Change of Plans

"The probability of her being la Avise is high, but It will be awkward if that's not the case…" still reasoned Eugene of his encounter with the drunkards. Usually, you would not trust someone this intoxicated, but for the man, their words were too sincere to simply disregard them. He also heard of some family moving to their town, but his potential interest in this "sensation" was overtaken by the possibility of abundant mushroom growth this fall. That's essentially what he was more focused on while reading the most recent newspapers.

After a while, the man reached an apartment he calls home. They were not the greatest source of information, but their description of this newly moved noble family hit the bell for the man, thus he believed them.

The place of Eugene's belongings was a 3-story building of late Georgian era. The aesthetics of the house were not the worst, but peeling paint from the windows frames and several cracks in the facade were begging for renovation. Yet, nobody seemed to be bothered about the shy building at the corner of the town. Such a state of his own home was pitiful for Eugene, but there was not much he could do, thus the man averted his gaze from the walls and stepped inside.

Eugene's household was full of modesty, he owned the cheapest furniture he could afford, or some old relics his friends and acquaintances were not keen on keeping. One of these was the painting done by a street artist in modern style. He was not fond of art, rather preferring music, but the bizarre and colourful view of the city palace was amusing enough to spare some franks. Now, though, he rarely even observed it as if it became one with the wall.

Eugene threw the newspaper, taken from the mailbox earlier, on the table and came closer to the windowsill where the radio and gramophone were collecting dust. These relics were taken from his friend, Maurice Carsten, who moved to the dorms. He actually was planning on throwing them away, but Eugene insisted on taking them, what his friend did not mind and sold two pieces for reasonable price.

He turned the radio on and immediately heard a familiar voice from it, which was talking about the politics and elections, "Popular front is still going, huh? Not interested!" then turned it off and looked over the gramophone and a lonely disk besides.

Without a second thought, Eugene picked the disk labelled Quintette du Hot Club de France and put it into the gramophone, filling the small apartment with a catchy melody of his favourite band. He sat near the edge of his bed and finally opened the newspapers. Nothing seemed out of place, just some loud headlines, the results of this year's Tour de France and the political tensions on the east borders. But Eugene was surprised to see one particular name.

"La Avise are moving to France? Their last name is even in the headline, are they that important!?"

He immediately dived into this section, but could not find any names, as if the writers themselves were not sure who they are exactly. He crumbled the newspapers out of frustration and lay down on the bed with his ears being pleasantly stroked by jazzy tunes.

"Is she truly la Avise? Seems like this name is quite loud… judging by Arnold's mood before her arrival, he knew that she will come. Could he have read it from the newspapers, or did they call him? You old creaker, why did you refuse to tell me anything!?"

His voice was rapidly growing, but a sudden knock on the wall made him jump and remain silent. After a few seconds, a more furious knock was spread through the wall and Eugene tuned down the gramophone while saying, "Sorry, sorry, I forgot that I had it on!"

On this note, he decided to leave all the problems and thinking for tomorrow. Eugene brushed his teeth, changed clothes and dived into the bed. Before his consciousness was enveloped in dreams, he was concentrated on the window, where a falling star could be seen. This made him smile and whisper a wish he knew could never be true, nonetheless, nobody could restrain him from dreaming. And he did so both physically and mentally.

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Eugene found himself working in a café, as usual. Clients were babbling about a trivial matter, Jessie was serving new portions of coffee to the newcomers, and Arnold was breaking his back in the kitchen while humming a melody similar to the one playing in the gramophone.

Soon, Eugene realized that he was not standing by the registration, instead he sat by the customers table. He took out his pocket watch, but there were not any arrows, just some numbers, 01.09. Yet, Eugene was burning this splendid skull pattern the clock had, as if his life depended on it.

"What a wonderful work of art", he whispered, then noticed someone in front of him, and upon rising his eyes he realized the presence of the lady in a crimson dress and a cheeky smile on her face. Even though he was surprised by her visit, he could not avert his gaze from her wonderful emerald eyes. Like a lush forest in the morning, they were shining with intrigue.

"So what is my name, Eugene Dagaz?"

"I… do not know."

The smile immediately disappeared, giving place to a displeased frown. She slowly shook her head and whispered in a spiteful tone: "That's the wrong answer, now be gone."

Eugene fell from his table to his knees, the exquisite interior of "Monso rooster" disappeared, and now he was in the middle of the main street. His hands are cold to the point of a total numbness and his stomach is rumbling with such intensity that it could be mistaken for a volcano! After the examination of his surroundings, which were full of beggars and stray dogs, he became aware of his fall…

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"What the hell!?" - screamed Eugene and jumped off his bed. His legs were still shaky, but he managed to remain standing. After looking around his good old apartments, he realized that it was but a dream, a very unpleasant one, but essentially harmless.

He had a look at the wall clock and wondered if it was broken, but after checking his pocket watch as well, he cried out: "9:17!? I overslept!"

The sleepiness immediately disappeared, because he could not dare to waste precious time on sluggish movements. Eugene brushed his teeth, took a cold shower, ate a tough piece of bread on the table from yesterday, put on clothes and was ready to go in less than 10 minutes.

As he was about to close the door and depart to work, the phone rang and sent shivers down his spine, "Shit, it must be Arnold…"

Eugene stood in the passage just like a deer in front of the car lights, not knowing what to do. He actually thought of missing the call overall, but conscience won this struggle, and he picked up the phone. But instead of anticipated shouts, he overheard a familiar, calming voice.

"Eugene? Hello, how are you?"

"Christopher! Hello, yes, why!" it was his older brother who moved to Paris a few years ago. Hearing his voice was a huge relief, but he was also a bit dumbfounded by his call.

"Glad to hear, I will be moving to you in a few hours, do not forget the luggage and your friend." quickly murmured Christopher which made Eugene realize his mistake. He was not supposed to go to work today at all! For quite a while, he planned on visiting Christopher in Paris, but yesterday's occurrence knocked him out of the loop and the man forgot about it.

Though, before he was able to say anything to his brother, Christopher spoke again, "But are you sure about taking Douglas with us? He is a fine lad, but sometimes can be quite obnoxious."

Eugene giggled a little, "Yeah, well, it will depend on whether he will arrive on time or I will be able to find somewhere in the town. Calling him is totally useless." Douglas was the type of guy who preferred to stay at someone's place, preferably of the opposite sex. However, recently, these festivities toned down due to him finding someone special. Still, neither Eugene nor their mutual friends believed in the longevity of his newly found relationship.

"Alright, but consider, I will not be waiting for him if he will be late!" declared Christopher and ended the call. Now Eugene remained with nothing but a spare hours before the arrival of his brother. He could spend in search of his friend, but yesterday's beef burst into flames his desire to play a detective. In the end, he still needs to fulfil the promise given to the arrogant noble woman.