Professor Gilbert Hawthorn tried not to sweat as he sat in the booth of the Out Of This World cafe. He was supposed to meet the gym leader of Rose City. but he was already five minutes late. Already, Gilbert had flashbacks to the only date he’d almost been on. He checked his watch again. Six minutes late.
“Hey!” Gilbert turned around to see a tall but also somehow tiny man, wearing a Rose City T-Shirt depicting an alien face made out of roses. He was wiry, Gilbert supposed, an adjective that could also be applied to his light brown hair, pushed back by a bright green headband. “Are you Gilbert? I’m Roswell.”
Roswell offered his hand and Gilbert touched it, lightly. “I am Gilbert. It’s nice to meet you.” Roswell slid into the other seat of the booth, then grabbed a menu for Gilbert.
“So, have you been here in Rose City long? How long are you staying?”
“I arrived last night. And I’m going to leave the day after tomorrow.” replied Gilbert. Roswell frowned, slightly.
“Aw, a short visit. There’s a lot to see here in Rose City, you should stay longer!”
Gilbert had already had his fill of Rose City, frankly. There were only so many murals of aliens that one could look at before they became tiring. The lights, smells, and sounds of this city were always overwhelming. No matter where you went there was something, there was never just a quiet place. “I am on a very strict schedule.” said Gilbert. “I’m afraid I can’t stay any longer than that.”
Roswell’s frown became slightly more intense, before he suddenly smiled. “Well, maybe I could show you around! You’d get a full week tour in only three days with me!”
Gilbert did not know what to reply to that, so he simply said, “Okay” and opened up the menu. There were at least twenty types of burgers, sandwiches, and the like listed here. Each of them had an alien themed name.
Gilbert attempted to look through the menu to find something simple. Just a plain burger. “Um, excuse me, um, Roswell, do you know if this place has any… just plain sorts of sandwiches?”
“Plain? Aw, come on, they have such unique creations here, like the Outer Space Volcano Burger, the-”
Gilbert shook his head. “No. No thank you. I have sensory issues, I’m, um, autistic. I prefer to taste one thing at a time. Also, not good with spicy foods.”
Roswell smiled, “Yeah, me too, but I guess there’s different strokes for different folks.” Me too what, Roswell? Me too autistic, or me too bad at spicy foods? Gilbert wished people could clarify what they said. “Um, do you like like, a club sandwich? They’ve got the Down to Earth Club Sandwich.”
Gilbert was reassured by the existence of a club sandwich. “Yes. I think I will have that. But with no tomatoes. I hate tomatoes.”
“See, that’s two things we have alike!” Roswell smiled widely, and Gilbert attempted to smile back. The waitress finally arrived, dressed in a space suit.
“Hi Roswell, good to see ya back. Whose this man, is he ya date?”
Roswell blushed, a red flush barely noticeable against his dark skin. “No! This is Professor Gilbert Hawthorn! He’s the pokemon professor down in Hyacinth Town! I’m here to give him a tour.”
Roswell was here to meet Gilbert, so he would have met all the gym leaders of Eano. Not to give him a tour. But the waitress smiled. “Well, nice to meet ya, Professor. Anyway, what will ya boys be having?”
“My usual.” said Roswell. “Two Outer Space Volcano Burgers, one without tomatoes, one veggie. With the first one a side of fries, with the second one the coleslaw and a side plate of lettuce. Oh, and two chocolate milkshakes.”
“And for you, dear?”
“Um. I will have the Down To Earth Club Sandwich.”
“What about a side?”
“Um.” Gilbert looked at his option. Cole slaw or fries. Cole slaw or fries. “Um, I’ll have the cole slaw, please. Um, and, to drink, can I just have water?”
“Okay, they’ll be right out.” The waitress left, and Roswell smiled brightly.
“I love this place. I come here almost daily. When I’m not busy training my pokemon or coaching other trainers in my gym, it’s one of the main places where I like to be.”
