Chapter 27: A Noodle birthday.
Today is a big day for Croix! And for me. But mostly Croix. And she doesn't even know it! Why? Because it's October 13th! Croix's birthday! And you bet I'm giving her a proper celebration, whether she wants to or not.
Thankfully it's Sunday, meaning I can drag her into town under the pretense of having to buy something at the Last Wednesday Society, and she accepts to come with me after a few minutes of begging, pouting and giving her my best puppy dog eyes.
So here we are now! In Blytonbury! First part of my plan complete! Now… ah, yes! I need to quickly buy something not too expensive here. Uh… right! A… a frog's eye? Guess it can't be that expensive, right?
"That'll be ten euros." The shopkeeper says.
"What?!" I shriek. "But it's just an eye! It's not even that big!"
"Why do you even want a frog's eye? The school has tons." Croix deadpans.
"It's not just any frog's eye." The shopkeeper speaks. "It's a rare variety brought from the ancient desert of-."
"How are there even frogs on the desert? There's no water!" I cut him off, raising an eyebrow skeptical, but he seems to ignore my question.
"The guy who provides me with rare ingredients and artifacts from the ruins on the desert actually promised to bring me something very special and valuable, but… apparently it got lost in the way somehow. So I have to make up for it, some way or another." He looks at the jar with a single frog's eye floating inside, and then pointedly at me. "Ten euros, take it or leave it."
"Hmf." I pout. "I'll have to pass, thanks." I say, leaving the jar on the counter. As much as I don't want to blow up my excuse, I will need all the money I have if I want to give Croix a proper birthday, right?
"Didn't you need that for one of your classes, or something?" Croix interrupts her careful examining of some old artifacts to address me.
"Yeah, but… it'll be fine." I say, already taking her hand and dragging her out of the small shop.
"Are you sure?" She asks, looking back at the counter. "I could always let you borrow some money if that's what's holding you back."
"I promise, it's fine." I roll my eyes at her worrying attitude, as cute as it is. "Besides, that's not the real reason I wanted to come here."
"Ugh. I figured." She says, resigned. "But I was hoping I was wrong." She then pauses, eyeing at the shiny rod replacing my wand's spot on my belt. "Are you going to make a spectacle or something?"
"Nope. Not today. Unless you ask me too." I smile at her. "Today it's all about you, my nineteen year old friend."
"Ah… I see." She sighs, looking to the side with a somewhat dejected expression. "But it's not even my actual birthday!"
"But we're going to celebrate it nonetheless!" I answer enthusiastically, hoping to cheer her up. "And you know why?" I look at her, but she just keeps staring at me in confusion. "Because I'm grateful you exist, I'm grateful for having in my life and… I don't know, I think there should be a day to celebrate that such an amazing person as you came to this world."
"I-I…" She stutters, getting more flustered by the second. "You can't just say stuff like that!"
"I can and I will." I answer cheekily. "We're gonna celebrate your birthday and you're gonna like it. End of discussion."
"B-but…"
"Shush. No buts." I cut her off. "Come on, let's go to the market first. I want to buy you a gift and I know those guys have lots of cool things."
And so, we arrive to the town market, always so lively, loud and full of people; some staring lazily at the products, some strolling around, some arguing with the vendors about the prices, and some walking hurriedly, trying to get away from the mass of people blocking the street. It really is a nice place, this one. We don't have anything like it where I live, and I certainly find it very pleasing and even relaxing. More so now that I'm coming to town almost weekly to perform my spectacles, which attract more and more attention each passing day.
"So… what did you get assigned for Samhain?" Croix asks in an attempt to make small talk, while I keep staring at a stand selling antiques. They are mostly old and rusty, but I bet they looked pretty once upon a time.
"Metamorphosis magic." I shrug. "You?"
"Huh. That's a big one. We got scenery design."
"Really?" I look at her, skeptical. I would have thought she'd get something more… important.
"I won't complain." She shrugs. "It's easy and quick, meaning I'll get more time to work on my thesis."
"Oh, right." I had forgotten that was a thing. But… isn't it due for the end of the school year? That's still many, many months away! "You're writing it already?"
