Alexander pulled an item off the shelf, inspecting it curiously. Looped over his arm was a basket filled with various food items, all prepackaged. His hand held his phone, using a translation app to read the Japanese words that covered most of the store’s goods—though he had found about a third were also in Mandarin.

Satisfied with the translation, Alexander put the item in his basket with the rest. He had no idea what any of this tasted like, but at least he was eighty-percent certain none of it would burn his mouth off with spice. He wandered around, adding a few more somewhat familiar items to his haul before he approached the counter.

The line wasn’t long, but it wasn’t short either. It was the number of people inside the store that made him choose Red Circle Convenience in the first place. Too few, it was probably bad or over-priced, too many, and he would be too nervous to go in. The clientele was largely Asian as well, and curious about his own possible heritage, Alexander decided to try some new things.

It was evident that he was in a good mood after talking with Evan—otherwise he would just stick with what he was familiar.

He got to the counter and set his basket down, politely emptying it for the clerk. “I just wanted to double check, but you accept Cranberry’s student card here, right?” he asked hesitantly. There had been a sign on the door stating so when he entered, but he wanted to check before the man behind the counter went too far.

The clerk was an older man, his name tag reading Wu Cheng: Owner. He glanced up at Alexander and nodded, “That’s right, it’s not a problem.”

Alexander let out a sigh of relief and dug his student card from his wallet.

“I haven’t see you before, you new?” Wu Cheng asked.

Alexander nodded with a slight smile, “Yeah, I just transferred in this week.”

“They not feeding you enough at that school?” the man asked with a chuckle, noting Alexander’s choices.

“I—I uh… I don’t tend to eat anything that’s not premade…” Alexander flushed. “For reasons…”

Wu Cheng bagged up Alexander’s purchases. “Ah, I think I get it,” he said, eyeing the boy. It wasn’t unusual for kids Alexander’s age to have some weird quirk with their personality. “You’re about the right age to have gone through all that after all.”

Alexander turned a pale shade of sickly pink, “Y-yeah…” he mumbled.

Wu Cheng nodded as if he understood. “Well, the world’s getting better, so there’s less to worry about,” he smiled.

Alexander finally made eye-contact with the man behind the counter, surprised somewhat. He smiled with some apprehension, “Yeah, I guess it is, isn’t it.”

The old man scanned Alexander’s student card and printed off a receipt for him. “Kids need to be happy, or the future will only be dark,” Wu Cheng said finally, handing off the groceries and receipt to Alexander. “You take care of yourself now. And make sure you eat more than just ramen soon.”

Alexander flushed red, “Y-yes sir, thanks.” He didn’t know what to do or how to accept this sudden bout of open kindness. So, flustered, Alexander bobbed his head in an unconscious bow and scurried out of the store, his face hot with embarrassment.

It was early evening by now. It had rained off and on all day, but now it was finally clear which is what prompted Alexander to finally head out and look for supplies. It had been four days since he arrived in North Covehunt, and he had barely eaten a thing. It was starting to take its toll on his body.

Alexander sighed tiredly, rubbing his stomach lightly as it growled. “If Evan knew I hadn’t eaten in this long, she’d be boiling mad,” he mumbled. He turned down the main street, heading past buildings and shops, all of which sported a look strangely crossed between English Victorian and traditional Japanese—another strange by-product of Iropa’s unusual history.

He turned a corner and could see his dorm higher up on the ridge, towering over some trees and buildings leading up the hill. Alexander thought of his call that morning, breaking out into a grin as he walked. “I hope she’s as excited for Christmas as I am,” he mused, a new spring in his tone.

Alexander stopped at a street corner, his gaze drifting back up to the dorms while he waited for a light to change. Evan had asked him many times before if he wanted to apply to Cranberry—his grades had always been good enough, she said. However, he didn’t want to consider leaving her. If only she had told him sooner that she could be with him here in Iropa, that she could adopt him if they moved—he would have applied in a heartbeat.

Alexander looked down at the pavement, the evening sun about to sink behind the western ridge was too bright and it made his eyes tear up. He blinked back the wateriness and smiled warmly. His heart was swelling with emotions he wasn’t sure he had ever felt before.

Alexander hadn’t noticed the light change, and missed it, forced to wait again. He sighed, and then looked around quickly, hoping that no one had noticed him daydreaming.

He wasn’t that lucky of course.

Sitting in a booth at the window of a diner on the corner was Van, staring through the window at him. Sitting across from him was Nana. She too was looking out at him.

Alexander locked gazes with Van and opened his mouth in surprise. Van also seemed to come to some sort of realization and waved idly at Alexander with his usual close-lipped smirk. Nana glanced at Van and then gave Alexander an awkward smile.

