga. Just a goddamn moron, your Living Area is regardless, tainted by your 'moronness'. You used me only for my cash, reasoning with me and denying my right to decline with that grumpy face intimidating me..."


"But I feel scared too,..." - Alexander turns his face away, invisible tears crave out and slowly surface upon his eyeballs. "Kuga, after all, by his nature is a big big guy, and has influence upon the students in my grade. After all, he has many connections with people and they will believe him over me... Best I can do is to connect with him and...maybe build a good self-image for myself to achieve a level... Awww.. What am I talking about?". Alexander swings his forearm across his eyelids, frictioning his eyeballs slightly as he turns Living Avatar turns back to the friend group that keeps talking within their own circle as he silently drifts away from them and about to silently slip himself out of his seat and table when a waitress in a kimono comes to the table and asks for the order.


The students turn their heads towards the waiter, and then they turn their gazes back at each other, but then they finally settle down with their eyes on Kuga and nod their heads. "You are familiar with this, call the food, man." - Connor says.


And so, Kuga starts to look at the menu, scans through it a little bit and spouts out a lining of dishes: "J-Zero Wagyu Beef, Large Size Sashimi Boat, a plate of Egg Sushi, a huge set meal of steamed rice and raw eggs, a big bowl of spicy eel soup, medium set of tempura...". After with the food, he leaves the drinks for his friends and the girls as well.


"One bottle of sake, few cans of Coke and Sizzle." - Connor says.


Alexander just stays silent and nods his head as if he is the one who really covers their orders, but when he hears the order out of the menu he feels a bit tingly as well because of the amount being called. Now he only hopes that Kuga will also contribute a bit to make the payment possible.


"That's a lot, Kuga!" - One girl comments


"I can eat all of them, you know me!" - Kuga says to the girl


All of them chuckle lightly, Connor speaks right after: "Trust me, he can."


But she backs away from her chuckles, and says: "But that is a lot of things, are you sure you'll pay for it?"


"Oh," - Kuga turns to the girl. He continues: "I'm not paying, Alexander will!"


Huh?- Alexander turns his face to Kuga with his 'A'-shaped mouth.


Kuga continues: "Alexander's paying for our meal today.", he turns his eyes looking at Alexander smiling at him. "Deckard is generous with his richness, and so is Alexander!"


"I swear I see those eyes, those eagle eyes of Kuga looking at me and pressing on me to push me on edge. Fuck this, he is Kuga for god's sake!" - Alexander thinks.


Kuga continues, with a wide smile, he leans towards Alexander saying gently: "Come on! Deckard can pay for the whole meal for his friends, and you can't?"


"No..." - Alexander stutters. "It's just...". Alexander feels like something is tearing apart Alexander from within, conflicting beneath that boils from his belly towards his mind and his vacuumed heart. "Uh..." - Alexander utters.


"He said 'Uhm'! Thank you Alexander!" - One boy shouts.


"Yes, Alexander!" - Connor utters in excitement.


The girls crest their smiles at Alexander, seem to say thank you to him for Alexander, as he sits there dumbfounded but his lips are pulled closed.


And so, after the small conversation between them about the payment, they all turn back towards each other and talk to each other once again, Alexander doesn't lean towards them anymore. Now he leans back against his chair and his eyes stare up on the ceiling, unbothered about the circle of their conversation. He feels like an outcast, but he is an outcast in his thoughts. There should be many factors as to why they don't talk to him, maybe because he is not interactive and quiet on his own so that they perceive and form his image in their minds and Living Areas and thus making him a quiet kid who might not be comfortable talking.


"So that must be it. Even if they don't want to talk to me, they have a good reason to not do so. Because I will freak out if they talk to me, because I am a quiet kid in their eyes."


And so he brings himself face away from the friend group, flickering himself off the hard boundary wall that he tries to plunge through. Alexander slips through his seat and the table silently with his face feels soggy. Then blends into the in-restaurant noises, he walks away from the table and rushes into the toilet with his backpack. As he gets into the toilet, he forcefully puts his backpack onto the faucet and dips his hand into his bag reaching for his wallet. Then bursts open his wallet and counts up all the cash he is having with him right now whilst babbling "I'm done! I'm fucking done!"Slowly he bursts out his little drops of tears off his face running down his cheeks, bulging his nose. And the more he bulges his fingers into his wallet, the more his tears start to ball out more from his eyes.


