Pinocchio

Chapter 3 : New Friend

Who doesn't know Gustavo Leonardo? He's the best woodcarver you can ever find in the whole country. He can make you anything to decorate your ordinary house; carved table, chair with lion ornament on top, mermaid sculpture, animal statue, a figure of your wife, you name it, he'll make it for you. And people are willing to give away a huge amount of money to enjoy his masterpiece at their home. And those beautiful things are all made of wood.

People who buy statues and sculptures from Gustavo admit that he's not quite a happy person, although he's not grumpy either. When people pay the masterpiece, they think that Gustavo will smile what-so-ever. But he doesn't. He shows his gratitude, but he doesn't smile.

Some girls admit that he is beautiful. But he stares down at them, making them not know what to say. No one has ever seen him date or go out with girls. Well, he's not a very talkative person, either. Maybe that's why.

One thing for sure, he's always all alone by himself.

***

He's carving his new project, a white wooden deer, when he suddenly feels hungry. So he leaves his work and puts on thicker clothe because it's cold and windy outside. He walks out to the diner where he usually has his dinner.

The diner is an ordinary place with a yellow neon lamp outside. It's near his home and not so many people eat there, so this diner is really convinient for him. He opens the door and the little bell tinkles when he walks in. A middle-aged lady with an updo honey blonde hair is cleaning the bar and she looks up when Gustavo walks in. People can really see the wrinkles behind her thick make-up.

"Well, hello, dear!" she says with a smile. She's the only person that is really close to Gustavo. She found him when he was 15 and he had just ran away from home. She took care of him until he's ready to walk on his own. She also taught him of what to do if he wants to run a business. In short, she's the only person he cares about, beside his mother.

"Hi, Claire. How are you?" he asks. "Not bad, dear, not bad." she says as she walks behind the bar.

"So, what would you like to have?"

"The usual, please."

"Sure. One omelette with mac n' chesse coming!"

"Have you had dinner?"

"Yes, dear. Why?"

"Just asking." Gustavo slightly shrugs.

Then she leaves to bring him his order. He takes out his accounting book while waiting. Suddenly, someone sits next to him. "Claire!" she screams and Claire, who's a bit shocked, waves back at her and gives her a huge smile. He looks at the stranger and he sees a shoulder-length blonde haired little girl with shabby, thick blue coat. She must be only around 9 years old.

"Hello!" the girl says. He only nods politely. "How are you?" she asks. "OK. You?" he asks back. She nods cheerfully. She folds her arms on the top of the bar. She's a little bit too short to sit in the bar. She doesn't say anything else, so he goes back to his book.

"What are you doing?" she suddenly asks.

"Accounting."

"Oh, good! If you ask me what I'm doing, I'm breathing."

He looks at her as if she were a freak. She frowns, then she sticks out her tongue, making him startles as she laughs at him.

"My name's Bailey, Bailey Florence. What's your name?"

"Gustavo."

"Gustavo who?"

"Leonardo, Gustavo Leonardo."

She widens up her eyes and sits straight. "Gustavo Leonardo? The Gustavo Leonardo?"

He scoffs. "Yes, Bailey Florence. The Gustavo Leonardo."

"Gee! I went to your home once with my late mother, and she asked you to make her a beautiful sculpture of herself. It was the most beautiful artwork I've ever seen in my whole life! Well, not as good as my artwork at school, of course. But your's fine."

"Well, thank you. No one has ever been so honest with me." he says to cover up the fact the he forgets that her mother was his customer. Bailey suddenly grabs something from her pocket. "See? You made this for my mum!" It was a photograph. Inside it, a woman was standing beside a wooden mannequin that looked so much like her. He recognised the mannequin as his artwork, but he didn't remember the woman. 

"She's beautiful." he says. She nods with a huge smile.

"I see you two are being friends." Claire says as she hands over a plate full of omelette and mac n' cheese for Gustavo and a large bowl of chicken soup and moving, red jell-o for Bailey Florence. Gustavo frowns when he hears the word "friend".

Realizing her mistake, Claire immediately corrects herself. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." And Bailey Florence suddenly claps her hands. "Yes, Claire! We're friends now!"