The Lilac Coffee Bean

The Battle Of The “WHAT IN HADES DID YOU JUST DO?!”

05 Apr 2012 6 Comments

by Rini in exaggeration, happy, humour, Percy Jackson, random

I suck for not writing for so long. And an honest apology to everyone out there who still visits. It’s going to get better from here on. Or so I hope. 

Anyway, what follows is a piece of fiction based on a setting that gave me four absolutely amazing days. It was during the Young Entrepreneur’s competition 2012. A lot of it is real, most of it actually. This is a story within many stories that I was dying to tell in my own fashion. And so I did. Because I have noticed, almost always, that it is only when I am amidst something really busy- probably while reading a good book or finishing a piece of long pending work, I look up for a moment and in a minute’s vision, capture a whole new story waiting to unfold. This is to all those many moments that became stories during TheYEC,2012. 

***

A chill ran down my spine. I looked around frantically, my heart stuck stupidly in my mouth. I was ten seconds into the search and I think I had already lost 20 percent of all the fluid in my body. I began to throw things out of the locker in a frenzied panic.

“Ohmygod, Ohmygod!” My mind wasn’t helping. Nor was the fact that I couldn’t find the book anywhere.

I stopped. Need to retrace. There was no use looking over and over in the same place and getting run over by disorientation. I had to think, remember and maybe even take a few steps back. I looked around at all the people in the mall. The Young Entrepreneur’s competition was in full swing.

The stall adjacent to ours was having one of their regular X-box ‘Play FIFA – you and a friend for dhms 10′ sessions and they had their usual crowd hanging around, paying attention to absolutely nothing for 30 whole minutes. A little ahead, there was this guy had covered the suit he was wearing, in meme badges. I am not even kidding. On his head was fastened a pink bow. Yep. A bow. The last time we tried to ask him why exactly that was, he gave us a “God why do I have to deal with such idiots?”-look and told us this was an advertising strategy. I mean OBVIOUSLY when people saw him and his team-mates taking strolls around the mall dressed so unique, they would come to their stall. How could I be so absolutely idiotic?

Right now he was talking to a little girl, showing her that his barrel of slime was the one thing in the entire mall that was worth her 10 dhms. That tiny box of gooey something that had the potential of saving the day. Don’t ask me how I know, it’s a barrel of slime for God’s sake. What is wrong with you?

Her eyes lit up when she found out that he would give her two barrels for 15. She jumped to give him a high-five. Two barrels of slime for 15? Oh what could be better.

I shook my head. Panic rumbled in the pit of my stomach. I could swear I left it on the table before going for my break. Percy Jackson And The Battle Of The Labyrinth. You don’t just LOSE Percy Jackson. Especially not when you’ve borrowed it from a friend.

I was just about to start taking all the things out of the locker again when I found my friend walking towards me. There was a blissful expression on her face and she was taking her time, like the world existed to make her happy. Like time itself was bending, slowing down, giving her space. And then she slipped and fell.

I’m kidding. But it would’ve happened if I was writing the story. I hated the silly happiness she wore on her face. It had to be destroyed.

“DUDEEEE. WHERE THE HELL DID YOU PUT MY PERCY JACKSON?”

She glared at me, obviously annoyed for breaking her romance with time. She opened her mouth to shout me an insult but suddenly stopped. For a second, I watched a blank expression pass her eyes. I was going to push her away and start looking for my other friend and ask her instead when her expression changed to horror.

Her eyes widened. “Oh no, OH NO.”

I really thought I was going to die then. “What? WHAT?”

She looked at me with a worry that seemed to transcend all emotion. Ohmygod the melodrama. Let me re-word – she looked at me like she was going to strangle herself. “I think I sold it.”

Now I looked like I was going to strangle her. If I wasn’t such a nice person, I probably would’ve. I was turning into Typhon but there were too many other things on my mind so instead, I bellowed, “WHAT? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU THINK YOU SOLD IT? OH NO! IT WASN’T EVEN MY BOOK! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?”

She began to flip frantically through the receipt book. “I don’t know, they bought three books in total, your Percy Jackson was kept among the other books on sale and I don’t know…I think I just sold them…OH NO YES I DID. I SOLD THEM YOUR PERCY JACKSON! “ She collapsed on the ground.

Now normally, I would’ve jumped to her rescue, brought her some water, lifted her to her chair. Right then, her condition was last on my priority list.

“HOW COULD YOU SELL THEM THAT?” I cried. I say cry because I was almost weeping.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know it wasn’t your book! I knew you loved Percy Jackson but it was there among the other books and I just.. I assumed you’d decided to, you know…” She looked like she’d spent a decade in Azkaban.

“I have to get that book back! I don’t care HOW. Do you have ANY idea who bought it?” I was desperate.

