Chapter 12: Meeting the parents
On the next day Minnie visits me, while I'm sorting the allowances, to help me with that and take me to the mall, since we have to help set up the fundraiser.
It's annoying, that we have to help with that, since I will do the last two shifts, meaning I will have to spend a lot of time at the mall somehow.
After setting everything up, I do a bit of window shopping and play the dance game in the arcade. The other games don't interest me.
Before my shift starts, I eat a small snack at the food court, I don't want to start my extra-long shift hungry after all. It's not easy being nice and polite, if you're hungry, so I have to avoid that. It's already dark, when it's my turn to sell candles at our booth. Behind the booth stands Grabiner, as expected.
"Good evening, Sir.", I greet him politely. "Do not worry, Miss Ojousama. I'm only here to supervise. I am not a salesman."
Well, duh, with all due respect, you would suck hard-core at selling stuff, Sir.
"Take your place. I will be sitting over there, if you have need of me. And only if you have need, I do not appreciate being interrupted while I am reading."
For what would I need you anyway? In case some customer tries to rob the booth? "Of course.", I answer him lightly. Before approaching potential customers,
I check our current supplies. Our cinnamon candles have sold well, as expected, the same goes for the green pine-scented pillar candles and the orange pumpkin-scented votive candles. The white peppermint-scented and the orange tangerine-scented tea lights also sold well, but not the red cinnamon-scented pillar candles (huh, strange) and the white pine-scented taper candles. The pink pumpkin-scented votive candles also didn't sell, unsurprisingly.
I begin devising a strategy to sell the nearly unsold candles. The white taper candles and red pillar candles I can sell as candles for advent wreaths, since they're perfect for that purpose. I'm not sure how common advent wreaths are in the US though, they were pretty common in Germany.
As for the pink votive candles, I really have no clue. The target group for those would be girls, I guess. Furthermore, I will mention, that this is a fundraiser for our school (which it is, even though the money won't go to the school in the end). Apart from the candles, who sold badly, I will also try to completely sell our red cinnamon-scented votive candles. It's not a competition, but I think it would be awesome, if our candles sold best anyways.
I already admitted to being ambitious, right? With the best smile I can muster, I begin approaching potential customers, mainly those, who fit the target groups of the candles I focus on selling the best. Though I said, that I would focus on selling certain types of candles, I don't try to persuade them to buy them, if they're not interested in them and only give honest advices. I'm not a scammer, besides, trying too much will have the opposite effect.
For example, I don't approach shy customers, since I know as someone, who used to be shy, that they prefer to be left alone. So I only smile at them, if they look towards me and only talk to them, if they approach me first. With the more extroverted customers, I try to do a bit small talk on the other hand.
Americans seem to enjoy small talk with strangers more than Germans do, which is a bit difficult to deal with, for an ex-shy ex-German.
I don't know, whether my strategies are successful or not, but I manage to sell a lot of candles. I'm slowly starting to become tired, but there are still many people roaming the mall. I don't plan to overwork myself until I nearly collapse, like the player did, though. I'd like to try the chai, but I won't do something so foolish.
While I stretch myself, Angela approaches the booth. "Oh. The candles." Good job, Sherlock Holmes. "Wanna buy some?", I ask her, knowing that she doesn't.
"Red and cinnamon? … how cliché." I give her a sweet smile. "One of our best sellers." "Some people have no sense of style.", Angela answers arrogantly.
Yeah, sure, red peppermint candles are sooo stylish. "Could you please stop scaring away our customers, if you don't want to buy anything?", I ask of her politely. Well, my tone of voice was polite at least. Angela just rolls her eyes at me and leaves.
I'm a bit surprised, that she simply takes my insult, but maybe it's due to the game-fate-thingy. She isn't supposed to make a big scene after all.
More time passes and I continue selling many candles, however I don't feel fatigued at all. Sure, I'm a bit tired, but apart from that…
How long did the player sell candles, until she nearly collapsed? Suddenly I notice the first shops closing. Guess, I should stop selling candles.
There are only six red cinnamon-scented votive candles left and the other stocks decreased a lot as well. I decide to buy four, to use them as an advent wreath surrogate. While I start to pack the candles, Grabiner looks up from his book. He seems confused. I bet he wonders about how much time has passed.
Must have been a good book, I envy him. "Miss Ojousama? What time is it?", he asks me perplexed. "Uh, well that is good question. I have no idea.", I answer him and shift my look back to the box I was filling with left-over candles, while massaging my head with one hand.
Since I saw the other shops closing down, I got a small I feel the fatigue of working for hours, like a dam breaking down.
