BurrrANG RANG DALA LANG!
SLAM!
Il Ji turned off his alarm quickly and nearly broke it.
"I wish I had five more minutes." He grumbled as he walked towards the bathroom.
Five minutes later, he was making food for his sister. First, he made a pair of omelettes. Then, using spices and a few different sauces, he carved together his own twist on pad thai.
He put the pad thai in the fridge and set the pad thai on the fridge.
A short while later, she came down the stairs. "Any plans for school today?" He asked, taking a bite of omelette.
As she grabbed her fork, she responded. "Maizie was running around yesterday trying to get enough teams for a wallball tournament. I don't really want to, and neither does Callie, but Mia really wants to try."
"I've talked with Callie, and we're thinking about forming a team with her. The tournament is next Friday."
"Are the adults allowed to watch?"
"I can ask my teacher." She stated, in between mouthfuls of his succulent food.
"Thanks. I'd love to watch you compete."
"It's a deal, then."
He made a couple more minutes of small talk and lightly mentioned his meeting with Sebastian before it was time for her to go. Waving her off to the bus, he watched her depart.
"Well," he spoke to himself, "Bottoms up."
Drinking the last of his nutrient juice, he sat down crosslegged in front of a Harrier Ant and began to… do nothing.
He continued taking skills until his sister came back.
"Welcome back, Laila." He said with a grin. "Anything interesting happen?"
"Well, Carrie, Mia and I went to Maizie. We're the Wallsmackers! In addition, I talked to my teacher and she said you could join us at recess next Friday."
Now that she was home, he tossled her hair. "It's a deal!"
She looked up at him and smiled.
"Alright, little Lai, show me your homework!"
She pulled out her papers. "All I have is this paper in English."
He looked her up and down. "Laila, I'll be extremely busy for the next few weeks. I can help you if you need anything, but I'll also be busy working on my Creation Master's certificate."
"As a result, I won't be able to play or watch TV with you. You'll mostly be on your own. Is that okay?"
She looked up at him fiercely. "I can take care of myself!" She replied, with some indignation. "I'll miss you, brother, but you're not the only hard worker in this house!"
He flicked her forehead- lightly. "Is that how you to talk to your Guardian?"
She cast her eyes down. "Sorry, Il Ji."
He kneeled on the floor to match her height. "You do realize that I wouldn't even think of leaving you by yourself unless I thought you were capable, right?"
"Right."
"Okay."
He pulled out the Pad Thai from the fridge. "I made this this morning the way you like it. There should be enough to last you five days. I'm also be making some other food to help you get ready for the tournament."
"Thank you, Il Ji."
"You're welcome, Laila. It's my desire to have some time each and every day where I do something for you. While I might get super busy, like I will in the next couple weeks, I'll still be around."
She looked a bit glum, but better than she had earlier. "I'll start on my homework." She said.
"Okay. When you finish it, place it on the store counter and you're free for the night."
"Thanks." She replied, before darting off up the stairs.
Il Ji continued his process until 10PM. Then, he went to bed.
The next day, he started by making food for Laila. Once she was sent off, he continued his daily shop maintenance.
Once everything was in order, he grabbed the box that Alfredo had given him and left the store. He had two things on his itinerary today: first, he had the monthly meeting with the rest of the store owners on the Midas Shopping Strip.
After that, he was going to stop by the Association to use up his Contraband Absolution Ticket.
But before that he had time for one more skill swap.