Because This World is Loved

Chapter 11: Wanderlust

Some time passed where Noel heard nothing from Melia whatsoever. Normally, the girl would at least send her an e-mail or chat message if she was that bored, yet there was only radio silence. Noel found herself wondering if Melia had been caught looking at something objectionable and grounded, but if she had been grounded from the computer, wouldn't she be even more likely to come and visit, or ask for Noel to go with her somewhere? The situation was puzzling, to be sure.

Today, Noel was running some errands in town, and she intended to circle back to Melia's house afterwards. As she passed by the area where Serge's food truck tended to be parked, she noticed a short, cloaked figure with their hood up ordering from Serge's food truck. Curious about the visitor, she decided to approach, and she did so just in time to hear Serge say, "Mel, you're not fooling anyone."

"So what?" the figure said, distinctly with Melia's voice. "I only need to fool my parents and Noel."

"You really aren't fooling anyone," Noel said from right behind Melia.

The younger girl jumped, and her hood fell down, even though it was being propped up by her horns. The alarm on Melia's face was clear, her eyes wide like saucers. "H-Hi, Noel," she stammered.

"What are you doing out here? Do your parents know you're out here?" Noel's voice was sharp and serious; in a way, it reminded her of Alea's voice.

"Does it matter?!" Melia snapped. "I should be able to do things without being glued to you."

Noel found it hard to argue with that sentiment; she sympathized with Melia's desire for independence, even if a dangerous element had entered the equation. "You should, but you have to understand that your parents are really worried about you."

"Nah," Melia said, her refusal dripping with defiance. "Your mom is worried about you, and she blabbed to my dad, who just so happens to be her brother and under her thumb, so basically your mom is ruling my family by proxy. Thanks, Alea."

Noel's breath caught in her throat; she couldn't help but feel rather offended by that barrage of statements. All she managed to get out was, "That's not right."

Melia huffed, her face sour. "If you must know, I'm getting breakfast burritos for Alrai and Caleb. I have Caleb's card here, see?" She waved the slip of plastic currency in front of Noel's face. "Alrai's always hungry, and Caleb gets the munchies after work. Do I have clearance to proceed now?"

"Yeah, sure," Noel mumbled, not sure how to counter Melia's aura of sheer indignation and rebellion. "Say hi to them for me, I guess."

"You guess?" Melia's tone was reminiscent of Caleb's in a way.

"Are you two done yet?" Serge asked, though it seemed he was ready to wait longer if they weren't.

"Yup! Yup, we are," Melia said, turning back to Serge with a strained, fake smile. "Two breakfast burritos, please. Extra sausage in one, extra bacon in the other."

Serge sighed, swiped the credit card, then set to work cooking. "You ladies need to work out whatever's going on with you," he mumbled audibly.

"There's nothing going on," Melia said, her voice almost cartoonish with pasted-on cheer.

"I guess I'll just leave you to your business, then," Noel said. "Have fun."

"I will," Melia said, her attention not on Noel one bit.

After that incident, Noel was unsure of what to do with herself. She kind of wanted to go right back home, but there were still some groceries and sundries that needed to be picked up, so that was probably what was going to happen. Even as she went through the aisles of the grocery store, her mind was fixed on Melia. The sudden defiance was surprising, and yet not in a way; the girl did seem less than pleased about having to constantly be in someone's company. Perhaps that frustration had simply boiled over, and she was acting out to claim her freedom. Noel decided that that was okay in itself; she just wished that Melia wouldn't take her frustrations out on her.