I start to wobble and nearly faint, but Grabiner catches me, before I fall head first on the table with the unpacked candles. As expected.
But why the hell didn't I feel tired before? Is it due to the game-fate-thingy manipulating me?! "Idiot girl! Have you not sat down for all this time?"
Well, I was occupied with selling candles. I guess I let myself get carried away with my goal of selling the most candles. "I was occupied…", I try to defend myself weakly. Grabiner sighs. "Well, I can't take you back like this. Someone would assume I'd worked you to the bone on purpose. Come along then."
I don't think Grabiner would mind people assuming that though? He seems to rather enjoy his reputation of being scary, even though he falls victim to stupid pranks due to this. Nevermind, we packed the remaining candles away and store everything in the van, before he leads me towards the Glen.
We sit down on a small table at the corner of the restaurant and I wait full of anticipation for my Chai. "Have you been here before?", Grabiner asks me.
"Only once, unfortunately", I answer him truthfully. It's not like him to ask questions like these though? "Sit. Say nothing. I will order."
Right, he probably asked, because he wanted to know whether I'd be able to order for myself. But then again, he's treating me, so he would be the one to order anyway, wouldn't he? A few minutes later, our Chai teas arrive. I carefully take a sip, afraid of burning my tongue. "Mhhmm, delicious.", I comment with a smile.
"It's Chai.", Grabiner answers. …I know. "Thank you very much for treating me, Sir.", I thank him politely.
"It shouldn't have been necessary, if you had any sense.", Grabby retorts grumpy as usual. Geez, why can't you simply accept my thanks? It's not even my fault that I nearly fainted! It's the game's fault! "I suppose, I should be thankful you didn't simply lock your knees and faint.", he adds in a slightly less grumpy tone of voice.
He's a bit tsundere sometimes, isn't he? I sigh. A part of me would like to try and make small talk with him, but I know he won't respond much.
I stay silent and sip my drink, while I watch him drinking his. The silence doesn't feel uncomfortable and I use the opportunity to get a closer look at him.
He seems unusually relaxed, probably due to the comforting atmosphere of the Glen, in addition to the soothing effect of the Chai. He looks better, when he isn't frowning. Now that his usual grumpy expression isn't shown, he suddenly looks rather tired. That reassures me in my decision to cease talking, as it probably would disturb his relaxation. Suddenly he looks up from his cup and his gaze meets mine. I casually shift my look beside him, as if I would've just looked around a bit.
I can't hold back my curiosity and glance at him again. He still looks at me, with an expression I can't read. That's a bit unusual.
I stare in my cup in order to keep me from staring at him. When I take another glance, he has shifted his attention back to his cup again. We finish with our Chai teas soon enough and a waiter arrives with our dessert. I think it's strange to receive a complementary dessert, even though we only ordered some Chai, but I wouldn't complain about that, of course. Like with Damien, eating the sugar-strawberry in front of someone else feels lewd. I take another glance at Grabiner.
Rather than lewd, his way of eating the candy looks elegant. He appears so graceful, when he isn't vexed over the stupidity of students.
"We should go." I nod. "Yes, sir. Thanks again for the treat." Grabiner pays the bill, and we head over to the van to drive back to the academy.
On the way back I sit in front, next to Grabiner. Although tired, I'm in a good mood and I quietly hum 'Bolero' from Maurice Ravel. I guess, I'm in a 'sophisticated' mood. Grabiner seems to completely ignore my existence, while he drives the van. Back at the academy I ready myself for bed and immediately fall asleep. It was a long day.
On Sunday I stay unusually long on bed, being still tired from the day before. The rest of the day I spent in gym with Virginia and in the library to continue my drawing practice. There isn't much else, I could do here, after all. My drawing skill has already significantly increased. I meet Ellen in the library and she agrees to let me try drawing her, while she revises her studies. Though I got better at drawing, I decide not to show Ellen her 'portrait' and destroy my drawing, before she gets to see it. I still have a long way to go…
On Monday morning we freshmen assemble in the gym again. Isn't there a better way to inform the student body, apart from letting them assemble every second week or so? "Good morning, buttercups!", Potsdam greets us with her familiar chirpy voice. She then proceeds to remind us about the Thanksgiving-vacation following Tuesday and how we're not allowed to speak about magic to non-magical people, unless we want to give up on our magic. As I try to head back to the dorm, Minnie catches my arm, to tell me about Grabiner complimenting my work, while also thanking me for covering for her. As expected, but it makes me happy nonetheless.
