Coffee Lynx
You are enjoying a tea and pastry when a lynx catches your eye. Something about him just isn't right, and the longer you look, the more confused you become.
It was rude to stare. You knew that. Your mom had told you that. You knew it perfectly well.
But you couldn't take your eyes off that lynx. You did your best not to make it obvious, sipping at your tea, nibbling at your pastry, sneaking glances in. He was just sitting there, sipping at an iced coffee or something, looking down at his phone. Something just seemed... off, about him.
He looked up and you quickly dropped your gaze back down to the table in front of you, tapping your fingers on it. You should be looking at your phone or something. You fumbled to take it out and stared at your lock screen, your thoughts still on the lynx. Why did he bother you so much?
You glanced back up and him, relieved to see he was on his phone again. You stared at him for a while, wrapped up in a strange feeling. It was like trying to stay on top of a smooth, round surface - every time your eyes locked onto the center of his face you felt as if you had to constantly adjust your gaze, like a balancing act just to keep him in focus. Something about his face... it was like the uncanny valley effect.
He looked up at you and you flinched, quickly looking down at your phone again. Shit. You made that so obvious. He probably noticed. Oh gosh. That was probably okay. I mean, okay, flinching is weird, but you were a sheep. Maybe he'd think it was normal or something. You took a deep breath. He probably wouldn't bother you.
You looked back up at him. He was still watching you. You froze and locked eyes with him.
Eyes. Three eyes. He had three eyes.
No. Just two. You - you had a weird moment where you swore...
That was ridiculous. No. He didn't have three eyes. Just two. You were staring at him right now, and he only had two eyes. You were pretty sure.
Pretty sure? You were absolutely sure. He definitely did. Only two eyes. He smiled at you, and you flinched very slightly, but didn't move.
It was rude to stare. You should probably look away.
No, it was okay to keep looking, you thought to yourself, louder than you usually did. You kept looking.
Why did his face confuse you so much? It felt like static in your brain, the longer you stared at it. It was just a normal face, but it felt somehow obscured, somehow distant. It made your eyes ache and your head spin.
You should relax, you thought loudly to yourself. Okay. You felt yourself relaxing and sinking into your seat a little, and you momentarily lost focus of the lynx's face.
He had three eyes. You'd seen it. Three glowing eyes, watching you. You needed to get up and-
Relax. Two eyes. Look up and count them. Okay.
You did. Just two eyes. You sighed. Two eyes. Count them again. One. Two. Good sheep.
He stood up, and you did too. He still had his eyes on you, all thr- both of them. He casually picked up his things and walked out the front door, and you followed dazedly behind him. He wanted you to come count his eyes for a while, just to make sure you had the number right. Okay.
"Yes, Sir." Your thoughts corrected you.
Yes, Sir.