After work, Jyri and Faye followed Oliver to one of those car things. Jyri had hoped he’d never have to ride in one again. Faye, however, felt the opposite.
“We get to ride in a car!” she said, hopping into the backseat with a grin. Jyri reluctantly got in next to her.
“Yeah.” Oliver chewed his lip as he got into the front seat, looking like he regretted his decision already. He started the car. “What gym are you staying at?”
Faye guided him towards the gym while Jyri closed his eyes, and tried not to get sick. Once they arrived, Oliver opted to wait in the car while Faye and Jyri rushed inside to gather their packs. And Jyri’s brother, Ran. He usually hid out in the locker room when it was time for Jyri and Faye to show up.
This day was no different. Ran sat against a cluster of lockers, reading a book he had grabbed from somewhere. He glanced up at them as they walked in.
“Guess what Ran,” Faye said as she pulled two packs out from one of the lockers. “We found a place to live.”
Ran put the book down, and looked at Jyri with widened eyes. “Really?”
Jyri nodded, wondering briefly how Oliver would handle the news of a third occupant. Hopefully he wouldn’t change his mind over it. “A co-worker has a spare room. He offered to let us stay in it. He’s waiting for us in his car thing.”
Ran’s smile grew as he jumped to his feet. “We even get to go in a car!”
"Yep." Jyri returned his smile, taking his pack from Faye. "Say goodbye to this place, because we're not coming back."
As predicted, Oliver appeared unhappy at the sight of Ran. He scowled as the three approached. The second Jyri opened the back door, Oliver asked, “Who’s this?”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfh77WnYhQ7
“My little brother,” Jyri said, as he and Ran climbed into the backseat, Faye taking the front. “His real name is Ransu, but he goes by Ran.”
Oliver nodded, still frowning. “You never mentioned him.”
“You never asked,” Faye said.
“I don’t think there’s enough room-”
“He doesn’t take up much space,” Jyri said quickly. “He hides out a lot too. Real shy. It’ll be like he’s not even there.” He clasped his hands together, hoping beyond hope Oliver wouldn’t change his mind.
Oliver sat in silence, his hand over his forehead. With a loud sigh, he started up the car. Jyri let out a breath. Thank Odis for that.
“You three do realize you’ll be paying me rent, right?” Oliver asked, as they drove off.
“Of course,” Jyri said. “We’re not freeloaders. I’ll even pay Ran’s share, if that’s a problem.”
“And for your own groceries. And you’ll have to help with chores.”
“It’s not a problem,” Jyri said. “Ran’s great at that.”
“Our parents made me do all of them,” Ran explained.
Oliver looked like he had questions about that, but dropped the subject. The rest of the ride went on in silence.
It wasn’t long before they pulled into a parking lot outside of a large, 3-story apartment building. They existed in Jyri’s world, though he’d never set foot inside one. Doors faced the outside world. They walked up a flight of stairs and down a balcony-like hallway, stopping at one of the doors. An iron 245 was stuck in between the door frame and a window. Oliver pulled out a ring of keys from his pocket, and opened the door with one of them. The group stepped inside.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsV9pZ1JuKN
Jyri took in his surroundings. There was a couch in front of some weird black thing that looked like one of those “monitors” at work, but twice as big. Against another wall was a desk with a computer on it. Farther in was what must’ve been the kitchen, for he saw a sink and cupboards. There were interesting-looking machines in there too. Jyri walked in closer and recognized a microwave, and a refrigerator.
Overall, it wasn’t that much different than houses back home. It just had strange machines in addition to normal furniture.
Faye set foot inside the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator, revealing shelves filled with food. “Nice!”
“Yes, and when you go out and buy your own food, you can keep it in there.” Oliver closed the refrigerator door, Faye’s hand still gripping the handle.
“Where do we buy the kind of food to keep in there?” Jyri asked. He’d yet to come across any food stored in cold spaces. Only drinks.
Oliver frowned at him. The question must have been a strange one. “At the grocery store. Haven’t you been to one?”
“What’s a grocery store?” Faye asked.
“It’s a store where you buy your groceries.”
Groceries? Jyri, Faye, and Ran all stared blankly.
“Food, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, soap. That kind of stuff.”
“You can buy all that in one shop?” Jyri asked, though wasn’t sure why he was so surprised. If there were shops that sold all kinds of clothes, it made sense that there would be shops that sold all kinds of food.
“Yeah…” Again, Oliver sounded as though he thought Jyri’s question was odd. Perhaps Jyri should stop talking.
“Where we’re from, you have to go to separate shops for those,” Faye said.
“Well here, everyone goes to a grocery store.”
Now that Jyri thought about it, there was that one shop he, Faye, and Ran visited whenever they were hungry. It was always supplied with snacks and those weird, bubbly drinks. He recalled seeing non-food items in there as well, though nothing he could identify. It was a short walking distance from the gym too, which made it quite convenient. “We have gone to one, I think. We’ve gotten all our food there.”
“That bad-smelling place with the people shoving tubes in their cars?” Faye asked. “It was mostly just snacks. I barely saw any cold foods there.”
“If you’re talking about a gas station, that isn’t a grocery store,” Oliver said. “That is a convenience store.”
“Well it sure was convenient for us,” Jyri said. “We’d have starved otherwise.”
“Wait, you’ve been living on food from a gas station?”
Faye nodded. “It’s quite good. I love how affordable their chocolate bars are. I’ve never had chocolate before, but now I eat it all the time.”
“I like those orange, crunchy things that leave orange dust everywhere,” Ran said. “With the spotted cat on the bag. Do grocery stores have those?”
“Of course. Grocery stores have everything gas stations have, and more.”
And more? Jyri shared incredulous looks with Faye and Ran. “I want to go to one,” Faye said.
“I can take you later, but after that, you’re on your own for getting groceries. There’s one a few blocks away. Here, I’ll show you your room. The bathroom is right next to it.”
Jyri, Faye, and Ran all followed Oliver to an almost-barren room. There was only a bed and a dresser. “Carlos left his furniture behind,” Oliver said. “Two of you should fit comfortably in the bed. I don’t know where a third person is supposed to sleep, other than the couch in the family room.”
Faye flopped down on the bed and immediately made herself comfortable. Jyri and Ran sat down on the edge of the bed. “We can figure out sleeping arrangements later,” Jyri said. “Though I think, since Faye is the smallest, she should take the couch.”
Faye bit her lip, scowling at him.
Oliver rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, let me know when you want to go to the store.” He turned to leave the room.
“Oliver,” Jyri said. Oliver turned to look back at him. “Thanks for letting us move in.”
“Yeah,” Faye said, smiling. “You won’t regret it.”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmpsGjyhy2
and then Add to home screen.