Our Story

2 …was an Embarrassment

—————ALMOST AN HOUR HAD PASSED NOW SINCE THE UNFORESEEN INCIDENT, but I was still at the table with a stranger. Along with us on the table was Mrs Linda and her uneased manner. Everyone caught her worried eyes fixed on the stranger man beside me and her anxious legs shaking up and down continuously.

Yes, I was sitting right next to him at the point. Not only that, but he was hiding his head - more to say his face - under my neck. Although I hate it very much, I let the sweat on his forehead wipe on my uniform. At first, I gave a gesture to free myself but I was revolted by the next thing he did, which was hiding himself on me after he realized everyone inside the eatery was staring at him. I couldn't do anything about it, now, could I?

The longer he took to hide himself on me as if he knew me and has a close relationship with me, the more I felt this extreme discomfort. I would understand it if Mrs Linda was the only one watching us, but, unfortunately, it wasn't the case. Everyone was looking at us, and I thought they were thinking the same idea I thought they would think.

No, I've never met this guy before! There's no chance he and I would have something romantic in between. We were not even friends, let alone knew each other's names. Thinking of it, I never cared anyway.

Too worried now about what others were thinking of both of us and also too uncomfortable with the situation, I moved my eyes to Mrs Linda to ask for help. Fortunately, it did not take long enough for her to understand my concern. After she had another good and well-thought look at us she almost displayed her shock physically, probably due to her late realization that this strange guy was too close to me that he already invaded what everyone called a 'personal space', by growing her eyes and screaming. It wasn't something negative, though, because I caught her sudden smile right after she restrained herself.

A smile affected by great affection.

Of course, I knew what it meant. Hence, the reason for crumbling my face in slight irritation.

Mrs Linda was known for her bright and warm energy to her every customer, including me, and to her son, too. Oftentimes, whenever I was in her eatery and quite extraordinary college women of my age or around came to have a meal, she always teased me either secretly or in front of them. I did relatively like it, though, because they were attractive indeed.

But on that particular day, it was a bit odd that she felt this somewhat genuine fondness upon seeing us as if a sudden lightning strike made her switch her behaviour. I wished to know more about why.

Hold on, what did we look like seeing us from their perspectives? Did we really see that... Well, sweet?

Questioning myself about it, I looked again at this man hiding under my neck. As before, his face was still on my neck, the sweaty forehead was on the collar of my uniform. And, as before, I still hated this situation.

My eyes went back again to Mrs Linda, who was now biting her lips as her sweet smile continues and had her bright and full-of-love eyes on us up until now. It was getting quite outrageous actually that I motioned my head to this guy and back to her, demanding to help me with my petty situation, while my face continued to crumble. I knew some of the people inside, whose attentions were fallen on us even now, saw the somewhat unlikeable actions I recently did. And, for that, I left no care to what anyone around the thought of me.

Or what everyone around us thought of us.

She acted gasp in silence, mouthing a long o on her lips. Yet it wasn't a genuine gasp, but rather a part of her teaseful manner. It seemed as though she wasn't worried sick not a long moment ago that she was already shaking her head, and, to her now, it's like the incident never happened. I heard small, multiple giggles around — which was unpleasing at the moment — and, when I turned my when to spot who started it, almost all were looking at me.

I instantly knew it. They all liked seeing me in this annoyed face merely because of this infuriating tease. And so I had enough. I tried to control my voice by whispering the words I had been wanting to say to Mrs Linda since the beginning but, unfortunately, this guy under my neck heard me.

"Can you stop it, for my f**k's sake?"

"Excuse me, what's that?" I never heard such a foreign tone this close.

What I meant was, yes, I did hear this kind of accent before many times now — there's that television, foreign movies and, most of all, the internet. But I had never ever heard this accent coming from an actual person right in front of me. Finally, the awaited moment I had been yearning for, the guy lifted his head up and move it away from my neck. Oh, the fresh air I felt afterwards, but it would not remove my total exasperation at the fact that his sweat was all over my uniform's collar. Without his conscious about it or not, I didn't care, I was wholly irritated by it.

After what that amazement I felt hearing his accent closely, I panicked because I suddenly recalled the reason why he ultimately held up his head — and even asked me. My body was petrified to move. It was only my eyes that were moving back and forth from Mrs Linda to his's. Even the muscles on my mouth — my jaw, more to say — were stuck slightly wide open. Anytime now, a fly could come and inhabit inside. My chest pumped heavily and continuously that I couldn't breathe in front of him. I knew it was no use, but I hoped my panic didn't come too apparent on my face.

