Maximus - The Key to Heaven

Chapter 5 - New routines

"Wow, you two could eat a horse!" The man behind the counter chuckled, his Brooklyn accent thick and friendly as he eyed the six bags he was ringing up. "Got me all hungry here just bagging this up for you." He rubbed his belly with a smile.

"Keep your belly quiet, Chubs!" Evie shot back, grinning mischievously as she handed three bags to Cecelia. "Come on, Cecelia, let's find a table."

At their table, the air was thick with the aroma of a hearty breakfast spread. Bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches nestled beside buttermilk pancakes and fruit cups bursting with pineapple, strawberries, and blueberries. Hash browns and waffles shared space with an assortment of syrups. Cecelia felt a kinship with Evie, glad to have found someone who appreciated a solid breakfast.

Watching Evie deconstruct her sandwich to insert a hash brown, Cecelia raised an eyebrow. "What's that for?"

"What? You never had a Zebra?" Evie teased, a knowing grin spreading across her face. "Alright, here's the rundown. A Zebra's like a fat sandwich from those Grease Trucks at Rutgers. You layer it up—cheese, hash brown, eggs, more cheese, and Taylor Ham. I throw in some bacon, and of course, salt, pepper, and ketchup. It's a masterpiece."

"Got it," Cecelia nodded, chuckling. "I'm making one next!"

They devoured their breakfast with gusto, sipping coffee and swapping stories. "I wanted to check out that bookstore I saw yesterday," Cecelia mentioned between bites.

"Sounds cool. Good thing we hit the gym first," Evie replied. "I'd die going anywhere but back to our room after this."
Their morning had indeed been a whirlwind of workouts, dragged out of bed at the crack of dawn by Evie's relentless energy. Cecelia recounted the rigorous routine—miles on the track, sets of exercises, and a dose of boxing and yoga. "Impressed you kept up," Evie grinned.

"I did say I'm a second-degree Black Belt," Cecelia shot back, taking a proud sip of her milkshake. "You should've believed me."

"I've never seen anyone move so fast," Evette continued, holding her sandwich away from her mouth. "If you weren't so small, you could totally go pro!"

"I've won a few tournaments in my day, but what's a case full of trophies prove when you've never been in a real street fight?"

"Girl, you're crazy," Evette chuckled. "You weren't kidding, you really can kick ass!" Evie said raising her hand for a high five and was met with Cecelia's.

"Today was fun. I really enjoyed the routine you came up with, but tomorrow it's my turn. Yeah?" she challenged with a grin on her face.

"Bring it on," Cecelia accepted, pushing her chair in as they prepared to leave. Evie left a mess of crumbs and a farewell wave for Chubs as they exited onto University Place.

Cecelia didn't notice when she passed by the store the other day, but they had some pretty great window displays. She and Evie stood outside appreciating them for a while before going in. Her favorite was the window that read 'Ray's FAVES of The Month' painted in white script. There was a poster that hung in the center of it with a quote that said, "My problem isn't that my favorite characters aren't real. It's that I'm not fictional... I don't want them to be real. What I desperately wish is that I could be fictional with them. It's not that I want them here with me, in this mundane and ordinary world... it's that I want to join them in their extraordinary one." Now that, is a great quote, she thought. Surrounding the poster were two elegant book displays like she'd never seen before. They rose up like two spiraling hardcover towers. She could only assume these were 'Ray's Faves' and she had to admit, he had some pretty exceptional taste. Some of these were by her favorite authors. There were all the latest from Cassandra Clare, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Sarah J. Maas, Pittacus Lore, Tahereh Mafi, Alexandra Bracken, and Laini Taylor. The YA Fantasy was strong with this one.