The Queen's Red Lake

III

The sun blares down on me as I walk through the town. I'm not accustomed to this type of weather. I walk with purpose as I try to locate my grandmother famous cafe. The town is surrounded by trees and everyone stares at me oddly but no one speaks.

I huff annoyed when I notice I'm completely lost and Maps apparently do not exist here. I stop and look around. Luckily, I notice Javier across the road moving boxes into a truck. I skip across the road, "Hey." I greet him.

He places the box in the back of the pickup truck. "What's up, city girl." He gives me a boyish grin and I can't help but roll my eyes playfully.

"Is that gonna be my title for now on?" I ask. I lean against the truck and fold my arms as I watch him carry another heavy box. He drops it in the back of the pickup truck. 

"Where are you headed?" He asks wiping his dirty hands on his rip blue jeans.

"I'm currently looking for my grandmother's restaurant. She didn't give me great directions this morning." I explain. He eyes spark in excitement and then his stomach growls. Not that he had much of a stomach. You could see his tonearms from the sleeveless white shirt he is wearing. He is sweating so the shirt stuck to his abdomen. He is slim and tall and his dark hair is pulled into a man-bun.

He laughs, "It's not that far. I'll walk you."

"Thanks." I tell him. As we walk he controls the conversation and I take advantage of this and take in my surroundings. There is a large number of trees. The buildings all look significantly different. Some hold age but some look brand new and the large glass shows anything they are selling. We come across a building that displays different exotic plants everywhere.

I step closer and take in the rare plant. It stands tall and the beautiful lavender color catches my attention. I stick my hand out to touch it but someone stops me, "Don't touch if you're not going to buy it." A deep voice hisses.

I pull my hand back and lookup. He's limping while walking closer to me. His bald head only holds a few desperate strands of hair. His skin is pale and his eyes look at me in suspension. "I was just looking." I explain.

His forehead furrow and he spat, "You look lost."

I roll my eyes, "I'm not lost."

"Yes, you are." He snaps back at me. "You can't afford anything in this shop." He looks me up and down. "You're a dropout like him?" He points towards Javier.

"Shut it, Ford." Javier jaw tighten. The older man stares him down but he doesn't say anything more. Javier grab my arm and practically drag me away. We continue walking down the road.

"What's his problem?" I question.

"He's just a crazy old man." Javier answer. As we proceed people speak politely and Javier seems to be well known. We finally make it to the restaurant and I'm nearly out of breath. The door is red and a wooden sign hang above the door and say Queen's Palace. We walk through the door and the aroma of food run across my nose. Everything smelled amazing.

Everyone looks up as the bell above the door ring. A few people are sitting in booths toward the large window where natural light beams in comfortably. There are a few tables in the middle of the floor and some people is on their laptops and older people reading the paper or talking. Javier and I head toward the checkout counter and someone calls him over. I'm not surprised. He's popular. "Javier." I turn around recognizing that voice.

Javier smile and kisses Iris on the cheek. "Hey, you."

Iris is still in her uniform and her bag is hanging on her shoulder. She looks at the two of us oddly and asks, "You didn't show up for school today?"