I knew I appeared stupid in front of him — an i***t looking for a pair of shoes when he was already wearing a pair one. He was waiting for my reply, obviously. And, even locking his eyes around me, I couldn't resist myself looking from Mrs Linda to him.

What an extreme embarrassment! I greatly hoped to disappear in thin air.

"Oh, it's nothing, my dearie," Mrs Linda's voice came after that little seconds of looking into her eyes. The tone was somewhat pleasing — I perceived there her will to help me get out of this humiliation. Yet, that wouldn't let me forget that she teased me with this guy, which caused me to be in this situation. Regardless, I'd love it that she was correcting this mental and emotional disaster she developed. "I'm sure Ian here didn't mean it for you..."

She curved her lips while she looked at me when ending her sentence. I was a bit intimidated by that. However, my panic began to cease — for a short moment only. Because I was wrong about thinking she was through with her statement. "...did you?" Mrs Linda pressed on with that same smile that I now saw not positive but otherwise.

Instead of feeling the relief that I deserved, I felt threatened by it. So many things were already lurking inside my mind now, yet I still had the time to wonder in confusion what Mrs Linda was trying to do.

My brows met in my glabella, forehead made horizontal line marks. The air around me became thick, I thought, as I couldn't breathe again normally. That panic I had again was the cause of why every corner of my skin exerts this salty body liquid. And I knew this guy saw that.

The noises around the eatery were not present in my ears, or in my conscious mind. I couldn't hear them yet I could see them. I didn't know where was my focus at.

The same stare from Mrs Linda continued — silent, unnerving and perplexing. My eyes were on her, rigid at her. Then, for an, I didn't know what reason, they moved to the guy who was in front of me. And, oh, dear thy king James! Glancing at him, even more, put me in a situation where I was drowning in great bafflement. He was smiling! What was it about now?!

I tilted my head slightly to my side due to my puzzlement, keeping my brows in the centre. I kept still until, a few seconds later, the guy in my front laughed. It was quite loud, echoing in the four corners of this eating establishment. Everyone's eyes were directed at the three of us. And I took the moment to glance at Mrs Linda back while this guy's eyes were closed due to his happiness which I had no idea how it was triggered. Mrs Linda and I caught each other's gaze and she shrugged her shoulders soon after. It meant one thing; she didn't know the reason why this guy was laughing either. I swore to myself at that particular circumstance, a little bit more complication to understand them two and I totally lost my mind. I was going crazy!

The moment i returned my eyes to the i***t in front of me, Mrs Linda burst out in laughter too. Yet, i could hear it was forced. I totally knew she was confused too.

"Did you see his face, too?" the guy still had his big smile when he asked Mrs Linda while he pointed a finger at me yet kept his smiling eyes at her. Still in the middle of the struggle to understand him, I turned to Mrs Linda. She was nodding her head fast, agreeing and answering the question. She still had that forced smile and irritating giggles. I wished she just assisted her customers instead of staying in the seat with us. I’ve already appreciated the help.

My face crumbled even further to this. But I wasn’t so certain why I had to when I knew it was my facial expression of muddlement that triggered their laughter. And it did tell me that I would never be this guy’s friend. Yet, I played along by asking, “What’s wrong with my face?”

“You look just like him,” he replied as he resisted to remain his voice normal yet still couldn’t. I heard a couple of annoying giggles at the end of his words, which turned out again as loud peals of laughter subsequent to a few seconds of looking at me. I was almost there, on the very verge of punching his perplexing and extremely irritating behaviour. I was just restraining myself, reminding myself that this i***t was a customer who happened to be lost in this place. Then, when I thought he was through laughing, he continued with his own voice at a normal pace, “My old friend, Nal. He used to have that same funny face whenever he’s confused.”

Next after that, another laughter broke on the table. But, this time, it was only his’ that echoed inside the eatery. Mrs Linda didn’t join anymore as I knew she had no idea about this guy’s friend’s face or could not relate at all as she didn’t know this person named Nal according to this guy.

Mrs Linda and I looked eye to eye, and for a moment after, Mrs Linda smiled at me, raising one of her shoulders as if she was saying, ‘There you have it. This guy’s funny.’ and, that smile of hers, it was genuine and pure. Seeing only that, I knew she liked this i***t already.

And, for an I didn’t know the reason, my embarrassment and irritation to his peals of laughter were gone, replaced by warmth and fondness, which resulted in me at the end to looking back again to this good-looking young man beside me after Mrs Linda tapped him on the shoulder, stood up, and walked away from the table. I watched his face until he was through laughing merely to ask him:

“What is your name?”