Scooter 8.9 - Labyrinth

[moveobjectsron]

Welcome back to the Scooters everyone. Today, we're going on a vacation! Let's get into it.

 

Welcome to Favours, which is apparently the place for people to fuck in a dumpster.

Couple: (making Woohoo NoisesTM inside a literal dumpster

Waitress: (sigh) I should've become a doctor like mom said.

Kaleb and his friends have gone out to the city for the Spice Festival! It looks like his friend group is made up of him, Natasha, two Maxis TowniesTM and two catboys. Lovely!

Kaleb: let's go forth and try some curries, boys!

Catboy no. 1: nyan! that's right!

Kaleb: ...please.

Kaleb: Okay, Deleon, it's you and me. Between a Filipino and a Syrian, who's gonna crush this curry?

Natasha: You watch, Scooter. You're gonna go home crying.

Kaleb: (scoff) and you?

Natasha: Probably also crying, let's be real.

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

Who is Natasha Deleon? Years ago, I played a Bachelor Challenge on Tumblr! it was a lot of fun, and one of the iconic characters was the bachelor's co-host, his cousin Natasha. Every morning, she roused her cousin's contestants awake by screaming into a megaphone and telling the worms to move it or lose it. I loved her. I have wanted to reuse her for something for literal ages. And here we are today!

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

Looks like between them, Kaleb's pain receptors were the strongest! He took home the title of Curry King that night! and a neat shirt to boot.

Kaleb, sobbing: I won... but at what cost...

Fayrouz has been working herself to the damn bone! It's time for some time off!

Fayrouz: oooh, now what's this? "an isolated cottage on a lake on the outskirts of Windenburg, Germany..." now that sounds so nice. let's book this bad boy.

In Fayrouz's absence, who better to run Favours than her son?

Don't answer that.

Kaleb: Hey hey hey buddy! Table 3 is returning their order. I might've told them that sweetbreads weren't actually sweet nor are they bread.

Waiter: Hey Kaleb. Tell Fayrouz I quit.

Kaleb: What? But why? Is--is something wrong?

Waiter: Yeah--this is the third couple this week I've had to stop from going out to the dumpster out back to fuck. They just flashed me. I'm not built for this. See you later, man.

Kaleb: But you're our only waiter....! Ohhhh fuck...

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

While Favours crumbles to its knees under Kaleb, Fayrouz wakes up in a cute little cottage in winter, just outside the city of Windenburg.

Fayrouz: (yawns) Good morning, Windenburg! What should I make for breakfast? Pancakes? Bread and butter? (gasp) Leberwurst?

...wait, I'm on vacation. I can order all that shit in. Hell yeah.

For lunch, she ended up having reheated breakfast leftovers. She wasn't used to eating so much!

Fayrouz: Normally for breakfast I have... air.

Maybe it wasn;t her brightest idea to go to Germany in winter, but that was besides the point.

Fayrouz: Flights were cheap. AirBNB was cheap. But the experience of freezing my tits off somewhere besides Canada? ...priceless.

Miss girl... maybe don't go swimming at an open air pool while there's a blizzard outside?

Fayrouz: DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS OPEN AIR TILL RIGHT NOW HHHHHFBBGBBFBFBDSSDFSDFJJFK

She tried going out to a club but...that's not really her thing at her age anymore.

Fayrouz: Ughh...this music is so fast it's physically tiring me out. Holy crap.

Sometimes a vacation is just you sitting inside a little house by a fire, reading a book all day. And that's valid.

Fayrouz: I am simply just too old for any of this.

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

She heard there was a café she could visit in the middle of town that served some seriously good coffee. Perfect to reel in the tourists, right?

Kaleb, over the phone: ...yeah mom, everything's going fine!

Fayrouz: Are you sure you don't need me to come back?

Kaleb: No! No! Seriously, enjoy your vacation, don't worry about us.

Fayrouz: I just can't enjoy my time off if I know you're in trouble, sweetie.

Kaleb: We're not in trouble. Seriously, we'll be okay. How is Germany?

Man: ...

Fayrouz: It... uh... it's good...

Kaleb: Everything okay, ma? You sound distracted.

Fayrouz: Yeah, I, uh--I need to pick up my order now, sweetie, sorry. I'll call you later.