After counting up all the cash and folding the wallet. He turns his face up to the mirror, looking at himself. Looking at himself with a soggy face and beads of tears running out of his eyes, crawling on his cheeks. He breaks his mouth wide open, grunting at his reflection: "You retard! What is crying going to do anything?", he grits his teeth and swings his arm thrusting at the mirror.


Suddenly, a small sound of turning doorknob clacks, but it sounds like a clicking sound before the blast opens the door behind his ears. He makes a sharp turn as the door creaks and only sees a man enter inside, a stranger only.


Alexander puts his wallet back into his pocket, then zips his bag. He forcefully swings his bag behind his bag and walks into the toilet cabin, sitting on the toilet and locks the door of the cabin away from outside. He opens his wallet and goes through his cash. For the final time he wants to ensure a good amount of money is enough to pay for such a big meal that they ordered. From his estimation, the meal should all cost him around 4 million sifs and he has only 2 million sifs in his wallet in cash right now which only covers the Sashimi Boat and the meal set of steamed rice, bowl of eel soup, and a plate of soy-beaned fried vegetables. Not enough... "No, no, no! For god's sake this isn't enough! Please, not enough!" - He grunts to himself. "Fuck, fuck, fuck! This isn't enough!". He smacks his head with both hands, as tears keep silently running out across his cheeks. Immediately, those beads are wiped out, "You retard! You retard! What is crying going to help???"


Then he thinks about the credit card, he knows he can always use it. But this is when it all matters to him because this isn't his card, it is connected to his mom's bank. So any transferring or paying information will directly come to her knowledge. "Maybe I should use it, but mom will know about it...But then if she sees if I spend 2 millions, it will be a bad use of money!". Alexander keeps smacking his head with two knuckles. He wants to scream out with all fierceness, but curses with all of the sour voices that are banging loud with bitterness only slips through his utterance that scratches his chord and barely gets out through his teeth. And so, they boil up under his stomach and stay there heating up by the heat of his heart. He turns them on, keeping the flame and bitterness burning at himself and boils down to his stomach just like that. Silently he grits his teeth to find the pain, as the heat melts the block of ice that is crystallised tears.


"But would declining Kuga have helped me at all? No, I'm in front of Kuga and his group, who have influences. So their eyes are now clinging onto the data in the credit card and the paper in my wallet! Now the act of using either of two is what captures my image in their eyes, how unfair!". He looks at his credit card again, but it is only a bad use of money. He is feeling his being is leaking out of the frame he upholds in front of them. Now, he is thinking about owing the restaurant money, if that way is possible at all.


"However, I have to do it secretly."


Alexander gets out of the toilet entirely, his heart pounds thinking about the payment and secretly in debt with the restaurant in the short-term.


He comes across a waitress walking past him, but he stops her for a moment. "Hey...uh... Sorry!"


"Huh?" - She asks Alexander.


"Is there any chance that I can be in debt to the restaurant in case I don't have enough money?" - Alexander asks.


After a reluctant moment staring at Alexander squintedly, she then shakes her head, then says: "It's better to pay fully, not to come here in the first place if you can't pay.", with a straight face she displays and a soft casual tone, a gentle voice.


Alexander comes back, slides the chair out and is seated. Now only Kuga, Connor and the girls are talking to each other; the other boys next to Connor occasionally speak but now they stamp their eyes on their phones. At this point, just as when they get impatient, the food is delivered to the table all at once. Few waitresses and waiters holding different trays serving both cold and hot food. One by one, each is carefully put down on the table as their gentle scent from Sashimi Boat, and the thrusting intoxicating smell from the eel broth. There are some more that smells stimulating; like the crunchy tempura plate, the huge steamed rice bowl, soy-sauce vegetable, and some sushi plates they all gather here together. Alexander starts to salivate and quickly, the people sit on the table and take their bowls, spoon, chopstick. Kuga takes out his phone and he takes a selfie of the whole group, as they pull themselves into the frame with different facial expressions and body poses. All except Alexander.


