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Seraï sits at her desk in her dorm, picking away at a frozen dinner while absent-mindedly scrolling on her phone.
God this sucks, you really do get what you pay for. At least I didn't pay much. Gotta keep my food budget tight this month so I can send some more back home. I still can't believe the roof caved in at the orphanage; damn termites.
While scrolling through Quarble, Seraï comes across a picture from Garl showing his newest dish: a maple-rum glazed salmon served with roasted bell peppers and coconut jasmine rice. She could not stop the salivation even if she wanted to. Her stomach growled in famished desire; part of her frozen dinner still left untouched and half-baked.
Mannn why didn't I ever learn how to cook… oh right, I didn't care.
Seraï sighs to herself, taps the ‘heart’ button on Garl’s picture, and continues to scroll and pick at her “5-star meal”. Not but a few moments later a notification pops up on her phone: a text from Garl. It reads,
\\ Hey Seraï!! I was wondering if you had any dinner plans tonight =D My grandma just made her special feijoada but has to leave for the night. You could come over and help me finish it off haha! She always makes SO much XD \\
Seraï stares at the message. Her heart still jumps a little when she sees Garl’s name pop up on her phone, but she's gotten better at controlling her excitement. Despite every fiber of her being wanting to reply with something akin to “omg yes im omw rn!! ^_^ ”, she can't help herself from replying in her usual sarcastic way. She takes a picture of her black, plastic container partially filled with now cold re-heated food and sends it to Garl with the message
\\ sorry im treatin myself tonight ╮(︶▽︶)╭. maybe another time \\
She chuckles a bit to herself before setting her phone down. The instant it hits the table she receives an onslaught of texts one after another after another. She quickly picks the phone back up and sees Garl, still currently typing, in a frenzy. The messages read,
\\ WHAT!!! \\
\\ SERAÏ YOU DESERVE BETTER THAN THAT!! \\
\\ I KNOW IT'S CONVENIENT BUT STILL!!!!! \\
\\ Send me the box that came in and I'll teach you the recipe myself! \\
\\ I'll go to the market tomorrow and come over immediately after. \\
\\ I can show you a simple way and a more involved way! Food should always be something special!!! \\
Seraï can feel the heat begin to well up in her face. She begins to type her thoughts out in a lightning fast response,
\\ no no no thats fine garl rly im ok wiht it im tryign to save money snyways its fine rly!!! \\
Before she taps ‘send’ though, she pauses. Her heartbeats echo in her ears, her blood pumps fast, her whole body is hot. This is it. This is what she's wanted for so long. An excuse, a proper, good excuse to be with Garl, just the two of them. She deletes the message.
\\ yeah ok that sounds cool. lmk when ull b here. \\
Her heart pounds like a war drum. Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom. Three seconds turn into three millennia. Her notification noise plays
\\ Alrighty I'll see you then!!! =) \\
She drops her phone onto her desk. She drops herself onto her bed. She kicks her feet and screams into her pillow, a muffled cry of
YES!!!!!!!!!!
The next morning Seraï wakes up and finds Teaks, as always, ready and heading out. She looks back to Seraï and with a bright smile says,
“Good morning sleepy! You ready for your big day?”
Seraï looks at Teaks with groggy confusion, then recognition, then shock.
“Wh-wait! How did you- how did you know about… that ?”
Teaks gives a confused look back at her.
“Huh? You've been telling me every day for the past almost three weeks about this big performance you and the Vespertines are putting on tonight for Brisk Elementary. I helped you with your line reads, remember? “
Teaks curls one of her fingers in a miming of a hook and closes one eye,
“‘Y’arr! I be the rogue pirate Captain Klee’shaë and I'm here to settle me score with the dastard known as High-Tide Vance!’ Ring any bells?”
Seraï’s face goes pale and her mouth drops open.
“Oh. My god. Oh my god. Oh my god!!! How did I forget that was tonight!?! No no NO AAAHHH!!!”
She puts her hand to her head and continues to growl out ridicules to herself. Teaks rushes over with a very concerned look,
“Woah woah hey, Seraï what's the matter? This isn't like you at all.”
