18 Settling In (1/2)
The next morning Kai woke up 6 am. Still groggy he climbed out of bed and walked to the kitchen then turned on the coffee maker. He took two shots of Drauton coffee beans. Then he poured in 470 ml of water into the machine. Lastly, he poured 100 ml of full cream milk into the machine and placed his cup in the holder.
After a few moments, the smell of home was wafting from the machine through the house. This was why Kai drank coffee. The coffee was decaffeinated though. He didn't need the energy boost. Eventually, his body would wake up normally. He only drank it for the taste and the smell. This was the coffee his parents drank every morning so he was accustomed to this smell in the morning.
Kai took a hold of his mug that was now full of coffee. The machine did everything for him. If he wanted 3/4ths milk with 1/4 water it would do so. If he wanted a 1/4 of low-fat milk, 1/2 of water and a 1/4 of full cream milk it would do that for him too. Whatever way he wanted his coffee he could have it as long as he had the ingredients.
Kai took a deep whiff of the coffee. As it filled his nostrils a sense of calm came over him. Unfortunately, his moment was cut short when he heard a disembodied voice,
”If you open your nostrils any wider you might rob the world of oxygen.”
Still with his nose buried in the coffee, Kai wondered who was so brave to speak to him like that. First thing in the morning no less. Removing his face from the steaming hot cup of coffee he looked upwards to see Lexi with her arms folded. She was wearing a cerise pink onesie with bunny ears.
Kai creased his eyebrows while looking at her. He had to admit she looked cute in the outfit but now wasn't the time to admire such things, ”Good morning to you too Lexi.” He said sarcastically.
Then Lexi walked into the kitchen. Once she was in she held her hand in front of her mouth and yawned, ”Good morning Kai.”
Hearing her greet him he decided to let it go, ”You up early. Didn't you sleep well?”
Lexi shook her head, ”I'm usually up at this time. So when I smelt the coffee I came out.”
Kai put on a smug face, ”That's the smell of Drauton. Amazing isn't it?”
Lexi just rolled her eyes and then looked at Kai who looked like he was in heaven after taking a sip.
Kai furrowed his eyebrows, 'Why is she looking at me. Is it so interesting to watch a man drink coffee.'
He took another sip burying his face in the mug and then slowly lifted his face. On the way up he tried to sneak a glance to see if she was still looking and she was. She frowned at him with her arms crossed. Kai wondered what he did to deserve such behaviour but then he finally realized he had not even offered her a cup, how rude of him.
Realizing his mistake he laughed sheepishly while scratching his head, ”I'm sorry I didn't ask much sooner.” Then he lowered the tone of his voice, ”Do you want a cup of coffee,” Then he revealed a charming smile.
Happy she got through to him she smiled and accepted his offer. Lexi didn't drink coffee either but she was curious as to why Kai seemed so enamoured by the flavours. She knew it could be just for nostalgic reasons but even if that was the case, nostalgia had never smelt so good.
Lexi didn't drink much coffee hence she didn't know which way she liked it best. So Kai made it the same way he made his. That was the same way his parents made it, plus some milk.
Kai didn't need to put more ingredients in the coffee machine since he originally placed double the amount in. He took a mug from the cupboards above and then placed it in the coffee machine. Minutes later a warm brown and creamy liquid poured out and into her mug. When it was done the coffee machine beeped so Kai took a hold of the mug and gave it to Lexi with a smile, ”Sorry it took so long.”
Lexi took the cup from Kai and then smelt the coffee. She looked at peace with the warm cup of coffee in her hands as a symphony of smells coalesced in her olfactory system. After enjoying the smell she looked down at the mug. When she looked down she smiled. Kai had set the machine to put a heart symbol in the mug. He thought that she would appreciate it and judging by her smile he was right.
After she looked at the white heart made from the milk she took a sip. Her eyes almost rolled back as the rich coffee flavours strutted on her tastebuds. After a sip Lexi smiled again, this time more pure and unreserved. At that moment all the noise outside became quite. Then she took another sip. The kitchen was quite it was just them two drinking coffee and being at peace with the world.
Once the coffee was finished, Kai put the mugs in the sink. Currently, the dishwasher was filled with the stuff he used to eat and cook last night. He still had to pack that away before he could put dirty stuff in again.
After they had coffee, Lexi turned on the tv and began watching whereas Kai began unpacking the dishwasher. He also washed the cups and put them away. Then he cleaned the coffee machine. Once all that was done he was ready to take a shower and leave for work. However, before that, he wanted to go take a jog. He hadn't done that in a while. He felt he had slacked off enough and wanted to get back to routine. So Kai walked past Lexi and went to his room and then put on his running clothes. This was a pair of black breathable sweatpants his running shoes and a white t-s.h.i.+rt. It was July and in July it was winter in Strera.
Once he was dressed he walked to the door of the apartment. Then he opened the door but before he could leave, Lexi turned around. She saw what he was wearing and looked at him quizzically, ”I didn't know miners worked in that.”
