Secret Ingredient

Encounter

I'd be lying if I said I believed everything we were putting in the car was for the bakery. I'm pretty sure he is grabbing things for Saturday. He grabbed two big soda bottles and a pizza. I told him I would take care of it, but he refused to listen.

" This will work out great. Lucas and Megan can get closer. We get to work on the bakery. Oh by the way, which Chinese restaurant is it?" He said.

" The one right next to my house." I said. My mind was elsewhere too. I was still stuck thinking about the charms. Was I cursed? No. I never really had anything bad happen to me. I took out my phone and angled it so Eros couldn't see it. I need to know what I'm looking for. I need to remember the places my parents traveled to. I saved a diagram on my phone showing the different symbols.

" Are you going to need help grabbing it?" Eros asked. I closed my phone and hopped out of the car.

" Nope, this should only take a minute," I assured. I walked into the establishment. Reds and gold took up a large amount of space. I looked to the side to watch the koi fish while I waited at the desk. I watched one keep popping in and out of the water. It felt like it was looking at me. I walked a bit closer to peer at the water.

" Ignore George, he always tries to get guests to feed him,"  a woman said from behind the desk. When did she get here? I surely would have heard her. She was dressed in a red qipao. She had long straight black hair that contrasted her pale skin. She had beautiful light amber eyes." For Anastasia, yes?" She revealed a bag hidden in the desk.

"Yes" I smiled while taking the bag. The lady stopped me before I got to turn around.

"Wait one more thing for you," she said. She pulled out four little keychains. Umm okay. " one mystic knot and rose quartz for you and your friend" She smiled.

"Oh thank you. You really..." I stopped because I was now paying attention. She looked too perfect. Then I noticed her eyes weren't amber but actually gold. She looked off to the side. She is not human.

"You're welcome. It looks like I'm needed in the back" She bowed and walked away. I noticed she had heels. Those said heels were clinking the whole time she made her way. I would have heard her when she first came out If she walked over. I stared at the desk now. Something gnawing at me. Check it. Check and see if there's anything on the other side. I looked behind the desk. Nothing, there was nothing there. It was just a fancy host stand with no shelf. Before I realized it I ran out the door. I basically threw myself in the passenger of Eros's car.

"um, are you okay?" He stopped whatever he was doing on his phone. Lie. It was the first thing that came to mind. Don't tell him about the person or thing you just met. I had no clue why I felt like this.

" Yeah, I just realized that I should probably get back sooner. I found a kitten this morning and he has to be starving by now." I forced a laugh. I don't think he believes me for one second, though he didn't press on to figure out what really happened. The rest of the ride was just filled with the sound of the radio. When we parked outside my house, we started to talk again.

" He hasn't replied yet, but he'll probably be down for it." He still sounded hesitant "Are you sure you're okay?"

" Yeah just got a lot on my mind. The redesign for the bakery, the deal, and the cat I found." The suspension that my parents have purposely bought me multiple lucky charms through the years. "Thanks for the ride. I'll see ya tomorrow." He nodded and replied see you tomorrow.

As I unlocked the door I heard Megan coming out of her room. What I saw first was a kitten running down the hallway. He started to rub against my leg when he got to me. " Ana I called and took him to be checked for a chip. He doesn't belong to anyone. I told them we'll keep him." She appeared from down the hallway. She looked better now.

" Hiro, I guess you get to stay." I lift the little fuzzball to see his face. "Meow!"   It almost sounded like he was excited. Megan had a small smile on her face. She always begged me to get a house pet, and now feels like a good time. The timing felt weird. With everything that's happened recently a cat showing up out of nowhere feels suspicious. I'm going to keep him, but something was off.

" I bought him a few things here anyway. It was in case we did get to keep him." Megan was smiling like a kid who got told they could get ice cream. " So you already named him. Why hero?" She picked up the cat and began to pet his back.

"His black fur makes a mask shape on his face. The white is like a mouth opening. I also thought H-I-R-O spelling would be neat for the little guy." Megan nodded while still petting and snuggling the little guy. She was already attached to the little. " Well, I got everyone's food. Cat included." I placed two bags on the table. " I also was given a few charms from the restaurant" I began to set up his food bowl stuff.

Megan set Hiro down. She walked over to help me." I set up some of his stuff. You won't have to worry about any of it." I just replied with a nod. I handed her the food bag. Then took the charms out of my purse to hand them over. " Oh, the crystal looks so cute!" She held it up a bit to look at it better. I didn't notice how long the string was till she unraveled it. It was a necklace. She put it on and looked so happy. Megan then started opening and setting up the containers.

I turned on the TV. We had been watching the rookie recently " So are you ready to talk about it?" I asked. I shoved a fork full of food in my mouth.

" I'll tell you more after this episode, but basically my dance partner dropped out of my dance." She never glanced away from the TV.

" He what!" From the tone of my voice, she could tell I was pissed. "Don't worry I know where to hide the body.”

“No. Murder is not an option. Trust me we got into a screaming match when he said he wanted to join another team. Can we talk about it later though? I want to disassociate for a bit.” She sounded heartbroken. I know this was big for her. That's why she's been working so hard. She wanted to win and needed to win.