"Th-thanks…"
Lauren just payed with his card at the front desk.
Mr. Hogan was already sweeping the floor of hair.
"Don't be a stranger now, Lauren."
He didn't look to him as he said it.
However, Lauren never had an issue with this level of nonchalantness.
"Of course. Later."
The bell chimed as the door to the street swung open.
The shop was empty again.
It was a long period, where the only sounds were the broom scratching against the floor, before Hogan said anything.
"Hope that kid gets better."
After finishing, Hogan slumped into a chair.
He turned on the tv, to continue watching his favorite Italian football team play.
"Hell yeah."
Walking down the street, Lauren found himself spent for the day.
"I wonder if theres anything in the fridge to cook with tonight."
Tomorrow he had to go to school.
Lauren's face was frozen, with little change to it, other than occasionally moving his eyes around to stay aware of his environment.
The half-openness of his lids gave off a depressive look.
His door handle made mechanical sounds, as he twisted the key.
To him, it was always interesting to hear it.
Click… clack…
Quietly, he pushed the door open.
This was his little habit, which grew out of his desire to be almost undetectable.
Quietness had filled the house.
"Yeah, I expected this."
He realized he was home alone right now, as his mom and sister were both naturally loud.
Taking a step inside, he slowly removed his shoes, neatly leaving them next to the door.
Walking down the hallway, he looked to the first doorway on his right.
It was the kitchen.
A loud rumble came from his stomach as he looked at it.
Painful stings accompanied it.
In an almost mindless state, his hunger reminded him of his favorite food.
"Curry…"
Lauren trudged into the kitchen, put on his grey apron, then washed his hands.
Making curry was second nature for him, so the entire process flew by without him even realizing.
When his consciousness re-emerged, his dinner was practically done.
All that was left was to get the rice out of the pot, then eat.
He had made enough for an entire family of four, but his infamous metabolism helped him consume all of it, single-handedly.
After 5 minutes, there was nothing left in the pot for his mother or sister, except for a few pieces of rice.
When he realized what he did, he cleaned his face with a napkin, while saying:
"Shit… should not have done that…"
Once he took a moment to wallow in self loathing, he started to clean the dishes, pretending what he did never happened.