“Silly!” “Tell me what don’t you like here?”
“What do you mean?”
“You were appreciating it first, and frowned soon after we entered.”
“Aren’t you paying a little too much attention?”
“Would you rather I ignore you?”
“That’s not what I meant and you know that.”
“You seem to know what I meant pretty well too.”
“Why don’t I think so?”
“Are you really not going to tell?”
“See the plants here – they are all fake and overdone. It’s worse given it’s right outside the forest perimeter.
The ceiling – decorated like a pub with dim lights and all – it’s not a pub and the location makes it rather awkward as most of the customers are likely to be people who have come back from the park.
All the ACs are placed on the side of the road. It would be better if it were on the side of the forest as the emissions from AC would be countered – small details but still.”
“I thought there was something wrong, despite the overall impressive design but could not figure it out. Now, it makes sense.”
Rosaline smiled. Just then a waiter came to take the orders. Rosaline and William both ordered Chicken wings at once.
“Share?” William asked. Rosaline nodded and ordered a whole wheat soya bun chicken fillet burger without mayonnaise, a salty lemon soda, and William ordered a fish spring roll, pasta, Coke, and water.
They chatted about everything and nothing, mostly work and studies as they enjoyed the food.
William was equally alarmed and excited because of how quickly and naturally they just clicked. He had never had this kind of rapport with anyone before.
He saw this girl, his friend was hitting on, more accurately bothering, and all he could think was whether she was underage and how she would deal with his friend. When he jumped in, his main concern was to not let this stranger misunderstand.
Not only did he take her to his secret base, but he was also talking to her as if they were besties and bosom friends. He was even more surprised that he did not hide a single thing from her, which in a way made her closer to him even than his family.
Rosaline thought her actions today were strange. Yesterday, she was pestered by two friends from the same group and made headlines. Strangely, she suspected the girl instead of the guys. She really thought it was a coincidence when William showed up today. And she even agreed to traverse an unknown path with this complete stranger.
What more she was now eating and chatting with this stranger, whose real name also she did not know. And somehow all she could think was how in-sync they both were. And how naturally the conversion was following between them.
Having never gotten so chatty and involved in a way with anyone so quickly before, she wondered whether she was digging her grave or enjoying the rare chance.
After sharing WeChat IDs, they both bid goodbye and went their separate ways, both occupied with the strangeness of their relationship, whatever that was.