Unsettler — 66

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I saw fireworks at one of the clubs. It had no roof. Bursts of color lit up the sky above it. Lepidoptians flew around it, reaching the people on the streets.

‘Let’s go to that place!’ I said.

‘No!’ said Hynx, pushing me towards another place. ‘It’s not as fun as it looks,’ he added, chuckling.

‘It’s called Come Fly With Me. Look at all that glitter and glamour. It sounds fun to me!’ I spat. ‘The one you’re pushing me into is called Old But Gold. I can already see the crowd from here, no glitter and no glamour.’ Not even a club, but a tiny and dusty dining cafe. People pushed into one another sitting at wooden tables.

‘Heya Hynx, it’s been a while,’ said an Ursidian passing by. Curly orange hair, glittering eyes and bright red lips. And as if that didn’t stand out, she was dressed in shorts and a bikini top.

‘Heeeey, you…’ Hynx chuckled. The Ursidian brushed past him, her shoulder grazing his.

‘You’ve been here only once or twice, huh?’ I stated, smiling.

We finished our drinks. The bubbles shrank and floated in the air. A tiny trash droid zipped by and collected them midair.

‘All right, maybe more. I was more untamed in my prep years,’ he said, grinning.

We stopped at the Old But Gold entrance. ‘Prep years?’ I asked, frowning.

‘Yeah, prep, study, you know?’ added Hynx.

‘Are you sure you’re going in here, Hynx?’ asked a tall Camiladian. He chewed something, then spat to the side. He wore blue glowing tattoos on his thick arms and a red glowing one on his neck. He guarded the cafe as if it were some kind of high-class club.

‘It’s been a while, Bentin!’ said Hynx, as he waved to the Camiladian and entered. I followed, feeling the Camiladian’s eyes on me.

The Old But Gold was even more packed than I had anticipated. There were people at the bar and many at small tables. Chatter and music would have made me more anxious had it not been for the earplugs. Plus, there was a live band performing. Though I don’t think they were making much noise. A sleepy Sphenician playing the flute, his short and plump figure wiggling into the long and thin Ciconidian using it’s wings to play drums. The duo was accompanied by a Bradipodian barely moving it’s paws on a keyboard.

‘We should get something to eat!’ said Hynx, already scanning the area for seats.

‘This way, please,’ said a disc-shaped droid. It floated ahead as we followed it.

We reached a long table, filled with people. There were two small seats at the edge. Of course, that’s where the disc bot took us.

I sat slowly on my seat, the person next to me already filling half of my space. Hynx sat on the edge of his seat. He looked around, then, he stood up, took his seat and moved it closer to mine. I moved my seat and moved closer to him as well.

‘Oh what a lovely couple,’ said the cheerful Caninian lady, the one I’d moved my seat away from. It seemed I had activated her.

‘Indeed, so cozy!’ added a second Caninian lady that sat across from me. They wore big hats, purple with red, covering their long and smooth flat ears. Their clothes were also colorful, decorated with feathers and beads.

One of the ladies handed us a small bell. Hynx rang it and a hologram menu appeared before us.

Hynx clicked on a few items, and the menu vanished.

‘It’s ok,’ he said, as he faced me. ‘I know what’s good here.’

‘Ok, seems like you know every corner of this place,’ I snorted.

‘Yeah, like I said, I came here in my pre…study years.’

‘What did you study?’ I asked, feeling the eyes of the Caninian ladies on us. As long as we talked to each other I hoped they wouldn’t interrupt.

‘Electronics,’ said Hynx. He smiled, and I realized it was something he was proud of.

‘That’s why you’re good with all those things.’

‘How about you?’ he asked. ‘What did you study?’

‘Me?’ I stuttered. What had I studied? Me? How could I even answer that?

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