Little Moon

The Goldfish Problem

Nikini rocked back and forth on the heels of her feet as she waited outside her apartment building. She turned her head towards the bus stop to make sure they hadn't missed it. Her attention shifted when she heard the door to the apartments open and heard the familiar British accent of her best friend as he walked out, talking to his mother's voicemail.

"Hey, mate, still selling the old brushes and brooms, right?" Steven asked the man that blocked his way. "Right in front of my entrance. It's...Got no problem with it. Cheers,"

Nikini laughed at the interaction, causing Steven to turn his head and notice the brunette. "There's not a mean bone in your body, is there?" she handed Steven his coffee.

"Right," Steven nodded as he put his phone back up to his ear and lifted his hand with the coffee in thanks. "Anyway, sorry I missed you, Mom. I'll try you again tomorrow. Laters, gators," he hung up the phone. "Morning, Niki,"

"Morning, ready for work?"

Steven smiled only to frown as he looked past Nikini at the driving red double Dutch bus "Oh, bloody hell. Wait!" he grabbed the brunette's hand and dragged her after the bus. "Bollocks,"

***

"Have a nice nap?" Nikini teased as the duo walked into the museum.

"Ha ha," Steven laughed sarcastically. "Shouldn't you be heading to work?"

"Trying to get rid of me so soon?" Nikini smiled until she noticed a little girl using one of the exhibits as a trash can. "Uh-oh," she smiled as Steven walked up to the girl, leaving Nikini to watch from afar.

"Will you look at that?" Steven told the little girl. "Looks like someone mistook the Great Pyramid of Giza for a rubbish dump,"

"It's not like there's anything in there," The little girl reasoned.

"Yeah. Maybe not," Steven pointed to the sarcophagus inside one of the many glass cases "But in there is something wicked. Check it out. They'd take this big metal hook, right? And they go up the old nozzle and..."

Nikini couldn't help the snort that escaped her mouth as Steven imitated a suction noise.

"All the organs would come out." Steven continued to explain, "Except for the heart,"

"How come?" The Little girl asked.

"Because they believed you needed your heart to be judged in the Underworld and only the worthiest would be allowed to pass through the Field of Reeds,"

"And did it suck for you? Getting rejected from the Field of Reeds?"

Nikini had enough of the girl's attitude and walked to the duo. "Well, that doesn't make sense 'cause Steven's not dead," she looked up at him. "Are you?"

Steven imitated a ghost earning a slap to the stomach as the little girl walked off.

"Stevie..." A voice interrupted the moment causing Nikini to roll her eyes. "That better not be you again,"

"Sorry, Donna." Steven apologized. "Yeah, sorry. Got it," he took the boxes from Donna and walked over to the register where he worked inside the gift shop. "There we go,"

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you this. You're not the bloody tour guide, Stevie,"

"It's Steven," Nikini practically growled

Steven nodded as he put on his name tag. "I am...Steven,"

"No, you're bloody useless unless you're actually doing what you're paid to do," Donna retorted, "which is to sell these to children," she slid a container of gummy snacks over to Steven.

"Got it,"

Nikini rolled her eyes as she watched Donna walk off. "You know I hate that woman. Sometimes I want to shove her into one of those Sarcophoguses and throw away the key," she smiled when Steven gave a brief smirk. Nikini glanced at her phone to check the time and sighed "See you for lunch?"

Steven didn't bother looking up as he got busy organizing the stock. "Yeah, yeah,"

Nikini waved. "Laters, gators,"

Steven looked up as he watched his only friend merge in with the museum crowd and out to her job at a cafe.

"Hello," A woman's voice broke through Steven's thoughts.

"Hello," Steven waved.

"How's the sugar trade going?"

Steven looked down at the gummies that Donna had him selling. "I don't know what this has to do with Egypt. They didn't have that back then, did they? No. They liked figs and dates, and..."

"My next tour's here, but just checking, are we still on for 7:00 tomorrow?"

"7:00 tomorrow?"

"Best steak in town?"

Steven nodded, even though he had no idea what his coworker was saying. "Oh, yeah. Right. Yeah,"

"Yeah? Okay," The woman chuckled as she began to head toward her group.

"Sorry. But..."

"What?"

"Are you asking me out?"

The tour guide chuckled as if Steven had joked, "You're funny. I'll see you then,"

Donna approached Steven with a cheeky grin "Stevie, you absolute rascal. I didn't know you had taken a crack; I thought you and the American were an item?"

"I didn't know either,"

"Hang on, did she say steak? What in the world's a bloody vegan gonna eat in a steak house?"

"I don't know, Donna. Salad? Bread?"

"Yeah, I can see why she went for it. Real catch you are,"

***

"Honestly, it's like my body wants to get up and wander about, you know," Steven explained to Nikina and the golden statue the duo always sat by during their meal breaks. "Like it has to get the 10,000 steps in. Do you know? And I don't even know about it until I wake up wherever. That's why I try to stay awake at night. What do you think?"

"You already know what I think," Nikina said as she took a bite of her sandwich. "I've told you, you could come over to my place, and I'll keep a watch,"

Steven shook his head. "Nah. I mean, I guess there are stranger things that people do, but..."

"You have no idea," Nikina muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing," Nikina smiled as she placed another sandwich beside the gold statue. "Extra pralines for the man himself,"

"So, the girl I was telling you about,"

"The one from work?" Nikina wondered.

Steven nodded. "We're going on a date tomorrow,"

"Excuse me," A couple said. "Can you take our picture with him?"

"Sure,"

Steven and Nikina stood up so the couple could take their place next to the golden man.

"We're going on a date. I didn't even ask her. I don't know how it happened," Steven explained to Nikina.

Nikina took the couple's phone. "One. Two. Three," she handed the device back. "There you go,"

"Thank you,"

"Don't forget the tip," Steven added.

"Oh, yes," The man placed a couple of coins into the golden man's hat.

"Cheers," Steven turned back towards Nikina. "Anyway, if I am gonna have a girlfriend, at some point, obviously can't have ankle restraints on my bed, can I? That's like the definition of a red flag, isn't it?"

"Maybe she's into that sort of thing," Nikina shrugged.

"Gotta figure something out," Steven sighed. "All right, I better jog on. Nice catching up. We will see you on the flip-flop," he helped Nikina stand before giving the golden man his tip. "All right, laters,"