Morning arrived and Rex could feel a weight on him and his hand seemed to be touching something squishy. He looked down to see a Laura who was sleeping soundly on top of him, hugging him like an octopus.
It seemed that she had quite a good sleep that she even slept past her usual wake up time. As he moved slightly in order to not make her wake up but she still woke up, brushing her face with her hands. Opening her eyes slightly,
"Good morning, Rex"
"Good morning, Laura-nee"
"Did you have a good sleep?"
"Yes, I slept so soundly, I should sleep more here"
She said with a smile to which Rex had a troubled expression on his face.
"Laura-nee, aren't you going to be late for your chores or the thing you needed to do"
"The chores are fine, I usually woke up early just so that I can get it done faster"
"As for the thing, its just mom and me going to the city to buy stuff to decorate for the festival"
"There are somethings we do at home"
"We are going at evening"
"Mom takes her time when shopping so it's going to take a while"
"You should also get ready for jogging, Clarissa should already be waiting at the door"
__ __ __
Evening arrived and it was time for going with Clarissa. Going to the market, she asked him continuously,
"Are you sure she said nothing else"
"She only said to think of it as exchanging days"
She couldn't help but feel that there was something off about it.
They quickly arrived at the market and it was as bustling as the previous day. Clarissa seemed to be more familiar with the market than Laura as she led him around places one after another.
"Clarissa, is there something you want in that stall"
Being found out by Rex, she nodded.
"I wanted to buy some floral garlands for decorating the entrance of the village"
"But I didn't want to disturb our date"
"It's fine, I will buy it afterwards"
Rex knew that she was an air head at times but very kind to those who are close to her. If Laura was the bold and active one, Clarissa would be the reverse. She was very shy when they first met but when she got closer, she started to become a little more bold but only to her close ones.
"I don't mind"
"Let's go get some"
"Are you sure"
Rex pulled her hand and they walked towards the stall. Then he saw something which he didn't think he would see from her. He watched as Clarissa skillfully haggled with the vendor, her confidence evident in every word. Holding her spoils of war, she looked back at him but her face turned crimson as she forgot that she was being watched by him.
"You could learn a thing or two, you know"
Though embarrassed, she said her speech without stuttering.
"Noted, if only Master Clarissa would teach me" Rex replied with a faint smile. He liked how lively and engaging she becomes at time and time when she focuses on something.
"You..."
She no longer wanted to argue with him as she saw something that interested her. She dragged Rex toward a nearby candy stall. The vendor, an older man with a smile, offered them a few samples.
"You have to try this"
Clarissa exclaimed, handing him a piece of rose-flavoured candy. Rex didn't hesitate before eating it but what he didn't expect was that his mouth turned hot and it became spicy but he held it in and waited for the heat to dissipate. But he wanted to do something,
"So hot, so hot..."
As he exclaimed, the vendor also turned a smile. He knew what the little girl was doing but he turned a blind eye to it. Clarissa started to laugh but what she didn't expect was that a similar candy was put into her mouth.
"Hot, hot"
"Uncle Josh, water"
She said repeatedly which earned a laugh from both Rex and the vendor named Josh but he still handed her a glass of water.
Leaving the stall, Clarissa had teary eyes and her tongue was put outside as she tried to dissipate the heat.
"Serves you right for trying to trick me"
Clarissa turned to him and said something but she bit her tongue and her tears started to roll. Sitting on a bench nearby, Rex had to coax her,
"Does it still hurt"
"Uas"
Her tears had dissipated but Rex thought that she looked quite cute.
"Here, as compensation"
He pulled out a piece chocolate which he had bought from the stall before when Clarissa was trying to dissipate the heat in her mouth.
"How does it taste"
"Sweet"
"I'm glad that you think that"
He pulled out an entire bag of candies into her hands. They continued through the market stopping occasionally to watch street performers. They looked through one stall after another and Rex finally had a store which interested him. He stopped Clarissa and told her to wait on a bench and went to the stall. Clarissa waited, eating her kebabs that she had in her hand. There was already a dozen of skewers that were in the plastic bag which she had eaten.
Rex came back with a bracelet which had tiny, glimmering stones, and before she could think of anything, he wore it on her wrist. One of her hands was holding the plastic bags and the other hand was holding the skewers and she couldn't stop him.
"You don't have to keep doing that"
He had given her plenty of gifts before even as children. Though this bracelet was not expensive, it could not hide her joy as she received it from Rex.
Toward the end of their trip, Clarissa insisted on visiting a food stall selling steaming dumplings. She ordered a large batch and handed Rex a handful, urging him to try one. The dumplings were fresh, hot and quite tasty.
"These are my absolute favourite"
Clarissa said with her mouth full of dumplings looking like a chipmunk. Rex knew that she was a foodie but looking at her figure which doesn't seem to gain fat.
As the evening progressed, the market grew more crowded, Rex grabbed her hand to prevent them from getting separated.
"It's just practical"
"Yes"
Clarissa nodded but her ears showed a tint of pink which Rex looked at with interest while she kept her head down and looked away from him lest he saw something embarrassing.
__ __ __
Going back home after finishing the date with Clarissa, Rex opened the door but it seemed to have collided with something. He heard a scream and quickly saw a body which was falling from the sky and opened his arms to catch.