Lost Change

Chapter 42

I scoured the Kymari's apartment for the next hour or so, but in the end I came up empty. I was pretty sure the fruits were kept in the kitchen - that made the most sense, after all - but the cabinets and countertops were still no less inaccessible to me as they had been any other time I had checked them.

I was able to climb up the tables and couch in the living room by clawing my way up the sides - or by using the small boxes the Kymari left beside them for me to hop up on, though that didn't cause nearly as much damage to her things - but the cabinets in the kitchen were made of a hard, slick material that reminded me of marble. It was impossible to climb them.

The small boxes were deceptively heavy, too. I wasn't able to move them without running into them, and even then the best I could hope for was to tip it over. Dragging one all the way to the kitchen wasn't going to happen.

Eventually I gave up and sulked in the bowl of sand. The two Kymari finished up their movie and started another, interrupting it occasionally to comment on things like the plot or the attractiveness (or lack thereof) of the various actors, and when it finished they broke for lunch.

I dragged myself out of the sand to follow them towards the kitchen, stopping in the dining room and peeking around the wall just in case they revealed where the shia fruit was kept, but they mostly just made food for themselves. Once they had piled an assortment of vegetables and meats into a strange meal I wasn't able to identify even with all the cooking shows I had been exposed to, the Kymari opened another cabinet and half-filled another container with various fruits.

I made a mental note of where that cabinet was. That was probably where any shia fruit would be found.

I was pretty sure they had known I was watching them - the one Kymari was pretty good at not reacting to me, probably out of a desire to not frighten me or cause me to be uncomfortable around her, but Arlia had started grinning for no reason I could figure out about halfway through making the meal.

Still, just on the off chance they hadn't, I scurried back into the living room and climbed back up to the bowl of sand. I sprawled out again and closed my eyes most of the way, leaving them open just enough to see the hallway, and pretended to be asleep. The last thing I wanted was for her to realize I was on to her. That might cause her to move the shia fruit before I could get to it.

Arlia walked into the living room with her plate, took one look at me, and burst out laughing.

I was now much more certain they had caught me watching them.

I closed my eyes all the way and kept pretending to be asleep just on general principle. I heard the other Kymari come into the room and move towards the couch.

"Hey, you mind helping me try something?"

"Sure." Arlia's voice sounded curious.

"Sit on this side; I want to check something."

There was some shuffling from the couch, then they grew silent. The sound of them eating was all I heard... though I began to pick up the scents of various fruits. At least one of them was a pineapple.

I opened my eyes and glanced towards the couch.

Arlia had switched seats and was now sitting closer to me. The other Kymari was on the center cushion, and the bowl of fruit was in between them. She was holding the slice of pineapple closer to Arlia, too.

It seemed fairly obvious what she was curious about - would I go the longer way around the room so as to avoid Arlia, or would I be okay climbing over her to get to the food?