Time Is On My Side, Open

[Junpei Hirai]

It was drawing close to crunch time. Finals were right around the corner and Junpei was going to be a whole hell of trouble if he wasn't on top of all the crap he had to do which accumulated over the past few weeks. Luckily, if he got through this analysis today, then he'd be in pretty good shape. Junpei leaned back in his chair and stared at the screen of his computer, contemplating his next move while he nibbled the end of his pencil.

Junpei wasn't expecting Juliette today, there at the place where they often met for lunch, but it was comforting for him to show up at the small noodle joint anyway, simply out of habit. She scolded him again last time, when he waltzed in on crutches and decked out in a foot brace and an "oops, my bad!" smile. Apparently his promise to her (and Cecil) to be more careful was proving more difficult than Junpei thought.

Well, at least it kept him from the skatepark for a while, which gave him more time for schoolwork. And Cecil!

They planned to meet later for shopping and a bite of dinner once Junpei finished his work. But now his mind was drifting, bored with the subject already and tempted to procrastinate with youtube videos again. Or doodles. Or browser games. Or anything that didn't involve writing this damn thing!

Junpei sighed as he picked up his chopsticks and slurped up some more spicy soba.

[Konstantin Kovak]

Konstantin was tired. Or rather he wasn’t tired but his feet ached. All of this concrete wasn’t good for them and with them being confined in shoes all day made them hurt more. He longed to take off his shoes and walk through some soft grasses or something but he knew it would be a while before he could do that. He needed to make sure he had enough money to sustain him through the weekend. He already had enough set aside to pay his most immediate expenses but this weekend was already looking like he wasn’t going to be making a lot and he needed to eat.

Instead of finding a random bench outside to sit at though, he went into a shop whose food smelled good and sighed happily. His stomach was grumbling already and he had barely been on the street for more than three hours today. Well, he hadn’t had breakfast yet so that kind of explained it but still. The food here smelled exotic, definitely not something he was used to seeing in his part of the world. But then again, most of this city was still strange to him after a lifetime in Hungary.

Seeing no podium, he took a seat not far from a guy who was enjoying some noodles. Carefully setting his battered violin case across his knees, he turned his attention to a menu that seemed to appear near his hand. He frowned at it. Of course he couldn’t read the meals or their descriptions. He could barely read his own language. Why should he be able to read any other language? But he could understand the numbers and the dollar amounts. He found something relatively cheap but he wasn’t sure what it was. He was feeling adventurous but not reckless.

So he swallowed his pride and turned toward the young man who was enjoying his noodles. He was careful to avoid letting his violin case fall to the floor and didn’t bother to hide the gold loop in his left ear from the kid. If he had a problem with any of what he was about to say, then he’d gladly take the little bastard outside and teach him a lesson but it wasn’t wise to be presumptuous. “Excuse me,” he said, his words a little accented still but not ridiculously so, “I am sorry to bozer you but can you do me favor and read somezing for me?”

[Junpei Hirai]

Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing was coming to mind. In the past fifteen minutes, Junpei had managed a whopping ten words towards this assignment, and while the logic was flowing and he knew where he wanted to go with it, the words themselves just weren't forthcoming.

He finished slurping another helping of noodles then leaned back on the cushion-y seat, staring hopelessly at the flashing text icon. He barely noticed the person who came in and claimed the table next to him. In fact, it took a moment or two for Junpei to realize that the newcomer was talking to him and not to... the air in front of him, maybe? Who else would he be talking to, there wasn't anybody else their general vicinity, as Junpei so confirmed by tossing his head to and fro, searching for another likely suspect and then awkwardly pointing to himself.

"Yes. I can help." Junpei nodded his head slowly as he gave his answer. It wasn't that he was unwilling to help, but rather that it wasn't a question or task he'd been presented with very often - no, at all - here in America, especially since most people realized Junpei himself was a foreigner and probably not the best person to ask. Or at least that was the assumption, Junpei never really had an issue with reading English or even hearing it. It was the speaking that always got him. Words just didn't seems to come as easily on a spur-of-the-moment basis. Though, this person's accent did take an extra moment to process, indicating his own foreign status, and Junpei wondered if maybe he couldn't read English?

