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185. Drinks

Julianne: And finally... your drinks.

Tiffany, Luke, and Ken: (thinking: Drinks?)

And as if the madness on the table wasn't enough... there was more.

Just how expensive was the food on the table?

As for Julianne, she walked towards the fridge and, from some kind of large bottle, tapped out a large jug of what seemed to be and smelled like fruit juice.

Julianne: Had to keep it refridgerated.

As the cup was filled...

Julianne: Why not you kids go wash your hands as I get you your drinks?

Almost as if lightning, Tiffany stood up, leaving the rest slightly startled by her.

Rose: Tiff?

Tiffany: I... I'll just... go wash my hands....

She started towards the tap.

Ken: (thinking: Oh.. how could I forget.... Our poor inspiring leader... must be suffering more than any of us. I almost pity her position.)

And then Ken's eyes turned back to Julianne getting the juice...

Ken: (thinking: Almost...)

Luke followed after Tiffany was done, and then after did Ken wash his hands...

Rose: What kind of juice is it?

Julianne: That? Oh, apple juice.

At that point, Luke, Tiffany, and Ken all paused and perked their ears. Did they hear it right? Something normal about this dinner?

Max remained completely undaunted.

Julianne: Kidding!

She then started laughing, and Rose giggled as well. As for the other three, if they could make a rebuttal without being disrespectful or louding out how odd they found the situation, they would. But in any case...

Rose: Hmm?

Julianne: (sighs) Well.. these apples were grown under the ocean water.

Rose: No way!

Julianne: Mmm hmm.

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As she started pouring the others drinks....

Julianne: They say the salt water makes the apples extra sweet and juicy. But the conditions have to be juuuuuuuuuuust right, or else, they just end up spoiling.

Rose: Oh my gosh! They must be so rare.

Julianne: Oh, they are..... but no worries. It was no trouble at all obtaining these.

Rose smiled as she received a glass from Julianne, who smiled back at her.

Rose: Thanks, Mrs Hunter.

Julianne: It's no problem at all, Rose.

It wasn't like Rose hadn't thought of how much getting all this juice had cost Julianne. She knew full well that Julianne must have worked hard to procure all his food. Rather, that she deeply appreciated what she'd done.

And then, she was well went to go wash her hands.

Julianne filled Max's glass. She filled it just as much as the others before....

Julianne: Want some more sweetie?

Max: (flatly) No. It's fine....

Being babied by his mother in front of his friends. How embarassing!

He then also went to go wash his hands right after Rose, who'd sat back down.

As he was washing them....

Julianne: And if anyone wants more juice... feel free to ask.

Rose: Ok, Mrs Hunter!

The other three uncomfortably murmured to answer.

Tiffany: Yes....

Luke: Sure....

Ken: Will do...

The food in front of them may have very well been more expensive than anything they'd ever seen. Even more than that, there was still Mrs Julianne Hunter.

The mother went off to go wash her hands before...

Julianne: Alright then..

... she herself also took her seat.

And also, at that point that Rose suddenly became confused.

The seating order was, counting counter-clockwise...

Ken, Luke, Tiffany, Rose, Max, and then Julianne.

Rose was a bit perturbed to not see herself seated next to Julianne, after all, she was the one who'd arranged the dishes.

And perhaps this thought would have bothered her a bit longer, however, as she looked to Julianne, questioning this, her eyes fell upon Max and she immediately forgot about the entire ordeal and tried to keep herself calm so as not to make Max think she was weird.

As for Julianne, she took a seat and opened her own cloche.

Julianne: And I'll be having... this foreign made pasta and meatballs, also made by Gustav.

Rose: Ooooooohhhh It looks so good! What's in it?

Julianne: Oh, that? Well... lobster, truffles... you know, normal stuff.

Rose: Oh wow!

Julianne: Did you know that the noodles used to make this pasta were grown in the Himalayas?

Rose: No way! That's so cool!

Julianne: Think so?

Rose: (nodding) Uh huh.

The two shared a warm smile with each other. In a sense, it was as though they had reached an odd understanding. Tiffany, Ken, and Luke couldn't help but feel that they were living in some kind of odd distorted reality. Just how did these two become so close to one another?

In any case, at that point, Max was hungrily waiting to take a bite. Tiffany was waiting, all the while feeling like she shouldn't, Ken himself was uneasy about being seated to Julianne....

Ken: (thinking: So... she planned for me to seat next to her.... But... why?)

... and Luke, who had never eaten anything even remotely as expensive as what he was eating, was already starting to feel nervous about taking a bite, to say nothing of the fact that he'd never used such fancy utencils to eat.

There were several forks and spoons on both sides of everyones plates, not to mention condiments.

It really did seem like some kind of fancy restaurant.

On top of that, the air of the room was absolutely divine, given the scent of all the incredible food there.

And Julianne, remembering that they had to eat, stood up and...

Julianne: And now that that's all said and done, ladies and gentlemen...

Her remark, calling them ladies and gentlemen, got a quick giggle out of Rose.

Julianne: ... let us...

She held a spoon and glass in her hand...

Julianne: ... dig in!