Capítulo 23: Coconut coir: Alien Goggles

Clary gazed regretfully at the woman's burnt skin. "I am truly sorry," she said, her voice filled with regret and embarrassment as she stared at the vibrant tattoo marred by redness, the golden hue still catching Clary's eye, fueling her curiosity if there exists such ink that tattoo artists discovered in recent times. She snubbed the thought as she met the woman's gaze.

"I am fine."

Clary heard the woman's cold tone, unsure if it was directed at her. "Let me buy you a coffee_" Not before Clary completed her words, someone carelessly brushed past her, causing Clary to lose her footing and stumble. The woman reached out and steadied Clary's hand.

"You hooligan girl! What are you doing in the middle of the crowd?"

Clary's anger boiled as she snapped at the stranger for labelling her a hooligan. She saw a man sporting radium-green alien sunglasses. Who wears sunglasses inside a house? Clary found him scowling at her, stroking his rainbow-coloured curly tresses, which resembled coconut coir, styled into a dazzling afro, giving off a funky disco vibe. Clary couldn't help but intently stare at his hair, imagining the process of soaking the coconuts into water pits before husking and converting it into fibre and then painting it with colours.

"What are you looking at? Go and gossip at your house, not in the middle of the coffee shop." He scowled at Clary and eventually backed away with a final hateful glare, striding off to his right, his vibrant-coloured curls bouncing all the way.

"What an arrogant cow!" Clary muttered in disbelief, incensed by his audacity. She deserved to be the one rebuking him for bumping into her, nearly causing her to stumble, yet instead, he was behaving like a blackjack, blaming her.

"Funny fellow." Clary heard the woman scoffing at him.

Recalling that someone had tracked down her location and searching for her, Clary offered a smile to the woman before dashing towards the restroom on her right for refuge.

Clary hastily opened the door to the shared restroom, equipped with dual washbasin countertops. As she stepped inside, she was met with a sight that left her speechless.

A man stood before the mirror, his entire being absorbed in the reflection of his hair. It was a wild, lush green hair crowned on the top, with diagonal cuts covering the rest of the head, shaping into the likeness of exotic fruit. Clary's gaze flicked to the counter beside him, where a hairpiece that looked like a coconut coir and out-of-the-world alien sunglasses lay discarded, confirming her suspicions. This was the same man who had pushed her moments before.

"A wig?" Clary murmured in disbelief. She had been amused by how funny his coconut coir looked earlier, but the tree style she just saw was even more comical.

Pineapple gazed upon the reflection of the girl in the mirror, a disapproval frown etched upon his face. "It's you again? What are you doing here? Get out of my sight."

"Hello. Mr Tropical fruit." Clary snapped her fingers, bringing his attention. She had had enough of his bullying as if he owned this cafe. "This is not your private property. If you crave seclusion, go to your house, and adorn your leafy hair as much as you want."

The woman's insult burned Pineapple like a flame, daring to reduce him to a mere tropical fruit and tarnishing his haircut. Her rude manners and etiquettes are no better than his mortal enemy, Pineapple thought. Had it not been for his mission, he would have taught her a lesson by putting his Glock on her forehead, making her cry until she begged him.

With a disdainful air at her, Pineapple grabbed his decorated wig from the countertop, a masterpiece crafted with his own luxurious hair locks by the finest wigmaker. Pineapple settled the hairpiece atop his head and sported his alien sunglasses. He smiled at his reflection as if they were a crown of his pride.

Meanwhile, standing next to Pineapple, Clary's fingers drummed anxiously on the phone as she dialled Rick's number, her frustration mounting with each unanswered ring.

"Could little Giraffe be still searching for me? How long do I have to hide in the restroom with this weirdo?" She muttered as she observed the tropical fruit slyly opening the door slightly, peeking outside the restroom to catch a glimpse of the outside without showing a desire to leave this place.

"He looks like a ringmaster in a carnival show," Clary muttered, scanning the bathroom for an escape, wishing a secret door to open. Suddenly a thought occurred as her gaze landed on her dress. Clary smiled as she placed the mobile on the countertop, and in a swift movement, she removed her scarf, which she styled as a vest, and wrapped it around her face like a veil covering her entire face, revealing only her green eyes. "Although this doesn't fully help, I can still try going out."