"What do you need me to read?"

[Konstantin Kovak]

Konstantin blinked when the other talked. He had a bit of an accent too it seemed but from where he couldn’t tell immediately. It sounded somewhere even more foreign than the Americas though, at least from the American accents he had heard so far. He could be mistaken though. Maybe it was just another dialect these strange people have managed to form for themselves. It was difficult to tell with them partly due to the wide variation he had come across in such a small city. Either way he was pretty sure this young man wasn’t fluent in Hungarian so a struggle with English it would have to be.

“I cannot read zis menu,” he said, making sure he spoke slowly so that he enunciated every word. Sometimes he spoke too quickly and started blending the languages together into something incomprehensible outside his community in the ghettos of the city. “English is not easy language for me. Is zere somezing zat is spicy and made vit ze meat of cow or sheep?” He was starting to doubt this place but maybe if there wasn’t anything this other man could recommend something else instead. He looked like he knew the place well enough.

Not wanting to be rude, Konstantin shifted his menu so he could offer the other his hand. It was a little dirty from the resin he had used on his bow earlier but he hoped the kid wouldn’t mind. “My name is Konstantin. Konstantin Kovak. I am sorry if I am interrupting. I did not intend to bozer your vork.” Although what it was that the other was working on, he couldn’t tell. Either way it looked important if it had to be written on the electronic writer he saw the other working with. What was it called again? A computer?

[Junpei Hirai]

Ah. So he couldn't read English, just like Junpei thought. Junpei scooted over to look over the menu the person was offering. If he was asking for something spicy and which had beef, then Junpei knew exactly what to recommend, he was here almost every week and had sampled almost every item on the menu at least once. He ran his finger down the laminated surface of the menu and pointed at about three separate items which would fit this guy's preferences: Spicy Teriyaki Soba, Curry and Rice, and Hibachiin Noodles, all with the option of beef or chicken as their choice of meat.

When the man extended his hand, Junpei was finally given a name to put to this guy's face, Konstantin, and Junpei took his hand in kind giving Konstantine a firm handshake and his own name. "It is nice to meet you. I am Junpei Hirai. You are not bothering me. I was taking a break from my work." He didn't feel anything terribly alarming from the man, he mostly emoted confusion an uncertainty.

"Is this your first time visiting this restaurant?" Junpei put forth some extra effort to his English (Junpei's regular acquaintances might understand his normal speech patterns, but he shouldn't assume another foreigner would). And he might as well make some conversation with Konstantin, if only to make him more comfortable and give Junpei himself a much needed change of pace. He'll probably be able to focus better after a nice chat.

[Konstantin Kovak]

The man read what was written on the page but it most certainly didn’t sound like English. He blinked at some of the names, wondering what they were but at the same time he wasn’t entirely sure if it would be rude to ask what they were. This thing called “curry” sounded interesting at least. He hoped it wouldn’t be too spicy. They hadn’t really been able to make anything overly spicy in his small caravan back at home and his wife when he had been married hadn’t been known as a master cook of the tribe to begin with.

He blinked when the young man gave his name too. Well that explained a lot. “June-pay?” He hoped he got that pronunciation right. It was as close as he could get with his limited grasp on English. “Zat doesn’t sound like English name to me. You are from ze Far East?” He had seen a few pictures and heard talk about people from there but he hadn’t really spoken to one up close and personal. They did look odd but not in a bad way. If anything, this boy looked handsome in his own right. It was a bit strange.

Then there was the tidbit about the restaurant which make Konstantin laugh a bit. “It is. I have not tried zis kind of food before. Do you have recommendation?” The man looked like he knew what he was talking about at least and he was educated. It honestly would have made Konstantin feel stupid if he had cared for an education. But as it was, he felt happy living the life he had currently, despite living in what Americans might call “poor conditions”. It was far better than the lives his people lived out by the cities in old Hungary.

