Where You Belong

The Walmart Adventure

"There! All finished." Lexi exclaimed proudly, gazing upon the creation before her. The blankets were stretched across the table and couch, along with the chair that they pulled closer, then there were pillows blocking the table openings, enclosing the whole thing in a small cramped space. Law raised a brow, not quite sure what she found so fantastic about it.

"Now we can watch movies on my laptop." She said, walking over to the kitchen. "And eat. Food is important."

Not quite sure how to respond, Law said nothing. Though his throat began feeling dry again and sent him into another coughing fit. He hoped whatever medicine Nana and the engineers were able to bring back would help this sickness. He hated being ill. Part of being a doctor.

"Do you like popcorn?" Lexi called from the kitchen, rummaging around in the pantry for things. "And hot chocolate?"

"Popcorn?" He asked in confusion. "I've never heard of such a thing." Law said, approaching the kitchen tiredly. This sickness was beginning to wear at his strength and energy. The brunette poked her head out from behind the door, an expression of shock marking her face.

"You've never heard of popcorn? What? That's a sin, my friend." She joked, turning away to sneeze into the crook of her elbow. She went back to the pantry, reaching up to one of the higher shelves.

"What is it?" He asked, watching as she pulled out a flattened brown bag from a box.

"Popcorn is just popped corn. Pretty self explanatory." She went to the microwave and opened the small door, placing the bag inside and closing it again. Then, she pressed a button on the panel and it purred to life. On the inside, the rotating plate slowly turned the bag around.

"Hmm..." He hummed, curious as to how such a thing existed. In his world, corn was eaten plain. Nothing special was done to it. He wondered what it would look like in the end...

"What about hot chocolate?" She prodded, snapping her fingers to get him out of his head. His eyes focused on her and frowned.

"I suppose."

She sighed at his noncommittal answer. Moving over to the fridge, she opened it and took out a dark brown bottle from the door. Law glanced at the label. It said 'Hershey's.'

"Chocolate syrup." Lexi said, noticing his ever-present look of confusion. He nodded silently, and she retrieved two mugs from the cupboard. Then frowning suddenly, she turned to Law. "Where's Bepo?"

"He went outside for some air. He doesn't like feeling cooped up inside." She nodded, continuing with her work.

A popping sound from the microwave caused Law to swing his gaze that direction. Inside the machine, the bag steadily grew larger.

"Is that normal?" He asked, and she chuckled.

"Yeah, all the corn kernels are being heated, so when the gases inside try to escape the covering, it pops open. That's what that noise is." Her grin didn't disappear as she poured some milk into each cup. "The wonders of popcorn, huh?"

"I see." He replied seriously, the sarcasm passing way over his head. Lexi sighed again, realizing that most things that would be funny in her world were still foreign and probably considered serious in theirs. Still, it would be fun to mess with them.

After stirring in the chocolate and taking out the popcorn bag from the microwave, she replaced it with the cups and set it for two minutes. While that was going, she dug out a big purple plastic bowl from the cupboard, placing it on the counter.

"This is the best part." She said, gesturing him closer. He did so, looking at the expanded bag. Steam rose from the small crack in the top. Taking hold of each side, he watched as she slowly pulled apart and the top ripped open. The steam rose faster as cooler air hit the inside, and a heavenly smell accompanied it. Unwittingly, he took a deep breath, inhaling the scent.