Unexpected Souvenir

England Mochi

London is a beautiful city full of rich history and modern wonders all in the same place. You just can't get enough of it. You've visited Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the British Museum, the London Eye, the London Underground, and St. Paul's Cathedral. You'd spent plenty of time geeking out over everything, and plenty of money on souvenirs as well.

You're currently walking around a busy neighborhood full of many shops and cute stores. A shiny trinket in a window display catches your eye, and you pause to admire it. It takes all your willpower to not go into the shop and purchase it, but you've already spent so much money. The proof can be seen in the many bags already hanging from your arms.

You walk a few more blocks, and the fatigue from carrying so much is really starting to get to you. A café comes into your view as you turn a corner, and you gladly sit down at an empty table. Or at least you thought it was empty.

"Hey, you bloody git! You can't just sit at someone else's table without asking!"

You jump up in surprise. "Waaagggh!" You see a round white object on the table you had just sat down at. It has enormous eyebrows and a little black top hat. "Ahh! I'm sorry!"

The object huffs. "Well, at least you have some manners." It takes a sip of tea through a straw that's been placed in its cup before speaking to you again. "Take a seat. Name's England Mochi by the way. Pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss...?"

"(Y/n). My name's (y/n)," you answer as you sit back down.

"Hmm. Yes. It's nice to meet you Miss (y/n)." The thing nods to you slightly. "Now that we're acquainted, it is perfectly acceptable for you to sit at my table."

"Oh, um...yeah." You're not really sure what to do or say in this odd situation.

"You're not from around here, are you Miss?"

"No, I'm not," you admit. "How did you know that?"

The white thing gives you a pointed look. "No one from around here wears that many Union Flags."

You look down at your shoes, socks, and shirt, all of which sport the flag of Great Britain. "Hehehe, I guess you're right," you say in embarrassment. "What about you? What's your story?"

The round object raises a huge eyebrow questioningly.

"Well, I mean, what are you? What're you doing here? What's with your eyebrows? And are you a boy because you sound like one."

One of the aforementioned eyebrows twitches in irritation. "There's nothing wrong with my eyebrows, thank you very much." Its tone indicates this isn't something you should bring up anymore. "I am what is called a mochi, and I'm here to enjoy some tea and people watching." England Mochi gives you a weird look before continuing. "I suppose you could call me a boy. It would be the most accurate."

You don't know how to process that much information. "Oh, uh...okay."

"You're not very bright, are you?" the mochi asks.

"Hehehe, you're pretty observant aren't you?" It's embarrassing, but you're not known for being the brightest bulb.

A waiter finally appears to take your order. You ask for some iced tea with lemon, which he writes down and disappears. England Mochi sips at his tea some more without a word. The two of you watch people walk past the café in silence. It's actually pretty interesting to watch the people hurry past the table.

You point to a random person in the crowd. "Tell me what's up with that guy."

England Mochi looks at the person you're pointing to. He watches the man for a while before voicing his observations. "He's waiting for someone. You can tell by the way he keeps checking his watch. Hehehe. Maybe I should put a curse on him just for fun."

"What?" You didn't hear the last part of what he said.

"Er...nothing," the mochi says quickly. "How about you? What do you think about that woman with the flower print dress?"

"Hmmmmm..." You watch the lady for a while. "Well, she's smiling, so she's probably in love with some amazing guy that's going to sweep her off her feet someday. The two of them will get married and have three kids that they'll name George, Harriet, and Lucy."

"You're just making that up, aren't you?" England Mochi says with an unamused look. You laugh at being caught by the observant mochi.

The waiter suddenly appears with your iced tea, and you gratefully take a sip. It's refreshing, just what you need after your trek around the city. You drain half the glass in two gulps, and sigh in happiness.

"You should take your time and enjoy the flavor of the tea," England Mochi chides. "The stuff you're drinking isn't that good anyway. You have to drink it warm to truly enjoy it."

"Oh, so you're a tea expert now," you say with a roll of your eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me you git!" the mochi exclaims.

"Don't be such a brat," you retort.

"What did you say?"

You laugh at the expression on England Mochi's face. "Hahahaha! You need to lighten up! Your face! Hahahaha! It's all scrunched up!"

His face reddens as he becomes flustered. "Er...don't say stuff like that. It's ungentlemanly."

"Says the one calling me dumb earlier," you say as you wipe a tear from your eye.

"Well..." the mochi pauses. "I...I'm sorry."

"It's alright," you tell him with a smile. "It's no big deal. Just keep calm and carry on."

England Mochi groans. "You foreigners really need to just forget about that."

"Hehehe, it's what happens when you spend too much time on the internet," you say.

He rolls his eyes. "You remind me of a certain American I know..."

"Who's being a git and rolling their eyes now?" you say with a smirk.

The mochi starts stuttering like crazy. "Well...er...ah...eh......that's not fair!"

"Don't worry. I'm kidding!" you say with a wink. This causes him to blush deeply. You check your watch, and your eyes widen at the time. "Oh shoot! I have to go!" You jump to your feet and grab all your bags. "Maybe I'll see you again, England Mochi! We should hang out again some time!" You call over your shoulder as you walk away.

The mochi sighs as he watches you walk away. "What an odd person." But he can't help but wish that you'll come back. Then he notices the half finished iced tea you left on the table. "THAT BLOODY GIT DIDN'T PAY FOR HER DRINK!" he shouts, which causes people at the tables around him to look at him. Now he has another reason to hope you'll be back.