Clary leaned over Pineapple's shoulder to catch a glimpse of the commotion happening beyond the half-open door. Her eyes scanned the crowd until they landed on that one man -the tall, chiselled Adonis making his way toward a table occupied by two young women. Is little Giraffe gonna make a bold move by asking the girls out? With keen interest, Clary observed him as he took the hand of one of the blond-haired women, studying it briefly before releasing her hand and moving to grasp the other woman's hand.

"Eww." Does he have a hand fetish? "Pervert," Clary muttered.

"Hey, hooligan girl, why are you resting on top of my head?" Pineapple asked, tilting his head to peer up at her, taken back to see she had covered her face with a scarf. Is she also following someone like me?

"Checking how bad your wig smells," Clary retorted, sniffing the hairpiece. Good that he covered the odour with loads of perfume. "One more thing, I hear you call me hooligan one more time, your wig will be doomed."

Pineapple shut his mouth at the threat and shifted his attention to Leandre again, who was now making his way towards an empty table. He has come all the way, trailing behind Leandre. He saw Leandre slip out of the academy grounds again, which made Pineapple suspicious of his activities. Unlike morning, Pineapple had slept well in the afternoon to be wide alert. He followed Leandre like Anthony's pig wherever he went. He couldn't help but wonder why he is inspecting a woman's hands like a crazy madman.

Just then, Clary and Pineapple noticed someone heading towards the restroom, and they quickly retreated, pretending to be occupied until the man went inside the stall, finished his business, and walked out of the restroom before giving them a suspicious look.

"Hey, hooligan girl. Get out of this place. People are getting suspicious because of your veil." Pineapple said.

"That's because of your coconut coir wig, tropical fruit. Not my mask." Clary retorted, gazing at the wig as she thought of a plan to escape.

"You...you call my hair a coconut coir?" Pineapple pointed his finger at Clary's nose. "You know how much I paid the wigmaker to craft this."

"I will listen to your expenses later," Clary replied with a hint of amusement, her hand stretching out, and pulled the wig perched atop Pineapple's head. "Let me borrow your wig for a while."

Pineapple was shocked by Clary's bold move, her hand now tightly holding his wig. "Hey! That's my wig! Return it now, you impudent thief," he shouted, his hands reaching out in a frantic effort to reclaim his possession, but she cleverly switched from hand to hand, taunting him cunningly just when he thought he had the upper hand.

"Shh..Don't shout. I don't want the cafe people to think that I am bullying you. I have opened many accounts already." Clary flicked open the bathroom door and delivered a swift kick to Pineapple's shin. Pineapple cried, stumbling into the stall, arms flailing, his butt straight way ended up smooching the toilet lid with a resounding smack.

"Gotcha! Goal." Clary screamed, giggling.

Pineapple stroked his butt in pain. In no time, his eyes bulged with surprise, as he watched the girl grab the faucet in her hands. "You..you..what are you doing?"

Clary mischievously turned the faucet on Pineapple, wetting his pants. "Don't worry, your wig will be back in your possession soon enough. But first, let those pants dry out. We wouldn't want anyone to find out that a grown man has peed in his pants, right sweetie?" Having said that, Clary quickly closed the door and locked it, Pineapple screaming and banging on the door.

"I told you not to make noise if you want your possessions back." Clary screamed back.

Pineapple plopped down to the ground, peeking Clary through the crack at the base of the door, his eyes bulging in disbelief as he saw the thief twirling his treasured wig. The audacity of this robber! "You scallywag!" He let out a bloodcurdling shout as he caught sight of her striding out of the restroom, flaunting his beloved wig and his alien shades like they were her own. "Hey! At least, give back my space-styled gears. You minx. You're a bandit of the worst kind."

Ignoring Pineapple's pleas, Clary strode out of the restroom, grabbing everyone's attention like a peacock in a chicken coop. She must be looking like a circus artist dressed in a wig made of coconut fibres and sporting some seriously out-of-the-world alien goggles, Clary thought. Basking in their attention, her heart beating loudly as Little Giraffe's table approached, thinking he would recognize her. Their eyes met, and Clary found him staring at her with parted lips for a brief second before turning his head away.

He failed to recognize my disguise. Clary smiled slyly. She stepped back until she approached his table and circled his table, deciding to test him for another time.

comentário 0 comentário

Votar

ENVIAR PRESENTE

Load failed, please RETRY