They Could Care Less

7: The Dinner

"There's not really much to say," Thea answered and nervously laughed, but very soon returned to silence.

"Oh, come on. There has to be something," Mr. Meyers insisted as a few butlers served them dinner.

"How about you ask me questions? I don't do introductions very well," Thea suggested as she stared nervously at the utensils. Which ones do I use? Who has this many forks, knives and spoons when they eat?! Thea mentally shouted inside her head as she continued to stare at the utensils.

"Darling, it's these two," Mrs. Meyers said when she noticed Thea struggling. Mrs. Meyers picked up the fork furthest to the left and the knife furthest to the right, Thea followed her lead with a thankful shy smile. Mrs. Meyers didn't seem to judge Thea for not knowing proper table etiquette. She simply gave Thea a smile before she started to eat what Thea thinks was the appetizer. The portion of the salad on Thea's plate looked about the size of her everyday dinner all together. Thea very nervously glanced at the food before she carefully placed the utensils down again after picking them up for only a few seconds and opened her backpack. Embarrassed, Thea kept her head down as she flickered through the pages of her little notepad

"Can... can you, please, name every single ingredient in the salad, Mrs. Meyers?" Thea very carefully asked.

"Uh... sure. There's cucumber in it, olive oil, blood orange, black pepper, avocado," Mrs Meyers listed all the ingredients and Thea quickly flickered through the pages.

"Thank you, that's enough," Thea said before she closed the notepad completely.

"Is there a problem?" Mr. Meyers asked slowly from his end of the table.

"Unfortunately, I won't be able to eat the salad," Thea announced with an apologetic tone. "It looks really good, but I can't eat it."

"I'm sure the kitchen can arrange something suitable for you, if you want?" Mrs. Meyers offered as she stood up from her chair to order some new dish for Thea.

"No, no, it's okay. I can... cook something for myself if you don't mind?" Thea suggested before grabbing her backpack and swung it onto her back.

"Sure. Ben? Martha? Someone? Please guide our guest to the kitchen." Mrs. Meyers said before taking her seat again. They all seemed confused and weirded out, but Thea did not want to explain things, especially to them.

"Thanks," Thea whispered quietly when she left the dining room and the Meyers behind, following Ben. Ben gave Thea a stern smile when they walked into the kitchen, before he walked out again. The kitchen had things Thea had never ever seen in her entire life before. And their kitchen seemed bigger than her backyard in Texas.

"Ugh... okay,"Thea mumbled. The few chefs working in there paid no attention to Thea when she walked in. They simply continued their tasks without as much as a glance. Thea tried to clear her throat to get some attention, but the sound of pans hitting one another, tools, metal, wood all overpowered her silly call for attention. Fine, I'll have to find things myself then, Thea thought.

Thea kept her backpack on as she walked around the kitchen, opening a cabinet every now and then, the freezer and the fridge. When she had gotten a small look around she quickly put together a dish in her head that she was able to eat without dying. With a proud smile and determined mind she found herself a own little working spot in the corner. She took out a fillet of beef and some potatoes. She rolled her sleeves up, found a peeler and started to peel the potatoes over a trash can. When she was done she quickly washed them with some water to remove the excess dirt before she put them in a small sauce pan with some water and turned the heat up.