"Of course! Why do you think I've been reading so many books lately?" She answers, rolling her eyes.
"You're always reading books, you nerd!" I laugh.
"No, I'm-"
"Hey, look!" I cut her off as something catches my eye. It's a stand full of big, red fruits, unlike anything I've ever seen before. At least, I think they're fruits. They have scale-like structures of an intense pink color with bright yellow on the tips. Their texture is… rubbish. And they're bigger even than my two hands combined! Whoa! They look so cool!
"Chariot, what the hell? Don't just run off like that!"
"Croix, look!" I exclaim, pretty much shoving one of those fruits on my friend's face. "It's so pretty!"
"Uh…" She carefully pushes it away a bit and adjusts her glasses, trying to get a better look. "What even is this thing?"
"A fine delicacy delivered fresh from the American continent." The vendor interferes, smiling at us, obviously pleased by my enthusiasm. "It's a delicious fruit produced by a cactus, commonly known as dragon fruit."
"Ohhhh." I exclaim, staring at it. The shape and colors do certainly resemble a dragon egg, although the size… well the one I'm currently holding is certainly heavy enough to be a dragon egg, but the actual size doesn't really correspond to the weight.
"Are you planning on buying that?" Croix raises an eyebrow.
"Uhmm… yeah! I'll give it to you. As a birthday present!" I resolve, smiling proudly at my awesome idea.
"But I don't even eat fruits!"
"Yeah, and I need to correct those horrible eating habits of you." I tease. "Plus, don't worry! If you find something else you like, I'll buy it to you too!"
"Uh… I appreciate it, but…"
"Then it's settled!" I cut her off before turning to address the vendor once more. "Now… how much is this thing?"
The fruit was expensive, not gonna lie. Especially because it weighed a ton (well, not literally, but still). Probably what five or seven normal fruits weighed. But hey! It was worth it. I'm sure it'll be enough for us to eat for at least two days!
After that, Croix seemed to take interest in a Rubik's cube, the nerd. Except it was all of a silver color and the pieces had different shapes of something? I really don't know much about that stuff, but she seemed to really like it and I bought it despite her protests.
After walking a bit more around town, with me practically clinging to her arm, much to her annoyance (not really; she likes it so much she blushes, but she'll never admit it), we finally got hungry and decided to eat. Now, normally I don't like endorsing Croix's unhealthy obsession with Ramen, but… hey, this is her birthday so it should be all about her, right? So of course I spent the last few weeks searching around for the best place to eat ramen in this town, and found this one called "The Ramen house". Simple name, simple local, small, run by a Japanese-looking guy, cozy and rustic. I really think my reclusive friend will like it.
"Ta-da!" I say, extending my arms to the side as I show her the place. "We're here."
"A ramen restaurant?" She says, raising an eyebrow. "I appreciate the thought, but I'm really more of a fan of instant ramen."
"You're not going to eat instant ramen on your birthday!" I retort, giving her my most menacing glare.
"Why not? I like it!" She glares right back.
"Because I won't let you!" I simply answer, taking her hand as I start dragging her inside. "Come on! You'll like this ramen too, I promise."
Thankfully she doesn't protest any more as we enter and I choose a secluded booth at the back of the restaurant, before we take our seats on opposite ends of the table. Then a waiter comes with our menu and we start scanning the thing, trying to decide what to eat.
Honestly, I've been here before and, let's just say, the spicy ramen is… HOT. Like, sure, I think Croix can take it… maybe, but I think for me I'll order just the regular ramen with pork meat. I don't want to die… Again.
After making our orders (and yes, that idiot ordered freaking spicy ramen despite my warnings), we just wait for our food to arrive. But hopefully it won't be long. I'm starving!
"So… how do you know about this place?" Croix asks as soon as the waiter goes away. "I didn't think you were a fan of Japanese food… or anything non-French, really."
"I'm not." I answer honestly. "French food is the absolute best food in the entire world and everyone freaking knows that." At this, Croix only smirks.
"I mean, I do like French fries." She teases, which would normally earn her a punch on the shoulder, but… today I feel generous, so she gets an eye roll instead.
"You are a dummy with the absolute worst taste ever, at least when it comes to food." I retort. "But… you're my dummy, so I'll forgive you."
"Wow, thanks. How kind of you." She replies sarcastically. "But you still haven't answered my question: how do you know about this place?"
"I know every single ramen restaurant in this town." I announce proudly. "I ate in every single one of them in preparation for this day, and determined this one was the best."
"Uh… what?" She says dumbly, staring at me with wide eyes.
"Yeah, you heard me right!" I exclaim. "I wanted everything to be perfect! After all, you're my favorite person in the entire world. I love you more than anyone or anything, so… of course I wanted to make your birthday as perfect as possible."
"I-I… Chariot!" She protests, blushing brightly and covering her face with her hands in an attempt to hide her adorable little blush… but even her ears are red now.
"Heh. You look adorable when you blush." I tease.
"Please stop." Is her muffled response.
"Why would I?" I continue teasing with a mischievous smile. "I love making you flustered."
At this, she finally uncovers her red face, only to glare at me with the least menacing expression I've ever seen on my friend's face.
"Cherry… please." She says, but I only giggle in response.
"Sure, I'll stop now, my cute little Croixssant."
"Oh, for fucks sake!" She exclaims, sitting a little bit straighter as she looks around, almost as if she's searching for an escape route.
"Heh." I chuckle at the sight, but still some doubts enter my mind. "Uh… you're not actually upset… are you? Because I'll stop if I'm really bothering you."
"Uh…" She sighs and takes a deep breath, closing her eyes as she practically wills her blush to recede, thankfully succeeding just partially. Then, she finally looks at me again and speaks. "I'm not upset, just… uh… I don't understand why you're doing all of this for me." She swallows, looking away as she says her next words. "What I mean is… we're just friends."
"No, we're not!" I protest. "We're best friends!"
"Right." She almost spits that word. "But even for best friends… I think this is a little too much."
"What do you mean?" I ask, tilting my head to the side, confused.
"What I mean is…" She stops, taking a deep breath and clenching her fists, which I notice are trembling slightly. "Uhm… it's just… this really, really resembles a… uh…a… a d-" She blushes and purses her lips, unable to continue.
"A what?" I prompt, smiling confusedly. What is she trying to tell me?
"A-a… I don't know!" She finally exclaims, looking to the side and crossing her arms over her chest. "Forget it." Her face glows even redder now. "Forget I said anything."
"But…" I trail off as the waiter comes over, bringing our food. My friend seems to exhale in relief at the interruption, as the waiter's presence allows her to relax slightly, and her blush to recede a little, though some pink still remains on her cheeks.
For her sake though, I decide to drop the subject even after the waiter leaves. It looks like it was really affecting her and I wouldn't want her to feel uncomfortable on her big day.
But now… time to eat! Yay! Wait… I forgot to ask for a spoon. How am I supposed to eat with chop sticks?
I look up to see Croix, and see she's already grabbed those damn sticks with absolute expertise and is eating her ramen like grabbing slippery noodles with those things was easy! But I'm not her, so as soon as the waiter comes nearby again, I quickly ask him to get me a spoon.
"Seriously, Chariot?" Croix exclaims angrily, her mouth still full of ramen. "You gonna eat freaking ramen with a spoon?"
"Uh…"
"Disgraceful. Absolutely disgraceful." She shakes her head disapprovingly. "I'm not letting you do that, not in front of me."
"But…" Before I can actually protest, she comes to sit next to me and grabs the sticks, showing me how to use them.
"Look, you just grab this one like this, and the other… kinda like how you grab a pen. Then you just move them like this and… look! It's easy!"
Well… it does look easy when she does it, but I've already tried multiple times and I still can't figure out how to do it without the food falling off before arriving to my mouth.
"Croix, I don't think-"
She cuts off my protests by grabbing my hand and placing the sticks on it, positioning my fingers as she mentioned just moments before and then making me open and close the sticks.
"See? You can do it." She smiles.
"Right." I say, eyeing the bowl of ramen skeptically. How am I supposed to eat a liquid thing with just a couple of sticks and that weird-shaped spoon?
