Inevitable Defeat

Eugene's reason for backing off from this suggested tournament was not due to the lack of confidence, it was the other way around. Even though there were only 3 workers in "Monso rooster", Eugene's mastery of coffee art was second only to Arnold. Not due to the lack of skill from Jessie's side, but rather his own mastery that was sharpened thoroughly with passion and curiosity like a fine blade. His fingers were stained with the scent of arabica for ages, despite him being very young. Eugene felt this tournament would be a waste of time, and he wholeheartedly did not understand why Arnold would allow such an irrational idea.

But to say the situation did not bear any benefits would be false, since he would at least be able to humble an arrogant nobility. Once in a lifetime opportunity! By nature Eugene was not competitive at all, nonetheless he had enough of her attitude. At this point he was feeling himself like Robinhood, a hero who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Though, instead, steals their ego and gives back a life lesson. One's pride should be equated to thy own skill.

With a modest push of his hand, the door to the kitchen opened and Eugene elegantly barged inside his second home. Two judges and his rival were inside as well. 

Jessie was happily engaging in a dialogue with that woman, she said, "This is the place where the coffee is made.", but the woman coldly sighed, "I figured as much."

Jessie narrowed her brows at this response, but did not start a scene. Instead, she sat by the table with her hands crossed. Meanwhile, a loud clap spread through the room, which caught by surprise even the noble woman. After clearing his throat and checking his pocket watch, Arnold began to explain the terms of the duel.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am not used to competitive events at all, but I will try my best to set all the rules out. This kitchen is totally in your hands. In ten minutes, both of you must prepare a cup of coffee. Your referees will be myself and Jessie… and I do not have anything else to say, guess that's it. Well, good luck to both of you."

"How encouraging…" murmured Eugene and turned away to face his respective corner. The woman was already clanging with a kettle and some cups. She was brewing coffee by the main counter, where the newest utensils of "Monso rooster" were kept, like the golden Gaggia espresso machine that Arnold purchased recently. Eugene, though, was left with a small table in the corner and an outdated French press. He did not mind this handicap. In fact, he was happy to work these utensils again, they brought back the bitter-sweet memories of his hardships.

First, Eugene set his hands on the table, throwing one last look at the maiden. The man took a handful of arabica coffee beans in medium roast and threw them into a slightly grey mortar. It was an old-fashioned way to grind coffee, but such were demands of Arnold. He always told, "Regular grinders could break at any moment, but mortars could withstand even the grenade explosion." Even though Eugene doubted the last part, there was a glimmer of truth in these words.

At that, Eugene's hand was moving the pestle in circles, making coffee beans coarse. Then, he peeked to the side. The cast iron kettle was already set on a gas-stove and a faint steam was ascending to the sealing accompanied by bubbling sound. Eugene took the kettle by the handle and placed it on a handkerchief to not burn the wooden table. 

Now it was time for the most delicate part. He poured five spoonfuls of coarse ground coffee into the French press. Depending on the method of coffee preparation, different coffee grind is required. And the finest the grind is, the more its spoonful weights. They had the scales for measurement, but unfortunately it was in possession of the noble woman. So Eugene trusted his gut on how much coffee was required. To his surprise, the woman did not use the scales either, which provoked an arrogant grin on the man's face.

Following coffee, into the press went steaming water. Eugene was closely observing the formation of bitter-sweet brown substance and a thin layer of foam above the liquid. After a few minutes, vapour on the press's glass formed sizable droplets, and the man squeezed down the press's cover to separate coffee from the cake. The coffee was ready and slowly poured into two ornamented cups.

Last but not least came on top the cream art. This part is mostly necessary for aesthetics, but Arnold demanded caution in this regard as well. Every employee should have mastered the technique of painting a rooster with the cream before they could serve customers. It was the only stage where Eugene was not particularly proficient at, the quality of drawing depended on the mood of the boy and most of the time it turned out to be anticlimactic. Fortunately, Arnold forgave his half-baked attempts, seeing potential in his more fortunate drawings. But now he was determined to show off as much as possible, he poured the cream as if his own life depended on this task. In the end, the greater the difference of mastery between him and an arrogant woman will be shown, the better lesson she would learn.

With careful gesticulations, on two black canvases were drawn milky-white heads of roosters. The beak, wattles and the comb were distinctive from one another, and identical on both works. It was a success!

Afterwards, both cups of coffee were set on a table with judges awaiting. With a quick glimpse, Eugene checked the compounded expression of his boss. Arnold's eye twitched from time to time, showing his nervousness. The boss of the place extended his hand for the pocket watch that was carefully placed on the table. The boy still had no idea of Arnold's reasoning for this whole ordeal, he sensed some kind of scheme, though could not tell what was it about. Jessie did not bore the face of someone knowledgable either, she was more curious about his opponent, whose crimson dress swayed from side to side, as if she was dancing. Eugene noticed that she was using the grinder, even though her coffee was already awaiting its readiness in the French press.

"Alright, your work is the first one to be judged, Eugene.." finally said Arnold. Jessie nodded for an answer and obediently took a cup by its handle. Both judges gulped down the coffee at the same time and this occurrence put a smile on Eugene's face. He faced them with his back straight and arms crossed, fully awaiting the praise even from the harshest of judgements.

Before the two could finish, Eugene already asked for their opinion, "So, what do you think? Pretty good, right?"

"This indeed is a fine work," nodded Arnold, but then added, "If only you could brew coffee so well every time."

Eugene snorted, but skipped over the reproachful words of his boss. Instead, the man turned to the second judge. Jessie puffed away the steam from the surface and took a few sips of coffee.

"And what do you think, Jessie?"

