Some observation

Torn between excitement of what you have done and what you can do going forward, disbelief, and fear of what changes you could have caused you watch the scene unfold. Holding her breasts out, the girl apologises for stepping on the older lady’s foot and the latter nods amiably before turning back to her companion. With a clear expression of relief the girl pulls her bra back in place and lets her top drop back down to restore her appearance. She likewise seems to focus on the stand with the pastries and cakes, but you can see the traces of a blush on her youthful face (she cannot be more than 20). Not that you can blame her, having to bare her breasts in public… And for such a small thing too!!

You have a bit of time before you have to head back into the office, so you decide this is as good a place as any to observe any other interactions that your Rules may have affected. A safe one too, which is an important consideration; you are much less likely to do something that would require an apology sitting at a table sipping coffee than at your workplace. You may be a manager in a higher position than most people at your age, but you still make mistakes. And you may just have made them more costly.

It soon begins to feel as if the Rulebook is making sure you have a demonstration of a variety of changes you have caused in a small period of time without even moving. In fact, the very next instance involves the same girl who had to show her breasts earlier, only now she is the wronged party as a barista roughly her age hands her a wrong coffee. Once the confusion has been sorted out (with the girl looking quite unhappy with the wait, although that could also be the aftermaths of her own humiliation), the barista also bares her top, but by removing the apron, the t-shirt and the bra entirely, rather than moving everything out of the way. She does not stop there either; grabbing a wooden spoon that was on the surface away from the utensils used for food preparation she heads around the counter. You cannot quite make out what she says, but the meaning is clear enough as she offers the spoon handle first and the girl accepts it. Far from angry, she is now trying to suppress a giggle as she gives each bare boob in front of her a smack with a spoon.

The barista looks even more embarrassed than the girl was earlier (quite understandably, of course) and she winces as the smacks land, leaving a faint imprint each. The girl delivers another pair and returns the spoons, half-beaming half-shy now, although the barista looked ready for the self-requested punishemnt to continue. She does not argue though and takes the spoon back before hurrying back to her position, putting on only her apron and starting to make another drink. A minute later she gives it to the girl and once the latter confirms all is on order, she takes her apron off again (to the muted delight of most in the coffee shop) and gets dressed properly. While most people have at least a look at her naked shapes while the entire scene unfolds, you cannot really detect much of a change in the coffee shop’s mood or running (being down one barista aside, that is). The girl leaves with her coffee and the barista continues working; you are probably imagining things that are not there, but she does seem to be extra attentive now.

A small nudge in the back of your brain suggests taking a look outside through the glass wall; you do just that, although it is an eerie feeling, doubtlessly to do with the Rulebook’s magic. You do not, however, have much time to ponder on that because of the situation the Rulebook needed to attract your attention to. It appears to be a dispute over a parking spot between a couple about your age (and like yourself, Asian) and an older white woman. The latter is clearly out of place, even if her argument had some merit (whether or not it does, you have no idea); she is screaming into the couple’s faces, spit flying. When the young woman tries to speak up, she is practically shoved out of the way; it is her hurt and surprised yelp that brings the other to her senses, however.

The mental effort it takes her is visible on her face, but she does stop her screaming and begins to apologise. After she gets the verbal part of it out, her grimace worsens as she is about to offer the real apology… And she cannot hide how much she hates what she is about to suggest out of the sense of obligation. Rules are rules, after all. You cannot hear her through the glass now that her voice is lower, but it becomes apparent what she suggested to the nodding couple a minute later. She strips out of her smart clothing with practice suggesting a long history of having to pay for bad temper. With equal practice she secures the pile of her clothes on the boot of her car with her bag… And then she gets on her knees, placing them just over shoulder-width apart.

The kneeling is far from the end of it, however. The woman lowers herself onto the pavement, her ample breasts pressing into it and her hair dragging on it, as she brings her face towards the girl’s shoe and starts kissing and licking it. The disgust is visible even with her face mostly hidden by its position and her hair, but the sneaker becomes visibly whiter as dust is cleared off it by the offending tongue. The same happens to the other sneaker in its turn and then the woman moves to the young man’s shoes. Whether because they are cleaner or he deserved less of an apology as he was not shoved, she is done with that part much sooner, but her humiliation is still not over. She raises her body from its degrading downward angle to be kneeling upright, tilts her head back and opens her mouth. First the girl and then her partner lean forward and spit into it; with an effort the woman swallows.