So, they start to eat together, some pull their phones to take photos of the food on the table. But all start to gulp the food. With each thing put into their mouths, they look all satisfied and happy. Alexander has the same feelings about the food, he looks at them eating the food first for a bit, then he finally lets loose and shoves the food into his bowl.


First it's the steamed rice, then eel broth into a separate bowl. He uses his saucer under his bowl for raw salmon pieces dipped in wasabi soy sauce and a few rolls of sushi. Finally he opens the Coke can and pours into his glass. Oh, he doesn't forget about these vegetables.


He eats, tongues them, chews and swallows the food. He enjoys the food so much. The sensational touch from their structure and colourful gentle flavour of the broth. The bouncy pinching as he presses his tongue against the salmon meat and the steamed rice and the sushi rolls are all so good to him. As much of a moron Kuga is, knowing good food from his other heritage, is such one thing about him - Alexander thinks.


After that, he repeats the process but adds on a thing he didn't eat - J-Zero Wagyu Beef. He's paying for it so he has to eat it! So Alexander crashes meat pieces in between his teeth. The thrusting texture through his mouth nerves, the flavour taps his tongue gently with brown sauce. Mmmm... Alexander immerses himself in the great food.


"Alexander." - Kuga turns his face to Alex. "Look at your part, you're taking too much."


There are eel broth, steamed rice, vegetable, steak pieces, raw salmon and sushi all the same. Looks like a bunch of things on his part for real but still, only takes a bit from each kind.


"Are you kidding me?" - Alexander's mind-mouth questions. "I am the one who pays, I get to eat however the hell I want!"


After not long, the food is wiped completely away from the plates. When the table is cleared that is when the payment is called. The waitress appears with a digital cashier machine that is so thin in her hand. Alexander stands up, with wallets in his hand.


He has two choices: Use the money from his mom, or owe the restaurant. Alexander whispers to the waitress for the second choice. But she then refuses and demands Alexander to pay right now! Kuga sees that they are wondering what's happening so Kuga stands up and confronts both.


"What is it?" - Kuga asks.
"I don't have enough money!" - Alexander answers, lowers his tone, lowers his eyes.
"What you say?" - Kuga asks, deepens his tone, sours his voice.


"Uh... Yeah, I don't have enough cash." - Alexander answers.


Kuga sighs, then he turns his back to his friends, he says: "Turns out, Alexander doesn't have enough money."


Connor: "If you don't have enough money, then why did you choose to pay for us?". Another comes along: "Yeah, this is stupid and dumb!", "Oh... no, another show-off!"


Alexander: "I didn't choose to pay for all of you, it was... a mistake. I didn't check my money. When I came into the place, I didn't know..."


Chatters from Kuga's friend start to rise up...


"You guys go with him?" - She asks.


"Yes, but he promises he'll pay for all of us." - Kuga answers.
"I didn't even have the chance to answer." - Alexander responds
"If you didn't want to pay then you could've rejected." - Kuga says.


Alexander bites his teeth and he turns his back to say sorry to the people at his table. But he adds, "Kuga didn't let me have any chance to say and pushed it to me.", he says in a small tone.


Finally, Kuga and Connor contribute their cash to the waitress, fulfilling the payment. After that the whole group goes out and sends the girls to depart from their group and back to their homes. Then suddenly the boys surround Alexander, and Kuga asks Alex: "What did you say?"


"Whu-?" - Alexander utters.


Smack! Kuga hits directly at Alexander's face: "What the fuck did you say?"


"What do... you mean?" - Alexander asks. Kuga steps closer to Alexander, glaring Alexander right into the eyes. Alexander's eyes tremble.


"Do not fuck with me. I heard you say something, but you were squeaking like a rat!" - Kuga responds. "Say! What did you say? I wanna hear it."


"You had misheard." - Alexander says.
"On mum's life?" - Kuga asks.
"I said you pushed me to pay for the meal by getting in the middle of my throat!"- Alexander elaborates. He stuns his pupils lower to the ground.
"LOUDER!" - Kuga screams into Alexander's face.
"I said you pushed me you pushed me you pushed me to accept to pay for all of you guys." - Alexander says rapidly, spits the words as loud as he can.


The boys stare at Alexander, from in front to behind him. Alexander feels the boil under his feet...