035 Hello Again!

The girl turned around to face Eden and the blonde waited, holding her breath and bracing herself for negativity. Soon after the cashier's eyes fell toward the table at the supplies Eden had picked out, the she smiled.

"Sure just give me a second," the girl said back just as politely, causing Eden to breathe a sigh of relief. She had thought the girl would comment on her body but it seemed her outfit was doing it's job of making her look better.

'I really need a whole new wardrobe,' Eden thought as the woman scanned her things with the machine.

"That'll be 35KRV Ma'am," the girl said cheerfully, "Will that be cash or card?"

"Cash," Eden said taking out the change from her breakfast that morning, what luck that she didn't have to dip into her savings and she already had her first two customers.

"Business has been a bit slow lately, lucky you came in," The girl minding the cash register said.

"Really? How come?" She was right, Eden had noticed it. Except for Victor, whom she had met inside the store, she hadn't seen anyone else browsing the aisles. She thought it might have just been an off day for the shop but it seemed not.

"I guess a lot of people are just moving on from crafting, there's a clearance bin if you would like to check that out next time," the girl said.

Eden smiled, taking note of that. She would definitely be most interested in the clearance bin. If it had thread and yarn she would need some more of those soon.

"Thanks,"

----------

"Next I have to get some pots and pans, then some groceries. But those can be delivered so I'll just get the pots and pans first," Eden said, her hands were almost fully carrying the wood and carving materials but she still needed to run errands pertaining to her own household.

"If only I had figured out some of this before I moved out," Eden lamented, but it was no used crying over spilled milk. She had moved out and she would need to take care of herself.

Eden walked into what looked like a supermarket chain, not taking note of the name.

It was much larger than Ernie's or even the convenience store she had been to the previous day. People milled around the store shopping and chatting with each other as they browsed the aisles.

The sight of so many people in one place caused Eden's palms to sweat nervously. She wasn't someone that went out much, the last major area she had been in was school where she was ruthlessly made fun of whenever she stepped out of her dorms.

'No one's even going to notice you,' Eden thought, trying to comfort herself, she moved towards the baskets and grabbed one, knowing she would need it for the utensils she planned to buy.

"Let's get shopping," Eden whispered, her face was growing hot as she looked around nervously walking from aisle to aisle.

She was so anxious she didn't want to speak to anyone who might have anything rude to say towards her. Eden's social anxiety had been a problem for her for so long she didn't know how to combat it.

For that reason alone she rarely left the Marshall Estate and now she had thrust herself into the real world with no preparation whatsoever.

It wasn't long before she located the kitchen aisle, rows and rows of utensil and cooking implements stared back waiting for her to take her pick of spoons, forks, knives and pots.

Excitement bubbled within her, as she inspected each item that interest her. She placed a set of basic stainless steel forks and spoons into her basket, coupled with a small three piece knife set, a rolling pin, some trays and three non-stick pots and two non-stick pans.

Moving on from there, she got a packet of dish towels, a pair of baking mittens and some other things.

"I think that's everything I currently need, I'll have the groceries delivered from the convenience store, I'm tired," Eden said taking everything and walking towards the cashier to pay.

"Hey!" A voice said trying to get her attention, Eden turned around wondering who would be calling out to her in a store of all places.

Lily would never have shopped at a place like this and her father rarely did anything around the house. The only person that came to mind were the Staff of the Marshall Estate.

As Eden pondered the person had a chance to run up to her, panting.

"Eden right," He said, flashing her a brilliant smile.

Eden smiled back, recognizing the man from the Zenith building who stood up for her against the rude girls in the lobby. He looked as intimidating as ever, now at his full height, Eden could say he was even taller than her ex-fiancee Daniel.

Ty's piercings glistened under the florescent light, giving them a peculiar shine that made him stand out more amongst the shoppers.

"Ty," She said, "What brings you to...actually I didn't know the name of the supermarket before I walked in here,"

"Darts," Ty supplied helpfully.

"Darts, thank you,"

"You know, just hanging out. Looks like you're shopping for a new home, I take it you didn't pick Zenith," He said knowingly.

"Yeah, I went with an older building but it's super cozy," Eden said, "I completely forgot to buy food though and anything for my kitchen and living room," she laughed nervously, thinking Ty would have something to say. He only nodded.

"Been there, I guess you're new in town?" he asked.

"Yeah I am, it's my first time on my own," Eden said eagerly, she wondered if she should be giving out that kind of information to someone who looked like troubled but reasoned he didn't know where she lived.

Ty held up his own basket of groceries.

"Looks like we're in the same boat, I was just about to head to check out. Wanna come?" he asked.

"Certainly!" Eden said.

The two of them moved in sync, walked towards the Darts checkout counters where there met a long line of people eager to pay for their things.

"Is it always like this?" Eden asked in awe of the numerous people just chatting in line.

"Pretty much," Ty said with a laugh. "Welcome to downtown Meadowlark,"

"Quite the welcome I'll say,"