Dinner With A Shark

Chapter 3

On Christmas Eve morning, Yuma woke up later then he would have wanted. 

His alarm ditched him, and when he opened his eyes and sat up on the bed, shivering in the cold following the disposing of warm sheets and blankets, the clock informed him it was long past midday.
At first glance he cared little, still sleepy and lethargic, but then he left the bed with a shrieking curse, subsequently running to the bathroom.

Yuma washed frantically his teeth, not even registering the icy taste of mint toothpaste, and his face, and ended up getting soap in his eyes.
Muttering curses under his breath, Yuma reached for a towel and dried his face, trying to get the horrible stinging of soap off his eyes.
After a while, he said "screw it" and got into the shower, turned on the water and waited for it to warm up.
There was no point in rushing his lost morning; he would have a quick lunch and then go grab the Kastle siblings after cleaning up.
When the warm was warm enough, Yuma stepped under the shower head and let the water soak up his hair, which had grown so much they fell like inky cascades along his back.
He had long lost the habit to style them in impossible shapes, like he did in school, but Yuma still liked to give shape to the long red strands splashing the black with bright scarlet.
Nothing really similar to the shrimp-like bangs he had a few years before, but still moderately crazy.
With a satisfied sigh thanks to the hot water trailing down his body, Yuma reached for a sponge and a bottle of shower gel, pouring a huge amount before lathering himself thoroughly.
After that, the man grabbed a bottle of shampoo and proceeded to wash his hair, scratching at his scalp to make use of all the bubbles.
When he finally stepped out of the shower, all rinsed and wrapped waist-down with a fluffy towel, someone knocked on the bathroom door.

«Yuma? Do you want to have lunch? You woke up pretty late».

«Yeah, well, you could have woken me up», Yuma replied to Kari, though without malice.

Kari sighed: «I figured you would have wanted a little bit more time to rest».

«Yeah, I know».
Yuma grabbed a hairbrush from one of the drawers on the side of the sink and started brushing his dark and red hair: «Sure, I want to have lunch. It's better than having a late breakfast», he then answered.
Trying to settle down his frustration for the task he was getting done, Yuma fought with lots of knots in his hair, remembering pretty well that one time he snapped a hairbrush in two.
Once he was done, and his hair flowed silky on his shoulder, Yuma found the hair dryer and its irritating noise filled the bathroom for a good twenty minutes, and even then the man's hair were still damp.
Taking a look at the hour, Yuma scrapped the idea of styling his bangs and got out of the bathroom, heading for his room in order to find and wear warm clothes.
By the time he searched through the options in his closet, Yuma was shivering uncontrollably, goosebumps forming everywhere on his skin.

The spicy smell of curry lured him down in the kitchen, dressed in the warmest sweater he could find.
Kari and their grandma were setting up the table, running from one side of the room to the other in order to find plates, spoons and glasses, all while the curry simmered on the stove.

«Oh, Yuma! I was starting to think you drowned in the shower».

Yuma grinned at his sister: «But if you talked to me when I was already out of it».

She brushed off the reply: «Just sit down. Lunch is ready».

«I want to help».

Yuma tried to recover glasses, but Kari anticipated him and forced him to sit down: «Don't worry about it. You'll help with the cleanup. Sit. Down», she said, placing a glass for each seat.