"Come on, grab some noodles." She looks to the bowl of ramen in front of me and smiles reassuringly. "I promise it'll work."
She's not going to just drop the subject, is she?
"Fine." I sigh and dip the sticks into the bowl, trying to grab the ramen, only to come out with just a couple of noodles that I promptly bring to my mouth… only for one of them to fall back into the bowl at the last second. So, I end up with just a noodle in my mouth. Ugh… eating like this will take literally ages.
"You'll get the hang of it." Croix says before going back to her seat, and to eating her own ramen. I just pout at her, but continue eating this thing… noddle by noodle. Oh! Also, turns out the weird spoon is for drinking the broth! But… it's not exactly useful for grabbing the noodles. Ugh. Why does eating have to be so complicated?
Anyways, so… while we're eating we talk a bit, mostly about school and the exams, things like that. Thankfully they weren't so hard… kinda. And by that I mean that they could've gone worse. But that's a win for me, honestly. Plus, it provides a way for me to distract me from the absolute pain that it is to eat with chopsticks. Like, why do Asians have to be so complicated? Granted, we have like three different types of spoons, and such, but at least they're easy to use!
Seriously, if I could get a wish right now, I'd wish for a spoon.
"Hey, Cherry, you done yet?" Croix asks, eying my still half-full bowl of ramen, while hers… hers is empty already. Ugh. Stupid sticks.
"Not really." I groan. "This is too much for one person! Especially when using chopsticks!"
"Pfft. Amateurs." Croix rolls her eyes before getting up and coming to seat next to me once again. "I'm gonna have a taste if you don't mind." She says, bringing her sticks to my bowl.
"No, please, by all means!" I say, shoving the bowl towards her. "Help me eat that thing or else we'll be here all day!"
"Okay." She agrees, her mouth already full of ramen. Ugh. How can she grab so many noodles with just the sticks! I call sorcery! "Wow, this is good! But not as good as spicy ramen, I'll tell you that."
"What's with your obsession with spicy ramen?" I complain, as I go to take some more noodles with my sticks. Or… show I say, noodle. Singular. Great.
"It's good, and I love it more than anything." She simply answers.
"Hmf. Is it normal to be jealous of ramen?" I joke.
"I mean, I would eat you if you asked." She laughs, but then freezes, her eyes widening as if she just realized what she said.
"Uh… but that would be cannibalism, right?" I chuckle.
"R-right." She stutters, blushing adorably. "Which is why you should forget about what I just said."
I laugh at my friend's embarrassed expression before going to grab some more noodles, and she does the same, looking at everywhere but me. Gosh, why is she so embarrassed about a little joke she said? I don't get it! And... I also don't get why these noodles are so long! Do they really expect people to eat them whole? Because Croix sure does. Is that the proper way? Should I try that? I'm gonna try that. Just for fun.
And so I do, but… uh… it seems like this thing is stuck somewhere, probably tangled with the other noodles, so I suck harder until I-
Oh, wow, Croix's face is too close! Why is my heart beating so hard all of he sudden? And why is she even that close? Ohhh… it looks like we both grabbed the same noodle! Her eyes are widening. Her cheeks are red. Mine too, probably! Oh, gosh, what should I do?! This would be easier if my body wasn't frozen all of the sudden!
Finally, after what feels like an eternity, but is probably just a couple of seconds, Croix breaks the noodle and turns around, her blush reaching even her ears and neck. I just look down at the bowl of ramen while I swallow the rest of the noodle, feeling suddenly like I'm about to spontaneously combust.
What was that about? Why does my heart want to burst out of my chest? It's… a pleasant sensation, not gonna lie, but also… scary, somehow.
I really don't know what should I do now, what to say, if I should even say anything… maybe I should just finish my ramen, talk about something else, I don't know… probably just forget about this whole thing for now, until I figure out what it means. Until then… Croix's perfect birthday shall continue.
A/N: Hey... I'm sorry it's been so long. I've just ben busy with life, struggling with personal issues and having writer's block, which as you can imagine isn't exactly a good combination lol. I hope you liked this nontheless, and please leave a review/favorite/follow if you did. Thanks!
See you soon :)
Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.
