The Generic Shop (Open)

It was during the weekend and he had went back home to visit his mother, and then immediately went back out cause she needed help with groceries. He was given enough money for whatever she needed which ultimately wasn't too much. So not only could he not complain, he could enjoy the walk there. He checked and noticed a shop before that he had never seen. He didn't really catch the name, but he was sure it must've opened recently. Desite that there didn't seem to be too many people.

He opened the door and walked inside muttering to himself. 'Let's see.....eggs, curry spice, and notta. Easy enough', he thought to himself as he looked around in the shop. It wasn't very large at all, it seemed to be a modest single room store. He also noticed a staircase leading upstairs. Not bothering to think about what was up there he continued to shop.

"Thanks, Grandma," Emiko called as her grandmother disappeared up the stairs, leaving her to watch over the store. She leaned against the counter and propped her head up in her hands. It probably wouldn't take too long for her grandmother to retrieve the box...if she could find it. In the mean time, she scanned the store. It was never very packed and its modest earthy colors didn't do much to attract attention. Even now, the place didn't look very different from when her family used to stay with them. The wooden shelves that lined the walls were stocked with goods, but they still seemed bear. Jars filled with preserves or pickled vegetables that they probably got from the farm that usually supplied them. One of her grandfather's old friends, she thought. Just how long they had been in the business, she didn't know. Nor did she know how many times the store's products had changed. She was sure at one time it was a candy store. Her grandparents were what she considered somewhat whimsical people. They seemed to like to do what made them happy, and if that meant changing the store's purpose once or twice over despite monetary costs, then that was what they did.

Lost in thoughts, it surprised her when someone who looked to be around her age entered the shop. It wasn't unusual for parents to send their kids in on errands. She glanced back towards the stairs. Was her grandmother still not back yet? No, it seemed this customer was hers. She sighed quietly before donning a polite smile and addressing the boy. "Hello, welcome, let me know if there's anything you need."

Cyril looked a bit intently finding the different kinda of spices and tried to figure out which one he needed. He was thinking when a girl oddly enough at his age showed up. She could tell she worked here based off of a uniform she was wearing, very modest. He passively knocked himself in the head for that thought. Hopefully his light slap to his head wasn't noticeable.

He smiled back normally. "Oh, yeah, thanks. I am a bit unsure which curry spice I need for my home. I am a pretty poor cook," he said making his own poor attempt at small talk. 'Next time I need a better opening line to a new acquaintance,'. He thought to himself. He went back to look and could not for the life of him pick the right one without being unsure. He looked at the girl with a bit of a lost look. "Do you know the difference? I will never know it," he said.

She barely raised an eyebrow when the boy slapped himself on the head. Probably forgot something or the like. Her expression perked up again when he asked about the spices. "Curry," Emiko mused as she came out from around the counter to join him at the spice shelf. That was certainly something she could help with, especially after making it so many times at home. "How do you like your curry?" She asked, stopping a little more than an arms length away from him. "It mainly depends on your own personal preference." She explained, brushing a short lock of black hair behind her ear. "When I make it at home, my family likes..." The girl stepped past him and selected a jar off the shelf with a mahogany colored powder. "This one." She looked over the jar before showing it to the boy. "But it could also depend on what you're going to use it for." Emiko smiled at him before putting back the jar and taking a step back to give him some space.

He nodded and looked up at the jars. He watched her as she explained and grabbed the jar. He looked at it once more when she put it back. "Oh, that's mild spice? That could actually work. I prefer the mild. This was the one you use?" he said looking at her as she spoke. He grabbed the exact same jar and turned it in both of his hands.

He was actually surprised. The design was just.....perfect. He had never seen curry not in a small box, much less in a jar this well crafted. He didn't know crafts really, but he knew when he thought it looked good. "This works. Thank you....actually, is this jar the design of your other jars here? It looks great," he said giving a shy smile. He Put it in a small bag and actually took another for safety just in case. It would come out of his own wallet, but there wouldn't be too much to worry about he thought.

"Yes. My little sisters don't like things quite as spicy as I do." Emiko gave a short nod as he took the curry powder she suggested. "There's no point in cooking it if I'm the only one who eats it." The girl, shrugged. She looked at the boy as he studied the jar. To her he looked sort of...unkempt. There was nothing wrong with the jeans and t-shirt he was wearing. She had her lazier days as well. It was probably just the way his hair fell. His glasses gave him a slightly bookish feeling as well. As she looked closer she noted that his eyes were two different shades. No, two different colors entirely. One brown, and the other gray. It was certainly the most extraordinary thing about him. She wondered why she didn't notice it sooner. Did it affect his vision?

