Inconvenience at the convenience store [Blaez]

Thursday, a day no different that the others, yet Charles was outside. Outside? Why would he go outside? Apparently, he had gotten to the final conclusion regarding the current issue at hand, Jack Rannells. He had decided to tell him everything next day at school and that meant they would need to get together sometimes to discuss stuff, if Jack agrees, that is. So yeah, Charles was on his way to a nearby convenience store, off to buy some snacks and whatnots for Jack since he didn't have any at his apartment as he had no need for food of any kind. He had no idea where he'd be able to find a store, though, so he just kept walking around the city until he saw one and entered it.

He analyzed the whole store the moment he walked through the door, browsing for any sign of such merchandise. His eyes flew over the cashier and the other customers and then onto the shelves full of all kinds of things, from some rolls of pink colored paper to what he assued were the vegetables, though they appeared much larger than those recorded in his database. That was perhaps because his database was outdated. Maybe vegetables evolved in that period of time, who knows. Anyhow, he then noticed the wide fridge in the corner of the store, filled with bottles of many shapes and sizes, all filled with liquid. That's right, humans need to drink. Perhaps he should grab something like that to offer to Jack as well?

Charles walked over to the fridge, putting his hand around a bottle full of something brown. A slight breezee flew through his palm as he touched it. Oh yeah, they prefer their liquids to be cool, right? But he had no fridge back at his apartment... Maybe he should put them next to an open window? It was winter, after all.
...
Maybe not, who knows what might happen if he leaves his window wide open. He did live at an upper floor in the building, so he was safe from burglars... but wind would be a problem. His apartment was full of his drawings scattered around the floor and pinned across the walls. Which left him with only one option. He had to buy a fridge. And not any old fridge, this fridge right here. He should be able to since this was a convenience store, which must mean it came in as convenient during any hardships. He immediately sprung into action, trying to push and/or carry the fridge from it place. It wouldn't budge, it was too heavy. Maybe if he removed all the bottles from it, it would be light enough to pull around. Then he could just push it into the elevator and into his apartment. The fridge wasn't that big.

Anyhow, Charles began prowling through the bottles, pulling them out as quickly as he could, to the utter surprise of several customers. He payed them no heed and continued his workings. It was no good though, it went too slowly. If he spend too much time here, he wouldn't have had enough to carry the fridge home. Charles needed to get some help.

So he turned to the closest store member he could find, the cashier... "Excuse me. I am thinking of buying this fridge here." He walked over to the cashier, pointing his finger at the fridge surrounded by a bunch of various bottles he had pulled out. "The problem is that it is too heavy. Would you mind helping me with it? I doubt this is your first time handling a situation like this, so you must have a solution."

Once again Blaez was working on the convenience store,it was a normal day,the clients browse the store for a while,pick what they want,pay him and leave.Blaez just finished attending an old lady when a rather odd looking guy entered the store,he looked around before starting browsing the store.

He browsed around like any other client,despite that Blaez tried to divide his attention with the clients and the guy.The guy eventually stopped by the fridge,he grabbed one of the bottles but left it back on it's place,he seemed to be thinking on something"I must be paranoid."Blaez thought to himself as he placed some money in the cashier,but when he raised his head he noticed that the guy was trying to move the fridge,did something rolled under the fridge?If that was the case Blaez would help him after he attended the clients,the guy the proceeded to remove every drink from the fridge before trying to move the fridge.After a few tries the guy approached Blaez and talked about buying the fridge and asked for help moving it to his home"...No,this is the first time this happens sir,the fridge is not for sale..."Blaez paused"Besides the fridge,is there anyway i can help you?"Blaez sounded genuine,the guy seemed somewhat lost,he probably could use a hand.

This was the first time Charles got a good look of the cashier. He seemed similiar, somehow... Like somebody he knew or knows. Hmmm... Oh, right, he looked quite similiar to Charles himself. Same color of the hair and eyes, but bit shorter though. Whatever. He shrugged and continued. "Huh, it isn't for sale? That is truly inconvenient..." The store just let him down, huh... So that name wes false advertising! Nevermind that though, now what was Charles supposed to do? Perhaps they did hold fridges somewhere. Maybe he should ask him. The guy seemed eager to help anyways, so why not. But first things first... "Then, could you direct me to some... 'snacks' people of this age like to consume?" Charles put unusual accent to the word 'snacks'. It just came unnatural to him as he hasn't gotten used to these terms yet... "Afterwards you could tell me where your fridge department is located."

