Nate stared in the mirror in horror, contempt and disgust.
It looked like something out of a terrible, abysmal and dismal dream. The worst part is the reflection staring grimly back at him was him, dressed completely in a black tie, along with black trousers and an uncharacteristic comb-over.
He looked like, ironically enough, a lawyer or an investment banker. He could barely recognise himself. And that's the worst part. He felt uncomfortable with the clothes he was wearing, constricting his movements like they were strangling him, depriving him form oxygen. He was tempted to incarnate it, but the thing cost more than Wolfingham Palace. So this insipid event better be worth it, especially if said event is as grandiose as meeting your girlfriend's dad, a milestone which you'll remember for the rest of your life, good or bad. Either way, Nate would have to carry the baggage, and it wouldn't be long before the rest of his family found out, ridiculing him.
Speaking of, Nate's folks were well aware of this event because the boy's mum is omniscient, but not omniscient enough in she found out where he got said suit. Daran was proud of his son and rooted for him to succeed. But when Nate asked for some gadgets to help on his date, he said no. That was the last he talked to him before leaving the following day, which was today.
Now all that's left is him, his mum and his siblings. His siblings were naturally ignorant and obnoxious about the date and it didn't help that Nate's mum offered him shoes to fit the suit.
But for obvious reasons, Nate refused and decided to go barefoot. Not the best way to represent yourself but the ram genuinely doesn't care. The last thing he needed was his dignity revoked, too.
It's crazy how after everything that happened, this is where he ended up. Of all the things to celebrate slaying Damain, this was the last thing Nate had in mind. Somehow, Katrina managed to convince Theo to give Nate a chance, and he orchestrated them to have reservations at some restaurant. Although upon the surface level that's an insurmountable amount of good luck, Nate still sees it as a loss, because he has to be on his best behaviour. One step forward, two steps back.
It goes to show that the odds are constantly against him, and the world always has it out for him, beating down on him mercilessly like a punching bag. It was like that since he was born, and It will continue for the rest of his life. Not anymore.
To compensate, he flexed his muscles in the mirror.
"Nate! Stop admiring yourself and get downstairs!"
It was Katrina. Nate turned and saw her standing in the doorway, wearing a dress as white as snow. Her hair hung down to her shoulders with alluring blue eyeshadow and red lipstick.
"Dad's waiting. We're about to leave."
"I'll be a minute," Nate responded.
Nate was still adjusting his suit to fit accordingly, clenching his teeth in the process. But the suit was fighting against him. It was like being in a stray jacket, which is symbolic since this event is going to drive him crazy. Or at the very least soul-draining.
It's bad enough that he has to wear formal attire that goes against everything he stands for, now they're going to the most snobby, uptight and pompous place on the planet, that being the Vulture's Nest - or, to abbreviate it, VN, which sounds infinitely worse.
Nate had never been to VN, but he had heard horror stories about the many scandals they were involved in. From not paying staff equally, to overpriced meals to even revealing pretty messed up stuff behind closed doors, it seemed that VR would be the last place the three would go. But due to their grand reopened, they rechristened the place, winning everyone back. They've reopened. Apparently. But Nate isn't buying it.
It's something that still had him on edge when he, Katrina and Theo drove to the place via hamster ball in chilling and awkward silence.
The father had her daughter deliberately take a shotgun while he left Nate at the back.
He had his eyes on him like a hawk in the rearview mirror, fixated on the ram like he was anticipating he was about to do something sketchy, and all the male sheep could do was pretend in vain to not make eye contact.
Nate never felt this uncomfortable and vulnerable in his lacklustre life. And he hated it. His eyes were glued to the window and was sweating when scrolling indiscriminately on his phone. Although the heater was barely on, it was an incinerator inside the car. His stomach was in knots and overall felt like he was in a trash compactor. He even went as far as listening to some music. But that did nothing and he was beginning to be sick, with his vital organs being pressured excruciatingly like he was in a hydraulic press.
Then Theo broke the silence.
"So, how did you two guys meet?" He asked, containing his overbearing tone of voice.
Surprisingly Katrina hit it off after Nate was making an alleged rich-quick scheme by selling undisclosed exam answer sheets to students, and the hamster just so happens to be one of his customers who was undercover and read him like an open book. Now Katrina could have just reported Nate no problem and that'll be the end of it. But she saw something in Nate that made her pity him. So instead of handing him in, she and he hung out, and Nate ordinality did it just to get flack off his back since his side hustle was deteriorating anyway. But six months later as of last year, one thing led to another and the rest was history.
"I, ur, urm...." the ram stammered.
For obvious reasons, Nate didn't want to get into the specifics but could tell Theo was going to sandbag him into telling the truth. It's already bad enough that he knew him for cheating on his test, only to subsequently date his daughter, which hes still vague on how he feels about it. He finds out about this too, his blessing is as good as gone way before he even had the chance to obtain it.
Luckily, Katrina saved him at the last second.
"We met after school one day!" Katrina spluttered abruptly.
"Is that so?" Theo raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. I was doing typical swimming practice when Nate was shooting some hoops of his own at the other side of the court.
"Huh." Theo nodded his head slowly, eyes on the road. He didn't seem to buy it so he egged on.
"Why was he there to begin with?"
"Because he missed and punctured the ball with his horns. I had to bail him out."
Theo roared with laughter, leaving an embarrassed Nate slumping in his seat while Katrina turned around from her seat to mouth "Sorry!" to him. But the boy knew why it had to be done despite now showing his gratitude. The problem lies in how she said it, not what she said itself. However, anything is better than blatant bigotry, something Theo implied until now.