“I like to be in my house.” said Gilbert, before realizing that it made him sound ridiculous. I like to be in my house? Seriously? “Um, and also, in Liatris forest.”
Roswell shrugged. “I’m not the biggest fan of forests, too many bugs, but whatever floats your boat!”
“Forests are very good.” said Gilbert. “Don’t you think we need air to breathe?”
“I’m not denying that forests are great, just that they’re not for me. Oooh, look, milkshakes.”
Gilbert watched as the waitress gave Roswell two milkshakes. Was he really the sort of guy who could drink two milkshakes? But Roswell was getting a pokeball out of his bag, and he released an enormous audino out of it! No, the audino wasn’t enormous. Gilbert kept forgetting that they were just kind of huge. “Hi sweetie.” Roswell patted his pokemon on the head. “Look, your favorite, chocolate.”
The audino made happy noises and Roswell got out of the booth so it could sit next to him. “This is Lyric, by the way. She’s one of my audino.”
“Hi Lyric.” said Gilbert. “Um, I’m Gilbert?”
Lyric made chirping noises at Roswell, who shook his head, laughing. “No way, Lyric. Yes, I promise. He’s just here to see Rose City.”
Gilbert blinked. “Are you talking to her?”
“I thought you were supposed to be a master of pokemon human communication or something.” said Roswell, between sips of milkshake. “Lyric and I can talk to each other just fine. Though sometimes the things she says-” Lyric chirruped loudly. “Can be very rude. Stop it!”
Lyric continued sipping her milkshake. Gilbert stared at Roswell. He had been told this man was a nut, a looney, frankly insane. And though those comments were extremely ableist, Gilbert at least thought that Roswell was some sort of quack. What sort of person just talked to pokemon? “Hey, what are you thinking about?” asked Roswell. Oh! Gilbert realized he’d been thinking for quite a bit.
“Um, well, I was thinking, maybe you could show me some things in Rose City, like you said.”
“Yup, I’m going to give you the full tour!”
“That’s ah, great! So what would we do first?”
“Well, I could show you our alien museum, or the hospital or-”
“I think I’d like to see the hospital.”
Roswell looked briefly less than enthusiastic about the concept before smiling widely. “Cool! They’ve got a lot of really nifty gardens there. Like the rose garden, and the soothing garden, and the tea garden. Hey, you like forests, you must like gardens.”
“They are also very nice.” Gilbert stated. “Do they have actual tea in the tea gardens?”
“Well, they grow the tea there, and you can buy it. I’ll get you a cup.”
“That is no-that is nice of you.” said Gilbert. Roswell was being polite. Oh, look, food! The waitress deposited two enormous burgers in front of Roswell and Lyric, a large plate of fries for Roswell and cole slaw and a plate of just lettuce for Lyric. The club sandwich was also there. It looked very nice. The tomatoes had been removed, but put on the side. Gilbert poked them with a fork. There was also cole slaw. Gilbert wished he’d gotten the fries.
Roswell and Lyric’s burgers were piled high with jalapenos, a wierd white sauce, cheese, onions, and lettuce. Jalapenos. That sounded important. Oh! Was he autistic, or did he hate spicy foods! He was willingly eating them, so it must be the first option. Gilbert realized he was staring, and instead took a bite of the club sandwich. It was actually pretty nice. A very neutral, yet pleasant taste.
“Do you like your sandwich?” asked Roswell.
“Yes. I’m sure you enjoy your burger.”
“I do! Lyric and I always get the same thing here. Though she gets a veggie burger. She doesn’t eat meat.”
“Most pokemon don’t.” said Gilbert.
“That’s because earth is the one of the few planets where people eat meat.” said Roswell. “I’ve tried to become a vegetarian multiple times because of this, but I just can’t give it up.”
Gilbert blinked. “So… you have information on other planets.”
“Of course. I’m an alien expert.”
“An expert.”
“That’s precisely right! Do you like to repeat people?”
Gilbert sometimes was fond of echolalia, but in this case he was merely baffled. “Um, sorry.”
