The Bond

Ch 109

"Bold."/"Bold italic" : animatronic is talking/animatronic is talking in mind

"Normal."/"Normal italic." : human is talking/human is talking in mind

=o^o=

Lucy hummed happily as she picked out the fruit neatly arranged in the front window. She took some apples and oranges after studying them and put them in the basket, the girl moved from the fruits section to the minimarket's refrigerator, without thinking for a long time she took a box of sterile milk and put it beside the apples. At least she had some savings in the bank that she can withdraw while waiting for her two friends to return once things were safe for them therefore financial problems weren't a big thing for her.

She immediately placed herself in line and waited for her turn to pay. Lucy whistled softly, her eyes darting around with interest. Michael's hometown was quite beautiful for her, not many vehicles and many tenaciously maintained parks. She rarely interacted with others this time just in case.

Her attention was diverted to a girl with blonde hair with a pink ombre at the bottom, standing quite far from her—refining the minimarket shelves. Lucy drew her eyebrows together, it reminded her of her old job and friend; how is Mary doing over there? It's not like she cares for her anymore, but they had been friends for a while and she felt curious. Then their eyes met, making Lucy surprised herself—had she been staring at the girl for too long? She hoped not, she didn't want to be labeled as a freak.

So she immediately broke eye contact immediately and full of nervousness, the employee's green eyes had amazed her. Lucy chose to throw away her embarrassment and take a step forward, there was only one person left in front of her and she could pay. Lucy frowned as the cashier left, then her jaw almost dropped because the same girl was now replacing the cashier.

Great, where is she going to put her embarrassment now?

Lucy took a deep breath and let it out slowly, she readied herself after once again she pushed away her nervousness. The man in front of her left, she came forward and put her basket on the counter. Lucy just watched the girl's hand scanning her groceries—where the courage she had to face her face to face earlier?

"Miss?"

Lucy gasped in surprise and her face turned red at the amused smile of the girl who then told her the total shopping, Lucy grumbled to herself, she must have looked really ridiculous (and she could imagine if Ennard knew this Ennard would definitely bully her for a month). She took out her wallet and paid for her groceries, shortly after that she sighed again and grabbed her paper bag, said thank you and walked out of the convenience store.

Just a few steps out of the convenience store, someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind and she turned her head in confusion; the girl was there with slightly blushed cheeks, she didn't say anything but took her hand and handed her a piece of paper before running into the store again, leaving Lucy dumbfounded. A number and a name; Jillian Hall.

She blinked a few times, thinking she knew what was going on. So, she left the store, found the nearest payphone, and dialed a number.

["Yes?"]

"Mike a girl gave me her number."

["Are you deaf or what? Do I sound like that midget?"]

"Then call Michael!" Lucy retorted loudly and she could hear a small grunt on the other end, calling out her friend's name.

["What's up, Lu?"]

Finally, a Michael.

"A girl gave me her number!" Lucy started to panic, stared at the paper in her left hand which was also hugging her shopping paper bag while her right hand was holding the telephone receiver. "What should I do?"

["Isn't that great? You won't be single anymore."] Michael laughed.

"This isn't funny!"

["You're the one who always complains why you don't have a girlfriend, Dawson. I'm quite surprised someone gave you her number first, is her sight okay?"]

The corners of Lucy's eyes twitched in annoyance. "Why are you still there!?" Then she heard Michael telling Ennard to continue his crossword puzzle while they were talking, after which Ennard said fine and left. Lucy sighed in exasperation. "He's only tame to you, dammit."

["Like taking care of a baby, it's not hard enough if you often take care of your younger siblings when you're young. By the way, you should call her back! What's her name?"]

Lucy looked at the paper. "Jillian Hall."

There was no reply from Michael for a few seconds, she frowned in confusion. "Mike?"

["Lucy, as much as I want to encourage you to find a girlfriend, Jillian Hall is the most annoying girl I've ever met. So, as your best friend ... best not."]

"You know her?"

["In high school. She quite often bothering me at lunch and often made assumptions about my family, I hate her."]

"But she is quite cute ...."

["Lu!"] Michael retaliated in disbelief. ["Don't date her!"]

Lucy thought for a moment. "Maybe I should give it a try."

["Are you listening to me or not?!"]

"Come on Mike! She might have changed!" Lucy replied enthusiastically. "This is the first time that a girl has taken an interest in me first!"

["Are you that desperate?"]

"Yes, I am."

She grinned at Michael's groan of annoyance on the other end of the call. ["Fine, just be careful."]

"Don't worry." Lucy smiled to herself and finally hung up the call cheerfully. She was about to leave the payphone cubicle when she glanced behind her, staring at the phone for a long moment before glancing the other way with an indecipherable look.

However, she decided to ignore the doubts in her heart and reached for the phone again, inserted a coin and dialed in a number. Maybe she can still fix her relationship with her family.

While she was on the phone, she was completely oblivious to a pair of eyes stalking her from behind the car window. A phone taken from pocket.

["What is it, Halberg?"]

"I found her."