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The sun shone through the window as Taco's alarm clock went off. 7:30 in the morning, the perfect time for her to wake up. She turned off her alarm clock, getting out of bed and looking out the window just for a few moments. She could feel the warmth of the sun energize her for a perfect day. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, stretching as she walked out of her room. The fresh smell of eggs and pancakes, a usual meal made for those living in the Pillary Ruins, filled the hall with the bedrooms. Taco smiled, her stomach rumbling to agree with the idea of food.
Taco walked over to the table where everyone ate breakfast to see the normal scenes, mainly Lollipop and Flower fighting over something trivial again while Gelatin cooked. Taco was one of the earliest risers of those still around, especially since Ruby and Match like to sleep in until noon. Taco sat down into her usual seat - the furthest left seat on the side she was on from leaving her room - as Gelatin slid down her usual breakfast. It was two pancakes, a slightly melted slab of butter barely sliding on top, and some scrambled eggs.
"So," Lollipop struck up a conversation with Taco, "What's your plan for today?"
Taco shrugged, "Same as usual."
"Alright, but you should join us some time," Lollipop smiled.
"No thanks," Taco shook her head, taking a bite of pancake and quickly swallowing it, "I'm good without your adventures."
Lollipop went back to bantering with Flower, kicking her legs as she sat on the table. Taco, meanwhile, thought about what she would do today. She'd spend the morning reading The Land of Stories, a book series she'd been really enjoying. Lunch time was usually dictated by when Ruby, and more specifically, Match, would wake up (because god forbid Taco enjoy reading around noon when all Match is complaining about is the fact she shouldn't of stayed up til 3 am again, with saying the word "like" so much it no longer sounds like a word). After that, a bit of meditation, checking in on Bubble and the garden, and a walk until dusk, where she'd watch the sunset.
It was now 10 til noon. Taco had been reading since she finished her breakfast, sitting on her bed with the door open. She was getting about halfway through A Grimm Warning, which she had started just yesterday. She was pretty happy she could get around a fourth of the way through these books per day, it wouldn't take long for her to finish the series. However, her peace and enjoyment of the book was broken by the voice she'd come to lament the most out of all the Pillary Ruins folks.
"Ugh, like, why did we, like, stay up until, like, 3 am, like, again?" Match groaned.
Ruby sighed, "I don't know Match, we really should fix our sleep schedule."
"Of course," Taco muttered to herself, slipping her bookmark into the book, before getting up and talking to the two who interrupted her reading, "Let me guess, you two want food?"
Match and Ruby both nodded their heads excitedly, which is exactly what Taco expected. Even if she lamented hearing their voices because it interrupted her reading, she had to admit that the fact they woke up so close to noon meant she could use them as a way to dictate when she needs to eat lunch. And so, she got started on the usual. A simple turkey sandwich for herself (she didn't need anything too complicated for lunch), some fairy bread for Ruby, and a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats for Match. How Match could ever enjoy them, Taco would never know.
Eventually, Taco laid all the food down, Ruby piping up first, "Thanks Taco!"
"No problem," Taco smiled, "You guys are basically my lunch bell."
"What do you even, like, do while, like, waiting for us?" Match raised an eyebrow.
"Reading," Taco took a bite of her sandwich, swallowing before continuing, "The book I'm currently getting through is really good."
"Please please can you tell us about it please please please?" Ruby gave Taco puppy-dog eyes.
Taco couldn't resist Ruby's puppy-dog eyes, "Alright."
The rest of the time was spent with Taco happily chatting about the book she's been reading, Match and Ruby being surprisingly attentive. Bubble must have been rubbing off on them really well. Before they knew it, half an hour had passed, all the food eaten. Considering they usually sat in silence, or at the very least Taco did, it was nice to actually be part of Ruby and Match's conversation. She was patient with them (they hadn't read any of The Land of Stories before), answering their questions, all until Match got a text and had to be off with Ruby.
Taco cleaned up the mess that was left, putting all the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. It was extremely peaceful in the tower everyone lived in now. Everyone was out and about, except for Taco, leaving the only noise around her the background noises no one usually noticed. A perfect environment to meditate for a bit.
An hour, maybe an hour and a half, Taco was never too sure, later, Taco had finished meditating. It was extremely relaxing, and a comfort for her. But once it was over, she knew where to go next.
Walking out of the tower, the warmth of the sun radiated down, making a nice, very comfortable feeling outside. Out in the middle of the field, of course, was Bubble, with Ruby and Match leaning against the wheel barrow Bubble used. The three were chatting away, looking like they were making plans. Taco walked down, the feeling of the grass soft under her feet.
"Hey guys!" Taco waved.
Bubble looked up, "Hoi Taco! Could you toike over woitching the goirden for today?"
"Sure thing!" Taco took the offer, "I don't really have anything better to do."
"Like, thanks, Taco, now we can, like, go to the mall," Match smiled.
Taco waved them a goodbye, following the instructions left on paper from Bubble. It surely wasn't on her plans for today, but Bubble seemed very happy with Taco taking over for the day. It wasn't even that hard, just some simple instructions, letting Taco just relax and make sure nothing bad happened. They never said how long they would be at the mall, but it didn't really matter when Taco didn't exactly have plans. She usually would just walk around and see what everyone was up to, and return home once the sun started setting. It was a nice change of pace without the stress of the challenges she used to compete in. Just her, the aloe vera that was technically X's, and the sun.
She was glad her life was so uneventful. It was something she loved. Challenges were just unnecessary stress for her. If she could place the blame on one object, one more than them all, it would be Book. But, the more and more she thought about it, the more she wondered why. Why was Book so mean? She had been watching TPOT, and Book seemed to be improving. But, Taco didn't want to go back. That was for sure. Challenges weren't something she needed.
She liked her life now, where time could slip by and the only thing keeping her on a loose schedule were her peers.