Hard work being appreciated sure feels nice. The last two days before vacation I concentrated on blue magic. On Tuesday we assembled AGAIN, and Potsdam holds her small speech about Thanksgiving, while we hold hands, with our eyes closed.
On Wednesday morning my mother came to get me. My mother works as a lawyer and my father teaches history at the University of New Hampshire. I don't have any siblings and my parents are rather well-heeled, so they spoiled me a bit. Or at least that's what the memories I received upon entering Iris Academy tell me.
My mother has the same hair colour as I, it seems to be natural hair colour. I never saw someone with natural red hair THAT dark in my 'old world' though…
Apart from that her eyes are more grey than blue, so I got my eyes from my father, I guess. My father has normal brown hair.
On my ride home Mom and I chatted a bit about how things have been at home without me. Both my parents work quite a lot, so they probably didn't miss me too much. After arriving home, I brought the few things I took with me to my room. I sigh, while looking around this room, I've never been to before and yet know so very well. Being here feels so weird. I lie down on my bed and stare at the blank ceiling. In the academy I usually have illusions drawn onto the ceiling.
They don't last for long, but since I'm still often bored, I redraw them nearly every evening. Making them longer-lasting, makes the spell more complex, but I'm satisfied with making the illusions in itself more complicated and detailed instead. Absent-mindedly I raise my hand, in order to cast an illusion on my ceiling, but stop myself, before I even started to cast. I sigh and sit up on the bed. There is a book shelf filled with fantasy fiction and a desk with a computer. Apart I have a big wardrobe, which reaches up to the ceiling. In a corner is a music stand with my clarinet-case beside it. Apart from my desk chair, there is also an exercise ball.
The furniture looks modern and is not childish thankfully. Embarrassing boyband posters are also missing. The interior of my room is held in white, light blue and sunny yellow. I like it, to be honest. I really want to draw an illusion of dunes and the sea on my walls, though.
I lived in Kiel in Germany and sometimes miss being close to the sea.
I wonder, when I'll be able to make moving illusions. They're far more complex than just creating pictures, and right now I'm still unable to do 3D-illusions.
The darkness-spell could be considered as a 3D-illusion, but since you don't have to alter the light, but simply make it disappear, it's easier.
Creating a simple source of light is relatively easy due to similar reasons. As soon as I'm able to do moving 2D-illusions, I will turn my dorm room wall into an aquarium. I stand up and go down. In the living room I see my mother sitting at the dining table and working on her laptop. She looks up from her laptop, as I slump down on the couch. "Sweetie, we wanted to celebrate you visiting us, after such a long time, so we will go out to eat dinner, as soon as your father comes from work.
Is there something special you want to eat?" I think for a while. "Can we go eat sushi?" There are some German dishes I miss, but I doubt I'll find them here.
Apart from that, I really like sushi, so sushi will be good. "Ok, Honey" Mother answers me and turns back to her work. While I enjoy eating sushi, the atmosphere at dinner is… weird. I don't know, how to talk to these people, I've just met, and who raised me for sixteen years. I decide to talk about school. I might not be able to talk about magic, but that doesn't mean, I can't talk about my teachers or my class mates. "Have you joined any clubs?", my mother asks me. "Yes, a sport club, where we play diverse ball games. Virginia was actually the one, who founded the club. The school doesn't have a running club, otherwise I would have joined that as well."
"Do you study enough? Are your grades alright? Your school is quite a prestigious one, after all.", dad asks me with a stern look.
"Don't worry, Dad. I'm doing well. My exams went really well, so far I had no problems with keeping up. Though the niveau is quite high,"
- learning magic is surprisingly difficult, and takes a lot of hard work - "but I can handle it." I give him a reassuring smile. Upon hearing this, my father is obviously appeased. Seems like he worried, that I wouldn't be able to keep up with my new super-prestigious school. We continued chatting throughout dinner, and the awkwardness subsided a bit.
The next day my parents were busy in preparing the Thanksgiving Dinner, so there was no time for awkward situations. The rest of my vacation I avoided my parents a bit and stayed mostly in my room, listening to music on youtube. I have some problems in keeping the memories of my last life with the ones from my new life apart regarding certain details, for example my music taste, unless it's about a German band. I like to listen to various types of music, but that seems to be the case for both 'lifes' of mine, so I'm often not sure, whether I found the song in this body or before my reincarnation incident. I can't say, whether the pop music here coincides with the pop music of my last life or not. It's really confusing and I don't like this feeling that my memories are beginning to melt together. Apart from relaxing, I also revised my studies a bit, since I don't want to fall behind.