Baked goods! (Zavie)

Another day after school, another day exploring Endymion.  Today, Tatum has chosen to explore Little Tokyo.  It was a pretty neat place if one wanted to get at least a glimpse of a different kind of culture.

The river was fun to run besides, and trying to find secret passage ways in the Tokyo stripe for her to exploit was a bit tricky, but entertaining in it's own way.  All in all, she regularly enjoyed her outings in Little Tokyo.

Today was a little different from her usual affairs of exploring.  She found herself pressing her face into the window of one little bake shop.

How did I miss this place... she thought to herself, How in the world did I somehow miss this place... I'd be frequently this place more often if I had known it was here...

She pulled her face away and checked her pockets and her wallet.  Empty, not a single bit of cash on her.

And of course, groceries get me again... maybe if I can find a job at a paper route... they let kids do paper routes, right?  Okay, so I can't get a nice delicious bakery sweet goodness, but maybe I can get a different kind of goodness!

With that, she knocked on the door and let herself in.

"Excuse my intrusion!" she announced as she stepped in.  She heard somewhere that, in Japan, that was the thing she was supposed to do if she walked in without being invited.  Sure, it was a shop, but she still felt like she should at least attempt to be some level of polite.

Her eyes were a little wide at the sight of the sleeping employee.

Uh... he's a sleep... she thought to herself, Neat little location, plus 3 points. Neat little atmosphere. Plus 5 points. Shop keep asleep at the counter... minus 7 points... at least they still have one point in their favor... If I'm a good little girl, I should probably wake him up.

She checked herself briefly in the reflection of the window. Her jacket collar was down. She very calmly pulled it up so that it obscured her face.

Guess I'm not gonna be a good little girl for a little bit, she smirked inwardly, mischief entering her mind. She walked right up to the counter and even climbed onto it so that she was sitting suwarikko style next to the young man. There was a noticeable grin on her face as she got close, getting a really good look at his face.

He's kinda cute! She thought to herself, I kind of wanna let him sleep. Too bad I'm not being nice right now. Hmmm... I wonder how long until he notices... With that, she started gently poking his forehead, being sure to keep her face within an inch of distance from his.

Seeing the poor boy scream and fall backwards was enough to cause Tatum to flinch.

"Oooooh, that looked like it hurt," she said, trying her best to stifle her giggles. She failed to keep from giggling. "Still, for excellent performance in spite of being caught sleeping, ten points! So your shop has now been bumped up to Eleven points!" She shifted herself so that her feet were hanging from the side of the counter.

"Sorry to say, but I'm not a customer," she said with a barely visible grin, "I just thought I drop in and browse the wares. I love what you've done with the place! If I had known this place was here earlier, I'd be blowing all of my money here instead of groceries! A sweet tooth is an important thing to satisfy for every kid, you know! So, what kind of TV show were you watching that kept you up all night, Bread Boy?" She gently flicked his bangs as she asked her question. Perhaps she was getting a little too familiar with the poor boy?

His responses... they're too cute! Tatum found herself blushing a little bit in response to the sleepy-headed boy. How in the world did she stumble onto someone so cute?!

At least it inadvertently got her to back off a little.

"Don't worry your adorable little head over it," she replied, "it's just a silly game I play. So, you had yourself a busy morning. Does this place get really busy in the morning? Wait, do you even go to school? Do you... work here all day?"

"Whoa, you get to work all day with your parents?" I'm kind of envious. I'm lucky if I even get a call from Daddy...

"That's gotta be tiring sometimes, especially today of all days," she replied, trying to be sympathetic. A bit of pity and sympathy for the boy found its way into her heart.

"Okay, you definitely need your rest... um, is there anything I can do that can help? I don't have any money to buy anything, but I'm a good go-for, and if you need help delivering those orders, I know a lot of nifty shortcuts in the city. If its allowed, I could deliver some for ya." She did honestly want to help. Hearing that story and seeing how it's affecting the guys sleep made her want to ease his burdens, assuming he would allow it.

"I see," she replied, at least relieved to know that he was okay for the moment. Maybe she should go and let him finally rest. He's obviously had a hard day and doesn't need a mischief-maker right now to make things worse.

"Well I hope the rest of your day is an easy one. I probably bothered you enough as it is." With that, she hopped off the counter and made her way to the door. "If I ever get any money, I'm definitely buying a lot of bread stuff here, that I promise! Sorry for being such a pain in the butt!"

If I manage to catch him in a better mood, I'm totally asking him about those short cuts! Maybe we can compare notes!

With that, she was out the door, making a point to memorize it's location and it's name. The Heartfelt Bakery. What a lovely name. With a small smile, she sprinted off to find new short cuts and unexplored locations.

Shortly after, she came back with a small sign, meant to be hung on the door. It was actually hers, but she figured she could loan it for the poor boys sake.

"Do not Disturb, Nap times." the sign said. She figured it was the least she could do for the poor boys sake.