“It’s cool. Anyway, do you like your sandwich?”
“You just asked me that.”
“Aw, whoops, sorry. I can be forgetful.”
“It’s okay.”
They both returned to eating. Lyric was almost done with her burger, and began eating some of the lettuce. Gilbert took a bite of his cole slaw. It didn’t make him want fries any less. The fries actually did look really nice. Not those tasteless cardboard fries, these fries looked like they had real flavor, real taste. The cole slaw was fine. And the sandwich was very nice.
“Do you want some of my fries?” asked Roswell.
“Oh. Um, sure. Do you want some of my cole slaw?”
“Okay.” Gilbert reached over and grabbed a fry. It was extremely tasty. He grabbed two more. Roswell made no motions towards the cole slaw.
“Hey!” Gilbert turned around to see a tall but also somehow tiny man, wearing a Rose City T-Shirt depicting an alien face made out of roses. He was wiry, Gilbert supposed, an adjective that could also be applied to his light brown hair, pushed back by a bright green headband. “Are you Gilbert? I’m Roswell.”
Roswell offered his hand and Gilbert touched it, lightly. “I am Gilbert. It’s nice to meet you.” Roswell slid into the other seat of the booth, then grabbed a menu for Gilbert.
“So, have you been here in Rose City long? How long are you staying?”
“I arrived last night. And I’m going to leave the day after tomorrow.” replied Gilbert. Roswell frowned, slightly.
“Aw, a short visit. There’s a lot to see here in Rose City, you should stay longer!”
Gilbert had already had his fill of Rose City, frankly. There were only so many murals of aliens that one could look at before they became tiring. The lights, smells, and sounds of this city were always overwhelming. No matter where you went there was something, there was never just a quiet place. “I am on a very strict schedule.” said Gilbert. “I’m afraid I can’t stay any longer than that.”
Roswell’s frown became slightly more intense, before he suddenly smiled. “Well, maybe I could show you around! You’d get a full week tour in only three days with me!”
Gilbert did not know what to reply to that, so he simply said, “Okay” and opened up the menu. There were at least twenty types of burgers, sandwiches, and the like listed here. Each of them had an alien themed name.
Gilbert attempted to look through the menu to find something simple. Just a plain burger. “Um, excuse me, um, Roswell, do you know if this place has any… just plain sorts of sandwiches?”
“Plain? Aw, come on, they have such unique creations here, like the Outer Space Volcano Burger, the-”
Gilbert shook his head. “No. No thank you. I have sensory issues, I’m, um, autistic. I prefer to taste one thing at a time. Also, not good with spicy foods.”
Roswell smiled, “Yeah, me too, but I guess there’s different strokes for different folks.” Me too what, Roswell? Me too autistic, or me too bad at spicy foods? Gilbert wished people could clarify what they said. “Um, do you like like, a club sandwich? They’ve got the Down to Earth Club Sandwich.”
Gilbert was reassured by the existence of a club sandwich. “Yes. I think I will have that. But with no tomatoes. I hate tomatoes.”
“See, that’s two things we have alike!” Roswell smiled widely, and Gilbert attempted to smile back. The waitress finally arrived, dressed in a space suit.
“Hi Roswell, good to see ya back. Whose this man, is he ya date?”
Roswell blushed, a red flush barely noticeable against his dark skin. “No! This is Professor Gilbert Hawthorn! He’s the pokemon professor down in Hyacinth Town! I’m here to give him a tour.”
Roswell was here to meet Gilbert, so he would have met all the gym leaders of Eano. Not to give him a tour. But the waitress smiled. “Well, nice to meet ya, Professor. Anyway, what will ya boys be having?”
“My usual.” said Roswell. “Two Outer Space Volcano Burgers, one without tomatoes, one veggie. With the first one a side of fries, with the second one the coleslaw and a side plate of lettuce. Oh, and two chocolate milkshakes.”
“And for you, dear?”
“Um. I will have the Down To Earth Club Sandwich.”
“What about a side?”