”I'm not going to work yet, I'm going out for a jog. Work is only at 8 am and it's 6:30 am. It only takes 20 minutes to get to work via public transportation this is including the morning traffic. So I have time to kill.”
Lexi nodded her head and then turned off the tv, ”Can I join you?”
”Sure... But you probably wanna get changed unless you planning on hiding the eggs early this year (1).”
Lexi stifled a chuckle and then tried to return to her composed look but her smile was still slightly showing, ”Of course.” Then she stood up and went into her room to change.
After a few minutes, Lexi came out of her room fully changed. Her black hair was held together in a bun. She wore cerise pink breathable sweatpants as well as her running shoes and a black stretched camisole top. Her boysenberry purple sports bra was showing adding to her stylistic look.
After seeing Lexi, Kai gave her one glance, ”Are you ready to go?”
Lexi nodded her head and off they went. They went down the elevator and then into the streets.
Once they were down in the streets, Kai bent down and fiddled with his shoes. He was making sure his shoelaces were properly tied so that he did not trip on them when he ran. Once he got up, ”So originally I was just planning to run wherever the wind took me but now since you are here and you actually know the place. Do you know where are the good spots to go for a jog?”
Lexi looked to the left of the street and then to the right, ”That depends... Do you like to run in between people or are you looking for the scenic route.”
Without hesitation, Kai opted for the scenic route. As fun as dodging people sounded he could do that on the way to work. He couldn't take the scenic route to work. After Kai chose, Lexi began running to the left. They kept running on the streets until the reached a park. This was a ma.s.sive park that was in the city. This park was rich and vibrant with colours, even the gra.s.s was painted in all shades of greens. It was an artists place of zen.
Once they were in the park they ran along the path provided. Lexi ran in front of Kai as she was leading him. While running, Kai couldn't help but admire the beauty in front of him, the nature was truly awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, it was short lived as Kai didn't have much time. He had to get home and shower so that he could be early for work. So Kai and Lexi turned around and went home again.
Once they took their first step in the house, Kai said, ”Dibs, I am showering first.”
Lexi rolled her eyes then Kai went to the bathroom and showered. After showering he put on his miner clothes and said goodbye to Lexi and left for work. Kai got to work at 7:45 am. He liked to be early, he was raised that way. When the clock struck 8 am, Kai took the elevator down to floor S with his fellow miners and then began work. He worked from 8 am to 6 pm. He was putting in as much as hours as he could while he still could because tomorrow he started training. Training would start at 2:20 pm and then end at 6 pm. That was about four hours that would be chipped away from his work time every day.
After work, Kai came home. He opened the front door and then walked in. As he walked, he saw Lexi sitting down watching tv and in her hands was a takeout box. She sat on the couch and munching away with her face glued to the screen. She only momentarily turned around to greet Kai. Then she returned focus to the tv.
Kai wondered what was so interesting so he looked at the tv and then he saw a picture of himself on tv. Immediately, he sat down one seat away from Lexi and saw that they were discussing whether he had the potential to be a successful Zolma hunter. They read his profile and they all agreed that there was potential. They also compared him to all the other promising surpa.s.sers of his age group. In the end, they ranked him as the 10th most promising male surpa.s.ser of the graduates. They also mentioned that he was partnered up with Lexi Montreal.
After the boys, they discussed all the most promising female surpa.s.sers. After a while, they finally began talking about Lexi. They said that they had their eye on her for a while. She was the one who was so talented that they had to create a new word to explain her rate of growth. She had always been one of the most promising surpa.s.sers. That was why she was so sought after. Then they started talking about her profile and they were impressed. She had been educated very well and by the best schools, money could offer. She also had a father who was a prominent figure in the lightning clan, The former Duke of The Lightning Clan. They questioned whether she could fill his boots but that remained to be seen. In the end, they ranked her as the third most promising surpa.s.ser. Then they said that she had recently found a partner, this was Kai Adler, number 10 on the list of the most promising male surpa.s.sers.
When they had finished talking about her, Lexi switched the channel and then Kai stood up and went into the kitchen. He was hungry and wanted to eat something. He didn't have much money left so he was just eating two-minute noodles. He also wanted to save as much as he could for a rainy day.
Kai put the kettle on and then poured the beef flavoured spices into a bowl. Then he placed the two packets of noodles into a bowl. He didn't crush it because he liked the noodles long. When the water had boiled properly he poured the water into the bowl and then mixed the spices in the water. Then he placed it in the microwave for 4 minutes. It was called two-minute noodles but if he only put it in for two minutes it would be half raw and taste powdery. After four minutes, it was finally cooked. There was still a bit of beef broth in the bowl which was they way Kai liked it. It was like ramen with the flavours cooked into the noodles.
Kai took the bowl out of the microwave with his hands. A pa.s.ser would have to use a towel to hold the bowl to avoid being burnt. However, to Kai this the temperature wasn't hot at all. So he took it out of the microwave. Then he sat down next to Lexi and ate his food.
Lexi looked at him and then his food and shook her head then returned focus to the tv. After Kai had finished eating, Lexi said, ”Wanna do that thing again?”