Bad Eye for the Ladies

The table that was fully of happy cheers and fights just a few moments ago was now enveloped in silence. However, the chill atmosphere of the half full pub did not disappear, people inside were casually enjoying the late evening, mentally preparing themselves for tomorrow work routine. Such a calming state of their surroundings was contradictory to the storm of emotions that quietly passed down their heads.

Douglas scratched his head and turned to Lawrence, "Are you still sure about your plan of moving to Germany?"

"Well, Austria was in full support of the unification. They are all German after all." said Lawrence and gulped down his whiskey, draining the glass.

Maurice narrowed his brows and said, "Then why can't France simply annex Switzerland? This is not like they are any different from us, right?"

"There are many Germans and Italians, France and Switzerland are more different than Germany and Austria." made his point Lawrence to which Maurice replied, "Yeah, keep protecting those krauts. However, it does not change a fact that this an international fucking crime! How conveniently our parliamentary cowards resigned just recently, surely to not deal with this crap!"

The two of the men were glaring at each other in dismay. Meanwhile, Douglas took the empty cup from the table and went to the bar counter for a refill.

Eugene turned to him with panic in his eyes, but Douglas only showed empty glasses of whiskey and said, "Those would be on me."

Now Eugene was left alone to deal with their little dispute as well as keep straight his thoughts under alcohol and this news. At least he would receive a free drink for his effort. It also explained Sylvia's reaction to the newspaper back at the café, when she scanned through it and gave it back with not as enthusiastic, but for sure annoyed look. Once again, the balance of power on their continent was shattered, but fruits would be bored from it only after some time. For now, he wanted to deal with the thief that came to his hometown and, more importantly, the gloomy atmosphere by their table.

He noticed the odd timing that was hidden behind these two articles, as well as the whole formation of the newspaper. Wouldn't it be better to put such shocking news as the annexation of Austria on the front page? It was not the case for this issue, meaning that the news were not as fresh as it may seem.

"I wonder why these news did not reach us sooner. Did any of you listened to radio recently?"

The first to turn to Eugene was Maurice, "Not really, I was busy with my studies. But it is strange that we learned about this from Parisian newspaper."

"There was a strike recently." joined in Lawrence, he said, "The news delivering company was on strike and did not do any deliveries for quite some time. And there were talks about something happening in Austria on the radio. But they were so vague. Maybe they did not want to spread the panic among us?"

"Maybe you are right, but it is still such an important thing to keep quiet about! I just hope that nothing starts before I could apply for studying in Harvard."

"Still did not give up on your dream, huh?" noticed Eugene and Maurice smiled, "Of course not! I will definitely get my scholarship there, but do not worry, if the war starts I will be cheering for you!"

Lawrence cackled and said, "How sweet of you! Hopefully you will not get drafted before that."

Finally, the vibes seemed to recover from that sudden revelation, but a light sense of uneasiness was still present around them. They spent a few minutes in silence, before Eugene finally noticed the long absence of Douglas. The three of them scanned through the place and noticed him sitting down with two other young women. He was happily telling them stories, and they laughed in exchange. Stoic as ever! Maurice and Eugene were impressed by his ability to hunt skirts in any situation.

The only one showing a glare of unapproval was Lawrence, he whispered, "Cossette will be furious with him." Afterwards, he went off to fetch their loose friend as well as the promised glasses of whiskey that patiently waited on the counter.

Maurice and Eugene were left as a duo with no drinks or snacks to fill up their mouths. Thus, keeping up the conversation was their only choice. Maurice crossed his hands and started talking.

"So, about this woman you mentioned. She is of the la Avise family, right?"

"That's right."

"What are they known for?"

"I would like to know it myself!"

Maurice was taken aback by this answer. He adjusted his glasses and leaned forward to say, "So, she never spoke about it, huh? No matter how hard I tried, there are close to zero spectacular things about them. There are a few companies they own, their sense of fashion is questionably old and they seemingly live everywhere, yet there are not any spectacular achievements in this family history to be so well known."

Eugene nodded and said in a tiresome voice, "That's as much as I know about them as well. Sylvia really does not like talking about her family. But all the rumours aside, I think it has something to do with how clever they can be."

"Clever, huh." Maurice made a long hum and then said, "I do not really buy this story. Sylvia is not even studying in university, even though she could easily enter ours. Only idiots like you could fail the entrance exam."

Eugene snorted in annoyance and said, "Of course, you just had to poke this wound! But not every smart person goes to university. She could just inherit their family business and live in prosperity."

"However, a smart person would surely know the influence your education has on your profile. But if they have a business or something, then, I guess, she can focus on the heritage. I would never expect you to be a gold digger, though."

Eugene jumped in surprise from Maurice's statement and exclaimed, "This is not like that? What do you think our relationship is!?"

"I really do not understand you," sighed Maurice and continued, "You are the one who called her cold and arrogant, if you are not dating her for money, then why? You do not seem to even love her, more so admire."

Eugene remained silent from Maurice's statement, he never thought an outside looker would have such a low image of Eugene. He did not care about the wealth of their family, but what were exactly his feelings about Sylvia? He would not say he loved her nor admired. Eugene simply enjoyed her company, he was also thankful to her for saving his brother. Despite her annoying persona, he truly had fun with her and especially when they compete. Even the feeling of defeat was not as bitter when she delivered the finishing blow. He wanted to get one up on her, wanted to surprise Sylvia la Avise, the omniscient daughter of that weird family. There was only one word he could describe their relationship with.

"I guess, we are rivals."

Now Maurice fell into hush, but not for long. After adjusting his glasses once again, he murmured, "Just what the hell are you talking about."

"This is the best I can think of." added Eugene, to which Maurice replied, "Fine, whatever. But I would surely like to test her. How do you think, does she know how to play chess?"

"Oh, surely, this is actually a great idea! I will ask her whenever she comes to "Monso Rooster"!"

"How are ya planning on paying me, brats!?"

Suddenly, a hoarse groan enveloped the pub, putting all the clients on their toes. Everyone peeked at the bar counter, where they saw two young men, one apologizing to the barista and the other sloppily touching his pockets in search of cash; and two young girls with expensive drinks by their side and cheeky smiles. Eugene and Maurice came to the counter to solve the conflict.

"What happened here?" asked Eugene.

"Eugene, Maurice!" cried out Douglas and sluggishly came towards the two as if running away.

"This idiot ran out of money, do you happen to have a spare change?" finally, Lawrence gave an explanation to the situation.

Eugene and Maurice exchanged the look and took out the little money they had. Luckily, it was enough to pay for the drinks the lady received on behalf of Douglas. However, their glasses of whiskey were now poured into the shaker waiting to be turned into a cocktail. Barista angrily pointed at the front door with his thumb and by the cackle of women, the four of them exited the premise.

"This world is devoid of purity, I hate it!" exclaimed Douglas upon his exit.

Lawrence shook his head like a disappointed parent and said, while supporting Douglas on his shoulder, "You surely are not the one to speak of purity."

And so the evening was cut short by Douglas's hast decision that lead him and his friends into the financial trap. Luckily, they were able to escape it without the fight, with their state of minds they would not be able to hold off against bouncers or even tough looking barista. Arnold would be furious if Eugene came to work with some battle scars.