According to a certain bluehead brother, my debtors expected me bright and early the next day.

When you shuffle in around noon still half asleep, it absolutely ruins their expectations. That is I, the guy who somehow fell asleep and didn't wake up until minutes before. I have no idea why I slept in. It's especially weird since I'm not one to even sleep in.

"You're late, Tristan," Cress comments. He's holding open the door of the front entrance. My eyes are barely open enough to make out that it's him standing in front of me. I half assumed based on the voice I can hear.

"What?" I mumble groggily. I hear Cress snicker. I fear the worst for my semi-asleep state. My eyes flutter open, knowing something is about to happen.

Suddenly, a gush of cold water squirts my face. My eyes shoot open to see a certain Panpour at my feet clapping happily to itself. My dripping face turns to Cress, who is now in plain sight.

Cress crosses his arms and shakes his head. "Tsk tsk tsk, Tristan. You yourself said you wanted to get this done and over with. And here you are late the successive morning."

"I don't see the issue..." I reply as I wipe my face in my jacket sleeve. I still feel moisture in my hair and on my neck. If I knew this would happen, I would've zipped up my jacket.

"You don't? Well, we were expecting you here again as soon as possible. And here you are lazing around like a Slakoth at high noon," Cress muses. He chuckles to himself as his Panpour at his feet continues to clap along.

"Well, think about it this way: the idea of tardiness itself being bad is wrong." I argue. "Officer Jennys don't start moving until a crime has already been committed. The hero? Usually ends up arriving late anyway. With that said, does anyone ever criticize them for being late? Rather, you could even say that tardiness is a form of justice."

"Such twisted logic of yours, Tristan. I expected as much," Cress says coolly. His one eye I can see seems to look right through me. I pull my jacket closer to my body and move towards an empty restaurant table and accompanying chairs. I'm ready to just get this next part done and over with.

I plop myself down at a table. Cress pulls the chair across from me out. It makes a scraping noise as he drags it across the floor. He sits down and rests his arms on the table. He leans forward in and looks up to me. A towel, I assume for checking the lobby, is over his left shoulder. The uniform, as usual, is crisp and clean without a single blemish. It makes it twice as unnerving.

I get straight to the point. "So, what's next?"

Cress chuckles to himself. He whips his around, showing off the questionable physics with his hairstyle.

"Next? You want your next assignment?" he asks me. I can obviously recognize taunting when I see it. I sigh loudly, expressing my exasperation. My gaze stares back at him.

"Yes. That's what I said. What's next?" I repeat. He glances over to his right, his lips pursed, as if he's in deep thought. Don't tell me he's thinking of something for me to do on the spot...

"Hmm...that's a good question..." he mutters to himself. For Arceus' sake, why does he have to try to form something quickly? He can easily give me the day off. Especially with his remark on my lack of punctuality.

Who isn't the prepared one now?

"We actually do have a small issue we need to clear up...what a happy coincidence," he chuckles.

"Right. Because that totally is a coincidence," I mutter, unamused.

"Yes, if you don't mind Tristan. This shall be your second assignment," Cress tells me. He motions towards Cilan, who is greeting the first guests of the day. They're also the last guests I want to see.

"Them? Seriously?" I ask, pointing at The Clique as they walk into the restaurant. They're as annoying as running into a Zubat every three steps in a cave. Doesn't Striaton City have literally anyone else that needs help? Seriously, I'll take anyone.

Except for maybe Serenity.

"Your little stunt you orchestrated yesterday probably won't help you this time around," Cress mutters softly, resting his chin on his crossed fingers. He tilts his head in their direction.

"See, one of those kids over there got their Pokémon stolen. And they're convinced it was stolen in this establishment," Cress explains. I glance at The Clique suspiciously with a raised eyebrow. I tap the table with an index finger as I turn back to Cress.

"So basically...you want me to save your asses from any sort of lawsuit and find the missing Pokémon," I sum up.

"Well, technically, yes. Find the lost Pokémon and return it. That's your second task," Cress nods in approval. He then pushes himself away from the table and stands up.

I curse under my breath. "Sounds like unnecessary action I have to deal with." Cress and his one visible eye shoots wide open as he raises an index finger into the air.

"Oh!" he says. That's the word I'm looking for: he had an epiphany and remembered something.

"One thing for you, Tristan. I'm not sure what you needed it for, but we found this in one of our bathrooms," he says, producing the familiar uniform the staff wears. I sigh as I realize he's more than less coercing me to take the Striaton uniform from him that I borrowed (emphasis on the borrowed) to execute my plan. He more shoves it and less hands it to me. Fantastic. Now I'm stuck with a piece of Striaton memorabilia that probably won't ever come in handy for the rest of my pathetic life.

Hopefully this isn't an implication for me to apply to work here.

"Thalia will be here shortly. Feel free to discuss a plan with her. I must be off to cater to...paying customers," Cress muses as he walks away. I click my tongue at his comment. Way to stick it to a guy who is in massive debt.

I lean back in the chair and end up looking in the direction of The Clique. It seems that there is still tension between the five of them since allegedly a Pokémon has been stolen from one of them. We already know not to catch and steal Pokémon from other people. I guess we can't stop the petty thievery along the way.