She raised her eyes at Eugene and said, "Hmmm… you know what? This is good! Sometimes I truly hate how excellent your brewing skills can be…"

"Oh, do not make me blush, Jessie."

The woman narrowed her brows at Eugene's playful answer and put the back into the dish, refusing to drink it further. Arnold, however, already left the cup dry and was ready for his seconds made by another contester. Eugene's rival never left his mind, but somehow she managed to slither past his sight and be in front of the man. He did not have a chance to be this close to this woman. Immediately after she went past the man, Eugene was struck with the citrusy smell of her hair.

"I guess now it's time for my work's judgement, do not you think so?" she said with calm demeanour. Right after her words, the citrus flavour was overtaken by bitter-sweet aroma of coffee along with some kind of spice. Eugene struggled to comprehend its appearance through the sweet and caramelized smell, but soon after the mystery was solved by Arnold, who immediately recognized his own ingredient.

"You added some licorice? I see. And this is quite splendid cream art you have got here…" instead of the café's usual rooster, a white flower was glistering on the coffee's surface.

"The tulip season is unfortunately over, but at least you may observe their beauty in your coffee."

Arnold giggled a little, but then stopped, feeling the dumbfounded gazes of his workers. He then grabbed a cup of coffee by its ear and took a sip out of it. Jessie followed his lead, but suddenly, after a single gulp, she lowered the cup and whispered, "Oh, wow."

Eugene was stunned by the reaction of his college, he was sure of the inevitable win on his own battlefield, but now a worm of doubt dug into his mind. And then he heard a faint clank under his chin. His beautiful yet thorny, like a rose opponent, accurately put a cup of coffee in front of him. The cream art was different from what was given to his boss, instead of a tulip it was a flower reminiscent of orchid.

"And this one will perfectly suit the like of you."

"That's very lovely, but I did not prepare any for you."

"Too bad!" she declared with a smile, "Now drink and see for yourself who is superior."

Upon hearing her demand, Eugene narrowed his brows and was ready to slam the table in protest. But then, more clanks of cups were heard from his side. He glanced over their judges, who were already done with drinks. Eugene was eagerly awaiting the verdict, however, those two were for some reason staring back at him. After an awkward staring contest, Eugene was the one to break the silence.

"W-what do you want?"

Arnold looked at the only full cup of coffee and said, "I recommend you having a taste of her coffee, Eugene." then, Jessie followed, "I am sorry, but… better find for yourself."

Through inner struggles, the man followed Arnold's order and took a sip out of this cup. At first, Eugene twisted his face, but soon after, loosened it up and fell to awe. The gentle bitterness of coffee combined with the light sweetness of licorice created an outstanding mixture of flavour that could rival the best coffee made by Arnold. But clever utilization of licorice was not the only strength in her work. Eugene tried to dive deeper through the caramel taste of licorice to find the unfitting bitterness in coffee itself, alas, the balance was maintained perfectly. This cup of coffee was truly a piece of art!

And when Eugene resumed the staring contest with an already half empty cup, Arnold cleared his throat and announced the results of the competition.

"Well, I guess that settles our little game. In my humble opinion, the guest's cup of coffee was superior to the one made by Eugene. What do you think, Jessie?"

"I totally agree," she nodded and looked at the woman standing next to her, "Your craftsmanship is amazing! How did you do it?"

"I prefer to not open up my secrets to strangers." she turned to Eugene and with an elegant smile said, "It was a fun experience, but better luck next time, Monsieur buffoon."

With these words, the stranger headed towards the exit. Arnold accompanied her first into the café and beyond. Just who the hell is she? - thought to himself Eugene, while staying in the room with Jessie. She remained with the man not for emotional support, but to clean the aftermath of the competition.

Eugene was laying in a chair and staring at the ceiling, still processing his loss. Upon winning the competition, he was planning on lecturing the gal as well as challenging Arnold afterwards. In his mind, the celebration of this win would last for half an hour if not more, but his loss… was surprisingly quick and anticlimactic.

"Hey, loser, quit whining and help me out with the dishes. You are the one responsible for all this mess!"

The spiteful and impatient words of Jessie passed by Eugene's ears. The words of crimson stranger circulated through his head, along with Arnold's welcoming side that tolerated her attitude. How could this arrogant noble woman be connected to Arnold? Via coffee crewing? But she herself denied an origin of coffee arista! 

Those mysteries surrounding her persona made Eugene eager to learn more about that woman. At once, he stood up and rushed, not towards the sink to help Jessie, but into the café. He was not sure whether it was their last meeting or not. But this world is big, just like wallets of nobles, thus the man was determined to catch up and get his answers here and now.

Eugene ran past tables and some new clients as if his life depended on knowing the truth. In a split second, he reached the entrance door and pushed it halfway through, making just enough space to exit the premise without hitting those outside the café. And there, he was met by confused glares of his boss as well as the woman, who was unfazed by his appearance. 

Eugene took a deep breath and with the soup of emotions, consisting of wrath, shame, annoyance and intrigue, said, "This is only the beginning, next time I will make coffee even better! Whoever you are!"

The woman was first impressed by his boldness, however, afterwards, she narrowed down her brows and declared, "As you wish. However, I can not overlook the rudeness in your way of addressing the lady. There is no point in engaging with some brute not aware of basic mannerism. Better improve your speech before facing me with a challenge, Eugene Dagaz."

With these words, she departed into the distance only to further disappear in crimson, like her dress, Peugeot. No questions found its answers after this short talk, she just further humiliated the man and moved on. And as much as Eugene wished to be angry, he could only wonder, "How in the hell she knows my last name?"