Kaleb: Okay. Love you.

Man: ...

Fayrouz: No...ugh, what a weird, weird coincidence...

Fayrouz turned to leave--but whatever weird coincidences were happening weren't quite done with her yet.

Man: Excuse me, miss?

Fayrouz, jumping: Y--yes?

Man: Whoa, sorry, I did not mean to scare you. Did you have a minute? I just wanted to talk.

Fayrouz: O--oh, no, sorry, I...I have to...I have to get back to my...tour group.

Man: Just a minute of your time, miss. I just...wanted to know why you were staring at me so intently inside there.

Fayrouz: (cringe) Ah, you saw that, didn't you.

Man: You weren't particularly subtle. Plus...I'd be blind to not notice when a lovely lady has her attention fixed on me.

She learned that the man's name was Julien Leclerc after they'd gone to sit and chat. He was a French national, a new transplant to the city of Windenburg.

Julien Leclerc: ...so I look like your late husband! I see. What a coincidence. He doesn't happen to have been from France, does he?

Fayrouz: No, he was Japanese. You said your family is from Vietnam?

Julien: Yes, many generations back. Just such a strange coincidence. I suppose the world works in odd ways like that. You on the other hand, you remind me of...a woman I once met. Self-made. Ran her own importing and exporting business. Broke my heart, but I loved it all the same.

Fayrouz: Hah. Well, I'm not so much of a heartbreaker like that.

Julien: Glad to hear it, miss.

She knew she ought to have headed back. Or at least suggest a public activity near many other people. But she found herself travelling once more to the outskirts of the city, to see the garden estates. Just her and Julien. One side of her screamed at her to turn back. The other half...pined deeply for this man; her late husband, come to life before her eyes. Older. The same age he would be if he had lived. Her mind reeled. She kept her mouth shut.

Fayrouz: A hedge maze?

Julien: I heard there's a quiet place of respite to be found here. Join me...?

Fayrouz: I...I suppose so.

This was a bad idea.

This was a bad idea.

Fayrouz: (panting) ... Julien? Julien, where are you?

Julien, aside: Not far, miss. You'll find me.

Fayrouz, panting rapidly now: Julien, I think I'm lost.

Julien, aside: Nonsense! Just follow the path I made in the snow.

Fayrouz: I--I lost it! I can't find where you are...

Julien: Fayrouz, are you all right?

She burst into the clearing at the centre of the maze where Julien had been sitting.

Fayrouz: (pant)... (pant)... Xavier...

Julien: Are you okay? We can leave if you need to.

Fayrouz: I-- (gulp) Sorry. I'm so sorry. I panicked a little bit. Sorry to make you worry.

Julien: That's alright... Who's Xavier?

Fayrouz: (sigh)... my... my husband. I'm so sorry, Julien. I'm so out of sorts. I just thought that...god, it's so embarrassing.

Julien: What is it?

Fayrouz: Because you looked so much like him, and I see you in my first solo vacation, ever... I just thought me meeting you was a sign. Or something. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to lead you on.

Julien: Miss, I did not feel led on at all. I understand what you mean, I...felt the same after my best friend died. People who grieve do weird things.

Fayrouz: I'm so sorry...

Julien: Don't be. (smiles) Stranger things have happened.

Fayrouz: You can get back home alright?

Julien: I should be asking you that. Heh. I'll be alright. Will you, Fayrouz?

Fayrouz: Yeah. I think I'll be okay.

Julien: Alright. Now, I think the way out is this way....

Fayrouz returned to her lodging, greeted by the frosty Windenburg winter, and sank immediately to her knees. She cried for a bit. She wasn't sure why. Not out of sadness, but the overwhelming weight of everything. Everything that was happening, and everything she had yet to properly process.

She made up her mind to deal with it properly once she got home.

For now, she was going to enjoy the last little bit of her vacation as much as she could.

Nobody was gladder to have her back than Kaleb.

Kaleb: Welcome home, ma. How was it? Did you try as many chocolates and beers as you could?

Fayrouz: (smiles) Of course I did. (sigh) I'm just so happy to be home. You have no idea.

Kaleb: Awesome. So, about the restaurant....

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

See you next time besties!