𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍

thirty three

『 thirty-three 』

"ANOTHER ONE, COMING IN HOT!" Daniel announced, removing the last pizza from the oven. It was Johnny's special request. Natalie set down a saucer just in time for him to place the fresh pizza on. "You sure you got enough meat on this pizza, Johnny?"

"There are four different animals on that!" Johnny told him. "That's a man's pizza!"

Natalie giggled, moving on to place the silverware on top of the napkins. With her help, the table had a more artistic feel to it. Arranging napkins and placemats was one of the stranger things for entertainment she took out of life. It was weird, and she never would have admitted that she found enjoyment in it. But it was calming. 

It wasn't proper though, of course. Her grandmother would have had a heart attack just thinking of what she did to the silverware. But her grandmother was not there to see it. Natalie liked it. Daniel complimented it. That was all that mattered to her. 

The LaRussos were hosting a dinner with the Diazes. Natalie was invited as well. It was set to celebrate a complete union between Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang. They finally did it! Johnny and Daniel had finally found a way to appreciate each other's different styles of teaching. It was a major step of progress in the right direction. As Amanda had explained to Natalie, the next step was teaching each other's students apart from one another. The two were taking the opposite's dojos for the next day's classes. 

Natalie was excited to see how that would turn out. She was sure never to hear the end of it from Demetri. 

"Hey, do you mind taking the broccoli rob off the stove? I need to get some wine from the garage. It's the green stuff in the pan," Daniel asked, leaving the room. 

Johnny walked over to the stove. "No problem!" He responded. He began picking up the broccoli with tongs and placing them into a dish that was far too shallow for the amount of food in the pan. Someone else walked into the dining room. 

"Uh, what the hell are you doing here?" Anthony demanded, stopping in front of the stove. Natalie looked up from the table, absently setting a fork down. Anthony had emerged from his room, phone in hand.

"I was invited. Who are you?" Johnny demanded. Anthony gave him an expression of disbelief. Natalie giggled. "Wait. Are you the son? What'd you do, switch over to Whopper juniors?"

"It's called a growth spurt. Dipshit..." Anthony said, looking back down at his phone.

Johnny placed the dish on the table. "Still a piece of crap," he muttered. 

Natalie laughed out loud, quickly finishing the rest of the placemats. Anthony took his seat. She ruffled his hair.

"Haha. Now, why are you here, Sunny?" Johnny asked her.

"I'm Anthony's tutor," Natalie told him, nodding down to the kid next to her.

"His name is Anthony?" Johnny continued, raising both eyebrows. "I never would have guessed."

Anthony stared at him, finally ignoring his game. He died. "What did you think my name was?"

"I don't know. Maybe a Zachary. Or Jacob."

"Really? Cause I thought you were a pedophile the first time-"

"Hey hey hey," Natalie cut him off. "Go back to your game now." She looked back at Johnny, who retrieved a beer from the fridge.