Train Man (23 page)

893 Name: Train Man ♦ SgHguKHEFY Post Date: 04/04/04 00:29

Since she was the one leading me to the restaurant I made sure I walked a bit behind her.

It was crowded again so I made sure not to lose sight of her. During the walk we talked a bit.

‘Thanks for humouring me till late last night . . .’

I knew instantly that she was talking about our e-mails.

‘I’m sorry for taking ages to reply . . . you e-mail super-fast, don’t you.’

She said people reckoned she was on the slow side.

Yesterday in an e-mail she mentioned stressing about her pollen allergy. She took some pills today to make sure she wasn’t going to get a dribbly nose.

Coz she was walking a bit ahead of me she kept turning around to look at me all the time.

Then, as she turned to face me, she was heading straight for a metal pole. She didn’t have a clue.

‘Oops,’ I said and just grabbed her arm . . . .

‘Mmm?’

‘It looked like you were going to walk into the pole’

‘I’m sorry. When I take my pills, I get a bit out of it. Thank you.’

And then we started to walk again.

‘Let’s walk side by side,’ she said.

‘Um ok,’ I said, stepping forward a bit. I really need to learn how to be more sensitive . . .

924 Name: Train Man ♦ SgHguKHEFY Post Date: 04/04/04 00:49

Once we get to the restaurant she says to me, ‘I copied you.’

‘What?’

For a moment, I had no idea what she was talking about but then I realised that she had booked.

It was an Italian restaurant. As expected, lots of pizza and pasta.

‘Why don’t we just go ahead and order.’

‘Ah, sure.’

The dishes here were apparently meant to be shared.

‘Whatever you like.’

‘No, no please go ahead.’ Though that’s what I said, honestly, I had no clue what to order unless there were photos of the dishes . . .

And then,

‘Sorry, sorry,’ said a girl. Her friend caught up to us.

‘I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting.’ She apologised to me as she huffed and puffed.

‘It’s no problem at all.’

The friend looked a bit more outgoing than Lady Miss Hermes and was dressed a bit flashier.

946 Name: Train Man ♦ SgHguKHEFY Post Date: 04/04/04 01:03

‘We haven’t even ordered yet so it’s fine.’

‘Oh, thank god,’ she said, and sat down next to Lady Hermes.

‘Nice to meet you.’

‘Likewise, nice to meet you,’ I answered and introduced myself.

‘I’ve heard a lot about you,’ she said as she giggled.

The three of us talked about the menu then decided what to order.

‘Mr Train, will you be drinking again tonight?’ Hermes jumped right in.

Maybe it was because her friend was there but it was like she had a different kind of vibe.

‘Ah, yeah, sure.’

I ordered a beer. The two of them also ordered beer.

Dunno why I couldn’t figure that one out . . . doh!.

We chatted some more while we waited for the food.

But man can her friend talk . . .

She was pretty funny and not shy, I could relax with her and talk.

994 Name: Train Man ♦ SgHguKHEFY Post Date: 04/04/04 01:18

While we waited for the food, it was basically the friend firing questions and me answering them. About the incident on the train and about dinner the other night.

‘Sounds like you guys are getting along,’ she said, poking fun at us.

Even after the food arrived, the friend kept at it without letting up.

Lady Hermes laughed a lot. There were a few jokes I couldn’t understand but I laughed anyway. As I’d been on the receiving end most of the night, I decided to come up with something myself.

‘Lady Miss Hermes, have you ever been told that you look like Tamaki Ogawa?’

‘Tamaki Ogawa?’

They didn’t have a clue who Tamaki Ogawa is.

‘Is she an actress?’

‘Ahh . . . yes, I’m pretty sure she is.’

‘I wonder who she is. I’d probably recognise her if I saw her.’

According to her friend, Hermes looks like a cross between YOU and Ryouko Kuninaka.

‘Aha . . . .’ I said, but really, I didn’t have a clue who they were . . .

120 Name: Train Man ♦ SgHguKHEFY Post Date: 04/04/04 01:38

‘Mr Train, what celebrity do people say you look like?’

‘Well, I’ve actually never been told that I look like anyone.’

I get uncomfortable when the topic of conversation revolves around me.

‘Could look a tiny bit like the guitarist from ELT?’

Did ELT have a guitarist???

Whatever, I replied by saying that I wasn’t as cool-looking.

Then we talked about films. I gave her Matrix 1-3.

‘Thank you so much~’

‘The story gets a bit complicated, but . . .’

‘I’ll ask you when there’s something I can’t understand.’

‘Ha ha ha . . .’

But I can’t even understand it . . .

Gotta get studying. FYI she and her friend have only seen 1.

The two of them reckoned Lord of the Rings is cool.

I’ve only seen the 1
^st
of that series . . .

And some dog film . . . (title slipped my mind)