Most shops have yet to open as it was still early in the morning. Some were setting up their stores, ready to accept customers in a few.
On the contrary, the bakery as known as Awwi's destination seemed to have long been opened. The lights lit up the entire store, luring customers to come. The girl got a whiff of fresh bread the moment she opened the door to enter.
"Welcome! We seldom have customers so early in the morning," the cashier lady greeted warmly. "How may I help you?"
Awwi did not respond immediately. Her gaze shifted from one rack to another, looking for the bread she ate the day before. Majority of the stock was freshly baked out of the oven while the others were just leftovers.
"Is there anything specific you would like to buy? You can get it customized!"
Awwi flinched at the term 'customize'. Where exactly has she heard it before? The girl has no idea.
"But I don't know the name of it," Awwi sighed in disappointment when she couldn't find the one she was looking for.
The cashier's eyes widened. She let out a chuckle and smiled at the younger girl to explain, "Names aren't necessary for customized orders. When we make something that isn't available in our store, that's already considered as a custom order."
"Oh, I see..." or so she says, but Awwi has no idea how to describe it. With that said, customizing wasn't an option for her.
For now, at least.
It was then when Awwi suddenly remembered her objective of coming to the bakery. She shifted her gaze towards the cashier lady before asking, "Do you sell eggs here?"
"Eggs?" The cashier repeated her customer's question to confirm her hearing, to which she received a silent nod as a response.
Meeting odd customers wasn't uncommon for the store, but this one? It's their first.
"At the bread store?"
"At the bread store," Awwi echoed.
Anyone who passes by the shop at this moment could witness the cashier lady's confused look on her face. She blinked once then twice and made a mental note to herself that customers can word things weirdly at times.
She shifted her gaze around the bread stocks behind her before landing on a yellow-colored bun.
"This is an egg bread," the lady said while placing it on the counter. Awwi took a step closer to get a better look at the said item. She stared at it for quite some time until the cashier thought she had spaced out.
Eggs.
According to the system, they were supposed to have a round body surrounded by either a brown or white shell. However, the one in front of Awwi at the moment did not match the description, not even the slightest bit.
"This isn't an egg," the girl gathered her confidence and spoke, earning a sigh from the cashier lady.
"If it's literal eggs you're looking for, you can buy them at the supermarket."
Awwi gently nodded her head and left the store soon after. She headed towards the direction the cashier lady pointed at earlier and off she went, towards the 24h operated supermarket.
A cool breeze from the air-conditioner caressed her face as Awwi entered the supermarket.
"This place is cold!" Her body was shivering, trying to warm up. Though, the automated door seemed to have rendered the girl speechless rather than the coldness of the environment.
Taking another step forward, Awwi began to wander through the aisles.
"So this is a supermarket? It's huge," Awwi mumbled to herself, inaudible to anyone.
As she walked further into the supermarket, a salesman stopped her tracks by offering a certain product to the girl.
"Hello! Would you like to try out our newest perfume?"
Since Awwi did not know about advertising or whatsoever, it was only normal for her to stop by and hear him out. The salesman took advantage of the naive female and approached her, hoping to gain his first customer of the day.
Awwi stood still and listened to his blabberings as he handed her a scent strip. The fragrance was quite strong but unfortunately for her, she lacked the ability to inhale the product.
Well, 'not yet' would be more precise to say.
The salesman was waiting for a reaction but unfortunately, it never came.
"Do you not like it? What about this one?" He was persistent, persuading Awwi into testing out one fragrance after another. Not too long after, Awwi finally opened her mouth to say something.
"But do you sell eggs?"
The salesman had never experienced such level of embarrassment before. Did he just waste his time advertising a bottle of perfume to someone who was just here for a carton of eggs?
Yes, he did.
He led the girl to the designated aisle before leaving her and resumed his business.