203 Vol. 4 pt. 6 Patch 1.0: Settling In (1/2)
”My hero, are – are you going to eat like that?” Alice asks.
None of the girls expected him to be perfectly fine with those drawings and labels all over his face, but he's accepting them all. ”Yep,” he answers.
Serra can hardly hold back her giggling at the sight of him.
”This is great, by the way. Thanks,” he tells Alice and Cassandra. ”I've never had mashed potatoes with this much garlic in it before,” Cassandra and Alice look nervously at each other, ”but it's great. I think I might prefer them this way now.”
The two girls breathe sighs of relief.
”Good!” Alice says. ”We were worried that you would not like such a high amount of garlic.”
”You could have just asked me if I liked garlic,” Ryouta says.
”It – we wanted to surprise you,” Cassandra says.
”Trying to surprise people with food is pretty risky, but it worked out. Are there any other surprises I should be looking out for?”
The girls shake their heads.
”By the way, what was the store like?” Ryouta asks.
”It was… a store,” Cassandra answers. ”I think they're open twenty-four-seven, so next time, we should just go in the middle of the night instead.”
”Why that late?”
”Too many old people during the day.”
”That's fair. Alice?” He looks at Alice, seeing just how excited she looks.
”It was a wonderful journey! It was my first time ever going into such a market! There were signs telling you where things are, assistants walking around whom could help you locate specific items, different sections of the store dedicated to different types of products, and robotic arms that placed all of our groceries in bags for us!” Alice recalls like an excited kid freshly home from a field trip.
”You've never been to a store before?”
”I have, but not one for food! The stores I have been to have always been for clothes and wigs.”
”You really are a spoiled princess.”
Alice smiles and nods her head. ”The only downside was having so many stares directed at me. I understand why, but I will admit that it still makes me uncomfortable when in a new area.”
Serra, who's been reading their lips the entire time, nods at Alice's latest words.
”But, that is partially on us, after all! We are the ones choosing to live like this instead of making use of the technology available,” Alice tells Serra.
Ryouta, after dipping his meatloaf into his mashed potatoes and eating the result, says, ”I just read something about that the other day online. Apparently, since people with disabilities are considered a protected class, they stay that way for tax benefits and government help and all that. Government can't force people to get surgeries which aren't completely necessary, so they just keep their disabilities.”
”That is true, my hero, but not all of us do it for that reason! It is just an identity issue for some of us. It is who we are, and we accept that.”
”Didn't you tell me before you like it since it's tragic?”
”That – that may be part of the reason! But, truthfully, it has more to do with being my identity. I liked my wheelchair as a child since it made me feel unique and I was allowed to decorate it however I wished. While I do enjoy being able to run and swim as Nell, I find my chair much more comforting than those leisures.”
Serra nods along with everything that Alice has to say, but then she signs to the group telling them that her parents got tax breaks for her living with them while remaining deaf. She even tells them about how her parents were half-joking around about being sad that she was moving out since that meant they'd have to pay higher taxes.
Ryouta and Cassandra look at each other.
”Doesn't this mean we get those tax breaks now?” Cassandra asks.
”I'm pretty sure,” Ryouta answers.
”Alas, neither of you will need to be paying taxes in the first place since I will be providing for us!” Alice says with a smug smile and arms crossed over her chest, not noticing the bit of mashed potatoes on her cheek.
”You're a princess. Be more careful,” Cassandra says, wiping away the mashed potatoes from Alice's cheek with one of her fingers and then licking said mashed potatoes off from her finger.
Alice slowly turns red while maintaining her pose and expression until she slumps over in defeat.
”Cass,” Ryouta says.