asparagus salad and freshly pulled mozzarella by 'local kitchen & wine bar' at '1000 tastes of toronto'
rating: Cruising Shanty 20 / 10.0
PICASSO EXHIBIT - III
I step out towards Nathan Philips Square but decide it is too far, so I just go to Pecaut Square because it is near where my mom works. I sit in the shade and smell cigarette smoke and hear people saying swear words and I continue reading Slaughterhouse-Five. At 3:00, I close my book and walk to Dark Horse Espresso Bar.
I reach there and it is more pretentious than I thought. The ceilings are very high and there is smooth reclaimed wood everywhere and there are two chandeliers. All the workers there have asymmetrical hair cuts and dress androgynously. I wonder to myself if this is a part of their uniform requirements. I wonder if it says in their contract, I must have asymmetrical hair and wear androgynous clothing to work everyday. I stand in front of the cash box for sixty seconds and look straight ahead of me. People are busy doing things, but it kind of looks like they are busy doing nothing.
One of the workers looks up and stares at me for a few seconds. I think he moves his chin and he keeps staring at me. I take this as a secret undercover signal he is sending to me that means he is ready to take my order. I say, Can I have an iced mocha, but I say it very quietly and very unenthusiastically to match his secretive undercover demeanour. He moves his head closer to me, his mouth is still hanging half open. He looks like he is from The Outsiders. I repeat, Iced mocha. Another person turns around, and she says, How can I help you? She has the same hair as him. I repeat, Can I have an iced mocha? The staring guy has already began making my iced mocha, but he is not staring at me anymore. I pay $5 to the girl. The guy finishes making a drink and puts it on the counter and stares at me again. I stare at him, unsure if he's made this drink for me. There are other people that just ordered. He looks at the milk container he is putting down for a second, then he looks up and keeps staring at me. I slowly reach out for the cup, preparing to strike anyone in the neck or chest that says this is not my drink. No one says anything. The guy is still staring at me. I put my hand on it and pick it up slowly, finally joining him in the staring contest he started. He looks down at me holding the cup and back up at me and seems to make some sort of very subtle nod and keeps staring at me. Then he turns around and walks away. I go and sit at one of the two very long communal tables made of reclaimed wood. I am not sure who won the staring contest. I open my laptop and connect to the internet. I begin typing an assignment for my English course. I decided to write about the poem John Keats wrote. The one about death. I sip on my iced mocha. It is very good.
An hour and fifteen minutes later, I finish my iced mocha and walk out. There is no recycling bin in the cafe. I tell myself that those baristas probably think they are environmentalists and observe Earth Hour every year or something. Environmentalists with androgynous hair cuts. I imagine all the environmentalists in the world with androgynous asymmetrical haircuts. David Suzuki with an androgynous asymmetrical haircut. Vandana Shiva laughing at David Suzuki because he has an androgynous asymmetrical haircut. Vandana Shiva getting an androgynous asymmetrical haircut two years later.
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