Sora sat back and crossed her legs, beginning to enjoy the conversation after the bizarre start.
“What are you two doing in the United States?
It’s grape-flavored, by the way.” “Meh.
Just traveling.
Eyia wanted to see a sunny place, and this was near, so we came here.
That’s that.
This is supposed to taste like a grape?
Well, it doesn’t.” Intrigued, Sora shrugged, “Yeah, I guess it kind of doesn’t.
Where did you learn to speak English so fluently, and how do you not have any money if you are traveling abroad?
Are you traveling with your parents?” Jin’s brow creased at her questions.
“I speak every language… And definitely not with my parents.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at Sora.
“But you should know I can speak anything?” Sucking in her lower lip for a moment before releasing it, Sora pushed her hat up with a frown.
“Huh?
Why would I know that?
Besides, isn’t it impossible to speak every language?
You’re joking, right?” Jin sat back with a thoughtful hum, the bottle lip tapping against her mouth as she thought.
“You think we’re speaking a made-up language?” Forcing a smile, Sora chuckled.
“I suppose all languages are kind of made up, to be fair.” “Heh… I guess Asgardian isn’t the most common language around this area, and it is a little less refined than Olympian, I suppose, but it gets the job done… barely.” Sora shook her head in bewilderment.
“Asgardian… L-Like the movies?
I-I thought I heard wrong…” Jin looked over at Eyia and scratched her head before struggling to speak again, but the Korean cut her off.
“Anyways.
It’s been great talking with you, Sora, and thanks for the food, but we really should get going.” She spoke to Eyia again as the blonde gathered up all the bags, and just before leaving, Eyia waved, all the goods swinging in a frenzy before practically screaming, “Salutations!” Returning it with a strained smile and wave, Jin chuckled before correcting the apparent Asgardian girl—Sora would have bet on Amazon first—and she couldn’t help but giggle at hearing the Korean focalize on goodbye between the strange phrases.
Eyia flushed and waved again, voice dropping octaves.
“Goodbye, Sora.” “Ooh!” Sora clapped.
“Impressive, Eyia; that was s-super clear!” Jin made a dismissive gesture.
“Yeah, yeah.
Later, Sora.
We’ll probably see each other sometime in the next few days.
At least, I expect we will.” With pursed lips, Sora watched them go without pushing the topic.
We’ll see each other again in the next few days?
I must have heard that from the pills… She blinked, and they were gone, making her internally panic for a second.
“No… Please, don’t say I just had a conversation with… Ugh…” Not wanting to think about it, Sora clung to the idea that it must have been real; after all, she had the receipt, so maybe they actually left at some point, and she just kept hearing the voices, but that still didn’t make sense.
She hadn’t had an episode that bad before.
Sora groaned while looking up at the still-bright Miami sky.
Just… Let’s go home, make some steak, and go to bed!
She saw a few middle school girls walking across the street and a lot of elderly folks—it was Miami, after all—but no one else paid her much mind.
Whatever Lori had planned tomorrow, she’d handle then; it was about time she stood up to the psycho.
I just hope Lori doesn’t stab me by the end of the week; that’d be the worst.
“Mmh…” Not the worst—stabbing Wendy would be the worst… No, heh, stabbing both of us and then herself as some kind of insane final revenge would be the worst, she half-jokingly concluded.
She passed security into her hotel lobby and took the elevator up, joking around with Howie about the girls she’d met.
Once inside her penthouse, she kicked off her heels, dropped off her stuff, and got everything ready to grill the steaks.
She followed a recipe for a 20-minute marinade before throwing it onto the hot pan and making dinner for two.
She got done sooner than she thought, blending up some mashed potatoes and using some leftover gravy she’d made.
Cooking was fun when she was younger, and it always tasted better when she ate with someone else.
Unfortunately, Howie and Ron had practically been her only friends for the last three years.
Once finished, she had Howie go on his 15-minute break to eat inside with her.
After waving the man off to complete his shift in peace, Sora groaned and went to her bedroom to stretch and shed her public attire.
Slipping off her dress and accessories before removing her bra, she put them away and changed into white, silky pajama shorts, a spaghetti-strap shirt, and slippers; it was comfy mode time!
Instead of going to her office to get homework done—because she was out this week—Sora had an enjoyable time flipping through streaming platforms until she found a good show: an Asian Drama, her favorite.
Bundling up in a blanket on the loveseat of the long couches in the theater room, she grabbed some popcorn to finish out the night.
She paused the show halfway through when she heard a ding sound through the overhead speakers, indicating the laundry crew had finished their job, which was earlier than usual, and suddenly Frank’s handsome face popped back into her head.
Crap.
He’d definitely be gone by this hour.
I’ll have to give him the money tomorrow; hopefully he’ll still be working the booth.
She resumed the show, knowing the staff would place it on her desk to put away where she wanted, and once the credits hit, Sora rechecked her phone, but Mary still hadn’t messaged her, spiking her paranoia.
I hope she’s okay.
Feeling the stress, she changed into her bikini at 8 p.m., ready to contemplate in her personal spa on the deck and unwind.
She pretended to be the steak she’d just marinated a few hours earlier with an amused smile, allowing the heat to melt her worries away.
Kari’s done with me, and I can finally move on with my life.
She soaked for the healthy side of an hour before cleaning up and jumping in bed, but it didn’t take long for a groan to bubble through her lips.
“How could I forget my phone on the patio…” Rolling out of bed again, she slunk downstairs to the first level to open the sliding glass door to the strong ocean breeze.
Snatching up the item, she returned upstairs and plopped her butt into bed while shooting her dad a text: I know you won’t get this for a while, and I’m really liking Mary.
Like, you have no idea how much!
I know I said I hated her before, but she actually seems like she wants to help me.
So, about what we talked about a few times… She paused, fingers hovering over the keys.
I want to start homeschooling and get away from the public stuff.
I’m sure Mary will agree.
I’m pretty sure she will.
I’ll look up a list of possible instructors tomorrow that I can send you, but I know you’ll probably want to find someone you’ll like, too.
I also want Wendy to join me.
I know it’s asking a lot, and I’ll talk to her about it.
I just want things to go back to how they were.
She sent it before following it up with another: Love you!
And I hope the big deal goes through!
Things are looking up here, and I can’t wait to see you next week!
Scooting to the side of her bed, she smiled and placed it on her wireless charger so that it wouldn’t be almost dead tomorrow, and nestled underneath her blankets, feeling the bliss of lying in bed after a challenging day filled with emotion.
Not only that, but it was the first night in over three years she hadn’t had to take any pills.
Can I really make this happen in a week?
What’s Lori planning to do tomorrow?
It took over thirty minutes to clear her mind and fall asleep, with her last thoughts being: Now, nine days until my sixteenth birthday and seven days ’till Dad’s back home.