She was puzzled when he complimented the jar's appearance. The other jars on the shelf looked all the same to her. Nothing particularly spectacular. Her grandparents didn't get them from anywhere special, but as long as he liked the product he was buying, she supposed it was fine. "You're welcome. And, I'm glad you like them." Her gaze shifted from the spice rack back to the boy. Now that she'd gotten a better look at him, she realized, he looked...sort of familiar. His wasn't a face she'd seen often, but she had seen it before. Maybe around school somewhere. "Say, if you don't mind my asking, what's your name?"

He smiled. "Oh really? I don't mind spicy. I am just a wimp about curry," he said. He brushed the hair hitting his eyebrows to the side almost as if he felt like he was examined. Not by the girl in particular, just in general. He had just finished putting the second jar away in his back when she thanked him for liking them. "No problem," he said taking a look in the shop for his next target: the lovely notta.

He was about to move on when she had asked a question. When he stopped slightly abruptly looking back at her, one side of his glasses fell down his ear. It wasn't enough for Cyril to tell, but enough to make his gray eye more apparent. "Oh, I am Cyril Vaans. I go to Kizuna Academy," he said smiling. She seemed pleasant, as if she was half a worker in a store, and the other half, just as much of a teenager as he was. He held out his hand to her in a greeting. "You look like someone I might know. Do you go to the Academy too?"

Cyril. Definitely not someone she knew from class, nor did the name sound familiar to her. But, there plenty of students at that school, and she hadn't necessarily seen nor did she know them all. "Pleasure to meet you, Cyril. I'm Emiko Takenaka. Yes, I go there too." She smiled as she took his hand and gave it a short firm shake. "What year are you in?" If he was in a different year, that would explain why their paths hadn't crossed before. Without belonging to any clubs or working part-time anywhere, she didn't get as many chances to meet with her peers as others might have. She didn't particularly go out of her way to meet them either. Truthfully, it didn't really matter to her one way or another, but chance meetings like this weren't bad.

Cyril's eyes particularly caught her attention. His nature seemed mild, and it showed in his eyes, though the colors were a bit...distracting to say the least. She tried not to stare abnormally at them, and spoke to him as she would anyone else. If anything, they were fascinating. Beautiful, even. How many people as children longed for two different colored eyes before being content with the color they had gotten. The thought amused her and leaked into her polite smile, making it a tad more genuine.

He smiled as she took her hand and shook it. Her grip was firm, and it made him feel better, and he took the firm grip as being sincere. "I am a third year. I don't really know people actually in their third year," he said smiling. What year are you?" he asked.

He felt a bit more comfortable around her when he took his hand away. Normally he is just passive to strangers. But as far as he was concerned, she could be a friend. She might as well be one. He laughed a bit when he caught her taking a glimpse directly into his eyes. She didn't seem disgusted, so he didn't mind. It was at this moment he noticed his glasses were unbalanced.

He took them off. "These are just for show. My mother had them made cause she was worried I would be made fun of. Now I just kind of wear them around for no reason," he said holding his glasses which weren't curved at all. Yeah upon further inspection the lens were just straight and wouldn't help or hurt vision at all. He actually found it a bit flattering that she was staring. Not many really do, unless they meet him. And it usually just makes him feel like he looks less generic.

"First," Emiko answered simply. He was in an older year, as she'd expected. After they exchanged their handshake she tightened and smoothed down her modest apron, the only requirement of uniform for her grandparent's shop. She deliberately looked down when Cyril caught her looking at his eyes. Normally, she wasn't intimidated by others' gazes, but in this case, she was afraid she would offend. Her gaze flickered back up when she heard him chuckle. He didn't seem offended in the least. Good natured, even. He must have gotten such curious looks a lot. Relieved that he hadn't taken her staring the wrong way, no, even going as far as to explain his spectacles, Emiko felt a bit more relaxed. The girl nodded, feeling that his mother's concern was somewhat justified. Though children could be surprising, it was often said that they could also be quite cruel. She wondered if Cyril had been bullied as a child, despite the fake lenses. But, having just met the boy, it didn't feel right for her to pry. He must have just gotten used to wearing the glasses around, perhaps as a fashion statement. Though, looking at him now, it didn't seem like fashion was much of a past time to him. Taking the liberty to stare further, she ventured to comment. "Your eyes are...fascinating." She admitted, hoping he'd take it as a compliment, the way she meant it. Breaking her eye contact before it became too intrusive, her own green eyes flickered around the room. "If you don't mind my saying, of course."