Seraï looks up, tears beginning to well in her eyes. She wraps her arm around Teaks and plants her face in her friend’s shoulder,
“I just… I made a plan with Garl. Finally! I finally got the courage to do something with him, just the two of us, and it had to be today! I had to forget like the idiot I am! I got so caught up in thinking about getting to be with him that my stupid, stupid brain just passed right over everything else… Why am I like this….”
Teaks immediately drops her books and begins comforting Seraï, hugging her in kind and petting her head,
“Hey now, you're not an idiot and you're not stupid. You're one of the smartest people I know. Everyone forgets things, especially when they're overwhelmed with emotion. You know Garl, you know how caring he is, there's no way he wouldn't be understanding. Why don't you just ask him to move it to tomorrow?”
Seraï sniffles and looks up at Teaks. Her gloom-filled eyes are met with warmth and kindness. She wipes the tears from her eyes and gives a nod. She gets up and goes to her phone, finding a new notification from Garl. It reads,
\\ Hey Seraï! I'm so so sorry but I've gotta cancel today =( My grandma needs me at the restaurant all day long, one of our chefs got sick so I'm filling in for her. But on the plus side if you wanna stop by later before we close I can still treat you to a nice meal! Let me know and I'll send you the menu =) Again I'm really really sorry, I was looking forward to teaching you some cooking v.v Ok I'll talk to you later, seeya!! \\
Seraï lets out a massive sigh of relief. She looks over to Teaks and holds her phone up, allowing her to read the message.
“Well there you go! All's well that ends well. Now you better take him up on that offer, I don't care how tired you are after your performance, missy!”
Teaks picks her books back up and begins to head out the door, reaching into Shrimp Fried Rice’s tank to give the banana-colored python a quick pet. She gives a wave and a smile to Seraï and wishes her good luck before leaving. Seraï spends the next ten minutes staring at the ceiling.
Garl looks at his phone during a brief bit of down time in the kitchen to see a message from Seraï reading,
\\ sry garl cant tonite, smth came up for me too. if ur good tmrw tho id still like to learn some cooking. heres the box for that microwave dinner. \\
The picture attached shows a ripped piece of cardboard packaging with the brand name of ‘Cooker Surprise!’. The name of the meal reads ‘Country fried steak with mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables’. The picture of said food leaves a lot to be desired. Garl winces at the package and thinks to himself,
Aw man, that's such an easy dinner too! Why did Reshma have to get sick today of all days? No no don't think like that, no one chooses to get sick. Plus Vovó needed the hands anyways since Dell’s on parental leave too. Ah well, tomorrow’s another day. I just hate to disappoint Seraï. Seems like everytime we try to hang out something always comes up. No sense in dwelling on it though, we've got potatoes that need a-peelin’!
Garl slides his phone back in his pocket, washes his hands, and returns to the kitchen. The sous-chef, a man named Jean-François, calls out to Garl requesting him to “drop more pasta”. The ever-eager cook gets right back into gear as the hours start to fly by.
Nearing the end of the night as the customers slow down and the cleaning begins, a small group of peculiarly dressed individuals enters Wanda's Place. Their attire harkens back to the Age of Plunder, a time when pirates ruled the town of Brisk and sailed the high seas. As they're seated they all deflate, sinking into their chairs and resting their heads on the table. They look absolutely exhausted. However there's an energy about them despite the fatigue; they're laughing and talking and making wild gestures. One of the figures takes off a large, wide-brimmed hat adorned with various bird feathers and places it on the table. They also remove a plastic pirate hook from their left hand and place it next to the hat. The server comes by and takes the party's orders: four rounds of the daily soup special. Yolande pipes up and says,
“Valtraid I hope you’re right about this place, you know I don’t like spending money on bad food.”
Valtraid responds,
“Trust me, I’ve been comin’ ‘ere for years! I’ve tried the whole menu and they ain’t got a single thing that’s bad,”
He looks over to Seraï,
“So Cap’n, how're you feelin’? That was both our largest show and your most amount of lines.”
Seraï, now hat-and-hookless, looks over to Valtraid with eyelids half-open and drowsily responds,
“As long as the kids had fun, I think it was a success.”
She gives a slight smile and a weak thumbs up which prompts another bout of laughter from the crew. As the soups come out the gang prepare to dig in, but Seraï simply lays her head down on the table, spoon in hand. Valtraid looks over and begins to chuckle,
“Oy, Seraï’s fell asleep haha!”
