There were few circumstances that afternoon tea meant so petty a thing to me. I, after?relishing an enthusing movie in a nearby cinema, exaltingly elbowed my way through the street crawling with pedestrians whom I belittled all and there could hardly be a chance for me to see thinning away. Suddenly I turned left to enter a fast-food restaurant of a world-famous chain, shaded by high-erected scaffolds. I, careworn through insomnia for the whole night, walked downstairs carefully for fear of any potential falling hazards caused by wet floor and at length, I landed on the basement where the restaurant was located and heaved a sigh of relief for being lucky enough to be there safe and sound. Having my eyes swept the whole domain of it, I strutted up to a seat at the far corner which I was wont to take and sat upon one of the four chairs at a ramshackle table whose surface was encrusted with a thick layer upon layer of oil stuff which had already dried up for too many a day. I took out a book to read in order to idle time away there without ordering any food or drink by virtue of my stringent financial budget. Having?overindulged in this wondrous book for numberless moments, out of the corner of my eye, I saw there came in two shadows from the far end of exit and presently, they halted at the table and sat right adjacent to me, sharing the same table. By stealing sideways glimpses at them, I was crystal clear that both of them were young girls who had just crossed the threshold of teenager and they continued to talk to one another convivially like two warbling unfledged birds who had just learned the beauty and marvelousness of the world but not yet any negative side of it. I was so vexed by them but still managed to repress my rage occasioned by my cantankerousness and after all, hardly could I once again read my book with rapt attention as their chat was going on and on, knowing no bound as it were. Soon, they made up their minds to buy themselves some ice-cream for desserts and I was stupefied at this.

TO BE CONTINUED...