Empress of Time

Chapter 18: Shall We Dance?

Tyler

I could only get about two hours of sleep. I couldn't get Clarissa out of my head. I have no idea what to do with her. So far, only Lucia and Derrick know of our agreement. However, Derrick must be impatient and ready for us to break seeing how eager he's been to flaunt his affection for Clarissa. What bothers me most about it is how it makes me look like a boyfriend, real or not. Nonetheless, I can't do much about it. His feelings for Clarissa are sincere and I want her to be with someone that truly loves her. I looked at the clock on my bedside table which read 9:07 am. As sleepy as I still was, I couldn't stay in bed. I still have to make breakfast this morning for a few of the guild members who eat here (others may eat out, skip breakfast, or make their own). After my morning routine, I shuffled into the kitchen to prepare the morning soup. I opened the fridge to find myself staring into vast, empty shelves. "Damnit, there's practically no food in here."

"Sorry about that..." a voice giggled. The sound of her voice so early in the morning was unusually calming. Having Kisa around was certainly quite the change. I turned around to see Cassie and her writing something on a white sheet. "What for?" I asked.

I kinda tossed out most of it... not like there was a lot left anyway," Cassie shrugged, "The food smelled a bit stale."

"I cooked with it last night and fed Ryan and Victor though...," Kisa gasped.

"Haha! No worries! Those two have stomachs of steel," Cassie laughed.

"Oh? What did you make so late at night?" I asked.

She fidgeted a bit before answering. "Just a simple curry dish with rice."

"Hmm... sounds nice."

"Hey! Are we going grocery shopping or what? Most of the guild members went to the waffle house for breakfast so you don't have to make anything. Let's just go!" Cassie jumped, swiping the white paper from the table.

"Calm down, woman. How do you have so much energy this early in the morning?" I groaned.

"I asked her the same thing when she pounced and woke me up...," Kisa grumbled.

I drove the three of us to the grocery store downtown. Cassie was hopping around so much that the car shook the whole way here. Her excitement was always boundless. As soon as I parked, she didn't even wait for me to unlock the door and started trying to pull it open. "Let's go, let's go, slowpoke!"

"Just wait for a second!" I snapped back impatiently.

"Geez. You and Kisa are such cranky bedheads!"

I unlocked the doors and out she went, running towards the shopping carts. Kisa and I slowly walked to the front while watching Cassie storming into the store with her list. "I usually have Cassie buy half of the items. She tends to know what the guild wants. I just add whatever I feel like we'd need."

"I see...," Kisa said.

I grabbed a shopping cart from inside. Kisa followed next to me, looking around the store in awe. "Never been in a grocery store before?"

"Not really... I've always lived in the market. Everything seems so... flashy and clean here."

"Well, that's a grocery store for you. Now let's see... I should probably buy some meat..."

We made our way to the meat section as I simply observed a couple of sections of meat and tossed them into the cart.

"How do you know which ones are the best?" Kisa asked.

"They're all pretty much the same besides the fat content when you stick to the same grade. Just gotta watch the pricing and weight."

"Gosh, I really have a lot to learn."