Connie Capperman: Introduction Part 2

A couple of seconds passed… I could tell… this is going to turn into an awkward situation. I mean, there was a prolonged silence between us. I should start a conversation… But what do I talk about? Hm… What’s something we equally know about that we can talk about? Um… This mall? No, it’ll be more like I’m asking questions and he’s answering… T-The weather? I mean, that’s a common conversation starter, right? No, that’s lame… We can talk about Ren… But… I barely know about him. It’ll be more like I’m asking questions about him when I should actually get answers from Ren himself…

Connie moved to the seat in front of me.

“So Carmyn, how are you?”

Connie started. He didn’t seem to be as energetic as when we first met — but he still radiated a welcoming vibe.

“O-Oh, I’m good, thanks…”

“Good, good…”

He nodded. He then propped his elbows on the table and laid his head on his intertwined fingers. His pose and face… His friendly demeanour was still present, but why did I feel more intimidated? I was more nervous than how I’d feel upon meeting a stranger for the first time.

“Camryn, are you feeling a bit nervous right now?”

Did he read my mind?

“E-Eh? N-No, not really…”

“Kid, you don’t really have to hide it. I mean, it’s totally fine if you are. Anyone would feel a bit nervous upon meeting a stranger — especially if it’s a maniac like me! Anyway, you can rest assured and sedate yourself.”

“I see…”

Why was I feeling nervous? Well, I just met him so it’s understandable. But my level of anxiety was high, and it wasn't his posture that contributed to the majority of the intimidation… And he has such a kind and welcoming demeanour, so why? Hm… I don’t know why, but his inclusiveness made me withdraw a bit. Overall, I felt that it was too much for me. Overly friendly? Like how someone would be slightly on edge about someone who was lightening the mood in a mundane situation — it made no sense.

“Ah, Ren’s such a great guy...”

I nodded in a reinforcing manner.

“Y-Yes!”

“I know, right? So helpful… so respectful… You live with him, right?”

“Y-Yeah… I’m living with him…”

“I see…”

Connie adjusted himself and sat up straight.

“I’m repeating myself a bit, but you really are lucky, right? To have met someone like Ren… to have met someone so compassionate…”

“Y-Yeah… I’m grateful.”

He spoke slowly with pauses… He said that I didn’t have to be so nervous, but it was a bit hard to do so with how he was talking.

Connie leaned towards me.

“And I’m happy for you. I heard the basics from Ren about your painful past and I’m sorry you had to go through that. But now, you have Ren… and I’m happy for you…”

“T-Thanks.”

Connie leaned even further towards me. He was right beside my ear like he was about to whisper something.

“And… stay happy, okay? It’ll be hard, but I know you can do it...”

W… W-What? A confused look grew on my face. “Stay happy”? What did he mean by that? Stay happy… That is something that I constantly told myself in the past. Whenever I was being put through a crucial situation, I always told myself to cheer up. It’ll get better… If you overcome this, you will be able to do anything… Was Connie’s request just a motivational throwaway comment? No, it couldn’t be. I mean… it felt so mysterious… but significant.

Connie pulled back from me.

“Sorry kid, I’m being cryptic and weirding you out, huh? Sorry, I’m just…”

He shrugged.

“Ren’s such a great guy!”

“Um…”

“Meh, you can forget everything I said — I mean, it was just deep-sounding nonsense. A-Anyways, it’s not good if your first impression of me is a strange one, right? Let’s change the subject.”

“O-Okay…”

I didn’t really helm this conversation, but I suppose it’s fine. Connie brought up various general topics such as the city. Our conversations helped in improving my vision of Connie, but I couldn’t help but still feel a little wary of him… Hm… I guess as time continues, I’ll become more comfortable around him…

…

After a few minutes, Ren came back with a plastic bag containing styrofoam containers holding our food. Connie went back to his seat diagonal from me, and we ate our food. My food was delicious. I’ve prepared these types of dishes at Ren’s condo before so I knew the general taste — I guess the familiar option won over the new flavours. But the food served by these restaurants were a billion times better than anything that I can make. Sure, I felt a little bummed, but that’s to be expected — a large food chain will always beat the teenage girl with zero cooking experience. And I’m not the most invested in cooking so it was fine.

When we finished, we got up from our seats.

“Ah, how delicious! Hey Camryn, what d’you think about your meal?”

“Yeah, it was great. One hundred times better than anything I’ve attempted to make.”

After our conversation, I think I was a bit more laid-back with Connie.

“That so? Excellent — I paid, so it’s excellent knowing that it was worth it. How about you, Ren?”

As he was picking up our shopping bags, Ren turned to Connie.

“Yeah, it was good.’’

“Really?”

“Er, y-yeah…”

“Fantastic!”

Ren said he enjoyed his meal, but why was Connie a little bit doubtful?

“K Ren, I gotta get home — the missus will be all over me if I’m late!”

He’s married, huh? Wait, isn’t that a bit too young. Wait, no, I suppose it’s average.

“So where are you heading now? Home I assume?”

Yeah. We have no other business to attend to, right?

“We are going to Authen-Berry. Camryn said she wanted to try some after dinner.”

Eh? No, we don’t have to… I wanted to tell Ren that we didn’t have to, but after he declared we were getting it, I didn’t think that I should.

“A-Authen-Berry, huh? Ah, that’s great!”

He seemed a little surprised when he said that.

He also turned to me.

“Camryn, the drinks there are great! Anything specific you want?”

“Huh? You’ll pay?”

“Course not! This dinner was enough, right? And I’m not the rich one out of all of us!”

“R-Right… Um… Do they serve… chocolate?”

“Oh? Yeah, the chocolate milk tea. It’s not bad and you’ll mostly taste the chocolate.”

We can get that, huh? I was excited. But… At the same time, I was a little ashamed. Again, I felt guilty and selfish…

Ren raised his hand at eye level.

“Camryn, I will buy this for you — don’t worry about the other things...”

Through his smile, Connie looked slightly puzzled.

“Connie, we should be going now if we want to catch the subway back.”

He nodded.

“Alright! Well Ren, Camryn, I’ll be going now. See ya!”

“Goodbye.”
“Yeah, see ya!”

Connie walked away, waving his hand.

Ren and I turned to each other.

“You want chocolate milk tea, right? Sure, let’s get some… And seriously, do not worry about things like price.”

I nodded.

You know, I should just concede and let Ren buy this treat for me. I mean, if he’s taking care of me, then there’s no drawback to letting him, right? And, he said that he’d serve me. Also, if Connie was right about how he’s the wealthiest out of all of us, then there’s no harm, right? Hm… I suppose. But even so, it still felt a little odd…