Ch 6. Settling Down

They arrived at Angel Falls City in the late afternoon. Getting off at one of the stations in the busiest part of it, they had to walk for some minutes to get to a nearby hotel where they checked in for one room that night.

As they settled down in their room, Jake and Kai volunteered to go out and buy food since they hadn't paid for dinner in the hotel fee. Not to mention, the food didn't seem too appetizing and didn't include many options. It was better to get outside food since none of them could afford to get an upset stomach while not having yet gotten the keys to their apartment.

While they walked, Jake and Kai took in the sight of the busy city where people rushed past each other without giving the other so much as a glance and the cars had to move slowly in traffic. As it was late afternoon, Kai deduced that most people had finished their work shifts and were now heading home, hence the bustle.

It had been a long time since Kai had last been in such a city and the feeling caused him to reminisce how happy he and Jade had been when they had moved to the city to get away from their terrible relatives.

Jake's voice brought him back to his present. "Do you think we should order from there?" Jake pointed at a busy fast-food restaurant that seemed to specialize in burgers, but Kai disagreed.

"I don't think that that will be able to keep us full for the rest of the night." Their plan was to buy food right now and not have to buy more later so Kai thought that something else should be ordered. In the end, they bought two plates of food and water bottles at a restaurant that specialized in roast chicken with rice. Jake followed Kai's decisions with no doubts as he seemed to be familiar with the city already.

Returning to their hotel room, the guys shared the food while talking.

"We'll be leaving at nine-thirty tomorrow so that we can be there as early as we can. The manager said they open at eleven," Kai explained to the rest who nodded to show they were listening. He continued, "I've already applied for a job in the area and will begin tomorrow. I'm leaving it up to you guys to wait for some furniture that may be coming and to go buy groceries." Turning to Tyler, he said, "You remember how the area looked like, right? Okay, then you'll be in charge of groceries while Owen can stay for the packages."

"And me?" asked Jake.

"You can choose to go with whoever," Kai responded while eating his last spoonful of the food. He was sharing with Owen who gave him a questioning glance when he passed the plate completely to his side. "I'm full. You can have the rest."

"What time do you have to go to work at?" Jake curiously asked. "Oh, and where?"

"I'm going at twelve-thirty in the afternoon. It's close by, fifteen minutes by bus and it's one of the stores at the central mall," Kai replied while glancing at his friends. At some point earlier on, he had accepted them as his friends which had been easier to do since the boy's body could still recognize them. However, he still looked at them as kids. They were all eighteen but Kai was still mentally twenty-three which was why he decided that they were his responsibility.

Before having planned to move out of the countryside, Tyler and Kai had decided to continue college school while Owen and Jake wanted to work. When Jake heard that Tyler and Kai were going to rent out an apartment together, he asked to move in with them saying that he wanted to find a job in the city. Owen, being the youngest of the four, felt upset knowing that he would be left alone in Maples and it took him a long time before he hesitantly agreed.

Kai knowing how difficult it was for an eighteen year old to leave his home, had begun to apply to search for a job while visiting the city with Tyler. He wanted them to have an easier way of relaxing and not having to stress so that when the difficult times would come, they would have someone to support them while they could stabilize themselves. Hence, he who didn't have the fears that the other boys were facing could get a job with no worries creeping in his mind.

"Do you think you could help us apply for jobs there, too?" Owen asked, sincerely looking at him.

"Of course."

Jake added, "I would like to work at a brand store."

"You mean, the ones that the rich people go to?" Tyler asked with his forehead scrunching.

"Duh," Jake rolled his eyes before continuing, "I could maybe meet a nice rich girl."

Owen clicked his tongue and shook his head. He muttered softly, "Poor girl." When Jake whipped his head to look at him with a confused look, Owen turned away as if saying, "I didn't say anything."

"Oh, well... continue dreaming big," Tyler responded before he began to clear up the table of the plates. Kai helped to clean up the table of any crumbs that may had fallen with a napkin and then threw it in the trash bin.

