I looked at where he was staring at but only saw Ethel cleaning the floor with a broomstick.
She looked up and smiled.
"Good afternoon Chase! How was school?"
"Good." I said, kicking Joshua to enter already instead of laying dead in his tracks.
"Who's your friend here?" Ethel asked.
"Joshua. Met him yesterday. He's the one who's father broke the entrance."
"Oh."
Joshua came up to me and whispered to my ear with rosy cheeks.
"Dude, do NOT expose me like that!!!"
"Why not?"
"Because I don't wanna look bad..."
I rolled my eyes, bringing up two chairs across the counter for us to sit in, then headed behind the counter where the bread was.
"What bread would you like?" I asked, opening the display case.
"Uh, cream cheese. It's my favorite~"
"Ah, we ran out. Mamma doesn't make much of it since it doesn't sell much."
Joshua pouted.
"I guess-" he was interrupted by Ethel.
"Wait - I think there's a freshly made batch in the back." Ethel put her broomstick against the wall, wiped her hands on her apron, and walked inside the baking area. It was a few minutes until she returned with a nicely baked amount of cream cheese bread. She set the tray on the counter, grabbed the bread with a tissue paper and handed it to Joshua.
"Here you go~"
Blushingly, Joshua received and muttered "thank you" under his breath.
"Thanks. By the way, where's mom?"
"She's at the store buying food. She'll be back soon. She told me to take care of the bakery. That's why you found me here~"
She went back to sweeping the floor again. I went to sit next to a blushing Joshua.
"Chase."
"Yes?"
"She's cute."
"Huh?"
"I said she's cute."
"What did you say?"
In a harsh, whispered voice, he said again.
"I. Said. She's. CUTE!!!"
"Joshua, you just met her."
"It's love at first sight. Never have I seen such a beauty~"
"She's old though."
"Can't be much older than me."
"ETHEL HOW OLD ARE YOU?!??"
I screamed out, making Joshua pale and Ethel question our conversation.
"I'm 16. Why?"
"Joshua just wanted to know."
"Ok..."
Ethel went back to doing what she was doing as Joshua shook me too many times.
"I still need energy to study."
"BE QUIET!!!"
Joshua laid his head down on the counter while savoring his bread and "supposedly" crying.
It was like that until Mamma came.
"Thank you Ethel. I don't know what I would do without you."
"No problem, Mrs Payne~." Then she left.
Mamma set down the groceries at the counter and saw Joshua.
"My, aren't you the boy from yesterday?"
"Yesh, mwaam." Joshua said, chewing his 3rd piece of cream cheese bread sadly.
Mamma smiled and said how thankful she was to see him there again.
Mamma had small talk with us until it was time for him to leave.
"Bye Joshua."
"Bye bro."
Then mom sent me to study.