Hazia’s Reflections

Below is a very short short story (only 737 words). ‘Ian’ was inspired from my own character and my near obsession with eggs. It was based on an ‘eggy incidence’ that I shared on my blog a few months back. LOL!

Sunny Side Up - First Cut

As we stepped into Anita’s Café, we were greeted by this grouchy looking woman at the counter. Her hair was tied in a pony tail and her face was void of make-up. She was wearing a white t-shirt and dark track bottom. Her spoken English was laced with a thick Indonesian accent.

After quickly placing our orders, we chose a round table at a corner. I was surprised that she did not question Ian’s request for Sunny Side Up egg. Looking at her, one would assume that she would not even know what he was referring to.

“This place is really nice,” I said, hoping that Ian would not complain about the hostile greeting. I was glad that I managed to convince him to try something different today. We have had too much of American coffee chains already; a local touch would be refreshing for a change.

The timid waitress brought his order of American Breakfast and my order of Fried Mee. I saw the plate in front of him. It contained toasts, sausages and a fried egg – a white round fluffy chunk with small hard yellow circle in the centre. The beverage in the mug looked milky brown. Ian folded the newspaper he was reading and put it on the empty chair next to him.

When he saw his meal, his face reddened. He called the waitress. She came over, looking scared. “This is not Sunny Side Up!” he roared. “Tell your cashier, if she doesn’t know, she should ask. She should not act as if she knew, and quit putting on her sour face too.” While saying this, he glared at the arrogant woman at the counter.

“Sunny Side Up means soft egg yolk. And I ordered black coffee, why is this sweetened with condensed milk?” He pushed the plate and mug away. The girl took them.

“He said Kopi, not Kopi-O” we heard the cashier retorting harshly. “He didn’t even know how to order.” She purposely raised her voice knowing very well that we were seated nearby.

Ian’s face became redder. “I’m going to go over there and slap her face,” he said. “She used the word ‘Coffee’ and not ‘Kopi’ when taking my order,” he stressed. “Please… come on, Ian, let it go,” I begged my fiancé. “Let us not come here again,” I said.

Shortly after, the waitress returned with Ian’s order. We were both shocked this time.

The egg white was slightly burnt. The egg yolk was not fully cooked but it was not even soft, let alone runny. Probably, that was the first time the cook has heard of the concept of runny egg yolk. Obviously, she had no clue what it meant.

Ian called the waitress and demanded to see the manager. She timidly shrugged her shoulders and went back to the counter without doing anything.

“With a place like this, you’d think that the owner would be more careful with her choice of staffs,” Ian grumbled.

Suddenly, he got up and walked over to the counter. My heart skipped a beat.

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