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One of my favorite places to go in the entire city is a
downtown café. It’s called Café Vita and it is on the corner of Market and Main
Street in Neopian Central. I go there to study, do homework, escape the practice
of brother’s band and get a nice cup of Borovan. Café Vita serves the best Borovan
on this side of Neopia. Most of the time, I don’t end up even studying but observe
the people around me. It’s hard not to look around when you’re in an atmosphere
filled with such a variety of people. Café Vita is the perfect place to write
some of my thoughts down in my journal without my brother staring over my shoulder
trying to read it or my parents bursting into my room.
When I told some of my friend that I go to Café
Vita to study, they were shocked. I am certified genius because I apparently
know everything. Everyone, including my friends, thinks that I have a photographic
memory and I don’t work for my top marks in school. I don’t have a complete
photographic memory and I do work hard for my grades. Things might come easily
to me but it doesn’t mean I can just coast my way through school without a care.
My brother’s band came over and decided to strangle
their instruments in an attempt to make music. This is what his band calls practice
but I heard no music coming from the basement. All I heard was a loud ruckus
that makes the walls, floors, and ceilings of our entire house shake and rumble
like an earthquake. I am not sure how our neighbors can put up with my brother’s
band because I know I sure can’t. The wind that howled on the gray outside sounded
more like music than this so-called band. I rushed down the trembling stairs
and grabbed my backpack off the bottom step. I seized my jacket that was hanging
on the rail and pulled it on. I zipped up my dark track jacket with two white
stripes on the sleeves while I threw the strap of my school bag over my shoulder.
I’ve been told the navy jacket really compliments my white Blumaroo fur but
I didn’t wear it today to look good, I am wore it to keep warm. There was a
storm brewing and I hoped I would get to Café Vita before it started to rain.
I rushed outside without looking back into the
quiet streets of Neopian Central. It was a bit eerie that the normally busy
streets are so soundless. Everyone had taken shelter inside their homes or shops
of the downtown. I walked quickly down the street with the cold bone-chilling
wind to my back. Being a Blumaroo, I love to hop but I love to stay dry more,
so I speed-walked. I turned the corner on to Market Street and look down the
block to the familiar café, a small white two-story building with a bright red
roof and shutters. The brick chimney was puffing with black smoke which blended
in with the darkening sky. Tables with red and white umbrellas were empty and
being brought inside by the shopkeeper to avoid being blown away. Perched at
the bottom of the glass windows are boxes filled with bright red flowers which
swayed in the wind. On the roof dangled a familiar white sign that read in a
fancy green script, “Café Vita.” I raced inside the familiar café which was
filled with people sitting around, chatting, and drinking coffee. The café has
no actual theme; all the furniture is mismatched and different. There was Tyrannian
mixed with coconut and Kauvara mixed with bamboo. This is one of my favorite
things about Café Vita, in most places it would look hideous but it works well
here.
I stood in line and ordered a huge cup of steaming
hot Borovan. I held the Borovan carefully in paws and wove through the crowd
in search of a table. Finally, it began to rain outside and even more Neopets
poured into café from the wet streets. Luckily, two Kikos left and I stole their
table. I was really quite lucky because it was right next to window, one of
my favorite places to sit. I placed my backpack on the Tree Stump Table and
sat myself in a comfy Violet Velvet Chair. The café was buzzing with way too
much activity for me to actually study so I pulled out my journal to record
my observations.
At the table in front of me was an eccentric
Pirate Kougra. His pirate attire was covered in stains and dirt and he reeked
with the smells of the sea. Pinned on left side of his chest he was a gold badge
that read, “Captain Spoof.” There was a half eaten scone on his plate next to
a cup of what looked like some type of unique, specialty Mocha. With his head
rested on his paw he stared off dreamily at a painting of a colorful sunset
on Mystery Island. I wonder why he looked so intensely at that painting. I have
so many questions I wanted to ask him like did he want to vacation there? Has
he ever been there before? Did he want to go and rob some riches to bring back
to Krawk Island? Does he enjoy sunsets as much as I do?
