Julianne Hunter wanted these kids to come here for two different reasons. One, to train. The other, to establish a relationship with them.

Having them uneasy around her was obviously sub optimal.

She needed them to be more at ease with her. But....how? Just how could she do that?

At the moment, only her and Rose, and perhaps her son should he feel like it would be willing to talk. The other three though.

Well... they were enjoying the food, in fact, Luke was half way done with his ribs.

However, the unease was not unnoticed by her.

That she needed to fix... before the dinner party was over.

Her acting lessons and life had taught her that much.

But before her thoughts could go any further, Rose made a girly squeal.

Rose: This chicken is just sooooooo gooooooood!

Julianne couldn't help but smile, after all, she was glad the girl was enjoying it so much.

But also, there was just something about her that she found quite endearing.

And before she could get back to her thoughts, something happened that may just have given her a lucky break.

Max had, having heard of an all black chicken, become somewhat curious.

More curious than his mother would have anticipated.

He turned to Rose...

Max: Hey Rose.

Rose: Y... yeah...

Him speaking so suddenly genuinely surprised her.

Max: Could I have some of your pie?

The very statement shocked Rose quite a bit, but it shocked Julianne even more. Every one likes food, sure, but she simply did not anticipate that happening.

Rose, on the other hand, simply saw this as what one would call, an opportunity to prove herself to him.

An opportunity to please him.

And so, like she obviously would, she immediately panicked under pressure.

Rose: Umm... I....

And Max, noticing this..

Max: It's ok. You don't have to if you don't wanna.

Rose: N... no... no... I mean... I...

She immediately started to become more flustered. Had she lost her chance? She held her hands together tightly.

And Julianne, while only slightly amused, decided she would help Rose out. After all, where was the harm in helping?

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Julianne: How about you two trade? A slice of pizza for a piece of pie.

She knew well what Rose wanted to do, and she understood that sentiment well.

Well enough to sympathise. And she knew her son well enough to know what he'd say.

Max: Oh yeah. That works.

He turned to her again, and a blushing Rose could only answer...

Rose: Sure!

She said it loudly and panickedly, and had Julianne not been around, Ken and Luke might have even laughed.

Ken: (thinking: Oh Rose. You poor thing.)

Luke: (thinking: Oh boy...)

But in this case, in spite of her sudden reaction, the trade was made and they both took a bite of each other's meal. Meanwhile, the others reserved their comments.

Max: Mmmmmmm. This is good.

Rose: Yeah. Yours is too. (thinking: Oh, I'm so glad you like it, Max.)

Max: Mmmmm. It tastes like.... hmmm... like....

Somehow, Max's comment drew the attention of the others.

So much so that they hung on his words.

Max: Liiiiiiikkee.......

And he just seemed to be giving it a lot of thought.

Max: Ah forget it.

And without skipping a beat, he continued to eat the pie.

No one needed to say a word to loud out how disappointed they all were to hear that.

But still, a muffled sigh did escape their mouths.

Ken: (thinking: Hmph. Still full of surprises, I see.)

And Ken's eyes turned to the mother.

Ken: (thinking: And come to think of it....)

As for Julianne Hunter, she got back to work. How could she get the kids to open up?

Talk about school? No, that wouldn't work. She knew how much kids hated school.

Talk about missions? No, she wouldn't be able to bear hearing about their exploits in battle. She had enough worries about her son as was.

Talk about... their powers? But she'd already done that the last time and that wasn't enough.

So... talk about....

And then it happened, just as she was still brainstorming...

Max: Hey, Ken.

Ken: Hmmm?

Max: I'll trade you a slice for some of that beef.

Ken: (thinking: What the...?!) Uhhh sure.

And so, they too traded a bit of each others food from across the table.

And, as for the result...

Max: Wow. This stuff is good.

Ken: Same goes for your pizza. I don't believe I've ever tasted anything like it.

Julianne Hunter's thoughts paused as she watched her son hungrily munched on the piece of roast beef.

Rose: Oh! I'd like some too!

Ken: Sure. Why not?

And they traded food as well.

Rose: Mmmmmmm. Sooo good.

Ken: Same. This pie is simply exquisite.

And before long even Luke joined in.

Luke: Hey Ken?

Ken: Hmm?

Luke: How about we trade too?

Rose: Ooh ooh. Me with Luke too!

Max: Me three!

And after a few trades, even Tiffany, who was still reeling from having her pride crushed...

Luke: Hey, Tiff...

Tiffany held her sigh back as hard as she could.

Tiffany: S... sure. Lets trade.

The situation was even more uncomfortable. Now, she was eating even more of this woman's food.

But, she could not deny the fact that it all tasted really good.

And just like that, the plates of food turned from personal meals to communal plates.

Max: Hey Rose, gimme some more of that pie.

Rose: Sure.

Luke: Hey, don't finish it all.

Ken: Says the one who's almost finished his ribs.

Luke: Hmmmmm.

Max: Oh yeah. Tiffany?

Tiffany: Sure. Let's trade again.

Just like that, the five of them were talking. What was a quiet and calm dining room was now a noisy room full of comments, giggles and even smiles.

Julianne Hunter couldn't believe it.

Her eyes fell to her son once more. Who would have thought... ?

Luke: Hey, you gave me a small slice of pizza.

Max: Ya snooze ya lose

Luke: Mmmmmm...

Max: Ok... ok....

He then gave him another slice of pizza.

And she was just about to play some kind of trick to get their attention, to liven the room up, but... somehow... he just pulled it off.

She wondered to herself, did he do this knowing her dilemma? No, absolutely unlikely.

Did he do it because he could sense that she was stressed out about the silence? Did he?

No, also unlikely.

She knew deep down, that was just Max being Max.