She sat on the bed, absent-mindedly stroking the ring as she read the letter.
She sighed when she was done. Nicholas had gone to run some errands and promised he would be back soon. In the meantime, she had been assigned her errands.
She wore her hoodie and went out. The first item was food.
' Leave it to a mouse to think of food' She inwardly smirked.
She trekked on the dust-trodden path.
"Where is everyone?" Yesterday, she remembered the streets being more crowded and busy. Perhaps, they were busy inside getting ready for the day. Either way, everywhere she turned she saw no visible stall for food or any indication of someone selling food. Before she left, she had thought about asking Hilda for some recommendations but she couldn't find her after reading Nicholas' letter.
She walked on until she stumbled upon a rundown wood hut situated at the edge of the village blanketed by overgrown shrubs and towering trees. Scribbled on its door was a carving of a burger—it was messy and crude. She hesitated a bit before knocking on the door.
"Is anyone there?"
The door creaked open and a short and stout man waddled out.
"Hello. How may I help you ?" the man said with a greasy grin.
" Do you perhaps sell food?"
"We do! Come in! Come in!" the man said a bit too enthusiastically—probably due to the lack of business.
The man led her inside. The inside was just as dismal as the outside: a few troubles that seemed to be on their last leg— literally, and no visible sign of any working chairs as well as plenty of health violations.
An unbearable stench assaulted them as she got closer to what seemed to be the counter. The stench had almost completely distracted her when she realised something she had completely forgotten—the money. The currency was drastically different from the dollars she was used to. She knew because Nicholas had brefily mentioned it. Recalling the fact mad her angry and anxiou, the mouse had the gill to leave a to do list that invoiced paying withe money she didn't have.
She had to find another way to pay for the food.
"Ummm, sir?"
"Yes?"
"I am unable to pay you."
"Oh?" The man sighed and tsked.
"Great! I dragged in another one who can't pay the bill" he grumbled.
"If you can't pay, you can't stay. It's our store policy" He pointed to the signboard that hung above the counter. All Blossom could see were squiggles that were comparable to a kindergarten's.
Noticing that the broke customer was still standing in his restaurant, the owner began pushing her out of the store.
"Wait!" Startled by the sudden shout, he stopped.
"What now?" he looked at her with disdain.
"What if I lay you in some other way?"
"How?" he trailed his gaze on her and it landed on her pink hoodie.
"Are you going to pay with that hoodie?"
" I am sure I can catch a pretty penny if I sell it to those elites from the Fated"
"I am not selling my hoodie," she firmly.
"Why not? You can buy a lot of food to last you a year or two"
" I am not selling it," she said firmly.
"I have another proposal for you, however."
She pulled herself out of his grip and fixed her clothes.
" How about I act as an investor?" she said with a radiant smile.
" Doesn't that require the money you don't have?"
"I will be a different type. I will invest my knowledge and skills to grow your business"
"In exchange for food?"
"Yes," The man immediately burst out laughing.
" A mere child wants to help me grow my business?"
"I can help."
The man snorted." I would be foolish to take up your offer"
"You would be foolish not to," she said enticingly.
She understood why the man was wary of her—she was a child who looked like they had no experience and with the added disadvantageof beingan outsider made her seem more untrustworthy.
She had to show him.
"Where is your kitchen?"
"Huh?"The man was confused. The child before him was too strange. She wore the clothing one would only see on the children of the Fated but acted nothing like them: proposing a business collaboration for example.
"The kitchen, please" For her plan to work, she had to fully embody 'her'. The man immediately led her to a dreadful-looking kitchen. Just from a glance, one could tell some items were missing.
"This place serves fast food, right?"
"The only thing we serve is our fries."
"Do you have a batch prepared?"
"Why?"
"If not, just prepare some." The man blinked in confusion. Did this unpaying customer just ask him to cook?
She clapped her hands for his attention.
"I meant now" she smiled calmly.
He hurriedly started preparing the food. His techniques at best, were mediocre or to put it better, slightly better than a beginner's. When he was done, she took one to taste.
She grimaced. It was too salty and hard to bite into. She had guessed correctly: he lacked customers because his food lacked taste.
The man noticed her expression and knew he had made another blunder. He had never had a talent for cooking so when his father left him the place when he passed, he was at his sighs end on what he should do with the restaurant.
Blossom suddenly stood up and began her preparation of the meal after she finished tasting the man's fries. When she was done, she sprinkled a bit of salt and tasted a fry. She was satisfied though she would have loved it with a sauce of some kind.
"Here" She laid out a plate before him. Hesitant at first, the man looked warily at Blossom but later on admitted defeat due to the tantalizing fragrance of the fries.
"Wow!" He ate them all in one breath.
" I am sure after a hearty meal, you are now ready to discuss amicably "
"All you have shown is that you can cook. Knowing how to cook doesn't necessarily mean you can help me in my business"
"Obviously. If business was about the talents you were servicing, this business would have shut down long ago."
He turned beetroot red.
"Ahem, I thought we were here to talk amicably"
"Of course, Mr.."
"Porter"
"Mr Porter, I am sure you are aware of the disadvantages of your location" She smiled.
She continued," This place is quite secluded from the rest of the village and not many roads pass by or are close to your establishment which means you lack valuable traffic of customers."
"Furthermore, your decore leaves much to be desired. So if you solve these problems, you are guaranteed a definite commercial success."
"But I can't change my location…
"Why
"Shouldn't you know? Extras are not permitted to have more than one piece of land to their name.
"So there is a rule like that here" Nicholas had only given her the basic rundown of the world but not in-depth in terms of rules and such.
" Can't you sell this piece and buy another " she inquired
Mr Porter was confused.
"Are you not a part of one of the Elite families? It is common knowledge for youngsters like you to know that land typically takes about half a year to two years to be bought"
"I guess I was just sheltered"
She thought about it for a while and concluded that the best course of action was to keep the location of the restaurant. With that, she reached a short-term agreement with Mr Porter. They then began their partnership by scrubbing the place clean. Though the restaurant was routinely swept, it lacked certain cleaning detergents used on Earth to clean stains and deal with rust.
There were no funds so they had to make do with what they had. After cleaning, they could only use bales of hay as a temporary replacement for the chairs. The cutlery was somewhat usable so they used those and Blossom took up post as a fry cook with Mr Porter as her apprentice.
During those days, she also hustled the other to-do list items: earn money, find a map and secure transportation. Mr Porter had told her about a travelling merchant cart that passed through the village two weeks before the Act.
It had been ten days at this point since Nicholas had left. She only hoped he would be back in time for them to go with merchants before they left for shelter.