"I'm so hungry after all of that magic…" Grim complains, and I am not surprised that food is the first thing on his mind. I know now he is almost entirely food and ego motivated, which will make dealing with him a lot easier in the future. I wonder if he eats cat treats? I could use something like that as a good bribe. "Oh, this is… It's the same black crystal we saw in the Dwarfs Mine."

"Really? Where did it come from?" Deuce asks.

"Don't eat it." Ace sighs.

"Grim, this isn't the time to keep eating weird rocks." I also interject but it's too late.

"A taste I want again! Let's eat!" He eats it. Of course he eats it.

"You really already ate that?!" Ace, let's not be shocked anymore.

Deuce is shaking his head.

"Are we sure he can eat that with no problem?" Cater looks appropriately freaked out.

The stone connoisseur ponders. "Mmm. A sweet taste, but there's a deep bitterness lingering within. It's so different from the last one I ate!" And he's so excited.

"How can your stomach be okay after that?" I ask with some exasperation. "Could you stop eating trash? It's not a healthy addiction… but then again you'll eat grass."

"Eh, he's a monster, No, it's probably good for him." Ace. We don't know that.

"Ace, don't feed him garbage." That is my one and only warning.

"Still, it's not a good idea for him to keep eating them. At least I think so." Deuce comments.

"It has a refreshing and soft sort of taste. Like a light snack…" Is Grim eating grass now?

Deuce is the one to scold him first, "Hey! Don't just eat anything you find lying on the ground!" See? He's at full brain capacity here.

"Wow…" Cater shakes his head. "Thank you…" Did I hear a thank you? A thanks? I give the diamond-faced a momentary glance. He owes a good thank you. Later. And maybe dinner.

Ace heard something too as he turns to Cater. "Did you say something?"

"Nope! Not a thing." Suspicious, Cater Diamond. Suspicious.

I get up, stretching out. My body's sore from crying and stress. I'd like a good meal and a rest. "How about we have food before we clean up? I think we're all worn out from this."

That's when Deuce and Ace's stomachs grumble in sync. "Oh-." Yeah, hunger comes back when you relax.

"I'm still hungry!" Grim declares.

"Ah… maybe you are right, No." Cater comments maybe a little sheepishly.

"And… shouldn't it be our upper-classman's treat?" I add slyly. "Like an apology for dragging us through all of this." Okay, I hold grudges too, and my own stomach rumbles.

Cater sighs. "Let's just see what's at the dorm… but don't eat any tarts."

We gather ourselves, taking a last look at the destruction before we head to the Heartslabyul Dorm to… maybe not celebrate our victory, but at least feed ourselves before we start on more work at this dorm. I'd like to go back to Ramshackle and get down to it, but this destruction isn't something I can easily ignore… since I technically had a hand in its creature, too.

Technically.

With Cater's charismatic personality, we manage to wrangle a lot of the dorm out to help us clean out. It was mostly older students, as the freshmen were absolutely terrified at the display. I hear whispers among some of them that this was an iinevitable/i conclusion to Riddle's warpath, and I don't understand Overblot itself (as I have no magic and I am very new to this world) to really weigh in on the topic.

Clean up isn't terrible, and we accomplish a lot before it gets too dark to work. Honestly, the hours sort of fly by as I help the best I can without magic, and Grim even learns a couple tricks with some pointers in lifting and moving small things! It's pretty great.

We do get a lot of curious questions, mostly how we're involved in the first place. I answer honestly, it's because of the troublesome two… but I don't forget to add: "Friends help friends.".

Crow the Crier mentioned that the students here do not get along and do not form typical teamwork friendships. At least, not what I'm used to. Like, maybe there's small sects of ride-or-die bros here, but I'm thinking there's an unhealthy distance that leads the way for these Overblot incidents. I wonder if with the hormones, it's more common?

I have so many questions for Crowley.

Good thing I'll see him tomorrow, but on the other hand, I wouldn't mind an actual day off from everything. Though the dorm won't wait.

Fed with dinner, at least, Grim and I head back. Deuce and Ace at least come to the gate.