“Um.” Gilbert looked at his option. Cole slaw or fries. Cole slaw or fries. “Um, I’ll have the cole slaw, please. Um, and, to drink, can I just have water?”
“Okay, they’ll be right out.” The waitress left, and Roswell smiled brightly.
“I love this place. I come here almost daily. When I’m not busy training my pokemon or coaching other trainers in my gym, it’s one of the main places where I like to be.”
“I like to be in my house.” said Gilbert, before realizing that it made him sound ridiculous. I like to be in my house? Seriously? “Um, and also, in Liatris forest.”
Roswell shrugged. “I’m not the biggest fan of forests, too many bugs, but whatever floats your boat!”
“Forests are very good.” said Gilbert. “Don’t you think we need air to breathe?”
“I’m not denying that forests are great, just that they’re not for me. Oooh, look, milkshakes.”
Gilbert watched as the waitress gave Roswell two milkshakes. Was he really the sort of guy who could drink two milkshakes? But Roswell was getting a pokeball out of his bag, and he released an enormous audino out of it! No, the audino wasn’t enormous. Gilbert kept forgetting that they were just kind of huge. “Hi sweetie.” Roswell patted his pokemon on the head. “Look, your favorite, chocolate.”
The audino made happy noises and Roswell got out of the booth so it could sit next to him. “This is Lyric, by the way. She’s one of my audino.”
“Hi Lyric.” said Gilbert. “Um, I’m Gilbert?”
Lyric made chirping noises at Roswell, who shook his head, laughing. “No way, Lyric. Yes, I promise. He’s just here to see Rose City.”
Gilbert blinked. “Are you talking to her?”
“I thought you were supposed to be a master of pokemon human communication or something.” said Roswell, between sips of milkshake. “Lyric and I can talk to each other just fine. Though sometimes the things she says-” Lyric chirruped loudly. “Can be very rude. Stop it!”
Lyric continued sipping her milkshake. Gilbert stared at Roswell. He had been told this man was a nut, a looney, frankly insane. And though those comments were extremely ableist, Gilbert at least thought that Roswell was some sort of quack. What sort of person just talked to pokemon? “Hey, what are you thinking about?” asked Roswell. Oh! Gilbert realized he’d been thinking for quite a bit.
“Um, well, I was thinking, maybe you could show me some things in Rose City, like you said.”
“Yup, I’m going to give you the full tour!”
“That’s ah, great! So what would we do first?”
“Well, I could show you our alien museum, or the hospital or-”
“I think I’d like to see the hospital.”
Roswell looked briefly less than enthusiastic about the concept before smiling widely. “Cool! They’ve got a lot of really nifty gardens there. Like the rose garden, and the soothing garden, and the tea garden. Hey, you like forests, you must like gardens.”
“They are also very nice.” Gilbert stated. “Do they have actual tea in the tea gardens?”
“Well, they grow the tea there, and you can buy it. I’ll get you a cup.”
“That is no-that is nice of you.” said Gilbert. Roswell was being polite. Oh, look, food! The waitress deposited two enormous burgers in front of Roswell and Lyric, a large plate of fries for Roswell and cole slaw and a plate of just lettuce for Lyric. The club sandwich was also there. It looked very nice. The tomatoes had been removed, but put on the side. Gilbert poked them with a fork. There was also cole slaw. Gilbert wished he’d gotten the fries.
Roswell and Lyric’s burgers were piled high with jalapenos, a wierd white sauce, cheese, onions, and lettuce. Jalapenos. That sounded important. Oh! Was he autistic, or did he hate spicy foods! He was willingly eating them, so it must be the first option. Gilbert realized he was staring, and instead took a bite of the club sandwich. It was actually pretty nice. A very neutral, yet pleasant taste.
“Do you like your sandwich?” asked Roswell.
“Yes. I’m sure you enjoy your burger.”
“I do! Lyric and I always get the same thing here. Though she gets a veggie burger. She doesn’t eat meat.”
“Most pokemon don’t.” said Gilbert.
