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"Auuuugh! Just GREAT!" he called out, directing his anger towards the sky. It had begun to rain, and he wasn't even halfway home yet. The paper bags he carried would surely give way to the heavy groceries inside in this downpour. The weather on the radio this morning sad it would be cloudy all day, but they never mentioned anything about a shower, or a rain, or a downpour! Hopefully, he thought, their mistake meant this wouldn't last long.

He briskly walked through the wet street. The environment was so different here than it was in America. Some people stared at him and some made fun of him - at least he thought they did. He couldn't understand them one-hundred percent. He was new to the language, and could only pick up key phrases and words. It was going to be rough.

Sick of walking in the rain, he took a sharp turn at small shop tucked betwixt two clothing stores. It had a bright sign with Chinese letters; but the elegance is not what caught his attention. The delicious mixed aromas of tea made his mind melt. A nice hot cup of joe - or tea - would be great right about now. The rain chilled him to the bone, and maybe he could ask for a better bag - his paper bags could not last much longer.

He walked in and wiped his feet off on the welcome mat and stood around, not sure if he were to sit on his own, or was to be seated by someone. "Yo? Anyone around? Uhm... Konnichiwa? I think..." he set his bags on the floor beside him and stretched his sore arms.

Travis looked at the enthusiastic and and rolled his words in his mouth to figure out what he had said to him, slowly translating it in his mind. After he realized he just greeted him, he replied with a simple "Yo," however, in English.

He looked around the empty room; it was just them. He tapped his foot where he stood and scratched his hair, trying to string together a coherent line of Japanese. "So, uh, can I have some tea, sir?" he asked, looking at the floor embarrassed. He never had to say more than a 'hi' or a numbered amount before. He hoped his rough Japanese was okay.

Travis looked wide eyed at the man and gave a large smile. *Hey! You speak English? Thanks God! I don't mean t'hate, but being Tri-Lingual is really hard. Japanese isn't like English or Russian, so I keep mixing them all up." He took his bags that were at his feet and lifted them when the bottoms of the wet bags gave way and threw his groceries all over the floor like a storm. Luckily, none of the cans or fruit leaked or broke open, thankfully. He dropped the wet paper bags on the floor where the rest of his items where and kicked and rolled his items over the table the worker advised him to sit at.

He sat down and the table and stretched out liberally. "You don't gotta be so formal. Just say what you want. There's no script." he said, scratching his head and taking off his fedora, placing it on the seat beside him. "Uhhh. My troubles? Well, for one I just moved to a new and foreign country and can't speak the language worth s#!7. Everyone stares at me cuz I'm from America, you know? I moved here cuz I had to get away from my home. Why not go to the other f***ing side of the Earth? No one can find me here. Not when this city has more people livin' in it than all of freaking Canada." He yawned into his hand, into his hand in hopes to clean his mouth from his swears. There was more to his troubles than moving to a new place, but he didn't feel he wanted to tell it to a stranger.

Travis grinned as well, but continued to vacantly stare in front of him. "Yeah, Japanese is a lot different than Russian and English. I hope I don't loose either off those languages trying to fit in. Losing something to fit in .. 'th'idea doesn't swing well with me." He took out a toothpick from his pocket and opened the wrapper and started to chew on it. His mouth was lonely, and he didn't think the man with him would allow him to smoke in this establishment.

When the other man handed him a bag, his face lit up. "Hey, thanks so much, man!" he said, but put it beside him instead, not to interrupt their conversation. "Yeah, I haven't been here long, so this bag thing was just the extra kick in the pants." He rubbed the back on his head and yawned. "The reason I left home, huh? Well," he chuckled, "that's a long story. I don't think ya got the time fer that." He left his thought as is. He didn't want to tell his story - it was rather lengthy, full of angst and drama, and the other man may not appreciate such a mongrel in his store!

"Anyway, man. Sorry to cut out friendly chat short, but I came in fer tea. Whatcha got, and how much is it? Surely a place as nice as this has the best tea and the "best" prices.?"

"I wouldn't want to waste your time. Shouldn't this place be full of people? Isn't Japan, like, known, for drinking tea or something?" He closed his eyes and yawned loudly. Was it Japan? Maybe it was China... Close enough.

Travis opened his eyes and squinted at Shen at his choice of words. Him? Tea's don't have genders. It must have been a language barrier, he thought, and reached out for the tea. "Sorry. I guess I talked too much to notice it." He took a sip to test the temperature and then drank the rest quickly. He was still drenched from earlier, and his wet clothes made him cold. He wanted to drink the tea as fast as possible to be as warm as possible in the smallest amount of time. After, he felt stupid. Drinking the tea slower would have made him warmer longer. Damnit.

He rubbed his tongue on the top of his mouth, letting the bitterness of his tea sink into his taste buds. He disliked the taste, he didn't mind bitter food, but he sure didn't like them. The tea was very bitter, almost to the point of sour. The strong taste woke him up, at least. "Wow that's uh... Really strong. I don't think I've had a tea so strong, but I guess this place is high class and not some shitty dollar store type tea." He set the cup back down on the saucer and pushed it back. "I don't think I'll be needing another. Way to strong for me."

If he had been in a hurry, or had a watch, now was the moment to check it. But he was in neither situation, so he sat in an awkward silence. Should he say thanks and leave? Pack his bags first? Oh right, he still has to pay...

"Uhh. What do I owe ya for 'yer time and the tea?" he asked, putting his hand into his pocket to reach for his wallet, which was home to a few cobwebs.