George ran out of patience after he couldn't reach Jason, his friend who was supposed to take him to a construction site where his service was needed.
"He is never punctual," George stuttered as he looked right and left hoping to miraculously see Jason.
Brrrr! Brrrr!! George's phone rang and he quickly reached for it in his cross bag.
"It's him!" George muttered as Jason's name appeared boldly on his phone screen. He picked up the call and didn't say anything after.
"What's up bro, how are you doing?" Jason asked immediately after George picked up.
"Are you asking me how I am doing? Do you realize that I have been here for over an hour waiting for you?" George replied and hissed, he was pissed for being made to wait at the bus station.
"Calm down bro, I sent you a message about not going any more last night. Didn't you get it?" Jason asked.
"When? Where?" George stuttered and checked his messages immediately. He was surprised to see Jason's message sitting there unopened.
"You should have just called me, I barely check my inbox. I can't believe I have wasted over an hour here for nothing," George's voice was down and couldn't wait for Jason to end the call.
The call eventually ended and as George pondered on what to do next, he heard a loud rumble from his belly. He rubbed his belly and scanned the area for any food vendor from the spot where he was standing.
Luckily for George, he saw a coffee shop a few blocks away and there was a banner hanging outside the shop. George moved in the direction of the shop and as he got closer, the advert on the banner became clearer.
"Enjoy your coffee with a free slice of pizza," George read out the advert and just smiled.
On his way in, a woman stopped to greet him. She spent a few minutes asking after his family like they had known each other from somewhere. George didn't think much about it because his belly worms were biting very hard.
He pushed the Coffee shop door open and was shocked to see the place crowded.
"Is something happening here aside from the free pizza?" George pondered as he manoeuvred through the crowd to the barista spot.
"Good morning," The barista greeted and George looked around again before responding.
"Good morning," George replied sharply.
"Please do you do other things here aside from coffee," George stuttered.
"No, we don't. The crowd?" The Barista asked.
"Yes, it's unusual at a coffee shop. It's my first time here though," George replied.
"Oh, welcome. It's not always like this, I think today is just different," The Barista replied.
"Oh okay," George replied and just stood by the counter hoping there would be a vacant table before his order was ready.
While waiting, George paid attention to everything happening in the shop and it doesn't feel normal. There was so much affection between customers and they reminded him of when he attended a support group meeting during his teenage days.
He turned around where he was standing and noticed a woman crying. A few people were consoling her but George didn't know what their relationship was.
The Barista wasn't done with the coffee so George decided to check what was wrong with the woman.
"Hello," George greeted immediately when he got to the table.
"I was standing over there and felt uncomfortable seeing this lady cry that much. I want to know if there is anything I can do to help," George said after exchanging pleasantries.
"She is mourning her grandmother who died three years ago," One of the people comforting her replied.
"Three years ago? Is she just aware of the death?" George asked and no one answered him.
"Is any of you her family member?" George asked and they all chorused, "No"
George was more confused and wondered what was going on. He scanned the tables and the only common thing there were the branded cups used by the coffee shop.
He saw emotions written on all the customer's faces and while returning to the Barista spot, the woman who greeted George earlier returned with some people.
"Barista, please give them coffee. They are homeless and I just couldn't walk passed them," She muttered.
"But you barely paid for the previous cups you bought, who will pay for these people," The Barista asked.
"Aren't you human? These people are hungry and it's cold out there," She replied.
"We don't do business like that here," The Barista replied and the woman started weeping. A few customers joined in pleading that the Barista served the homeless people and at that point, George knew something must have triggered the way the customers were behaving.
Immediately George was handed the coffee he ordered, his phone vibrated and the same thing happened to almost everyone in the shop.
He placed the coffee on the counter to check what the notification was about, George stared at the message and didn't believe what he read.
"TV! Check the national TV," George said to the barista who tuned in to the national TV immediately.
"It was disclosed earlier that a crazed worker at a prominent factory spiked a particular coffee brand with a serum that makes people extra empathetic. The government urge citizens not to drink the brand for now and for thoae who have drank this brand shouldn't panic because the serum effect will wear within 6 hours," the news presenter announced.
George turned to look at the Barista shelf and saw the exact brand that was spiked. It became clear why the customers were acting weird, George paid for the coffee but didn't take it away with him.
He was out of the shop feeling grateful that he didn't drink from the coffee, he couldn't imagine what mess he would made if he drank the coffee.