[Junpei Hirai]

Junpei nodded at Konstantin's correct pronunciation of his name and a guess as to from where the student originally hailed. "Yes, I am from Japan." He hadn't heard of Asia being referred to as the "far east" very often, however he did happen to notice that there was an entire class being offered next semester on eastern religions, which Junpei assumed probably encompassed his own spiritual practices. In any case, while Konstantine was able to peg Junpei's heritage, Junpei was unable to make that same determination of the other man. "You do not sound American too. Where are you from?" He popped the question out cautiously, wondering if maybe he was too invasive. Then again, it was a common question that was often posed to Junpei, so why not?

However, he was pleased to hear a light-hearted chuckle from the man when he asked about his previous restaurant experience here. Or rather lack thereof. Junpei nodded and declared, "Yes, there is many good food here." Out of the three options that Junpei had previously read off to the man called Konstantin, the Spicy Teriyaki, which Junpei was currently devouring(albeit slowly) was probably the lightest in spice with the Hibachiin Noodles being the most overbearingly strong. Junpei himself had the opportunity to try all of them and vowed to never have the latter again.

"If you like spicy, then Hibachiin noodles are most spicy. I try once and it make me cry like child. Curry is very good. But I like best is Teriyaki soba because is both spicy and sweet." Junpei smiled as he scooted himself over a tad to relieve the stress on the foot that wasn't injured(and which had slowly become numb from being sit upon). "Food here is not same as home, but still very good to try. American do very strange thing to make better." What Junpei had come to realize is that Americans were all about the "more is better" stance. Also adding a bunch of things to make the taste more "Americanized", as the people in the exchange programs had warned. But food was food and sometimes Junpei simply missed the taste of home, no matter how distorted it was.

[Konstantin Kovak]

Konstantin blinked. Japan? Where was that? It sounded like it was in the East though he couldn’t tell for sure. “I am from Hungary,” he said, “it is country in Eastern Europe.” Most Americans that he had spoken to had not known that much though he wasn’t sure if it was because it wasn’t on a map or because it was something that Americans just didn’t learn. This one was not American but perhaps Hungary wasn’t an important enough country for someone in the East to need to know where his country was let alone it’s multiple cultures and languages.

Then came to descriptions of the foods. Did he want something very spicy? So spicy he could cry? His culture didn’t do much with spices. Maybe it was better to go with something milder until he got used to eating spices? These foods looked strange to begin with. His stomach might be able to tolerate some of it so long as he didn’t want to go overboard with the exotic flavorings of the food itself. “Perhaps I try the curry. Is not so spicy, yeah? It sounds like foods I vould eat back home.” He usually ate mutton stew there.

There was talk also on how Americanized the food was and Konstanin couldn’t help but agree. “It is somezing zat zey do often, yeah? Alter piece of foreign culture or cooking to suit American tastes.” Which, he had to admit, were expensive tastes indeed. He wasn’t sure if the kings of his culture lived as richly as even the middle class of America seemed to be accustomed to. “I feel lucky zat zere are not enough of my people here for America to take zat much interest in ze cooking of my homeland.” Although he did sometimes miss the tradition.

[Junpei Hirai]

Hungry? Well, good thing he was in a restaurant. Wait. No. Surely the man meant Hungary the country, not the physical state of being. Now where was that again? Junpei tapped his pencil to his chin as he conjured up the memories of his high school geography class that he just barely got passing marks in. Yes, he remembered, definitely a European country. Maybe next to....Germany? (Wrong!)

"Yes, curry is very good. Sauce is poured over rice and make flavor." Which turned it into a kind of stew on a plate and the rice would loose it's stickiness so you'd have to eat it with a spoon, but he thought it was pretty yummy. "Little spice but not bad."

Junpei's phone buzzed against the table and he quickly picked it up, glanced over the message, and chuckled a little to himself. His fingers flew as they typed out a quick response, pushed send, and set it back down on the table, returning his attention to the Hungarian man.

"Yes, I sometime find good change to food but sometimes I find very bad." It was something he shouldn't have been surprised about. After all, Japan did the same thing. Different cultures had to change the taste of what they sold to suit the people they sold it to. "In Japan, we do same thing to American food. We have Mickey's restaurant(McDonalds) too, and it sell cup of rice for cheap. But I come to America and they do not sell. Also have MegaMac, Teriyaki McBurger, and McPork burger and Ebi Fillet-o. But they do not sell here and I think is very strange because they are very tasty." Now he was babbling on about McDonald's, which was probably not as interesting to Konstantin as he thought it was. "Because they do not have this food in America, I eat here. Is not too bad."

[Konstantin Kovak]

Konstantin did not necessarily understand everything the man said but he liked listening to him. It was comforting to know he was not the only one who had trouble with this awkward sounding language. “Alright then. I suppose I vill go vit curry zen. Is zere recommendation for drink to go vit it? I am sorry, I am still not familiar enough to decipher zis odd writing system.” And he doubted he would ever be able to read it. He could barley read his own language and he had actually gone to school in Hungary! Not that he had gone for very long, granted, but he had.

The server came then and Konstantin repeated his order to the man for food but said he was still trying to decide the drink. He was looked at oddly but he was used to it. Sometimes it was because of the earring he wore. Sometimes it was because he carried a battered, old violin case despite walking around shoeless. It wasn’t that he didn’t own shoes. If the day was cool enough he just preferred to play and dance shoeless when he could. Warm concrete helped his aching feet from time to time.

Once the server left, Konstantin turned to stare at the menu some more, trying in vain to read it. He thought that somehow the symbols would decipher themselves. He sighed when they didn’t and set the menu aside. What drinks had he had in the States? There were a lot of these things called soft drinks but he preferred chai. Would they have chai here? He wasn’t entirely sure. They may call it something different though. This place looked like it would have some form of chai –no, they called it tea in this part of the world- available here.

[Junpei Hirai]

This person really seemed to be having a trial in reading the menu, or rather, the language itself. And Junpei thought he was bad, but then again, after having spent nearly 5 months in the States with having no choice but to practice and immerse, Junpei had become better at speaking.

"For drink most will drink tea because it is common for Japanese. There is also soft drink, beer, and sake...sake is Japanese wine made from rice." Junpei himself had chosen a soda; it was too early in the day for alcohol and he still didn't like tea.

Junpei was a little surprised to see the man shoeless, but still, this was Miami, one of the few places in the world where that sort of thing was acceptable and common among the citizens. He saw the violin case and thought to ask, "Konstantin-san is musician? You are very bless to have skill to play. I cannot play instrument." Junpei had very little artistic talent, especially when it came to things like cooking, music, and the like. However, if he really thought about it, his magical crafts could be considered a type of art. Even Juliette had said as much when she complimented his drawings, even if they were just spell circles. But it was Junpei's lack of such talent that made him appreciate those who had it.

[Konstantin Kovak]

Konstantin thought over the suggestion. Tea? In his country they called it chai but from what he could understand it was the same concept. He wondered what the taste difference was. When the waiter would come back he’d put in his order for some tea. Who knew? Maybe he’d enjoy the taste more than the chai he could vaguely remember from his time spent in his Tribe. They weren’t very well known for their tea for a reason. He hoped there weren’t many kinds being offered. He didn’t know enough about teas to know which one to choose for dinner.

Just as he decided this, though, the oddly named man said his name with a strange title attached to it and asked if he was a musician. The Roma nodded. “I play ze violin. It is beautiful instrument vhen played correctly. It is, in fact, vhen how I make my money so I must be good to earn living, yes?” At least he would presume so. He hadn’t seen many street performers here in Miami, but he thought that there had to be a few more. Maybe closer to the beaches? It seemed logical but he was well aware he could be wrong.

“I believe zat ze people ‘ho cannot play can express zemselves in some ozer vay. Some people can draw. Some can dance. Some can sing. Every human being can express zemselves. The trick is understanding how you are meant to express yourself.” He tapped his bare feet under the table he was sitting at, thinking that he should slip some sandals on soon. Some shop owners were very insistent that their customers wear shoes. Why was that? It was some strange American custom that no one had bothered to explain to him over his years in Miami.

[Junpei Hirai]

"Yes, I think so too." This man would have to be a rather good musician if he was capable of earning a living doing only that. "Where do you play? I might want to hear Konstantin-san play sometime." Yes, if Konstantin played in a hall somewhere, the Junpei would like to find out where and when so he could buy tickets for everyone. The theater wasn't really a place that Junpei actually liked to go, but it'd be appropriate for a date.

Junpei laughed when Konstantin listed off some of the other ways people could express themselves, knowing full well that none of them actually applied to himself. "I have been told to stop singing, so I do not think I have talent there. I can draw, but I never try anything except doodle." Junpei grabbed his notebook, which was sitting right next to his computer, and showed off his tiny little chibi doodles that adorned the margins of his indecipherable notes.

Junpei wondered for a moment how people found that one thing they enjoyed so much that they used it as a form of expression. Cecil loved his clockwork toys, especially his music boxes, and that was a skill and craft that he could reasonably use to earn a living. Juliette had her fortune telling, which Junpei could probably try as he had the skill even if not the interest. Ellie liked to cook. Silas too had his watch-making. Having a way to express himself was something that Junpei didn't really have aside from plain simple language, and any of the art forms he did know and did well were forced upon him for "character" development by his family. Like tea-making. And flower arrangement. And kimono dressing, though Junpei actually found that one enjoyable to a point. And while he liked his skateboarding, Junpei still refused to think he was anything other than clumsy and an outright cheater.

"I think Konstantin-san is lucky to find way to...express in way to make life."

[Konstantin Kovak]

“I play primarily on ze street corners in ze nice neighborhoods,” he said, not thinking much of it. It was as he had always done. “The grasses feel nicer here zan at home alzough ze concrete is much varmer. It hurts sometimes and makes me have to vear shoes!” And he really didn’t like having no choice but to wear shoes. They made his feet feel constricted and overly warm, especially in the humidity that was Florida during this time of year. Even flip flop sandals seemed constrictive and they hurt if he wore them for a little too long.

Then the odd named man said that he doodled from time to time but art was art, regardless if the art work that came out was good. “Is a good form to express self anyway, even if is only doodles.” He took a look at the notebook and smiled at the art he saw there. It was an unfamiliar style but it was cute. “Zis vork is good vork, zough,” he said “Zese children look adorable. Zey are characters you make up or are copies of real people you know?” He couldn’t tell which it was from the pictures alone.

He was told he was lucky that he could use music to make a living but the middle aged Roma shook his head with a half smile. “Is best life I could have in Hungary,” he told the man, “to play on street corner. My tribe did not have chance at good education. If one could not farm or hunt, vone had to hope ze vife could do somezing useful to make money or else it vas time to turn to crime.” Not that all of them were robbers, he hadn’t been, but he knew plenty of them back home.

[Junpei Hirai]

That was....not really what Junpei expected. He played in the streets? And managed to make a living from playing? How did that work exactly? Did he get paid for it? The stupid, sheltered Junpei somehow didn't understand the concept of playing for change on the side of the street. Sometimes he would hear a person playing, but he always thought that they were paid to do so by the establishment they stood outside of. Or something like that. Junpei wasn't sure how to respond to it.

"Ano....why do you not wear shoes? What if you step on something sharp?" Too long had Junpei been accustomed to wearing something over his feet, whether they be shoes for outside, sandals for inside buildings, and socks for home wear. Plus, if your feet got dirty from being outside, then you would end up treading the dirt inside your home or other building. It was kind of disgusting if you thought about all the dirt, grime, germs, and stuff you stepped on every day.

Towards the response on his doodles, Junpei didn't think it was worthy of it. "They are only people from anime I watch sometime. It is about monk who skateboard. I like because the boy has my same name..." A simple minded reason really.

It was only after the man explained about his upbringing that Junpei realized that he was an idiot for not realizing it earlier. Here was a person who grew up to the hard realities of life and had somehow survived it. And who was continuing to do the best he could to maintain integrity in a world where people might resort to less legitimate means. It was kind of scary, to Junpei, who was raised practically wanting for nothing within the barriers of the Hirai household. While it was a world Junpei knew about, it was not one he had any connection to and was sometimes one he actively avoided. "Is...is that so? That sound like...a very hard life."