After the dad finished with his fit, he wiped a tear off his eye. It took him a full minute to catch his breath and even then he was lightly giggling. Katrina softly laughed top because she had to admit, it was funny. A wheezing later, he stopped completely. "This one's a keeper! Just remind me never to leave him home alone with your balls!"
Nate bit his lip just as they arrived at their destination. And it's just as nauseating as the boy was told.
Vulture's Nest stands as a grand palace, its towering dome resembling a magnificent nest. This colossal establishment exudes a captivating yet somewhat haughty aura when viewed from below.
Millions of windows and countless floors adorn the structure, each exuding a breathtaking and almost harsh beauty that is impossible to ignore. What truly captures attention is the giant glass skylight, which bathes the entire place in blinding light, making it resemble a colossal night light. This feature serves as the ultimate show of grandeur, so much so that it can be spotted from the other end of the city, a blatant display of its opulence.
Once they parked Nate swallowed hard. If this is what It's like outside, imagine how it is inside. Even coming out from the car he's been bombarded by all the varieties of smells, caressing his nose, alluring him to come closer...closer to the delicious dead.
Just looking at the name of the restaurant in gold attics told him he was out of his league. He so desperately wanted to back out but he refused, for no other reason but to stick it to Theo.
Taking a deep breath, he followed his girlfriend and her dad into the belly of the place, into the alleged unknown. There was no turning back. And once they got inside the vibrant, massive and overwhelming atmosphere of the restaurant, it was clear there was nowhere to turn back to.
Nate noticed he was stepping on a glass see-through floor that revealed another level below, that being fish. Mammals roamed on the first floor, reptiles dining on the second, amphibians enjoying themselves on the third, arthropods hanging around on the fourth and birds soaring high in the sky on the fifth floor, which practically didn't exist. There were bird cages, nests and everything in between, dangling in the air precariously with the chains doing the heavy lifting. Just have to watch out for bird poop.
The three were exposed to the plethora of TVs hanging loosely everywhere on the walls, all showing the same sports sludge. Nate never expected VN of all places to be this inclusive and calculative in accommodating every category of animal, but it was hardly a surprise. They needed something that would get them back into people's good graces while hiding skeletons in their closets. Or maybe they simply turned over a new leaf.
The ram tried not to think too hard about it as he and the others took his seat in a spacious booth. And, to the ungulate's surprise, he was lodged right next to Katrina, with Theo sitting at the other side of the table.
"Wow, Dad!" Katirna shouted. "You've gone all out. Not only did you get us great seats, but the said seats are comfy."
Theo smiled warmly.
"What can I say? I go all out with my special little girl."
Nate rolled his eyes, only to be met by Theo giving him a subtle hostile expression, something Katrina didn't pick up on because she was skimming the menu. It had just occurred to Nate how intimidating Theo was in person. Why did he agree to this?
Just then, a vulture appeared at their table, dressed in a waiter's uniform and holding a notepad and pen. Its beak resembled a sharp dagger, capable of piercing through anything. The vulture's feathers were as dark as the night, scattered across its bird-like body, except for its pale, frazzled head. Its beady black eyes exuded a scornful and menacing gaze, capable of devouring anyone who met its gaze. The vulture's talons were dry, deformed, and crusty, capable of leaving destructive skid marks on any surface. Surprisingly, there were no visible cracks on them, leaving one to wonder how such a ravenous and dangerous bird could exhibit such poise. All in all, Quinton - as indicated by the name tag - embodied the essence of its species. Its name evoked a sense of nefariousness, a true scavenger predatorial bird.
"What can I get you?" Quinton asked, his voice sounding like he needed cough medicine ASAP.
Katina ordered a vegetable-based meal called Albatete, the stem vegetable that is naturally chocolaty in flavour. It is then well seasoned with ground sweet roots, left uncooked, then thickly minced.
About half of the dish is made of stem vegetables, served alongside stewed moss, boiled stem vegetables and pepper-sprinkled broiled tuberous vegetables.
Nate ordered a poultry-based dish called Habbath. The main ingredient is a turkey wing.
The turkey wing is naturally sharp in flavour. It is then left unseasoned, barbequed until tender, and then steamed in a yellow sauce made of sweet and savoury rump meat until the sauce is thick. The turkey wing makes up about a third of the dish, mixed with strong-flavoured boiled breast fillet and a portion of steamed feline - tomcat - liver. It is often eaten with a generous helping of sweet and savoury gravy, and sometimes with a few thick slices of bitter and sour bread.
He also went the extra mile and ordered a Trillion Moller cake.
It is made with magenta and yellow batter, decorated with little icing structures, and is visually simplistic.
It's a local delicacy.
And finally, Theo ordered a simple
a delicious glass of fruit juice called Dingleburtel.
Freshly squeezed from a sweet and spicy type of fruit, it is a cheap juice with a mild flavour and a very strong aftertaste. It is translucent, has a gooey texture, is a vivid garnet colour, and constantly bubbles. It's best served cold, and when sold in restaurants and bars it is incredibly expensive and served in a glass. Large quantities can induce a feeling of warmth.
One of the ingredients is a hallucinogen in large amounts.
Once they finished ordering, the three waited in silence, drowned by the boisterous atmosphere. After a while, the ram got restless upon seeing others already getting their food.
Annoyed, he rose.
"I'm going to ask what's taking so long," Nate said.
"Leave that to me," Katrina said, resting an arm on him. The boy immediately relaxed and sat back down, Katrina promptly taking her place. The second she left it was just Nate and Theo, a fate the ram won't wish on his worst enemy. Now he's stuck with his girlfriend's father with the atmosphere so tense, it's practically having a stranglehold on him.
"So, ur, what do you do for a living?" Nate laughed a little. "Spin on hamster wheels?"
"I'm an architect."
Nate winced wretchedly.
So far so good. So far so good indeed.