She suddenly sat up straight. “WAIT. I THINK I..(frantic check of the receipt book here) OH YES! I sold it to this guy from Modern High. He should be around somewhere, you know, one the guys from the bow stall.”

Hope.

I tumbled out of my stall and hurried towards the guy who was trying to con another little girl. “HEEY!” I shrieked at him. He jumped back in horror. Then glared at me because I had scared away his newest con.

“What?” He demanded.

“Oh um, my friend just sold you or any of your friends a Percy Jackson book? I need it back.”

“Percy Jackson and the Battle Of The Labyrinth? Oh yeah, I bought that I’m sorry you can’t have it back” I was going to jump on him and wrench all his hair off and then throw all his stupid barrels of slime at him. But all I did was stand there, shake my head and ask him, “What? Uh no, you don’t understand. I NEED it back. It was sold to you by mistake, it wasn’t even our book. I’m willing to pay twice the amount.”

He narrowed his brow. “Uh, don’t you understand? You CAN’T have it back. Which means I don’t have it anymore. I sold it. But yeah, I wouldn’t give it back to you even if I did.” He had the nerve to smile. The cheek.

“OH NO! WHAT KIND OF AN IMBECILE DOES THAT? WHO IN HADES DID YOU SELL IT TO?” I was attracting attention. Someone pointed and laughed. Another person murmered to her friend.

“You’re such a weirdo. Anyway, you’re in luck. I sold it to this stall on the first floor. Right next to the information booth. If you’re good with your convincing, you can try getting it back.” With that he turned and walked away to his next target. I was going to tell him that I hoped no-one bought his stupid slime but then I realized it wouldn’t do me much good.

I raced up the stairs to the first floor. I spotted the stall almost immediately. It was called ‘Ping’. Okay. Ping. No judgements there. I walked over coolly. All I had to do was explain to them the situation and they’d understand. Mistakes happen, I mean, come ON.

“You just got sold a Percy Jackson book. I need it back. The guy who sold it to you was a loser and he bought it from us and we never meant to sell it.” I wasn’t planning on it, but I think I didn’t come off as a person with whom any of the stall members would engage in conversation. It was then that I realized that I was talking to a group of Kandhura clad men, looking at me as if I had just punched one of them in the gut and still had the nerve to stand there. I blinked, wondering what they would do now. A few seconds passed and nothing happened. I stood there and watched for a reaction and they looked blankly at each other, at me, at each other, at me again, at the ceiling (I have no idea why) then at me again. After that, one of them stood up angrily. He muttered something in rapid arabic and slammed his fist down on the counter.

I jumped. “Uh, n..no.. I uh I need book. The book you buy JUST NOW? I need. I pay double.” Now if you have ever tried talking to an Arab in english, even though you’re pretty sure he’s not getting anything, you’d be able to imagine the scene. If you haven’t, well it involves a lot of frantic hand-movement, many facial expressions that you never thought you could make and a tiresome use of the simple present tense.

After five whole minutes, one of them let out a long sigh and said “AH. I know.(mutters to the rest so that they too nod in agreement) But I cant give back. I sell.”

Believe me when I say I tried asking him who he sold it to. But I didn’t have any more luck. They couldn’t understand what I was trying to say and even if they did, I don’t think they would have known who they’d sold a book to. So I gave up my search and walked slowly back to my stall. I was so lost in my depression, I pushed away my friend when he came running to ask my if I’d be interested in buying one of his blackberry covers. I began to think of what I would say to the friend I had borrowed the book from. I sighed as I realized what a messy situation I’d landed myself in. I walked, shrouded in grief, letting myself slip tirelessly into the inviting arms of self pity. My vision blurred. I cursed.

The minutes that passed were heavy with tension. I wasn’t even bothered that we hadn’t sold anything for three whole hours, I didn’t care that my friend was playing my favourite song just to get me to cheer up. I sat in one corner of my stall and did not share the one chair we were given.

“Yo.” One of the guys in the stall adjacent stall had popped his head into ours.

“Hey.” I said half-heartedly.

“You guys have wrapping paper? And scissors? And tape?” He asked, smiling widely.

“Sure. “ We were used to giving all our stationary to them.

“I still think you should rent out your stationary. You’d earn a shit load.” He muttered as I rummaged for the stuff he’d asked for.

“Thank your stars we’re being nice.” I said as I handed it over. “Why do you need wrapping paper anyway?”

He smiled as he took the stuff. “Oh it’s my friend’s birthday today and I had to give him something. I was taking a stroll on the first floor and I found Percy Jackson And The Battle Of The Labyrinth sitting in one of the stalls. The guy was so stupid, he sold it to me for 5 bucks. Am I awesome or what?”

I don’t remember exactly but I think I hugged him so hard out of happiness that I forced all the air out of him. Things got awkward after that but I clumsily knocked a glass of water on him in my attempt to embrace relief, so I survived.