"Tristan!" Thalia shouts. I turn to my left as she approaches, waving an arm. "Is that you?"

"Good guess," I mutter as I wave once back. I look over to my left as a waiter approaches us.

"Sit down, Thalia," I tell her, pointing to the seat across from me. "Looks like you're ordering us food."

Thalia takes the seat across from me as a waiter hands us each a menu. With a bow, he walks away. Thalia scoots her chair forward and pulls her hair behind her shoulders.

She leans towards me as she speaks. "So Cress gave you the next assignment." I nod as I flip through the laminated menu. The red, green, and blue theme shows just how much this Striaton establishment wants to show off its colorful charm. I personally dislike describing it as charm, but that's just me.

"Yes," I say, looking up at her momentarily. She nods as she looks off to her right.

"Want to fill me in?" she asks. I shake my head as I look at the drinks. Maybe on the menu they should mention that there's a bar as well along with their pink Nomel-ade.

"Some stuff got stolen. Same stupid kids. It seems like they're the focal point of it all," I mutter as I try to decide what to get. I'm semi-conscious about my debt and that ordering something would only increase it. Why am I even looking at the menu in the first place?

"Are we ready? Can we start you two off with some drinks, perhaps?" the waiter says. I look over to see he silently creeped up on us when I was fighting an internal conflict of basic survival versus debt.

"Umm...Fresh Water is free, right? I'll take that," I say. I then pause for a moment. "Oh...and no Nomel Berry please."

The waiter nods as he scribbles in a notepad. He turns to Thalia. "And for you, miss?"

"Umm...the teas look nice. Any recommendations?" she asks. The waiter smiles as he leans in and looks to the menu.

"The teas are specially brewed in house by one of the owners, Chili. The Anxie Tea is nice, especially for those who feel a bit too calm. The Prosperi Tea is good for those who want good fortune. Looking for something fresh? The Curiosi Tea also is a good option. Want a more mature flavor? Try Puber Tea. If you're feeling bold, I recommend something a little more spicy like Naugh Tea or Nudi Tea," the waiter says, rattling off teas as if it were a Pokéathlon sport.

"The Feis Tea was pretty good," I mention. Thalia's expression turns red as I can obviously see her overwhelmed by the options.

"Uhh...I'll take something basic. Densi Tea please," she says. The waiter nods, scribbling the order down. I wonder if that concoction would be on the heavier side of the spectrum.

"And have you decided what you'd like to eat? Today's special includes all sandwiches on the menu," the waiter asks.

Distracted, Thalia forgot all about the restaurant's menu. She quickly recovers and orders the vegetarian option.

"And for you, sir?" he looks to me. I shake my head, pointing at the menu.

"I still need a bit of time, if you don't mind."

The waiter nods, telling us we'll have to wait a bit for our order, so Thalia and I continue to chat.

"Oh I see, you're one of those veggie-freaks," I note as I place the menu down.

"Vegan," she says. "The word is vegan."

"How's the herbivore lifestyle? Do you get extra points for starving yourself more? What prize comes after anemia?"

"Tristan, first of all, you can still have a healthy diet without meat, for your information. Secondly, it isn't something I do for fun. I take Pokémon rights extremely seriously," she huffs. "You could at least try eating vegetarian meals before you knock them. They aren't bad at all."

The waiter promptly brings Thalia's food to her, which means it's my turn to place an order now. I realize I didn't make a firm decision yet.

"I'll have..." My mind goes blank for a moment as I reach for the menu. What did I even want?

"I honestly don't really know what you guys have," I admit. "Just stuff all the meat you can into a sandwich."

"Tristan!" Thalia shouts at me.

"Uh, yeah, sorry, that was really insensitive of me," I say. "...please."

"That isn't what I meant."

"What? I asked politely," I tell her. I then realize what she must mean. "Oh! You meant you wanted a bite of my sandwich! Sure, of course I'll share with you."

"I give up. You're clearly trying to agitate me," she frowns. The waiter eyes us with a raised eyebrow as he scribbles something down on his notepad.

"Coming right up," he says as he walks away. Thalia sighs as I chuckle to myself. I don't remember the time when ordering food was this amusing. Maybe it's because someone with many characteristics I can tease is sitting across from me.

In the end, it's the weirdest sandwich I've ever seen. Pork from a Pignite, fish from a Feebas, and beef from a Bouffalant all rolled into one. It tastes fantastic.

"Shouldn't you take this assignment more seriously?" Thalia asks me. "And shouldn't you at least add some sort of vegetable in that?"

"There's not mushroom for anything," I chuckle as I bite into the delicious monstrosity. She may have a point on the seriousness. A Pokémon was stolen after all.

However, it wasn't my Pokémon that was stolen. So I couldn't care less. If I didn't have a massive debt over my head, I would have ignored it in a heartbeat.

"We'll start tomorrow. We need to ask those kids a few questions," I tell Thalia. It's only a matter of time as the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. In all honesty, I'm just being lazy and putting it off until tomorrow.

Great choice, I know.