The guy sounded somewhat disappointed,but he carried on.The odd client asked for snacks,some people laughed at the way he said ''snacks'',it truly was kinda funny,but Blaez held it back,the guy was polite,so the student treated the guy equally"On the corridor to your left, and we have soft drinks right there"he pointed to a freezer next to the empty fridge,it was full of soft drinks,the client insisted on buying a fridge"Sorry,but we don't have fridges."Blaez explained to him calmly.That guy was "different" to say the least,looking for a fridge on a convenience store,was he that desperate for a fridge?Blaez couldn't hold back his curiosity so he asked"Do you need a fridge immediately?Or can it be something temporary?"

"I see." Charles quietly replied when the cashier told him they didn't sell fridges. He was about to drop the whole idea when he heard his voice again. Was he trying to offer, no, lend him a fridge? His intentions didn't seem vile, so perhaps Charles should accept it. He nods. "When you said 'temporary', were you trying to offer me a fridge that I could lend?"

He could hear people whispering around himm giggling and some even laughing. An old lady tried pushing him aside, yelling something about a line of some sort. She appeared bothered. Was it something he said? In any case, it was irrelevant to the issue at hand. He had to get a fridge and snacks so that he could make his apartment more hospitable towards humans. "Also, I do not require the fridge right away." Charles added at the end.

Blaez knew a guy who could lend then a minibar,Daisuke,the student lived with him for a while,he had an old minibar somewhere in his apartment"Nope,but i know a guy who could lend you a minibar."Though the man became somewhat paranoid since his nephew disappeared,Blaez would be necessary to take the minibar"If you want it,meet me outside in thirty minutes."Blaez rested his arm on his hand"By the way i'm Blaez."The guy seemed like a good person,and apparently he needed a hand,so the student decided to help him"Feel free to browse the store more."he completed,after saying that Blaez went back to his task.

"I appreciate your help. We shall meet outside in thirty minutes then." He said, walking away to where Blaez pointed were the snacks. He stopped next to the fridge to pick the bottles back up before moving on.

Charles returned to the cashier after fifteen minutes, with a pack of chips in his hand and a bottle of coke right under his armpit. He waited for the line to clear up before approaching. "I will buy these, although the ingredients written on the back of the pack worry me, especially those listed on the bottle." He held the bottle up with his free hand. "This... concoction is borderline toxic. Continuous consumption of it would surely lead to some severe health issuesm including death. I am surprised people are still not fully aware of that. It is none of my concrn though, as I am not the one who is going to consume it." Charles said it loud enough for people around him to hear him. Some weren't swayed by his statement, but several hurried back and returned their items to the shelves, quickly fleeing the store afterwards. A wave of whispers washed over the whole store as people began to discuss about this weird guy. Charles, however, did not bother with the commotion. His eyes stayed focused on Blaez the entire time. He did not mean any harm though, he was merely being curious and making a statement.

"So, how much for it?" He said nonschalantly as he tucked a handful of coins at the dsk infront of Blaez. "Will this suffice?"

The guy took fifteen minutes to choose the snacks,he settled down with a bag of chips and a bottle of coke,he started to talk about how toxic the coke could be if someone drink it in excess,some clients were frightened by it,they returned the products to the shelves,but the man didn't seem to care,he just kept staring at the student,who observed the clients returning the products with a unamused expression for a few seconds before answering the guy"I guess it's ok to drink it once in a while..."Each time that guy said something,the more odd he appeared to be,thought Blaez was determined to help him"That will be..."Before Blaez could finish he placed a bunch of coins on the desk"...five dollars."the student started to count the coins,in a minute the student was done counting the coins,he handed the spare coins back to the guy.

His shift was finally over,but there was still things to be done,the student headed out of the store and looked around trying to find Charles.