My focus was taken off Captain Spoof when I
heard an angry snarl to my right and I turned to see a Fire Faerie. She sat
at an empty blue table with an empty coffee cup read The Neopian Times. I never
knew a Fire Faerie to drink coffee at a café or read The Neopian Times. In her
hand was a red pen which she angrily scribbled Xs and comments all over a huge
picture of the legend author, Boulder Jones. She didn’t stop at just his picture
but marked his story on the front page, too. Why did this Fire Faerie hate the
famous Boulder Jones so much? I’ve read plenty of his works in the Times and
I don’t see why she’d hate them so. They really aren’t offensive to Fire Faeries
in any way. Is it possible that she could have been jealous of the famous writer?
After the Fire Faerie had finished with her editing of the newspaper, she snapped
her hand. A small flame appeared upon her milky colored thumb and she lit the
Times on fire on her palm. She watched and let is burn until it turned to black
ashes. She sprinkled the ashes on the table with a gleeful, evil laugh and flew
out the door. I wonder why she had to write her comments and Xs on the newspaper,
why didn’t she burn it in the first place? Where did she race off to? Was she
going to seek some sort of revenge on Boulder Jones or did she simply get bored?
I turned to a fresh page in my observation journal
for two shallow, gossiping Usuls. They wore in matching bright, expensive raincoats
lined with Babaa wool and came over to take the crazy Fire Faerie’s table. One
is wore sea foam green with matching ribbons around her ears while the other
wore scarlet. They chatted and gossiped loudly about some other nasty Usul named
Darlene. She had apparently been seen wearing white which was totally out according
to the famous, RoxyFoxyRoxy of the Dear Roxy columns. Why did they care so much
what another wears? Did it really matter that much? They made it seem like she
robbed a bank instead of wearing the wrong thing. They noticed the ashes on
the table and refused to sit down at a “dirty” table; they squealed and complained
which caused a huge scene among the café. The shopkeeper had to come and escort
the duo to a clean table. I was a bit glad the shopkeeper didn’t sit them next
to me because I am not fond of snobs.
A blue Tuskaninny in a cotton candy pink raincoat
came to take the “dirty” table. Before she sat down, she pulled out a napkin
from her pocket and brushed away the ashes without a care. She sat down, placed
a pink umbrella on the ground, and pulled out a travel magazine. I wonder why
this Tuskaninny wore a raincoat. I thought Tuskaninnies were supposed to like
the water and want to avoid the water itself with a raincoat. She could have
possibly been an unusual Tuskaninny that doesn’t enjoy the water. I looked at
the travel magazine she reads and I wonder where she is planning to travel,
Krawk Island, Kiko Lake, her grandmother’s house, or Kreludor. Did she want
to get away or simple imagine like Captain Spoof?
I grew quickly bored with the reading Tuskaninny
and I looked outside to my left to the rain stained window. A yellow Skeith
in a very costly business suits walked rapidly by my window and down the street.
While he passes, I can’t help but wonder if he was happy? What’s his name? Where
was going in this stormy weather? Why isn’t he worried that his suit would get
ruined in the rain? Where he went that requires him to wear a suit? There are
way too many possibilities for me to actually know what the Skeith’s story is
really.
Through my observations at Café Vita I realize
even though I am genius I don’t know everything. I can’t know what Captain Spoof
was thinking or why the Tuskaninny carried a pink umbrella? I don’t know what
the Skeith was going or why two Usuls can be such snobs? People tell me that
I am a genius because I know everything; I don’t think it’s true. I might know
a lot of facts but I don’t know what everyone’s feelings, ideas, dreams, passions
and state of minds. Maybe I am a genius because I can understand that know that
no one can truly ever know everything. I guess I’ll never know because I don’t
know everything. I guess even a genius could learn a thing or two from a small
café in Neopian Central.
The End
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