Note: Takes place on the day of "Back to the Barn"
To-Do List
1. Prepare family breakfast...X
2. Check flowers with Uma...X
3. Submit Final Project for Physics Class...X
4. Morning Jog with Sparky...X
5. Groceries...X
6. Donuts...
7. Unpack the last few boxes...
8. Help Dad balance the checkbooks...
9. Check Spirit Morph fanfics for updates...
Wait, already?
Double check, just to be sure.
...Yeah, halfway done earlier than usual.
Then again no surprise, considering the size of this town.
Eh, still a nice change of pace from the chaos of Empire City.
In which case.
10. To be continued...
Now which direction did the sweaty guy that handed this tacky button say the donut shop was?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ding-a-ling, Ding-a-ling!
Standing behind the countertop, a stout young woman with short curly blonde hair looked up from cleaning at the twinkling sound, her business-friendly smile ready for the approaching customer despite the intruding rush of chilly air still lingering in the wake of yesterday's heavy showers.
Off to her left, a taller lankier male around her age slipped a heavy box into a stack with the same ease as a twig attempting to shove a boulder off a cliff, making his ungraceful groans and mumbled complaints known. Only when he stood up and administered an exaggerated stretch to his spine did he notice him, too.
A tall sepia-skinned male with black hair in a low-hanging ponytail, faint moustache and soul patch; dark Lennon glasses; gray button-up shirt and blue jeans hinting at the stocky build within them; russet leather jacket ending at the pants pockets that hid his large hairy hands; and mahogany dress shoes.
Sadie put away the washcloth right before the man reached her. "Hi! Welcome to the Big Donut! What would ya like?"
Mysterious only gave a stoic expression as his view shifted to the display of sugary temptations beside the worker, their glass cases shimmering in the early afternoon light. He pointed at a cinnamon apple fritter with one hand then a strawberry jelly fill topped by vanilla glaze with the other.
"How many?"
Three fingers on the first hand raised up in response; four on the second.
Not fazed at all by the lack of verbal response, Sadie dutifully fulfilled the order. She knew how to deal with the silent types. Before she could hand over the bag, however, her coworker snatched it from her grasp and presented it to Mysterious as though granting a royal an extravagant gift.
"It's on the house, man!"
Of flipping course.
Sadie sighed at this sad display; facepalming at Lars's shameless attempts to advance up the status quo lost its satisfaction ages ago. Except when Mysterious accepted the bag, he deposited it on the counter in favor of hunting around the inner pockets of his jacket for his wallet. Lars instantly flew into sycophant protest, insisting "really dude, it's no big" and such.
Tough luck, Lars.
Mysterious grabbed him by the wrist and stuffed the money into the lanky teen's hand, effectively shutting him up. Then, balling that hand into a fist, he shoved it into Lars's chest, not hard enough to knock him down but enough to get the message through that mohawk-topped head.
That nonverbally said, the stranger nodded in thanks at Sadie as he took the bag, face unchanged as he silently turned to leave—only to pause on the threshold, one foot out and the other still in, free hand on the door. His head pivoted a bit to the side like something just passed by him.
"You're staring."
His concise statement moved spritely and smoothly with a faint yet smoky Latino accent that sounded like he could easily slip into singing fluid Spanish. Sadie had to fight back a blush at hearing it (not that the guilt hadn't reddened her face already—Lars's sudden suspicious stare was not helping either).
"Oh! Sorry..." Sadie averted eye contact for a moment. "I just couldn't help notice that your ponytail looks like a lotus." She pointed to the back of her own curly hair, indicating what she meant. Mysterious faced her with a tilt of his head before lightly, perhaps even subconsciously, tugging at the aforementioned hairdo.
"There's this family that just moved in down the street, ya see," Sadie continued, "This old lady wears her hair a certain way, too. But I only saw her from a distance on my way to work this morning, so I never got a good look."
"Sunflower."
When Sadie and Lars blinked at the abrupt answer, Mysterious cleared his throat and spoke at a more hesitant pace, head hunched down ever so slightly. "My grandmother likes sunflowers. They're her favorite." The man scratched his nape as he readied to step out of the doorway lest he impede any other customers.
Though not before looking the pair's way one last time. "Good to see you again, Sadie."
An appreciative smile reflected back. "You too, Kurtis."
On that note, the male—Kurtis—departed, hardly noticing (and caring about) Lars stuttering as he demanded an answer from Sadie about how she knew 'that guy'.
Neither did he notice a pudgy kid with a red shirt and curly black hair speed past him and into the shop.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Evening that same day, a few miles outside of town, a massive bear-like shadow trudged through the woods, something small and spherical in between their teeth, a slight glint catching off from the light of sunset.
Today had been a hard day's work, and this giant was looking towards a well-earned—
BOOM!
WHAT THE—the ground shook from what sounded like two big somethings landing nearby, tons of birds fluttering from their tree-bound perches in panic. With ginger steps, Shadow Giant approached the source of the disturbance until they reached a sizable clearing.
Then needed a double-take at the sight of two large pickup trucks lodged into the soil—one brown, one green—both battered and dented like soda cans from touchdown.
Wow. Shadow Giant just shook their head, speechless.
Humans came up with the strangest uses for their vehicles.