LIVING THE DREAM I ONC 2024 [COMPLETE]

Nine: The power disaster, the breakfast and the Manson brothers

When Mitchell woke up on Saturday, it was dark and cold all over. The bedside lamp wasn't lighting when she tried to switch it on and her phone wasn't charged fully despite having spent an entire night plugged in.

That could only mean one thing; there was a power outage over the night.

She wrapped a shawl around herself and went outside to check on the house's circuit breaker or if there was a problem with the electric wires. Power outages were brutal in that town. Now that it was a weekend, it meant that the problem wouldn't be fixed till Monday when the electricity company is open.

Her plans were ruined. It being a weekend meant that Hayley didn't have to go to Vine till Monday. She had planned for them to spend some more time together. It had been  wonderful eating supper together, doing the dishes together and watching a movie every night for the previous couple of days. And Mitchell was hoping to spend more time with her till she woke up to an electricity disaster.

"Hey, neighbor," she heard someone call behind her, just as she was attempting to check the circuit breaker. When she turned, Claire was standing outside her own house. "Are you also having problems with the power?"

"We are," Mitchell nodded. She didn't know what to add. She and Claire hadn't interacted since that day at Claire's house. And she had no idea what Claire thought of her.

"I wonder how long it's going to take for the company to fix this. Normally, it takes ages!"

"I hope they fix it soon. What will someone use to cook? Or heat the water?"

"Yeah, that's a disaster. But hey, if you guys don't have any means of cooking, you can come over to mine. I have gas we can use."

Mitchell's eyes widened. "Oh, no! Gas is so expensive. We wouldn't want to be a burden for sure."

"Nonsense," Claire waved her off. "I'm the one that offered. Plus, it's fun to eat together. Seeing Austin's face everyday gets old."

"Are you sure we won't be bothering you?"

"Positive!"

"Alright," Mitchell smiled. "I'll go wake my sister up. We'll be there to help with breakfast."

About half an hour later, she and Hayley stood outside Claire's house with breakfast supplies; eggs, vegetables Hayley liked, maple syrup, bread and milk. When Claire opened the door, she threw her head back and laughed.
"You guys didn't have to bring anything. Hannah and I already made breakfast! Come on in," she gestured for them to go inside. "You must be Hayley! Your sister sure talks about you, a lot."

Hayley looked confused.
"She does?"

"You don't believe me?" Claire faked a gasp. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I'm Claire and the person who'll soon hug you enough to crush your bones will be Hannah-"

Claire was cut off by Hannah rushing out of the kitchen and wrapping her arms tightly around Hayley. "We are huggers here," Hannah said with her squeaky voice. "I hope you don't mind."

Hayley gave a tight-lipped smile. "I don't."

"Well, you two should take seats at the dining table while Hannah and I finish up with breakfast, yeah?"

"Thank you," Hayley and Mitchell said at the same time. When Claire and Hannah left, Hayley turned to her sister. "Your friends are crazy."

"I know," Mitchell nodded with a laugh. "But they mean well. And they are giving us free food."

Soon enough, the four of them sat around the dining table. Claire insisted that they held hands and say The Grace. They'd made fried eggs, boiled eggs, milk, green tea and bananas.

"How did you know that I like green tea?" Hayley asked as she took a sip out of her cup.

"Will you believe me now when I say that you are all Mitchell talks about?" Claire answered. "She knows you inside out and I think it's cute. You two have a cute relationship!"

"We try," Mitchell averted her eyes. Their relationship was anything but cute. "Where's Austin?"

"He is a busy man now - Hayley, do you want some aromat with the boiled egg?" Claire said as she reached for the small aromat bottle to give to Hayley. "As I was saying, ever since he took that job at the printery up, I haven't seen him much."

That caught Mitchell's attention. "He took the job?"

"I was surprised too," Hannah joined in. "He normally underlooks jobs which is why he was fired from everywhere; the gas station, the grocery store, the driving school, the gym. He didn't look interested in anything at all."

"Well, I'm not complaining," Claire said. "I mean, he probably hates all those jobs because they aren't related to what he studied in college. But I'm glad he's doing something with his life. He bought groceries yesterday, that's a plus!"

"So, Hayley," Hannah said as she cleared her throat. "How is your internship coming along?"

"It's great."

"You are doing it at Vine Food Research Lab, right?"

"Uh, yes."

"Wow. I actually know someone at that lab. You know who Theo Manson is?"

Hayley nodded. "That's my supervisor. How do you know him?"

"He's a long time friend. He and I used to be friends in college but when he went to do his Masters degree abroad, we kinda lost that friendship bond y'know. How is he? Still an asshole?"

Hayley laughed.
"He's not an asshole. Well, not to me but to William, his brother. They technically fight all the time."

"William was a pain in the ass," Hannah nodded in agreement. "Very notorious and problematic. But again, that's how boys who have just hit puberty act."

"He's not that bad."

Mitchell pointed a finger at her sister.
"You are only saying that because he's your friend. Or because you just met him."

"He's that guy? The one she was going to hang out with on her first day of internship?" Claire asked

Mitchell nodded. "The same one."

"I'd appreciate it if you don't go around telling everyone my life story," Hayley grumbled and pushed her cup of green tea away.

"You want a refill?" Claire pointed at Hayley's cup

"Yeah, fine." Hayley nodded.

The banter went on and on. They switched topics and poked at each other. There were laughs, groans and grumbles. And Mitchell loved it.
She and Claire did the dishes while Hayley and Hannah cleared the table.

"Do you guys have plans later?" Claire asked as they washed the dishes manually as the dishwasher was down.

"I kinda have a deadline for a client's designs. But I guess I won't be doing that anymore since the power outage also affects my WiFi."

"If it's urgent, you can go to Austin's work place. They have an internet cafe," Hannah proposed

"Really?"

"Yeah," Claire nodded. "They'll charge you a few bucks an hour and you'll be good to go. Hayley will be okay staying with us, right Hayley?"

Hayley nodded. "I don't mind."

"Cool. Now both of us can gossip about the Manson brothers!" Hannah said as she dragged Hayley to the living room

After washing the dishes, Mitchell got ready to go to Austin's place. And with Claire's directions, she drove downtown, singing to Celine Dion.

I love this chapter. When I started writing it, I didn't picture it to go like this. But I'm glad it turned out like this.
Who's your favorite character so far?
Thanks for reading. Vote and comment.