To pass the remaining time left until they would sleep, they decided to watch movies on the TV that hung up on the wall. After having decided on an action super-hero movie, the guys settled down comfortably on the beds and commented on it through-out. When the movie ended nearly two hours later, with heavy eyes they immediately fell asleep. The ride to Angel Falls from Maples had taken four hours due to traffic and it hadn't been much of a comfortable ride causing them to be extremely tired.

When Kai awoke the next morning, he rose to stretch, noticing the clock on the bedside table showing that it was five in the morning. Getting up, he grabbed his backpack before heading to the bathroom. Freshening up for the day, he decided to wear his clothes that looked newer and decent as he knew that he wouldn't have the time to change when he would go to work later that day. He exited the bathroom to notice that Tyler was beginning to wake up from his sleep.

"You done?" Tyler asked in a muffled voice, he laid stomach down and his face was obstructed by the pillow.

"Yeah," Kai said as he approached the beds to look at the clock once more. It was now six. "If you don't want to share your time in the bathroom with them, then you should go now."

Tyler grunted in response before pushing himself off the bed. "What time are we eating breakfast at?"

"We'll go down at seven," Kai said.

"Okay." Tyler then walked to the bathroom. Letting a few minutes pass by, Kai started to wake the other two up. It was probably due to the excitement of finally being able to go to their new home that Jake awoke at once after being shook by Kai and Owen due to having a great sleep also wasn't difficult to awaken.

After everybody was done with washing and dressing up, they headed downstairs to the lobby where breakfast was. Since their hotel fee included breakfast, they ate to their heart's content and spent an hour in the lobby before heading back up to collect their things. Once they checked out of the hotel at the time that Kai had said yesterday, they hailed a taxi that took them out of the city and to the suburbs.

Forty minutes later, the taxi pulled into a neighborhood. When the car stopped, the boys got off to grab their stuff from the trunk after having thanked the driver, while Kai stayed to pay. Thanking the man, he stepped out and was handed his backpack by Owen.

Glancing at the time, Kai saw that it was only some minutes past ten. There was still less than an hour left before they could be handed their keys. He looked back up at his friends who were listening to what Tyler was saying about their new place. Interrupting them, Kai suggested for them to sit at the benches next to the playground so they could wait until the office would open.

Having sat down, they talked about what they wanted to do now. Tyler and Kai had enrolled in the college that was twenty minutes away by bus. Owen and Jake, however, had decided to work and then maybe go to college sometime later as they didn't like studies much. It was still summer and school hadn't started yet so they would all begin to work in order to save for their dreams and future.

Once the hour of eleven came, they headed towards the office to get the keys from the manager. With all the paperwork and payments having been done and finished with days ago, they spent a few minutes conversing with the manager who explained to them all the rules and warnings before taking them to their new place.

Coming to stand in front of one of the buildings, they were shown up to a door on the third floor- the highest floor- and were then giving the key to open it. The key worked and they were able to step inside to an empty space that was now their new home. Before leaving, the manager tested out that their extra key worked and then handed it to them.

Now alone, Jake and Owen were happily exclaiming while roaming around their new place.

"Wow!" Owen awed when he pulled back the long blinds covering the door to their balcony. "Look at the view, Jake!"

Jake had been exploring one of the two bedrooms when he heard Owen calling for him. Exiting the room, he went to stand next to Owen and whistled as he glanced at the pretty view that the balcony provided.

"We can see everything from here," he said. "Isn't that the bus stop?"

"I think so. Let's go out." Owen unlatched the door and walked out, Jake following right after.

Kai smiled when he saw their reaction. He was glad that he and Tyler had decided to choose this apartment knowing that it would make the younger boys happy.

Heading towards the smaller room, he put his backpack down before leaving. Spotting Tyler who was busy examining the kitchen, he called out to him.

"Tyler! I'll be heading out now. Remember what I said yesterday, alright, and what we've planned."

"Yes, alright," Tyler said before waving at him, "Have a great first day at work!"

Kai laughed, "Thanks. I'll be seeing you guys later at night." Opening the door, he turned the latch, stepped out, and then closed it firmly behind him.

When he was walking towards the bus stop, he heard someone call out to him from behind. Turning around, he noticed his friends waving at him from the balcony. Smiling, he waved back at them before continuing on his way.