Yolande responds,
“Aw let her rest, being Captain Klee'shaë is a hard role to play when you're as introverted as she is.”
One of the servers ducks their head into the kitchen and lets the staff know that half the floor is ready to be mopped. A few moments later Garl comes rolling out a mop and bucket. As he steps into the main dining room he notices the party of pirates sitting at one of the nearby tables. Recognizing the (still awake) trio he walks over with his notoriously big smile,
“Hey guys! How are ya! Fancy seeing you here.”
Yolande looks up, her eyes widening in a flash of surprise for a brief moment before returning to normal as she exclaims,
“Hey! How's it goin’, stranger? I didn't know you worked here.”
Garl beams at her,
“Yeah haha, it's my grandma’s place. I help out here and there when needed, I also get to learn a lot of cooking from the chefs. It's like I'm going to culinary school for free!”
Valtraid looks over with his mouth agape,
“No way, your gran's the Wanda!? This place is her place ??”
Garl keeps smiling and gives a firm nod. Keenathan looks over,
“My compliments to her. This soup might just be the best soup I've ever had, or my name’s not Keenathan!”
Garl looks a little bashful and responds,
“That uhh, that’s actually my recipe haha. I came up with it while testing out different ratios of ingredients. Really glad you like it!”
Seraï, stirring from the sudden conversation influx, looks up and turns around to find the source of her napping disturbance. She freezes as her eyes meet Garl’s and he in turn becomes stone still. Both stare at each other until the silence almost becomes too much to bear, Garl finally breaking it by blurting out,
“Seraï is Captain Klee’shaë?!”
A single beat passes before the rest of the troupe erupt into laughter. Seraï’s face goes crimson and her body refuses to move. Yolande, in between bursts of giggling, manages to eke out
“Wait, you didn't know ?? Hahaha! Oh man that's hilarious, and I should know, Comedy is my middle name! Bwahahaha!!!”
Seraï stands up from her seat and briskly walks out of the restaurant, leaving everyone in stunned silence. Garl looks to her and shouts out,
“Seraï wait!”
Garl runs after her and catches up right outside. Seraï is standing with her back facing him, her shoulders shudder and are joined by the quiet sounds of barely choked-back sobs. Garl stops a handful of feet away, reaching out for… something. Seraï brings her hand up to her residual left arm and begins to hold it, trying to find some comfort. She turns around to face Garl, tears streaming down her face, mouth quivering,
“Garl. I'm sorry. I should've told you. The reason why I bail and flake and say no all the time to you is because I… do this.”
She gestures to her outfit.
“It's stupid and dumb that I didn't just tell you but I… I'm embarrassed. It's not easy for me to do this and I thought that if I had just kept it a secret from everyone then it would be easier, but instead I feel like I'm just pushing you and Zale and Valere away because I always feel like I'm lying to you when I say I'm busy or I have plans and never tell you about them and-”
Garl raises his hand forward cutting Seraï off,
“Seraï, whatever your reasons were, whatever your plans, that's your business. Nobody has a right to know your business. You're not lying to me by not giving all the details of your life, you're just telling me what I need to know. People have their lives, lives are busy things. I'm open about mine but that doesn't mean that you have to be about yours. Your boundaries are yours to set and no one else's to complain about. And if they do I'll just give em the ol’ one-two with my pan haha!”
Garl’s warm smile and sudden burst of laughter take Seraï aback. The tears start to flow again. Garl takes a step forward. Seraï stands still. Another step from Garl. Seraï’s leg flinches. One more step. This time, she matches. The two come together in a much needed embrace. As Seraï buries her face into Garl’s chef coat, she says three words that get muffled by the fabric. Garl looks down to her,
“Sorry, what was that?”
She looks up to him, smiling bright and wide with wet cheeks,
“Nothing, it's fine. Thank you, Garl.”
He smiles back,
“You're welcome, Seraï.”
The two continue to hold each other for a while until Seraï breaks the silence. She looks up to Garl and asks,
“Did you still want to teach me how to cook?”
Garl looks down with enthusiasm,
“Of course!! Let's do it tomorrow! I'll tell my grandma that I've got school stuff and can't work so I can run to the market and get the things and come to you and show you everything !!!”
