27 Finding Thomas Hark (2/2)
How could I possibly not recognize the walking, talking cliché?!
Aaron, my darling, I am so happy to see your Villainous face!!!
I am so happy, I could kiss you!
He' arrogant.
He's neat.
He's ambitious.
He's expensive.
And, last but not least, a jerk!
He starts off as being Thomas's friend in the beginning of the story, but becomes a stepping stone for Thomas later on.
After all, the Hero has to start out somehow, right?
So, the blonde, freckle-faced kid sitting next to Aaron has to be Thomas, right?
There's only one way to find out!
Taking a deep breath to calm my roaring emotions, I leisurely walked over to Aaron's table.
***
”Oh great, it's coming over.” Aaron took a sip of his coffee, irritated out of his mind.
”What is?” Thomas asked as he sat down at the table.
”The Beast Man that just came in.” Thomas's Father answered, taking a big bite of chocolate cake.
”Is it someone you know?” Thomas inquired as he looked through the menu.
His father sighed. ”Unfortunately, no. A sad thing too, because if I had, I would've offered giving them the extra Spacial Collar that's been hogging up my inventory this whole time.”
”Why do you need to know them to give them something?”
”Because then I can ask them to pay up in the future without much hassle. The thing is, if you give stuff to strangers, there's no guarantee that your good deed will be returned.”
”Father, that's a dick move.” Thomas frowned.
”But a profitable one.” Aaron took a bite out of his vanilla ice cream, squinting his eyes in satisfaction. ”How else are you going to move ahead if everything you give doesn't have strings attached?”
”Funny how you speak of profits.” His Father stabbed a strawberry with his fork, holding it up to examine it. ”Judging by the way you sometimes raise your voice, I'm amazed you know about the concept. Do you know, if you were to raise your tone as frequently as you do in front of a client, you'd most likely scare them off? Perhaps not. You just can't seem to watch your tongue.”
Aaron blushed from embarrassment. ”Father, we discussed this earlier!”
”Then what was that just a minute ago? Don't think I forgot.”
It was then, a sound interrupted their conversation.
”Meow.”
All three of them stopped and looked at the cat which had managed to climb on top of a chair without them noticing.
Thomas's Father coughed awkwardly. ”Is there anything we can help you with?
”Meow.”
”Oh great, it's a Beast Man that can't talk.” Aaron grumbled.
”Oh my, how unfortunate. It's a little lost kitten. Fear not, my dear boy... or girl...” Thomas's Father turned to Thomas, pleading with his eyes.
Thomas helplessly replied to his father. ”It's a boy.”
”My dear boy, we'll help you find your parents!”
”What, why?!”
”And Thomas, I leave the kitten in your room. Tomorrow, we'll go to the Guard House after breakfast.”
”Yes, Father.”
”This is just preposterous!”
***
Back to Me
...
I don't know if I should be offended or not.
I was just mistaken for a child!!!
But at least I know for a fact that I found Thomas Hark.
And poor Aaron... he was ignored the whole time they planned my stay for the night.