The Short Demon King

Chapter 5

I heard footsteps carefully tiptoe around the couch, disrupting my peace. I sat up immediately, eyes wide awake.

"Geez!" Kevin screamed, completely startled. "You could've told me you were awake! I was trying so hard to be quiet, too."

I slowly rubbed my eyes, realizing it wasn't a threat. "Quiet? You must have really awful hearing."

"Okay, I don't want to argue with you on this. I'm gonna go make breakfast. Wanna help?" he offered, trying to keep the peace.

I grumbled as I got up, forced to leave behind the warmth of the blankets piled on top of me. Not remembering how hard it was to use human legs, I stumbled as soon as I stood. I had to dig my blunt nails into the arm of the couch to stay upright. I steadied myself and meticulously made my way over to Kevin.

"So what's breakfast?" I asked as I recovered.

"Do you mean what's for breakfast?" he asked for clarification. When I stared blankly at him in response, he gave up. "Well anyway, we're just gonna make some simple eggs and toast so Maya has time to get to school. I'm already a little behind schedule today."

I nodded, pretending I understood what he said. I offered, "What can I do to help?"

"Can you put the bread in the toaster? After, you'll just need to turn it on," he instructed.

I grabbed some slices of bread and placed them inside the toaster he pointed to. Turning back to Kevin, I asked, "Anything else?"

"Nah, I can deal with these eggs," he said before looking back at me. "Did you actually turn it on?"

"How would I..."

"Don't worry, I can do it real quick."

Kevin reached around me while keeping one arm near the eggs. He pressed a button, causing the little machine to beep, before returning to his original spot. He swished the eggs around a bit before asking, "How did you sleep, by the way? Was the couch alright?"

"It was honestly super nice. How was your..." I paused, trying to remember what these humans called it, "night?"

"I slept pretty well too. Oh, and once Maya's gone, I was thinking I could show you around the house a little bit," he offered. "I think you could probably use a day to just recuperate and get back on your feet, literally."

I didn't really have the option to say no. "Sure, that would be nice." I did need to spend more time adjusting to this new body before I could accomplish much on my own anyway.

After dumping the eggs onto plates, he carefully scooted around me to grab the toast as soon as it finished. It was as if he knew the exact timing of everything. Kevin finished placing the breakfast on plates right when Maya entered the kitchen.

"Did you just finish?" she asked him. "You must be running late."

"A little," he admitted while setting all the plates on a small table tucked into the corner.

She followed him over, reluctantly grabbing a spare chair leaning against the wall. She dragged it over so there would be three spots to sit. I carefully shuffled over to the table to sit in that chair. At least the smooth flooring made it easier to move around their box house. Copying Maya and Kevin, I picked the spiked object off the table to stab my eggs.

"Did you have a good night?" I asked Maya.

"Well I fell asleep eventually." Maya sighed before turning her attention to Kevin. "Are you gonna keep searching for a job today?"

"I will continue doing so tomorrow when I show Jaye around town a little. I feel like we could both use a day to just relax," he explained.

Now I was curious. When I finished chewing the eggs, I asked, "You don't have a job? I thought all humans not in school had to have those?"