Chapter 14: Learning

I was cleaning the floor again.

"Ughhh... This is the fifth time this afternoon... "

The kids made a huge mess earlier this afternoon.

Several cups of slushee were spilled.

"Excuse me. Is Andrew here? " A woman asked me.

"Andrew? Sorry. I don't know anyone Andrew. " I told her.

"He went out for a delivery earlier. I'm sure he'll be back shortly. " Michelle said.

"I see. Please tell him the boss called for him. " said the woman.

"Alright. I'll tell him when he gets back. " Michelle replied.

"Thanks. "

The woman went out of the store.

"I didn't know we had someone named Andrew here. Do we have a new employee? " I asked Michelle.

"Mr. Frank's real name is Andrew. That woman earlier is his wife. " Michelle replied.

"Ahh. I see. Does she come here often? "

"As far as I know, she doesn't. "

"And by the way, every time she comes here, Mr. Frank and the manager always leaves the store with her. " Michelle said. "I heard them talking about some important business before. "

"I heard her saying something about a 'boss' earlier. Maybe she's working for the higher ups. " I told Michelle.

"That makes sense. " she replied.

*creak*

Mr. Frank exited the stock room.

"Hey kid. Can you help we out with the boxes? There's a lot of new deliveries. " Mr. Frank asked me.

"Sure. " I replied. "I'll leave this place to you Michelle. " I told her.

"Oh! Mr. Frank! " Michelle called him.

"Hmm? What is it? " he asked.

"You wife told me that the boss is calling you. " Michelle said.

"Ellie did?.. I see... Thanks. " Mr. Frank told Michelle.

"We can sort the storage room later kid. " Mr. Frank told me before heading to the staff room.

After a few minutes, Mr. Frank and the manager went out the staff room.

"Joshua, Michelle, I'll leave the store to you two. I assume you can handle this own your own? " she asked.

"Yes ma'am. " we replied.

"Alright then. We'll be heading off. " said the manager.

The two of them left the store.

"I told you. " Michelle said.

"It must be something really important. " I told her.

"I think so too. Now let's do our best to manage the store! " Michelle exclaimed.

"Right. " I muttered.

"Uhhh.... How long have I been standing here?... "

I stood in front of the door of the apartment room.

"How could I forget something as important as the keys?! Guuuuuuh..... " .

"Finally... I'm home... "

That voice! Joshua?!

"Huh? What are you doing over there Amelia? "

"I left the keys inside... "

"Oh no...We don't have spare keys... Gues we'll have to tear the door open. " Joshua said in a monotonous voice.

"What?!! " I shouted.

"Just kidding. " Joshua smiled mischievously.

"Grrr.... "

The audacity of that man!

*click*

"What are you waiting for? Let's go. " he said. "I bought dinner. "

"Oh. "

I spaced out.

I went inside the room and closed the door.

Joshua is setting up the table for dinner.

"Amelia, do you eat pasta? "

"Yes I do. "

"Ohh... That's good. I thought you wouldn't eat pasta. "

"I'm not that picky when it comes to food. "

"Oh. Really? That's nice. I can buy anything for dinner. "

Joshua finished serving the pasta.

"By the way, why did you head outside? "

"I was bored out of my mind. "

"I knew it. Sorry Amelia. "

"Hmm? Why are you suddenly apologizing. "

"It must've sucked doing nothing whole day. Even I can't last that long. Sorry I didn't do anything about that. "

"No, no. It's fine. Your hospitality is more than enough. "

"But still. It just looks like I'm keeping you inside here. "

We continued eating.

Joshua looked like he was thinking about something.

"Ah! I know! I'm going to teach you how to use the computer. " he exclaimed.

"The computer? That machine? "

"Yeah. I don't have a tv in here so I can't just tell you to watch tv. I'll teach you after dinner. "

"Alright. "

A sense of excitement rose within me.

We finished dinner.

Joshua was washing the dishes.

"Hey, Amelia? " he called.

"Yes? " I replied.

"How was the outside world? "

"It's different. "

"Different? "

"It's more modern than our world that's for sure. "

"Eden doesn't have cars does it? "

"Cars? "

"Did you see some vehicles outside? "

"Yes. "

"Those are called cars. "

"Ahh. I see. Your system of transportation is rather advanced. "

"Yeah. I guess I should tell you about the world. "

Joshua talked about this world for a while.

"Ahh... I see... There's still a lot of things I need to learn about this world. "

"And there's more to learn. Oh. We sure took a lot of time huh? "

I looked at the clock. 11:34 pm.

Damn.

We really did take a lot of time.

"Do you still want to learn about the computer? " I asked Amelia.

"If you're still fine with it. "

"Alright. "

I plugged in the power supply.

"You press this button to turn on the computer. "

I pressed the power button.

"Ohhhh... "

She looks amazed.

The computer booted up.

"Just wait for a little bit. "

I heard the startup sound.

"There we go. It's now turned on... Hmmm. What should I teach you? "

"It's up to you. "

What should I teach her?

"I'm quite sure I can't make you play Paradise Lost. Hmmmm... Oh! I know! I'll show you YeeTube. "

"YeeTube? "

"It's a website you can use to watch videos. "

"What are videos? "

"I guess I'll just show you. "

I opened the browser and I went to YeeTube.

What video should I show her?

Ah. I know.

I searched for cat videos.

"Is that a cat? Ah! It's moving? "

Amelia was shocked.

*purrrr*

The cat starter purring, rolling around like a ball of fluff.

"Aww! How adorable! " Amelia exclaimed.

"This is called a video. It's like a series of images with audio. "

"It's like a picture but it moves? "

"Kinda. "

"Awww! Look at it roll over! Ahhh! It's so cuuute! "

Amelia seems to like the cat video.

"This is all I can teach you for now. There's a lot more stuff to learn but let's leave that for another day. "

"Sure. It's really late after all. Thank you Joshua. "

After showing Amelia how to shut down the computer, she took a shower to refresh herself.

"I'm going to borrow this shirt this time. " she shouted from the dressing room.

"Sure. Go ahead. " I replied.

She came out of the dressing room after a bit.

"I'm going to sleep now Joshua. " she said.

"Ah sure... " I told her.

She lied down on the bed.

"My clothes are really too big for her... I should buy her some clothes next pay day. " I muttered.

"Good night. " Amelia said.

"... Good night... " I replied.

Amelia is now asleep.

"She's really a good person. I kinda feel bad about teasing her. But her reactions are always so fun to watch. " I mused to myself.

I took a glance at her.

"She's really beautiful. I wish I could be closer to her... "