Deuce sighs. "Thanks for your help… it's been… wild."

Ace scoffs. "Wild? I almost died today."

I laugh softly. "We couldn't have done this alone. I'm glad we were together for it."

"You mean you're all lucky that I, the Great Grim, was here!" You'd think Grim's ego might've deflated. No, no it didn't.

Which is probably for the best? I think I'd be more worried if he ended up sobering from this experience. Though, everyone ehre needs therapy.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you want to think, Grim." Ace retorts.

"You should be thanking me, Ace!" Grim replies.

"Okay before we start World War Three we are leaving. C'mon—I'll see you two later." And I make a hasty exit, waving. Besides, I need to definitely go to the store today.

We need food.

We need a lot of things, but I've got only so much cash in my pocket and I have no idea when that stipend is coming in.

It's not great to go from one large stressful situation to another, but I don't necessarily care when I need a survival strategy.

"Wait up!" Grim follows as I rush off with a laugh.

But as soon as we're back with all the dorm mirrors, I let out a sigh and trudge off, it's just getting to dark. Dusk, right? I forget, but instead of heading to the dorm I turn down to go towards the store. I was told it closes after dark on weekends, which works out best for me.

"Eh, where are we going?" Grim asks.

"The store, I need a few things—including what we're eating for breakfast." Then I'll go see Crowley, we can have lunch every day in the cafeteria, luckily for us, and dinner… "And dinner for tomorrow."

"Food?" Grim perks up.

"Mhm."

Now that has him excited. I'm zoning out a little as he's chattering away, and we finally enter Mr. S's Mystery Store… or… Mystery… Whatever, it's Sam's Shack forever and that's basically the only name I have for it until further notice. I know I'm at the edge of my tolerance for things. Emotionally.

"Ah! A little imp, and Grim!" Sam greets us enthusiastically. I'm surprised to see that no one's here. Luck? Suspicious. Maybe they're all eating dinner right about now. But, I'll take advantage.

"Actually, I want to talk a bit of business. I heard if you can't find something that isn't like sacred artifacts, the person that stumps you wins a prize?" That was a pretty odd rumor to overhear at Heartslabyul today, but I'll test it.

The bright smile becomes almost sinister at the prospect of a challenge. "Oh? You want to challenge me? Five marks. Request any item, any at all—and I will have it in stock! Sacred and lost objects to time not included." Prideful man.

I pull out my wallet, and fish out five, putting it on the table.

"A Texas-shaped block of cheese." He has blocks of cheese.

Sam opens his mouth, and pauses. Then, he grins. "Oh, oh! A clever little imp! I've never heard of such a thing as Texas!"

"You never said it had to be common in Twisted Wonderland." I give him a grin.

"I'll have to amend the rules, No Wei." Oh boy does word travel fast here. "What is it you want as your prize?"

"Tuna!" Grim shouts.

"Definitely not… Grim, we might get Tuna—can you see where the eggs are and stuff?" I ask.

"Fine…" He grumbles, wandering away.

I have to exaggerate as I consider. "Well… I need something to keep the ghosts entertained. What can I do to keep them occupied and make sure people knock…? OH! Tampons." I act like it's such a brilliant idea. "Can I get a giant, giant pack of tampons—variety sizes? The ghosts can launch them. No mess. And it'll keep most of the undesirables from walking in without knocking." Immature. It's a good excuse.

Sam raises his brows at me so high they're gone. "That…"

"You can't do it…? I guess I understand…" A sigh, how disappointing.

"I can, but I will have to order it. I can arrange it to be delivered to your dorm, if you would like." Sam counters. "And, to stop others from copying—what IS Texas shaped like?"

"Do you have a pen and paper?" I ask.

The man pulls out a pad, offering it and a pen over. I stand there and carefully do my beautiful state some justice as I draw it impeccably. I had a teacher in the third grade that made sure we could draw ALL of the states and label their capitals to perfection. I don't remember learning anything else that year, to be honest.

"This. This is the shape of Texas." I offer the items back.

"Thank you, little imp. I will have your package delivered to you. Now, are you here to set up Ramshackle Dorm's account?"

