The Reincarnated (Book 2A of Wolfcreek Series)

Chapter 27

Relief filled Alessandra's eyes when I said that, and she nodded. "What would you all like to drink today?" she asked, "and do you want any appetizers? If so, I would recommend the cheese fries. They are made daily by my mother, and they are one of the most popular items of this place."

My mouth watered at the thought of the cheese fries, and my stomach grumbled. "Yes," I said instantly to the covering laughter of my parents. "Please."

"Two bowls, please, Dear," Mom said, shaking her head at me. "One for my growing daughter and the other for us two."

I grinned at my mother before I looked at Alessandra, who looked amused. "Can you make one of them the biggest bowl that you have, please?" I asked, looking at her with wide eyes because all I wanted to do was shovel the fries into my mouth and melt into its cheesiness.

Alessandra raised an eyebrow and gave me a look that I knew all too well. "Are you sure that you want the biggest bowl that we serve?" she asked.

"How much does it c-" my father was about to ask but was waved off by Alessandra.

"It's on the house," she said, interrupting him. "If it is ok with you, I would like this to be her first challenge." She looked at me and then looked at my father.

I clasped my hands together and looked at my father with my best puppy dog eyes. "Please, please, please," I mouthed, praying that he would be fine with me.

Giddiness filled my body about being able to complete a challenge, which would be my first of many. I wanted to see if the bowl were big enough to fill me up, even though I had a feeling it wouldn't.

My father looked at me and then at Alessandra, who was, for some reason, silently begging him to let me compete in the challenge that she had set up for me. His eyes grew softer, and he looked at me but didn't cave yet. "Weren't you wanting to try something that someone had recommended for you?" he asked.

I wrinkled my nose when I remembered Sergio mentioning a burger he wanted me to try. "Oh ya..." I said and shrugged indifferently. "I can eat both, I am sure. If not, then I can finish the burger later."

"What burger?" Alessandra asked with a small chuckle in her voice.

"Cass's Bass Burger," I replied and looked at her. "My friend, Sergio, had recommended it to me when he found out that I was going to be eating here."

Alessandra nodded slowly, and I could tell that she was a little surprised that I had said that Sergio was my friend. "It's a big burger," she warned. "I'm not sure that you will be able to finish even half of the burger with the amount of cheese fries you will be eating."

I pressed my lips into a thin line and narrowed my eyes playfully at her. "Don't question my ability to eat," I said. "If I didn't work out so much nor have a high metabolism, I'd probably be a lot bigger than I am now with the amount of calories that I eat in a day."

Alessandra chuckled and nodded before she looked at my dad. "Well?" she asked and raised an eyebrow while she looked at him, amused. "Can she?"

I looked at my dad and cocked my head while I stared at him with big puppy dog eyes that I knew he couldn't resist. "Please?" I asked in the same voice that seemed to get him to do what I wanted to do. "Please, can I compete in this challenge that Ales has given me?"

My father's gaze grew softer, and he looked between Alessandra and me before he sighed and shook his head while he rubbed his face. "Well, all right," he said, sounding defeated, and I couldn't help but grin while a wave of excitement washed over me.

"Y-"

He raised a hand, and I instantly closed my mouth before I could utter another word. "But." He paused for dramatic effect, and I raised an eyebrow in question while I held back an eye roll.

Finally, I huffed and rolled my eyes when he didn't say a word. "Ok, but what?" I asked, finally breaking the silence.

My father dipped his head closer to his chest and smiled. "You cannot complain to me that your stomach hurts," he said. "Nor can you go complain to your mother."

I shrugged and looked unimpressed. "I didn't complain to you the other times I had eaten a lot of stuff in one sitting," I said. "Hell, I didn't complain to anyone the two times I had thrown up on Jack," I added.

"What?" Alessandra asked with a startled laugh, and I looked at her and grinned.

"Ya, my friend decided to be a pain in the ass, and when I told him that I was going to throw up, he decided to trap me in a room with him and our other friends and dared me to throw up on him. I shrugged, mentally said, "fuck it," and threw up on him."

"And she cleaned up the mess after she did it," my father said with a chuckle. He leaned back in his seat and smiled softly while he shook his head before he chuckled again. "However, her mother was so pissed to learn that they had done that to her."

Mom playfully slapped my father on the arm. "No, Hal," she chastised, and he grinned innocently, "I was pissed that they had to do it in the den and not somewhere else where it would have been easier to clean."

"It was easy to clean," I said. "I mean, it didn't take me that long to clean up the mess, and I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for the fact that you asked Jack why he had a different change of clothes on and why his hair was wet."

Mom chuckled and shook her head, amused. "That boy does not know how to keep a secret," she said. She cleared her throat and leaned back in her seat while she smiled at me. "But if you make a m-"

"I know, I know," I said, interrupting her, and she scowled playfully. I gave her an innocent grin and cleared my throat while I grew "serious." "If I make a mess, then I need to clean it up. If I need to throw up, then I will need to excuse myself and throw up in the toilet and not on a person."

My mother nodded, looking satisfied, and looked at Alessandra. "Then my daughter can compete in the challenge that you have given her," she said. She looked at me. "All food must be eaten before we leave. Is that understood?" She raised an eyebrow in question.

I wrinkled my nose but nodded, knowing full well that I'd have a tummy ache by then and not be able to finish the burger. However, I was going to try and get that burger eaten after I had finished the fries. "Yes, Ma'am," I said. I leaned back in my seat and sighed. "But I make no promises about eating the whole burger."

My mother waved me off. "That's fine, Dear," she said. "I am sure that you will be able to finish it even if you say that you can't. You've only had an apple and then a few apple slices after you got home from school."

At that moment, my stomach made itself known and sounded like a dying whale, earning a laugh from Alessandra.

"Ok, so one Cass's Bass Burger and one very large bowl of cheese fries with another order of cheeses fries, but this one at the normal sizes," Alessandra said, writing it down on a notepad and pen she took out of her pocket. "What else can I get for you?"

"Water," I replied and leaned back in my seat, feeling excited about the challenge that was to come. "Lots and lots of water."