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#More than 10 chapters ahead on my : /TrikoRex
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[Location: Walmart Super centre, Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL | Date: 24/12/2019 | Time: 12:22 PM EST]
The automatic doors hissed open and swallowed Rakim, May, and Ben Rex into a fluorescent blizzard of last‑minute Christmas Eve shoppers. Somewhere between the greeter's "Happy Holidays!" and the first aisle's inflatable flamingo Santa, Rakim realised his mother's impromptu list was less "few things" and more "full‑scale supply run."
Ben pushed an oversized blue cart like he was captaining an oil tanker through choppy seas. "Okay, team," he said, his baritone cutting through the din of squeaking wheels and Mariah Carey on loop, "we divide and conquer. Twelve items, twenty‑five minutes before the bakery closes. No man, or woman, left behind."
LISA: Remember extra candy‑cane sprinkles!!
LISA: And gluten‑free gingerbread mix for Emma's friend.
LISA: Pine‑scented candles if they're still in stock.
LISA: Ribbon! (Metallic red, not satin.)
"Your mum's in DEFCON 1, if someone doesn't stop her, she will keep adding to her ever-expanding list," May muttered.
"It's best just to follow orders like a good soldier lest the general herself pull you up for a disciplinary hearing. Trust me, this time of the year, she keeps the nuclear football handy." Rakim responded with a wry chuckle as he proceeded to push his trolley forward.
They hit the aisles with military precision, each of them peeling off like a well-drilled unit as they moved their trolleys forward. Rakim tackled the baking section, where he snagged the last gluten-free gingerbread mix after a minor standoff with a teenage boy in a "Team Elf" hoodie. Rakim had faster reflexes and used a quick redirect of 'Is that Santa over there giving out free presents? ' Using the boy's distraction to scadadel and avoid squabbling up, Rakim left to cross off the next thing on his list.
May hunted down the metallic red ribbon with surgical focus, ducking beneath hanging wreaths and elbowing past a herd of frantic mums swarming the clearance bin. She found exactly three spools wedged between off-brand tinsel and a crushed snow globe, snatching them up like they were golden snitches. On her way back, she even managed to snag the last candy cane sprinkle jar from an abandoned bottom shelf, whispering, "Victory is mine," as she dropped it into the cart like a mic.
Meanwhile, Ben handled the candle situation with ease as no one wanted to fight with the friendly giant for goods. After sniffing his way through a wall of seasonal options and stepping over a rogue toddler with a lightsaber toy, he emerged triumphant with two pine-scented candles and an emergency backup in cinnamon fir, just in case.
A couple of minutes later, they regrouped near the self-checkout. Ben and Rakim's baskets were filled with the bare minimum of what they were assigned to procure. May's, on the other hand, was filled to the brim with things that weren't even on the list. Ben simply gave her a weird look before guiding them to a self-checkout counter.
"Ahem, you sure you didn't miss anything?" Rakim asked her only to receive an annoyed glare.
"Barley, an old lady basically bodied me out of the way to reach the last pack of chocolate pretzels," She complained with an arrived expression as she proceeded to scan various types of sweet and sour snacks with practised ease. Completely ignoring the weird look her boyfriend gave her, she finished scanning the rest of the goods at speeds that the automatic scan system could barely keep up. "Anything else?"
[Location: Rose Isle, Orlando, Florida | Date: 24/12/2019 | Time: 13:15 PM EST]
"I'm home," Rakim exclaimed the moment he walked through the front door and was immediately treated by a tantalising smell. His mother was of her Christmas cooking, and the aroma that greeted him immediately caused his stomach to churn in desire.
Before he could even move forward to check what wonders she was performing in the kitchen, an excited woof greeted him. The sound of paws impacting marble resounded before the excited figure of a large German shepherd rounded the pillar in the living room and jumped into his embrace. Barley keeping himself standing, he was assaulted by excited licking attacks.
"Hahaha, I missed you too, Zeus," he said between laughter as he moved his upper body back to the ground so he could get a breather.
Zeus wagged his tail like a turbine, practically vibrating as he pressed his head into Rakim's chest and let out a long, grumbling whine that sounded like months of pent-up emotion. Rakim scratched behind his ears and gave his side a good rub. "You're thicker than I remember," he muttered. "Mom, what are you feeding him? Dinosaurs?"
From the kitchen came Lisa's voice, cheerful but edged with authority. "Real food. Unlike that overpriced muck they call dog food, wash your hands and set the table, we're behind schedule!"
"What, not even a hug and hello to your favourite son?" Rakim pouted as he kicked off his shoes, placing them into the designed cabinet and slipped on a pair of sliders. "Sigh, I guess what they say is true, no relationship can battle absence and distance,"
Lisa poked her head out from the kitchen, flour dusting her cheek like war paint. Her turquoise-gold eyes narrowed. "Oh, is Liam here? Why didn't you say so?" Looking at her eyes that were earnestly searching for another person, only to droop the moment she saw her son, her husband, caused Rakim's eye to twitch in annoyance.
Before Rakim could even muster a word of complaint, she began firing off a string of orders like a seasoned drill sergeant. "You want a hug? Grab a ladle and help stir the gravy. Do you want love? Bring me the cranberry sauce from the pantry."
Looking at her retreating figure in disbelief, his dad placed a hand on his shoulder with a sympathetic smile as he carried the shopping bags into the dining room. "Don't worry, son. The cranberry sauce is a form of affection in this house."
"Brother, your home I missed you so much," Emma's cheerful voice exclaimed from upstairs, capturing his attention as she skipped down the stairs two steps at a time. She slipped the last two steps, launching herself forward, forcing Rakim to catch her lest she grow a bump the size of Everest.
"You act like you didn't just see me last month," Rakim complained, but the smile on his face did not lessen. "Though I can't complain about the warm welcome."
Emma pulled back from the hug, eyes gleaming, cheeks flushed from either the stairs or sheer excitement. "You brought me snacks, right?" she asked, peering over his shoulder like a raccoon scouting for treasure.
Rakim nodded toward the bags his dad had just placed on the counter. "May might've raided half the snack aisle, so yes. We dropped her off at her parents' house first, and she will join us for dinner, though."
Emma's eyes widened with glee, and she bolted toward the bags with the enthusiasm of a kid in a candy store. "I knew there was a reason she was my best friend," she declared, tearing into the first plastic sack and pulling out a jumbo-sized pack of sour belts.
"Emma Luisa Rex, you better put that down or you and I will have a problem," Lisa, who had immediately homed in on her daughter just as she had buttered the roasted potatoes, putting them back in the oven to roast a little longer.
"Son, you better get cleaned up for dinner, this could turn into another world war," Ben commented from the side, nudging his son up the stairs just in time as the two women in the family began arguing. The funny thing is that despite arguing, the efficiency with which they completed the tasks seemed to rise a notch.
Nodding at his dad, Rakim sneaked up the stairs like a seasoned shinobi, immediately heading to his room. "Sigh, it's every Christmas, you would think someone is grading by how seriously she takes it."