It was his work that brought him to this part of the galaxy. As a young traveling salesman, Bodoh methodically scouted out potential buyers for his company's new cleaning product, NGC 409. He had made his way across the four Jovian planets of the Sirius Star System and had done quite well in his efforts. After establishing several recurring sales accounts and thereby establishing a certain residual income, Bodoh intended to celebrate.
The next morning Bodoh decided to sit down for an expensive breakfast, "Perhaps some of the local river food, which I usually can't afford," he thought to himself. So, after some minimal inquiry at the local travel station, he found himself sitting at the bar of the “Jovial Café,” the solar system’s premier coffee house. While browsing the menu, he came across a beverage with the unique name, Lopi Kuwak. He recalled some years ago his friend Lelucon telling him that, "On the smallest of the four Jovians, you will find the home of one of space’s most rare and sought after beverages, Lopi Kuwak." He couldn't believe it, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. An overwhelming sense of curiosity had taken over all thought processes of our friend, he was consumed with this advantageous situation he found himself in. The time had come for him to order his very first vial of Lopi Kuwak.
Bodoh waited a moment in hope that someone else would order the drink before him and he could listen in to the way it was ordered, for of fear of making a fool of himself or placing an improper order. He had made a similar mistake at BuckStar's and vowed it would never happen again. But nobody showed and the anxiety was becoming too much to bear. After briefly surveying the surrounding area to assess if anyone else had already ordered the beverage, Bodoh placed his order. “I’ll have a ‘stellar Lopi’” he said, trying to appear as if he drinks them regularly. Like most fine dining facilities, the prices are never openly displayed on menus and signage and this was the case at the Jovial. Bodoh’s throat practically imploded when the bartender replied, “That’ll be 1,275 star credits.”
“1,275 star credits?!?” Bodoh thought, “That’s a week’s wages!” But the cultural pressure, the attention he had already received from other patrons upon hearing him place his order, and the fact that the bartender had already begun preparing his drink made it impossible for him to cancel his order and avoid the astronomical fee. He reached into his pocket and removed his iPaid, connected to the payment module and transferred the requested credits to the Jovial Cafe. It was done.
A moment later, the bartender arrived with the drink. The crystalline container sat upon a thin leaf of the local Buritan tree and was neatly garnished with a small portion of dehydrated Kotoran root. He had thought about requesting Tikus cream, but supposed the beverage should be consumed neat, since the bartender never offered. He smelled the rich aroma of the coffee and as he leaned in to take his first sip, he was interrupted, "You're not going to drink that are you?" He peered down the bar and noticed a middle-aged man, not a year beyond 138, sitting and drinking nothing more than room temperature water. As Bodoh lowered his glass the man prodded again saying, "Were you really going to drink that?"
Bodoh wasn't sure whether he should be insulted at the rudeness and untactful approach of the man or fearful that the man new something he didn't, but should. "What do you mean?" asked Bodoh. "Well, it's just that, you were going to drink that," the man responded. "Of course I was, that's why I paid for it and it cost me quite a bit of credits at that," replied Bodoh. "What's your name boy?" asked the stranger. "I'm Bodoh and who are you?" "I'm Kebenaran, but my friends call me 'Keb'." Bodoh wondered whether the man actually had any friends. "So Keb, why shouldn't I drink this?" Bodoh insisted. Keb took his glass of water, raised it up and peered through it, as if to admire its clarity. He then slowly downed half of the liquid and gave an obvious "Ahhh," indicating his enjoyment. He raised his eyebrows, smiled and nodded his head, as if to say, "Now, that's good!" After a moment of contemplation, Keb began to explain to the boy his reasoning behind his interjection.
The bartender was watching this little drama unfold and just before Keb could begin his explanation, the bartender interrupted by saying, "Listen pal, we don't take kindly to harassment here. This gentleman ordered this fine beverage and deserves to enjoy it in peace." As if the bartender never spoke or Keb was completely deaf, he began to explain once again his reasoning for his disturbance. Seeing this, the bartender quickly moved down to Keb's end of the bar and stated, "You finish your drink and get out!" Had the bartender not been an Ular, Keb might have continued the defiance. Never mind the size, the demeanor of the bartender alone was enough to build consensus. "All right, all right," Keb said sarcastically. He slowly finished his water in one pass, staring at the bartender the whole while. He then got up from his seat and made his way towards the exit.
As the man arose Bodoh hurriedly took a full gulp of his now luke warm beverage in anticipation that he would be interrupted once again. As the flavor filled his mouth, he tried imagining the liquid embedding itself in each taste receptor cell. He wanted to maximize this experience, as it very likely would never happen again. His first response was nothing spectacular, in fact, after this whole ordeal, he was quite disappointed. He made a slight frown, down turning his eyebrows and closing his eyes in an attempt to route all sensory power from his vision and hearing to his sense of taste. As the flavor made its way down to the afferent nerves, a completely different gustatory reaction was experienced, one of disgust. "This is the most horrible drink I've ever had," he mumbled, just audible enough to be noticed. The bartender gave the customary sneer, reserved only for rude customers. It seemed to have an extra hint of agitation since he had just defended him from Keb's insistent chatter. "What is this drink made from?" he asked the bartender in hopes that he could be educated on the subject.
Kebenaran heard this utterance just before he reached the door. He turned his head over his should, just enough so Bodoh could hear him say, “Why do you think we call Sirius the ‘dog star'.”
No comments:
Post a Comment