VOXISTALE: Novel Edition

Chapter 8

Nearly thirty minutes later, Frisk looked up from the shirt she was folding, peering out of the door in time to see a confused Terrence walking into the center, looking about, searching for her. Ms. Juniper seemed to notice this as well, raising an eyebrow. "He seems a little young to be homeless . . ."

"Oh, no, that's just my friend. Mind if I go say hi to him?" Frisk asked. Ms. Juniper waved a hand dismissively.

"Yes, yes, go ahead."

Frisk thanked Ms. Juniper, and hurried out of the room, running up to the unsuspecting Terrence before he was tackle-hugged nearly to the ground with a yelp of surprise and a hint of fear. He blinked a few times, looking down at the girl hugging him. He hadn't seen her this excited in a long time. "Sheesh, Frisk, you should consider football with a tackle like that," he groaned with an added chuckle. "It's nice to see you too."

She let him go, climbing to her feet and offering him a hand, which he took. "Sorry," she apologized, cheeks flushing with color. "I just—I feel really good right now, you know?"

"Nah, don't apologize, it's cool to see you so happy. I just wasn't expecting it," Terrence said, smiling, brushing himself off a bit.

"I'm glad you came. Can I ask what took you so long?" she asked.

His face flushed this time, though for a different reason as he rubbed the back of his head. "I . . . just decided to take the scenic route, that's all."

He was a terrible liar, but Frisk decided not to press. It felt strange- as if this was the first time she'd seen him in weeks. Most likely because she was finally in a great mood, like usual.

"Sorry. I know a homeless relief center isn't the 'coolest' place to hang out," Frisk gave a small smile.

"It'll be fun, as long as you're around," Terrence assured her with a shrug, before blinking. "Okay, that sounded really cheesy—but it's true."

"I thought it was cute," Frisk teased, staring at him. She quickly realized how creepy that probably was, and diverted her gaze, clearing her throat. "Um—want me to give you the 'grand tour'?"

"Yeah, sure," Terrence nodded. Frisk hesitated, debating whether to grab his hand before leading him around the place. Making her decision, she quickly took his hand in hers and began to lead him, hoping he wouldn't mention it.

To her relief and also surprise, he mentioned nothing of the hand-holding, his hand only holding hers right back opposed to hanging around like a dead fish. "So, uh, that over there is the kitchen," Frisk told him, pointing over at the chefs who were still preparing the food. "And over there is the laundry room, where I started folding about half an hour ago," she added, pointing down the hallway toward the glass door.

"Oh," Terrence nodded. When Frisk didn't continue, he decided to ask a question. "Mind if I help you out then?"

"Of course not. Ms. Juniper said 'the more the merrier,'" Frisk smiled, and led him down the hall to the glass door. When she opened it, they were greeted with the many piles of neatly folded laundry that Frisk and Ms. Juniper had already completed, next to a few piles of unfolded laundry, which were significantly smaller.

They quickly got to work after Terrence had been introduced to Ms. Juniper, Frisk showing him the ropes of what the old woman had taught her, and they were breezing through the clothes, finishing with the rest in as little as fifteen minutes.

Ms. Juniper marked off a few things on a clipboard once they were finished, then looked at them. "Excellent. That was less than half the time it usually takes me," she told them, giving a toothy grin. "Now, we have extra time for cleaning duty."