Benjamin took the bite, leaned back and tried to swallow as
fast as he could without chewing. While inwardly he was bracing himself for
whatever sting his mouth may have to endure, outwardly he put on a smile as
though he were enjoying a bite of warm chocolate cake.
Gulp. “Wow, those are so
good.” Benjamin forced a smile.
“Are they now?” Crispin grinned knowingly with his eyebrows
raised in anticipation. “Alright then. Jenny, would you be so kind as to fetch
Oliver for me. I believe his shift is almost over and I may require his
assistance momentarily.”
To Benjamin’s surprise, he felt fine. He felt nothing,
actually, no burning in his mouth, only a smoky-sweet flavor. “Why do you need
his help?” Benjamin asked.
“I don’t, actually.” Crispin replied, studying Benjamin’s face
amusedly. “You do.”
“I do?” Benjamin asked. Jenny hurried off to the kitchen
with a sigh. “Why do I nee--?” Benjamin stopped short, noticing that as each syllable
poured from his mouth, so did a small puff of smoke. Before he could try to
understand this, however, his vision began to blur and go yellow. His hearing,
too, became muffled, as though he had water in his ears. He noticed beads of
sweat had begun to form on his brow, and then beneath his eyes, and then in his
armpits, and his feet. Then, it hit him.
“WATER!!!!”
“Oh dear.” Crispin sighed.
Angus heard Benjamin scramble for his ice water, and felt
half of it splash up onto his arm as Benjamin tried to pour it all in one gulp
down his throat. “Don’t worry, now.” Crispin spoke calmly over Benjamin’s
seething breaths. “You’re in no danger.”
As Benjamin slammed Angus’s and Crispin’s glasses of water, Angus
heard two pairs of feet approach the table. The first, which he figured were
Jenny’s, were quiet and could hardly be heard over the second, which were
spaced out much farther apart, and made a deep THUMP with each fall.
“A delicious breakfast as per usual, Oliver,” Crispin said
to whatever large thing had just made its way to the table. “Though I’m afraid
young Benjamin here didn’t exactly enjoy his sample.”
Oliver Gasped. “Oh no!” Angus was shocked that he both heard
and felt Oliver’s voice, which was
perhaps the deepest Angus had ever heard. “Has he—“
“Not yet.” Crispin replied.
“WATER!!!!!!!”
Jenny walked away to help another table, and Angus heard her
sigh “Men…”
“Has he what?” Angus asked, his worried voice betraying to
Crispin the growing concern for his brother’s well-being. “Is he going to be
ok?”
“He’ll stop smoking in a moment—“
“He’s smoking?!”
“—And then he’ll go into shock.”
“SHOCK?!”
“WATER!!!!!!!!!!” Benjamin thrashed around, trying to reach
for a glass of water in the booth behind them, but then stopped as he turned
back around, dropping the water.
“Oop,” Crispin said. “here we go.”
Angus felt Benjamin slowly slide downward in the booth,
pause for a moment, let out a sleepy-sounding groan, and flop onto the floor.
“Ben?” Angus waited for a response.
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