“That’s because earth is the one of the few planets where people eat meat.” said Roswell. “I’ve tried to become a vegetarian multiple times because of this, but I just can’t give it up.”
Gilbert blinked. “So… you have information on other planets.”
“Of course. I’m an alien expert.”
“An expert.”
“That’s precisely right! Do you like to repeat people?”
Gilbert sometimes was fond of echolalia, but in this case he was merely baffled. “Um, sorry.”
“It’s cool. Anyway, do you like your sandwich?”
“You just asked me that.”
“Aw, whoops, sorry. I can be forgetful.”
“It’s okay.”
They both returned to eating. Lyric was almost done with her burger, and began eating some of the lettuce. Gilbert took a bite of his cole slaw. It didn’t make him want fries any less. The fries actually did look really nice. Not those tasteless cardboard fries, these fries looked like they had real flavor, real taste. The cole slaw was fine. And the sandwich was very nice.
“Do you want some of my fries?” asked Roswell.
“Oh. Um, sure. Do you want some of my cole slaw?”
“Okay.” Gilbert reached over and grabbed a fry. It was extremely tasty. He grabbed two more. Roswell made no motions towards the cole slaw.
Roswell spun around the tea gardens, arms spread out. “Isn’t this place huge?”
It was pretty large. There were various sorts of tea plants growing all around in their places, and the gardens were also large enough for wide, flat, accessible paths. The tea gardens were indoors, unlike the rose gardens, and patients could look down from their rooms into the gardens. It was a soothing place, you could say that. Unlike the “soothing” gardens, which had horrible sounding calming music piped in through the speakers and far too many wind chimes. Also, not enough plants. He supposed it must be partially a zen garden, which he’d never really got the appeal of. They always just reminded him of how much he hated sand.
“Alright, how about some tea? They have all sorts of different flavors!”
“How about just a plain black tea. I don’t really care what kind, as long as it isn’t too… er, wild?”
Roswell nodded. “Cool. I’ll have one ‘Dark Perfection’ Black Tea, and one Superb Strawberry Bubble Tea. Um, both large.”
Oh no. That would probably be too much tea. Gilbert didn’t actually like tea that much. But Roswell placed into Gilbert’s hands a large, enormous thing of tea and Gilbert put it up to his lips, sipping it appreciatively. “Um. Wow. Nice. Very Nice.”
“IF you don’t like it, that’s fine. They’ve got a 100% satisfaction policy.”
“No. It’s good. I enjoy it. Er, what was next on our tour?”
It was pretty large. There were various sorts of tea plants growing all around in their places, and the gardens were also large enough for wide, flat, accessible paths. The tea gardens were indoors, unlike the rose gardens, and patients could look down from their rooms into the gardens. It was a soothing place, you could say that. Unlike the “soothing” gardens, which had horrible sounding calming music piped in through the speakers and far too many wind chimes. Also, not enough plants. He supposed it must be partially a zen garden, which he’d never really got the appeal of. They always just reminded him of how much he hated sand.
“Alright, how about some tea? They have all sorts of different flavors!”
“How about just a plain black tea. I don’t really care what kind, as long as it isn’t too… er, wild?”
Roswell nodded. “Cool. I’ll have one ‘Dark Perfection’ Black Tea, and one Superb Strawberry Bubble Tea. Um, both large.”
Oh no. That would probably be too much tea. Gilbert didn’t actually like tea that much. But Roswell placed into Gilbert’s hands a large, enormous thing of tea and Gilbert put it up to his lips, sipping it appreciatively. “Um. Wow. Nice. Very Nice.”
“IF you don’t like it, that’s fine. They’ve got a 100% satisfaction policy.”
“No. It’s good. I enjoy it. Er, what was next on our tour?”
Author's Note: This story was supposed to be completed but instead it just ends abruptly. I will make you all a promise that this story will be finished by Valentine's Day this year. If you don't read this author note, then you won't get to yell at me when I break my promise!
Word Count: 1838 Words
Date: June 18th, 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment