Le Petit Café was very narrow. Its base was barely larger than an average garage. But it was very tall with around five stories.
In front of the Café were vintage tables and chairs for the patrons to sit down. At the moment, there were only a few people there. The space remained silent and empty compared to the busy streets outside.
"Now I need to find Elara." Jude walked inside the Café. His presence was so average that most of the customers didn't even notice him.
Inside, an employee greeted him.
"Hello. Orders first then you can enter the Café. You can sit in the front or go to the first floor, second floor or third floor.
The first floor is an empty space with tables and chairs like outside.
The second floor has some books that you can read. They are old books but please try to preserve them well.
There is a small classroom on the third floor if you need to study or work. You can sit in any empty chair."
"I see. A cup of black coffee is fine."
"Iced?"
"Iced."
"Roger that. All orders are paid for at the counter. Please settle it first."
"No problem."
"That will be ninety-nine cent."
Joe blinked his eyes rapidly when he heard the price. A cup of coffee for $0.99 was a catch these days. The diner he used to drink coffee at would make you pay at least two or three dollars.
He expected the cup of coffee to taste incredibly bad.
"Keep the penny. Just give me four dollars as change." Joe gave him a five dollar bill.
"Got it!"
After just a few minutes, the employee slid a cup of coffee to Joe. It was a large transparent plastic cup with a straw on top. The amount of coffee was much more than Joe thought. He instinctively took a quick sip.
"That's really good!" Joe said.
The employee smiled. "Thank you for the compliment."
It was actually the best coffee Joe had ever tasted. He might consider returning here for a coffee later.
Elara wasn't present in the ground floor or the sitting area in the front. Joe then walked to the first floor.
No one was here either. The place was surprisingly deserted even though they had the best coffee.
There were a few high school students in the library on the second floor. There were all kinds of books there but the students mostly came to read the comics.
Joe climbed to the third floor via the spiral staircase. This floor had a slide door at the hallway, separating the room inside with the noise outside. From the stair, Joe could see rows of single school desks, each with lamps on top.
He spotted the only girl with blonde hair. A messy hairstyle that barely reached past her shoulder. They naturally cascaded and tucked behind her ears, shining in the faded sunlight reaching from the window.
There Joe saw the light of his life.
"I am in love." He mumbled.
Joe entered the classroom and picked an empty table in the last row to sit down. No one was looking at him and they kept studying.
Everyone here was a student of some kind. Elara was a university student. A few others that were younger still wore their school uniforms. There was a high school student as well.
Joe sat at the table and tapped his feet silently.
"How am I going to approach Elara?" He thought to himself.
Elara was studying. He couldn't just intrude. Everyone else was also studying and keeping a silent atmosphere. He couldn't say anything to disrupt the peace.
Joe had also never done this before. He never actively went after a girl. He was too busy working and keeping himself alive.
The anxiety built up and he started to sweat profusely.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! What am I going to do?!" Joe panicked inside. He bit his nails instinctively.
As he was going to delve further into the loop of anxiety, windows popped up in front of him.
[You are panicking]
[COMPOSURE RESULT]: 5
[CRITICAL FAILURE!]
[CRITICAL FAILURE IS NEGATED]
[COMPOSURE RESULT CHANGED TO 11]
[ADDING MODIFIERS]
[+12 for Wisdom]
[+3 for Cool]
[FINAL COMPOSURE RESULT]: 11 + 12 + 3 = 26
[Your panic is overwhelming but bearable]
"Hmm?" The window drew Joe's attention. His heart was still beating like crazy. The anxiety was still there but it was much more manageable now.
A student stood up and left the room. He spotted Joe but quickly went on his way without looking back.
The floating window was still visible to Joe but it didn't seem to be visible to the student.
"So I am the only one who can see this." Joe thought to himself.
'Perfectly Average' had saved him from imploding due to his own mentality. Suddenly, everything became so much easier and his mind was clear.
"Why am I so worked up about anything? I am not the previous Joe Avery Smith anymore. I know no one here. I have no connections here. My life here is a blank slate.
I have nothing to worry about!"
Joe was able to calm himself down. He focused on enjoying his black coffee and its bitterness. It was so good that it made him a little bit high from the taste.
Joe also observed Elara secretly.
Elara sat in front of him, a few rows away. He could only see her back. She stayed still like a statue when she studied and only moved when she needed to write something or flip the page.
Elara wore a pair of round glasses. Her frame was small like a baby doll that made people want to hug her dearly. A few times that she turned her head, Joe was able to observe her facial features.
A pair of soft, small lips that resembled a shy bud of flower that was slightly pink. The expressive big eyes were towered by a pair of concentrated, serious eyebrows that gave her a determined look on a slender, fragile frame.
Her skin was flawlessly smooth, shimmering in the light.
"Damn you, game! You really know how to pick the target." Joe contemplated inside.
Then he shook his head.
He might be a total amateur in flirting but he knew at least that there were no opportunities for him to get to know her.
She was studying and the space didn't tolerate any small talk. It wasn't a good place to approach her.
Joe enjoyed the remaining coffee in his cup then stood up and left the classroom.
Rather than being an obnoxious guy and ruining her study, Joe chose to pick a later time. This wasn't his anxiety speaking but his intelligence speaking.
'Perfectly Average' had made sure that his anxiety wouldn't cause a critical failure.
"I don't even know what critical failure means. Did the set stop my anxiety? But I still feel it. The set stops it partially and keeps it from becoming too much of a problem.
Is that how it works? It can prevent me from totally making a fool of myself but still allow me to fail? If that's the case, this set is the best set for a beginner like me…"
Joe entered the library on the second floor and reached out to grab a comic. He intended to waste some time here before moving on.
His hand stopped mid-motion as he saw a particular book beside the comic.
"The Art of Seduction. Hmm… Maybe it can help me a little bit."
Joe grabbed the old book with a pink cover and sat down. The second floor was designed with an Eastern theme with a soft mat to sit on directly.
The tables in the room were low, within the height of people sitting so they could rest their hands on it. Around the room were scattered cushions to sit on and back-support pillows. Everything was crafted to support the perfect reading experience.
Joe forgot about Elara and dived deep into the book.
"The Art of Seduction is to get to know your target, learn their heart and dream before you can infiltrate and take a spot forever inside…"
An unknown amount of time passed. Elara packed up her things and left the classroom. She went down to the second floor and grabbed a book to read.
As she sat down, she couldn't help but notice the title of the book on the opposite side.