"Yes!" Okay, so that's good to know. "I don't know when Crowley will have it all set up, but—I want to be the only authorized user. Please only take cash from Grim."

"As you wish, that is your authority as Housewarden." Sam informs me, heading over and picking up a device, he's plugging away at it. "How do you spell your name?"

"N-o. No. W-e-i-. Wei." I need to make sure I have that down. Hah.

Sam nods, plugging away a little more. "And the size of that pack?"

"As big as you can find, of course." If I can get a big enough box I can basically never order any more for the rest of my days here… maybe? But I'm not sure this man is convinced of my absolute bullshit.

"It will be there in two days." Sam informs me. "Wrapped packaging?"

"Please. I can't tip them off what they're going to encounter." I laugh a little, he did call me an imp. I might as well play that up. "I did come here for some supplies." Trey started us off with bread, milk, eggs, rice, and a few other things. Even some vegetables, some herbs and spices. It was really nice of him to go out of his way to get us the basics, and even more than the bare minimum.

"Oh? What are you here for?" Sam's very much back to his usual business.

"I'd like to get a couple cans of tuna, some cornmeal, a basic frying oil… A couple lemons." I'm going to introduce Grim to something he might love. "Then I'd like two peppers—bell, and two onions—and a bag of potatoes." That's about twenty, normally, so it shouldn't be too many marks. I think the trade-off is two marks a dollar, so I should have enough. "Oh—and a pack of butter."

I'm surprised to see that in moments, it's all stacked in front of me. "That will be seventeen marks." He's pulling the five off the counter.

I open the beat-up wallet I've kidnapped as my own and given a new home, pulling out the requested amount and handing it over.

Sam bags them with ease. "I still have a special for heavy-duty bags~"

"How much?"

"Three marks." Oh…

"I'll take one, then." It's two bags, but the reusable has handles and the other is paper that Grim should be able to carry.

"As you wish—twenty marks." I pull out the other three, and hand them over. This means I'm at half. Okay, but this means I have plenty of food for a few days until I can figure out a budget with the stipend.

And there's probably more cash I'll find as I clean up. It really looks like the students that ran off didn't pick up a single thing when they left. That's a big advantage to me, because the more I have and can sort through, the less money I'll need to spend on other things in the future. I also need to talk to Crowley about getting that roof fixed. The Dorm won't last too long if the wood rots, unless it's magic wood. But considering the state of Ramshackle, I don't think that's the case at all.

I have my groceries, and call Grim. "Hey! Forget about it, I've got everything!"

"UGH! Really!?" Grim comes back with a huff, and I offer him the bag. "What-?"

I have my hands holding the other, large, handled one. "I've got one, and there's tuna somewhere-"

"TUNA! Yesss!" At least he takes it.

"Thank you Sam!" I call out as we leave.

"Come again, little imps!" He waves in return.

We are just in time. I see a literal crowd of students coming our way. I'm so glad that was all settled out before we had company.

I have a cheery Grim at my side as we toddle off to Ramshackle. I describe the dish I want to make tomorrow for dinner, and my plans for tomorrow.

"Really, boring things like clean-up…?" Grim groans. "Didn't we do enough today?"

"But you have to practice your cool magic to get stronger, right?" I ask. Oh. This perks him up!

"MAYBE you're right…" He mumbles.

It's dark by the time we return. I open up the forever unlocked door that I need to change. "We're back, ghosts! Home sweet home!"

"OoOOOO!" One calls out, and while Grim shudders, there's really not so much to fear.

"We've got groceries! Save it for a bit, okay?!" I call out, heading to the kitchen to put things up.

"You know, your guests left their things." The very skinny ghost appears to our side.

"Oh shit." I sigh. "...And you hid it?"

"And we hid it."

I shake my head. "Tomorrow's problem. I'll have to get them their bags before I see Crowley then." A tut.

"If you can find it!" The ghost cackles as he disappears.

Well, at least it's never going to be a boring day at Ramshackle.

I have an evening of clean-up, hunting down, and convincing Grim to help. I almost look forward to my meeting with Crowley tomorrow.