Monday, June 2, 2014

No Water No Hat No Tin No Lid No Nothing

Arthur and Unni have been sidetracked, looking for a hat shop.

They are sitting in the Tricycle Cafe and Bar.

This is cool, says Unni, I love the little tricycles on the wall.

Latte? says the waitress.

Mine, says Unni. Hey, d'you know if there's a hat shop near here?

Try the Spacebar, says the waitress. But if you wait until tomorrow you can buy cool hats at the Salamanca Markets.

What happened to my water? says Arthur.

What water? says the waitress. Did you order water?

Yes, says Arthur.

What kind of water? asks the waitress.

The usual kind, says Arthur.

For some reason this answer pisses off the waitress. She flounces off and disappears behind the counter.

Unni finishes off her latte, and they both get up to leave.

There is a bottle of water sitting on the counter. Arthur thinks it will be his. He picks it up, and walks out of the cafe.

They find the Spacebar Gallery, off Salamanca, and go inside.

There are tee shirts, knicknacks and one or two peculiar hats. One cap has two holes in the brim, for eye holes.

Not very captain-like, says Unni.

They ask the owner, Pixx.

Sorry, says Pixx, no captain's hats. Try the Salamanca Markets tomorrow. Hats on Salamanca. Their stall is right next to Wooby Lane.

Arthur goes outside, followed by Unni.

They sit on a seat in the chilly sunshine, Mount Wellington looming in the background.

I should call Gaius, says Unni. See what they're doing.

She calls his number.

Hello? says Gaius. Is that you Unni? Where on earth is Arthur? We need that tin.

What for? asks Unni.

The barnacles, says Gaius. We want to go to Howden but we can't go anywhere unless we find a lid.

Uh, says Unni. You guys are hopeless. Where are you? Oh wait! I can see you! Stop right there, we're coming.

Fancy that. Hobart must be quite small.

Now they are all together.

Schopenhauer gives Arthur the bandages and Betadine from Lisa Gershwin.

Gaius asks Arthur for the tin.

Arthur has lost the tin. But he has the bottle of water.

You're not putting us in that! says Captain Goose, popping his head up from the polystyrene cup that Schopenhauer has been carefully balancing in his bicycle basket.

But it has a lid, says Schopenhauer. You have little choice in the matter.

What kind of water is it? asks Captain Wally.

The usual kind, says Arthur.

No good, says Captain Wally. This water that we're in is proper salty water from the CSIRO.

Empty the bottle, Arthur, says Unni. And fill it with the water from the cup. Then they can go in the bottle with the lid on.

But Arthur refuses to tip out his water.

How to resolve it?

It's like one of those problems that they give you when you do a management course.


No comments: