Crumbling Worlds (A Charlotte Cracker x OC story)

Chapter 6: Odd Offer

Once Cracker was gone, Michelle immediately dragged herself up the stairs and into the bathroom. She needed a shower. Urgently. This day already started not so well, so she definitely had to clear her head a bit before she could begin anew. Without wasting another thought on her bad night or the weird encounter with the Minister, she slipped out of her clothes and carefully stepped into the shower to let the water wash her worries away.

~*~

It was around lunchtime when Umi finally showed up at her doorstep to take her out for some food and show her around the Shortbread District. Their first stop was at a little bakery with an outdoor cafe attached to it, not too far away from their houses. Since Michelle only ate like half a croissant this morning and as a result didn't feel too powerful, she was definitely rather eager to sit down and finally eat a real meal now.

"So, how did your first night as official citizen of Biscuits Island go?" Umi asked as they both sat down at a small table outside of the cafe.

"Urgh, don't even get me started... I barely got any sleep." Michelle admitted to the other woman and shook her head as she picked up the menu card to check out the food.

"And why's that? Did something happen, or did you simply not want to sleep?"

"Eh... I guess you could say I was just too excited to really rest. Everything looked and smelled so different, and I just couldn't find any peace..."

"Mh," Umi chuckled a little and then shook her head, "I get what you mean. This is a big change after all, so naturally it takes some time for you to adapt to everything."

A small smile made its way to Michelle's lips, and she quickly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, exactly!" Although she still wasn't feeling too great because of what happened during the morning, Umi had this really understanding and open energy that truly made the young woman feel more comfortable around her. In a way it kind of reminded Michelle of her brother and some of the more friendly and playful sailors she used to travel with.

As the two were talking, a waitress then walked up to their table to take their orders.

Umi had already decided to get a cheeseburger with some donut bites as dessert while Michelle was still looking through the menu card, unsure on what she wanted. But then something rather familiar on the menu suddenly caught her attention and caused her eyes to light up a bit.

"I think... I'll take the Nacho and Cheese plate, please!"

It was something she always liked to eat, plus, it also seemed to be one of the few non-sugary foods this cafe was serving. 

The waitress simply nodded and started to jot down the order in her notebook, but then she looked back at Michelle with a somewhat hesitant expression now on her face.

"Of course Ma'am, but... I should let you know, that dish is usually meant for a small family and therefore pretty big. Are you sure you can eat it all?"

"What? Uhh y-yeah, I'm sure," Michelle blushed a little at the waitresses' comment, but nodded her head once again. Her stomach was pretty damn empty, so she didn't really mind the idea of getting a bigger portion right now.

"Alright then. The food will be done in a moment!" the waitress bowed slightly and disappeared back inside the cafe, when Umi turned to look at Michelle with an amused glimmer in her eyes.

"Huh, a family-sized nacho plate? You must be really hungry, girlfriend." she teased, but Michelle just rubbed the back of her head.

 "Well, to be fair, I didn't really eat much in... two days? So yeah, I think it'll be fine."