AIDEN POV
"Wake up big squishy mellow." A high-pitched voice with faint footsteps neared the bed. "The things I wanna do to you right now." The sunken mattress was enough to testify of the presence. Before a hand wiggled towards my face, I was already on my feet walking to the bathroom.
---
"Please! Please! Please! My cutie mushy! Can we go to this store?Please?"She said staring at the Kior logo. Her head was turned the other way but I could already tell she was drooling over the display.
Not bothering to answer, I walked in. The store was large enough to fit in wedding and a little birthday party with enough space for fitting rooms in the corner, where she just walked in with two employees. Their hands piled up with stacks of fancy jackets and glittery bags. A drop in the ocean.
Estimating another hour, I'd rather spend it in the organic pantry section picking fresh vegetables than reviewing thousand-dollar dresses.
After a walk downstairs, the first thing I heard was hushed muffles coming from a fire exit.
"Fire."
A girl my age bent down talking to a child.
"You like fire?" Her question was accompanied by a small laugh. A slight nod from the tiny angel in white made her grin wider.
"Fire...very cool."
"So you think fire is cool?"
"Yes." The kid said showing her the little bracelet with a fire emoticon and pointing towards the alarm.
"You want to ring it?" Less of a question, more of an offer.
Uh oh!
The child nodded in enthusiasm, moving her head up, down, sideways and in every other direction possible.
Smiling at the little one, 'fire-girl' scooped her up and watched her pulling the alarms while squealing in excitement. The glass breaker lying at a distance told enough about the deed of glass breaking being done beforehand.
As if sensing danger, she turned back. And met my gaze. Her eyes trying to assess a threat.
"Hey, you girl." A guard called out behind me. She set the child down extra careful of shards and waved her a little goodbye running towards the stores.' Don't leave your mum like that' she murmured faintly and her bun let loose.
Though the ear-deafening alarm was quite annoying, adding to the guard's cries, all I could hear was her soft squeals with the child. Fascinating.
"Which way did she go?" Asked the guard.
I realized I'd been caught staring. Smiling at my feet, I focused ahead for the second time.
"I didn't notice."
"You're sure?" He gave me an odd look and then looked at the kid. "You were staring her down."
Simply shrugging, I turned my heels and ambled towards the previous destination.
---
'The cookery competition starts soon and we are bringing this live just on our channel. Stay tuned.'
Heading past many shoppers, the unfamiliar faces of customers who were busy with their business or talking to friends or family, I continued with an easy pace until reaching a store I always visited.
"Welcome, sir!" The manager greeted. "Good to see you again.No assistance today as well?"
I simply responded with a nodded. He took it as a cue to leave after directing me towards their high-grade section.
'Master here seems to show off his excellent knife skills as finely chopped radish reigns his kitchen.'
Seeds, seeds, seeds...there we go.
Grabbing my choice basket from the shelf, I started smell-testing peppers.
The store was almost empty. All customers were busy attending a cooking show hosted by the mall on the ground floor. The only other person there was a male staff.
His back facing me when I noticed a familiar black-headed figure standing by the entrance of the store opposite mine. The similar pair of glasses perched between dark brows and curls completely let down. It appeared as if she was waiting for someone.
Within seconds, another caramel blonde exited the store.
To say that they 'walked out' would be an understatement as they were going to Usain Bolt, sprinting all the way. A brown paper bag the blondie was holding, made it evident that the store manager cussing them from behind.
Setting the basket aside for later, I headed further into the aisle, when the pair crossed the display windows of my store.
Their heads were bent together whispering something when Miss. fire-girl decided to laugh sparing me a glance. Her eyes twinkled with excitement, glowing like warm coffee. She looked away, following the shorter girl.
As fast as it began, they disappeared through the doors leading outside. I took a sharp breath, realising I froze for a moment. Interesting.
---
"The next round begins soon and we have a wild card entry. Seems like a special admission, as in a kid getting in at this level against the masters. This is much of a surprise." The reporter explained.
A loud clapping interrupted me when the camera switched to the contestants.
"Oh come on!" The last-round winner let out. "I'm not a master. I haven't even done half of that damn job! How can I even call myself a master?!".
His yellow teeth shined in all its glory along with the oil dripping off his greasy hair. It looked as fresh as the oil from a pre-cooked month-old chicken, left rotting in a refrigerator.
In short, he stunk.
Out of the other three contestants, two were muscular men and had thick moustaches and stubble. One seemed like the middle sibling and the the latter was the youngest with shoulder-length hair. it scrunched into a ponytail he and seemed to be around his mid-teens.
"I'll be there soon enough to show you what a master can do," Grease-head said concluding his self-praise.
"Ladies and gentlemen." The announcer yelled as he pointed at me.
"Let's welcome the newbie, a young gentleman with big abilities."
Everyone clapped enthusiastically.
Her dark eyes met mine, pleading for me to continue.
She wanted me to play along just for the sake of Kior's manager, who probably provoked her regarding the rumours going around about me lately. There wasn't much of a choice but to wish her words weren't like her eyes.
"Let the competition begin."The announcer gestured for me to enter.
"Good luck baby bear." She said while giving me a big wave and howling from the crowd.
Ok.
LET'S FINISH THIS ASAP.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