Not wanting to be rude, Alexander glanced around and found the door and headed in.

The inside was an interesting mix of modern industrial tech and nineteen-fifties retro, all in what could be called neon-pastel. It was also more packed inside than it looked through the window. It was also frighteningly silent with exception to the music—what sounded at first to be electro-swing, but then Alexander realized was probably also in Korean.

“Err…” Alexander stopped dead at the door and swallowed the sinking feeling in his stomach. Everyone was staring at him, some blankly, some with alarm, others with mild horror. Alexander’s eyes flicked around the room, taking it all in before he sidled towards Van’s booth and hesitantly turned his back on the room. “H-hey…” he greeted awkwardly.

Van and Nana also looked like they had just swallowed something startling. Van opened his mouth, shut it again, and then finally spoke, “H-hey, Princess, it’s unusual to see you out and about…” he said, just as awkwardly.

Alexander lifted his bag of goodies and gestured to it, “S-supply run. Gotta eat, right?” he glanced to his left and saw Ty sitting at the nearest booth that had been blocked from the windows. He was giving Alexander a death glare. A younger girl sat across from him, a milkshake on the table in front of her. It wasn’t Ty’s girlfriend from the other night and Alexander briefly pondered on some things before turning back to Van. “Um… I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” he asked finally.

Sweat was already running down his spine as chills ran up it.

“Uh, no, no,” Van said quickly. “We just didn’t expect you to come in here—You know, you seem to dislike people and all, so...” Van rubbed the back of his neck and looked to Nana who was just staring blankly at Alexander.

A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder, making Alexander jump and pull away in terror. Allen adjusted his round silver-rimmed glasses. “I was wondering why it got so quiet in here, Princess,” he said, a dangerous edge to his voice. He glanced at Van who, for the first time, showed some hesitancy towards the other student and looked away from him.

“I—I uh… Ah… I just wanted to t-thank V-V-Van—and Nana—for uh—hmm… f-for taking me out last night to get things…” Alexander stammered. Both of his hands were shaking, clenching the handles of his bag tightly.

Allen grinned, “Well then, you’ve said your piece, Princess. If you’re not staying to eat, then I suggest you get lost.”

Alexander took an inadvertent step backwards, uncertainty criss-crossing his face as he glanced between Van and Allen. Allen took a step closer again, driving Alexander towards the door. “Princess is poor, right? This place doesn’t take the student card, so you can’t pay, right?” he stepped forward again. Alexander took another step backwards, bumping into the closed door. “If you can’t pay, then you have to leave. No handouts here. Just because they’re nice to you at school, doesn’t mean they have to keep that up outside of the grounds.”

“Allen!” Van barked sharply and stood. “That’s enough,” he added darkly. “Princess is still my friend. I was just surprised to see him.” Van strolled to the door, carelessly bumping Allen aside with his shoulder as he gently pushed Alexander back out onto the street. “Princess…” he reached up to touch Alexander’s cheek, but the other pulled back.

“I-it’s fine, Van…” Alexander said finally, his voice shaking. He was hiding behind his bangs, his mouth set into a line the corners turned downward.

“Allen is way too out of line,” Van sighed. “He’s such a dick. Princess, I’m sorry, you just kinda caught me by surprise…”

“I said it’s fine. You don’t need to make excuses.”

“It’s not fine, Princess! I should have said something. You just looked so happy standing out there that I was caught off guard.”

Alexander blushed, “I—I…” he was at a loss. What was he supposed to say? He wanted to tell Van about his call with Evan, but would Van care? Would it seem like he was bragging? He certainly couldn’t say anything now. Alexander bit his bottom lip. “I’ll see you tomorrow, we have class, right?”

He didn’t wait for Van to answer and turned away, running across the street, dodging a car as he cut the light. With a beep of the car’s horn, Alexander was gone, leaving Van standing there alone.

Van frowned, fury bubbling up from somewhere deep. He spun and walked back into the diner where Allen was now laughing with some other students. “You!” Van snarled.

Allen puffed up his chest smugly, “What? If he can’t pay he can’t sta—.”

Van’s fist made full contact with Allen’s face.

Allen was flung to the floor and the rest of the diner fell into silence.

“If you EVER talk to him like that again, Allen Priest, I will pummel you into a translucent paste!” Van growled dangerously. “Sara, my bill please,” he added through clenched teeth, turning to a girl in an apron, her wheat-coloured hair pulled up into a bun. He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, gently resting his index and middle finger on his right temple. “I have work to do,” he stated, pulling out his student card and tapping it on Sara’s machine after she typed up his bill.

“And Allen,” Van added over his shoulder as he turned towards the door, “Lie to Princess like that again, and I have no words for what I’ll do to you.” With that, he exited, leaving everyone stunned.