I'd say that went pretty well. I've seen the kind of homes they reinforced during the dark age, those things were as solid as tanks. I can rest assured knowing the work is in safe hands.
Alright now that shelter; one of the biggest hurdles's been taken care of. That leaves me with food, medicine, ammunition and essentials to take care of.
"Sigh, this ain't gonna be easy one bit"
Where do I even begin now… if I'm to put all my mind to it and focus, it will probably take around ten days give or take and that is taking into account my luck turns out great and I don't run into any trouble….
"Isn't that? It is… Leonard"
Hmm… She should be a neighbor right? Yeah I think I remember her she's Mrs Wilson. What's she doing around here?
"Goodness what a coincidence running into you here. I heard your parents were away. So you should understand my surprise seeing you around a construction company"
Hope she didn't see me coming out of the building, not like it would be that big of a deal. But It'd be better if I just avoided interactions like this.
"I was just doing some home renovation to surprise them when they get back"
From my experiences, I've tend to realize the truth can always turn out to be the best lie.
"You don't say, I've noticed your place has been wearing down for some time now. How lucky your parents must be to have such a thoughtful son"
"I try my best to not cause much trouble for them. I'm still not sure myself if I'm actually doing a good job"
Wish I could genuinely react to those words, to an outsider it looks like a typical conversation between neighbors. But that's certainly not the case in my perspective, it feels like nothing but a ploy.
"Don't hinder yourself down dear. The fact that you are thinking that deeply whether you're doing a good job or not shows that you care, and that speaks far more than anything"
While she may look like your average friendly lady, that's just the gist of things. Her mind is obviously not one to mess with. I remember her being quite a lot shrewd for someone her age.
"Thank you, I guess"
There should be some ulterior motive to this encounter. She won't be acting so polite if that wasn't the case.
"Is there something you need though?"
"Oh my did I seem that way, you don't have to bother yourself,"
"But I insist, afterall you're like a sister to my parents"
Let's just get it over with, you were going to bring it up eventually plus I have a feeling if I don't give at least this much she's going to show up with an even bigger problem.
"Alright, I promise not to eat much of your time anymore then… My niece just graduated and is coming to town. So I was wondering whether you'd help settle in"
Niece? Guess I've probably met her once or twice. I remember her being quite the egocentric girl who had to be brought up in a boarding school.
"So you basically want me to babysit"
Giggle!
"She'd freak out if she heard you put it that way"
Tell me something I don't know.
"It's been a long time since she left for college and she's barely lived in the town to know a lot of people. I normally wouldn't bother with such details but I have an appointment that popped up out of the blue. So I'm afraid I won't be around for the entire day. I thought you'd be the best option. Since she's about your age, it would be easy for you both to get along"
Okay maybe that's a little much info. So, basically what she's trying to say is; troublesome relative's coming and I don't want to welcome her, so can you keep her comfortable in my absence.
Sigh, I have far more important things to handle and in a pretty tight deadline no less why would I bother with such a chore.
Even your typical average person would think twice before getting involved. Which idiot in their right mind would want to handle such a bother?
"Guess I'm the idiot"
Sigh… I really have to learn to stop saying yes to people I suddenly meet out of the blue.
"Well it's not like she was giving me much of a choice"
She's not someone I can just ignore and avoid without causing a scene of some kind.
Uck, what gives? It's been at least an hour and her train's still not here. Is it running late or something? I'm beginning to wonder why I agreed to help her out in the first place.
"Speak of the devil"
It's about time the train arrived, any longer and I would have blown a fuse, I think. Well, let's just get this over with. They are coming out now, which one is she supposed to be… is that her? It should be I barely remember what she looks like.
But she does have some resemblance to Mrs Wilson.
"Hey!"
Yeah almost everything about her face shows they are related, it's got to be her right.
"Hey, right here"
Heck why did I wave like an old man? she'd probably think of me as a creep now.
When did I start caring about what others think? Whatever, at least I got her attention.
"You the one mom said was gonna show me around"
What do you think genius
"We live close to one another so she asked I do her a favor"
Uh, what was that. I sounded nervous all of a sudden,
"Creep,"
"Eh!"
"Are you trying to embarrass me"
"W-what? How so"
That can't be right. I've managed tougher interactions without a hitch. While I can give her a little credit for being attractive that shouldn't be enough to get me nervous.
"Don't act like you don't know. I may remember you from before but we're definitely not close enough for you to start waving like you miss me. What will you do if people start getting the wrong idea"
What do you mean by wrong idea?
"I was trying to get your attention. What did expect from me"
Dammit, it's happening again.
"Not to be a weirdo obviously… Well seeing as you've come all the way here to take care of me. I'll at least entertain the effort. You'd best be honored"
I see it must be a bodily urge. I've reverted back to that of a teen. Most would say I was pretty problematic with girls during my early years.
"Are you not listening, I've given you an opportunity to show me around, what're you still gawking at then"
Even if I try to ignore it, it's still going to fawn over a girl of interest whenever it sees one just like before.
"Yeah, yeah I heard you the first time"
How pathetic to encounter such a stupid side effect.
"Hmph I'll just pretend I didn't hear that"
I bet you would.
"So where do you plan on going"
"You know some place with good food"
Typical…
"Well, I have a place in mind"
"Great, let's start with that, I'm famished... Here"
Uh, what's she handing me her bag for!
"Let's goooo!"
Does she seriously see me as her errand boy?
"For a place that looks like a home for dweebs. I have to say their food's not half bad… you have a commendable palet Zeo"
It shouldn't be too hard to control emotions like these when you understand the source. Just suppress it, it sounds a little hard but honestly it's quite easy suppressing unnecessary feelings that slows my thinking. You could say her character is probably making it all the more easy.
"It's Leo… as in Leonard. Get it right this is the fourth time already"
At least it's a good thing I encountered this hindrance early on. It would have turned out pretty badly if I started to become seduced without knowing it.
"I'll keep that in mind Dio"
Yeah as I said… Jeez I think I've lost all previous affection for this overbearing girl. I seriously have to question my body's taste.
"So how old are you"
Uh where did that come from? Better still, how old I'm I supposed to be again? Though I wasn't keeping tabs of my birthdays I was probably twenty five when I met my end.
"Guess I should probably be seventeen"
Though I can't say with certainty.
"You guess? What kind of weirdo doesn't know their age"
"Then how about you? How old are you supposed to be"
"Hmph! Don't you know it's rude to question a lady about their age"
You were the one that asked first. Forget it, I've heard the moment you argue cases like this with a woman you're done for.
"But if you must know and just in case you've got other ideas. I'm much older and of course don't do relationship with kids"
"Since when is being old something to be proud of"
"You better take that back. I'm nowhere near old!"
What the! First you're old and now you're not old.
"My bad. I didn't mean it that way"
Women sure are strange creatures.
"No biggie, I'll let it slide this time. Though you should know if you keep this kind of character you would never score a girlfriend"
What's wrong with people assuming that I want a girlfriend?
"Right"
"Say I'm getting a little bored now. Let's do something else"
"Like?"
Sigh, I painfully spent half a day taking model extraordinaire here on a tour around. Some I actually enjoyed, some not so much. It was pretty hard to fully immerse in the experience when you are being criticized so often.
"This place next"
Though, If I look at this from another far more considerate perspective. And I'm talking from a really considerate perspective...
Then it's probably not a bad thing meeting her and all except the eccentric attitude. The experience wasn't bad. I was probably rushing to get things prepared so much I felt like I was going to wear out without even getting started. I really needed a time like this. Where I could just slow down, take it easy and get my act straightened up.