Charles saw Blaez exit the store so he went on to greet him. He had been waiting outside for fifteen minutes for him, but he didn't mind. He was holding a plastic bag with the items he had bought. Hopefully, Jack will enjoy them. "So, where is your friend with the minibar you had mentioned?" He would ask after getting a response. "Although I sincerely doubt I am going to be able to fit a whole bar into my apartment, not matter how miniature you claim it to be." He was only able to find the term 'bar' in his database. After he removed all the non-noun definitions, he was left with three. It reffered to either a long, evenly shaped piece of some solid material, something that obstructed the path or a place where beverages of all kind could be served. If there were any more meanings to it, they were probably erased at some point when his database was damaged, along with the information on how he could gain a Persona of his own. Anyhow, as they were talking about drinks, Charles realized it would've been the final definition. "Is your friend a 'bartender'?" Charles added at the end, curious about the whole matter.

Charles was there waiting as said"Sorry for the wait..."Blaez scratched the back of his head"He lives a few blocks away,i already gave him a call,he will be waiting."Blaez signed to Charles to follow him."Although I sincerely doubt I am going to be able to fit a whole bar into my apartment, not matter how miniature you claim it to be."Charles said,he probably thinks that a minibar is a literal small bar,something was definitely different about him all ,his actions,his way of acting,though Blaez decided to ask him about it later"It's more like a mini fridge..."Blaez paused to pay attention of his surroundings,a mugger almost stole his wallet a few nights ago,after that the student was more concerned with his safety,Blaez was concerned to the point that he almost didn't noticed Charles question about Daisuke profession"Oh,uhm,actually,i have no clue what is his line of work...".

They walked for about twenty minutes,Daisuke's house was just a few meters away"Oh yeah,i didn't got your name buddy."

"I shall record this definition of a 'minibar' then, for future reference." Charles murmured, more to himself as they walked towards their goal. Not many words were spoken throughout their walk... They walked silently, even their footsteps dulled by the remainders of the snow left all over the streets of the city. At one point, Charles noticed Blaez seemed to be on the tip of his toes. Eh, maybe he was just like that so Charles shrugged it off. After 18 minutes and 34 seconds (yeah, Charles counted it), they apparently reached their destination. It was about then when Charles was posed a question by Blaez. "My name is Charles." He responded. "More importantly, is this the place?"

They found themselves before a medium sized building"More importantly, is this the place?"Charles asked when the student stopped infront of the building,Blaez nodded before pressing a button on the intercom"Who is it?"A man voice could be heard,he sounded in his mid-thirties "Hey it's Blaez."The student answered"Oh right,the minibar ,i will be there in a minute."The student leaned against the wall as they waited for the man to come down.After about the minute they heard footsteps,the door opened,a thin tired looking asian man showed up,holding a box showed up"There,take good care of it."The man said as he placed the box on the ground,the man headed back to the building,but stopped,he turned his head to Blaez and said"Be safe kid."the man slammed the door,they could hear him climbing the stairs.

Blaez sighed as Daisuke left the scene,it brought the student some memories,thought it wasn't the time to dwell on this kind of thing"Wanna a hand taking this thing home?"Charles was already holding a bag with the products he bought,it would be easier if he had an extra pair of hands

"Your assistance would be appreciated." Charles replied. This Daisuke guy left as soon as he came tho. Blaez probably contacted him from the store so he was prepared by the time the two of them arrived. "I'll lead the way."

Charles led Blaez through the city. Since they were going in the opposite direction to reach Daisuke's place, they had to walk quite a bit to get back to the building in which Charles lived. It was an old five story building in the less crowded, but poorer part of the city. Dumpsters laid open around it and everything just smelled shady. Charles turned to Blaez when they reached the building. "We have arrived." He said, picking up the minibar from Blaez. "Thank you for helping me, I can take it from here." Charles began walking towards the entrance.

If Blaez was to say something, Charles would've replied (he would even willingly escort Blaez from the area after leaving the minibar if he said so), but, otherwise, he would enter the building and leave the scene.

Charles accepted the student's offer,his house was on the opposite direction they taken to Daisuke's house,Blaez followed Charles,they had another silent walk.Eventually they arrived in the poorer part of the city,Charles stopped by one of the buildings and grabbed the minibar and headed to the entrance,Blaez didn't expected to get a straight answer from Charles,so the student decided to leave,he would probably have another opportunity"It was nice to meet you Charles,i will be going now,see you around".Blaez took his way to the school dorms after that.

Blaez left the scene