Seraï gives a little giggle and says,
“I'm not sure I'll be able to retain everything per se, but I'll be sure to follow along with one recipe.”
The pair begin to walk back inside and as they reach the door Garl looks at Seraï and says,
“I'll teach you enough so you don't have to eat everything out of that microwave.”
Seraï gives him a smug look,
“But what about my cup ramen? You are not taking that one away from me!”
The two laugh and Garl replies,
“Alright alright, I'll admit microwaves are pretty good. That and I just don't know how to make ramen from scratch yet!”
The laughter continues all the way back to and is joined in by the rest of the table.
“I’ve got family in Brisk and my little cousins were talking up a storm about you guys! They were soooo excited about the Vespertines coming to their school, haha. I never could’ve imagined that Seraï would be a part of it though!”
Garl chats amongst his friends as they all walked towards their van, the night coming to a close. Seraï, barely able to stand up straight, asks Garl to help her into the back of the van. He climbs in, takes her hand, and lifts her in with ease. She slumps into the back seat and immediately falls asleep. Garl smiles and hops out of the van. Yolande gives him a smug, knowing look and wiggles her eyebrows up and down. He looks at her with a blank expression and cocks his head to one side in confusion. She lets out a sigh with a smile and shrugs her shoulders. She clasps one hand on his shoulder and says,
“Garl my friend, I love ya, but you gotta work on your situational awareness.”
Yolande steps into the van and gives him a two-finger salute and a wink. Keenathan and Valtraid follow suit and both give a goodbye wave before closing the door and driving off. Garl looks after the van until it disappears beyond a turn leaving him alone under the warm glow of the streetlamps. Jean-François finishes locking up the restaurant and walks over to him,
“You two would make a cute pair, mon ami. She obviously likes you back.”
Garl whips his head around and begins to stumble over his words,
“We’re- but wh- no no she’s just- we’re just friends not- JF it’s not, like that ha. Ha ha.”
The middle-aged man gives a small chuckle and pats Garl on the back,
“Oh I am sure you are, but that is the bedrock of any functional relationship. It has taken me two divorces and forty-three years to figure that out.”
Garl looks at the ground, his shoulders begin to tighten,
“But… but what if I mess it all up? What if she doesn’t like me back in the same way? What if I ruin what we have now, our friendship, by wanting more? I’m… fine with how things are now.”
Jean-François puts one hand in his pocket and the other on Garl’s shoulder,
“Well then the friendship was not that strong to begin with, eh? If a stiff breeze was all it took to collapse, Antsudlo would not be standing for so long. You are a good kid Garl, everyone can see that, but you are not so good to yourself. Despite how grown up you are in some regards, you are still a young man. You must allow yourself to try and to learn and, possibly, fail. But I do not believe you will fail, I see the way she looks at you, the way she only looks at you. And the way you look at her . Mon dieu you must at least try!”
Garl looks up at the man, first pensively and then resolutely,
“You’re right, JF. You’re right! I’m going over to her place tomorrow so I’ll do it then. I’ll make sure the time is right, not too soon and not too late, and I’ll just… I’ll tell her how I feel. I won’t look for anything I won’t expect anything I’ll just let my feelings speak for themselves.”
Garl takes a deep breath and lets out a long sigh,
“Thanks, JF. As nervous as I feel about it, I think that just shows how much I want it.”
The taller man gives the boy a big smile and a nod,
“C’est génial! You must tell me how it goes! What are the plans you have for tomorrow?”
Garl responds, “I’m gonna be teaching her how to cook! She sent me a photo of a frozen meal . Country fried steak no less! I just gotta go to the market and pick up some stuff beforehand.”
JF cringes at the mention of the meal,
“Oh là là that breaks my heart. You definitely have your work cut out for you mon ami, but I do hope that you can replace that microwave of hers for good.”
Garl gives a bashful smile,
“Heh heh, yeah, maybe…”
The two bid farewell and begin to walk towards their respective homes. JF’s final statement swirling in his head over and over,
Replacing her microwave, huh? Haha, I don’t know about that.
Garl pulls out his phone and looks at the photo Seraï sent yesterday.
I think a microwave can be a pretty good thing.