Archie would have felt cheated by Veronica. There was no doubt about it.
The so-called world tour that he claimed he would've gone if it weren't for the brunette's illness merely consisted of a three-day stay in merry old England, a day-long stopover at Paris, yet another day-long stopover at Hong Kong, two days in Singapore, one last day-long stopover in Sydney, and a final three-day stay in Melbourne.
I'm guessing that Veronica boasted about a world tour to throw off my lovely blonde friend. Betty is indeed the anti-blonde by doing her own research. Just don't ask me how she did it.
After checking with the Coopers, I'm guessing my redhead pal was the only one in the triangle who's left out of the loop. Betty-01, Veronica-01, Archie-00
----------------------------------
So, here I was at Heathrow Airport, just outside of London, about twenty-four hours after Archie showed up on my doorstep.
Getting a taxi out in the outer suburbs can be a bit of a chore, so I had decided to travel by the Tube. Sure, people have been edgy about using London's equivalent of the subway ever since the incident back in 2005 but, in a country that's known for ridiculously high prices, it sure beats the hell out of successfully hailing a London Cab. Besides, I was not carrying much with me anyway.
London was still the same as the last time I visited during the class trip earlier in the school year. I could still remember the look on Midge's face when Moose told her that he was serious about passing the assignment on his own accord. Moose might indeed be a trap short of a mousetrap, but he could actually do well if he just applied himself; I think he might've gotten a B- for it.
I got off at Covent Garden. While it was a somewhat more run-down area in the posh part of London north of the Thames, there were a few good places to eat around the area. It was also close to Chinatown at Picadilly Circus, so I was guaranteed to find some good grub.
Of course, travelling on a budget is somewhat tricky for a person with my appetite. I was tempted to go for a meal at the nearby Anglo-Japanese restaurant, but the prices on the menu forced me to settle on a brisk walk to Chinatown. Unlike the majority of the Chinese take-out places back home in Riverdale, you can still get plenty of bang for the pound in a Chinese restaurant in London's Chinatown.
Unfortunately, London's alleyways are also known for its flyers, regardless of whether they're put up on walls and posts, or strewn on the ground. This time, though, it was a boon to me. Taking the flyer that had randomly floated onto my face would prove to be another one of those life-changing moments. Making a mental note to see this "Download Festival" before I fly off to Paris in case Betty might be there, I continued my way to Chinatown, taking extra care to avoid all the teenage prostitutes who were starting to come out of the woodwork.
----------------------------------------
If the Chinese have their own way of spelling Anglicised oriental terms, it shows. I swear they meant to call the restaurant "ZEN", not "JEN". Before I could go on with my internal debate as to what to call the restaurant, my stomach grumbled.
The menu left me spoiled for choice. I was really hungry, but my wallet was telling me to go easy if I did not want to starve to death in Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia.
"Not too sure on what to eat, mate?"
While only the English and the Australians (really not too sure about the Kiwis) would use the word 'mate' in an attempt to start a conversation, I could tell by the laid-back drawl that the guy sitting on the table next to mine was Australian himself.
"Any recommendations from this menu?"
"Tough luck with that one, mate. That one's good only when you're with a crowd. Judging from that camping bag, you're by yourself, right?" Duh. "Take the smaller menu and choose a default dish from there."
My wallet could breathe easy, but I was still spoilt for choice.
"What would you suggest?"
"The roast duck rice is mighty good but, judging from your stomach, I'd say you should go for the braised pork belly with rice."
One free bowl of soup and one large single-plate meal later, I was content. "How do you know about this place anyway," I asked while chowing down the complimentary post-meal oranges. "Besides, you're from Australia, right?"
"Well, mate, I'm half Canadian and half English, but I spent most of my life in Melbourne," the stranger drawled. "Finished high school a year and a half ago, and taking a break from my studies to catch up with my English roots. I'm also here to play cricket." In a weird way, it made sense. "My friend, Tanner, mentioned that he's lived in London before, so I asked him for any good restaurants for me to check out if I ever visited the city."
"Right." I looked at my watch. If I wanted to check out a bit more of London before taking the bus to Donnington for the Download Festival, I had to bail out now. The bill was already paid, and my brain was telling the rest of my body to wake up. "Listen, I've got to head off now. I'm looking for a..." I did not know what to say, so I had to say the one thing that you'd never expect me to say. "I'm looking for my girlfriend, who's flown off from the States after one of my friends insulted her. I really care for her, and I would not be able to forgive myself, let alone my friend, if something happened to her."
"Right. I won't keep you back then." The Australian got up to shake my hand. "The name's Matt, but my friends call me Shima. All the best to you, mate."
"Cheers to you, Matt." I shook his hand. "Call me Jughead." The guy who just called his best female friend his girlfriend, I wanted to add.
No comments:
Post a Comment