He nodded. He laughed slightly when he caught her looking down, almost as if he was just laughing it off as no big deal. He smiled at her compliment about his eyes. Normally the only compliment of his eyes came from his mother, who then would put on the glasses so they wouldn't be seen. At the time he thought it was so mom didn't have to share the look, but he knew better.

Even then, it was no issue. He smiled. "Thanks. Your eyes are pretty as well," he said before mentally slapping himself. It is one thing to compliment something abnormal. It's another to compliment when they have just met. Hopefully it wouldn't have been out of line and she wouldn't attack hm or be wierded out. He noticed the eggs were actually right across from the curry and in mid-conversation, got a small box just enough for the ingredients.

Emiko couldn't help but think that it was nice to see others smile. How easy it could be to provide them with one once in a while. She returned his smile with one of her own. Her eyebrows shot up and her mouth rounded into a little o when Cyril returned the compliment. It wasn't her first time, nor should it have come too unexpectedly. Plenty of people felt the need to return praise when they were given it. She didn't always understand why, maybe it was polite. Regardless, she let her surprise briefly show before smoothing her expression into that of a flattered smile. "Thank you." He looked slightly embarrassed after he said it, so she hoped her reaction would put him at ease.

As she noticed him reach for the eggs and stepped back out of his way, it dawned on her. A little frown crossed her face. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm probably interrupting your shopping. Others are probably waiting on you." She apologized, crossing the store to retreat back behind the counter. Home plate. She folded her hands neatly in front of her and stood up straight. "If you need any more help, feel free to ask. When you're done I can ring you up." Her polite smile returned as she once again played the part of a diligent store clerk. When she thought he wasn't looking, her eyes flickered back up to the stairs, wondering what was taking her grandmother so long. Maybe she misplaced the box, or had it thrown out and forgot. Her grandparents weren't as forgetful as other seniors could be and still had all their facilities in tact, but, though responsible, she recalled that her grandmother had always been a bit of a scatterbrained woman at times.

He nodded. Feeling a bit better when she made her cute look. It felt as though he had met her before, as that look was so familiar. He looked at the aisle the natto is on memorizing it. He then looked back at her. "Thank you. I'll see you in a few days," he said. He meant it as a joke. Since he intended to see her at the register when he was making his purchases.

He walked off and promptly vanished into the aisle. Mostly because he had to kneel to get to the natto as it was lower than he thought. He found quite a few making Cyril give a sigh of exasperation. He didn't want to ask Emiko for help, so he called it and picked one not particularly looking at it, only knowing it was natto and put it in his bag. He then stood up to walk to the register. He noticed Emiko was staring at the stairs upstairs. Was she zoning out? In any case, he walked to the register.

Cyril's quip confused her for a second, not recognizing it as a joke. For a moment, she thought he was stupid. Once she realized that he was kidding she gave a short obligatory giggle, not wanting to embarrass him or anything. She watched lazily as he went down the aisles, looking for whatever was on his list. Her polite smile still tugged the corners of her mouth up out of habit. She had stopped wondering about the box and now dreaded going home once she had it. There were things to do, there were always things to do, but she wanted to stay out for a bit longer. Even if it was just helping out in her grandparents' boring shop. Rather, the weather was nice out when she first arrived. Perhaps a walk around the area, or to the city, or down town. Maybe she could just hang out somewhere by herself, in her own company.

It wasn't long, but she had once again managed to lose herself in her mind in a short amount of time. The girl blinked at the boy in front of her, taking that moment to gather herself back up again, and, with a renewed smile, began ringing his items up. "I hope you've enjoyed your shopping experience. Please come back again." Emiko said almost mechanically as she handed him his bag of items. " It was a pleasure to meet you. I'll see you around at school, Cyril." She said with a bit more familiarity.

Cyril nods paying for his items and smiling. "Nice to meet you too Emiko. I will have to visit again sometime," he said waving to her as he left.


((END))