Just Shapes and Beats: Restart

Chapter Seven

Estelle shuffled around the house. She was waiting for her older brother (him being 27 and her 20) who, despite having a harder time on his own, was too stubborn to ask for help.

"Raymond!" she yelled.

"I'm almost done getting dressed, chill out!" he shouted back from his room.

The siblings were going out to get candles and other supplies to restock. For the time being, their house was part of the unlucky group that had no power. Luckily the weather wasn't terrible to the point they were concerned about it getting too hot or cold, but due to the fact that a large chunk from the Tower had fallen onto the power lines, there was a section of houses that weren't powered. It was an eerie sight at night to see this section, completely dull and dark compared to the other houses.

"Jeez Estelle, give a man a fuckin' minute." Raymond half laughed saying this, wheeling himself into the living room. His legs had been amputated below the knee and he now used a wheelchair to get around. The accident that caused this? During the fall of the Tower he had been partially buried in rubble, with his legs being crushed under a heavier pile. Raymond considered himself lucky that that was all the outcome gave, as he was inside the Tower itself during that incident. He could have been a dead man.

"Sorry," Estelle apologized.

"Don't worry about it," he replied. "I know you've been stressed lately. Don't push yourself too hard, got it? I can handle myself."

She said nothing in return, only giving a nod that she heard him. She opened the door and helped him out, swatting his tail out of the way of a wheel.

Within seconds of being out the door Raymond grabbed the wheels and pushed himself forward. Estelle walked to his right while she read the list she wrote outloud.

"Candles and canned food are the main thing... extra bottled water... oh, and gauze," she mumbled, scribbling down the last word.

"I was going to look at the bath supplies," Raymond mentioned.

"Will you be o-"

"I'll be fine," he said sternly, cutting her off. Estelle shrank back. He noticed this and quickly apologized. "I didn't mean to say it that way. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she quietly answered. "Anyway, if you think you don't need me then go ahead."

"I'm sure I don't. Besides we're going to our grandparents tonight, so I do need to look for some things. Did you need anything?"

Estelle thought for a moment. "You could grab whatever, I don't need much."

"Will do."

They entered the store a few minutes later and parted ways. Estelle waved to a few friends she saw, chatting for a moment before going to different isles. She stood in the canned foods for some time, carefully looking over for a certain one she knew her brother liked. She herself didn't like ravioli in general, but Raymond loved just about any type. His personal favorite was meat based, which is what she was looking for.

I swear they're never in the same place more than once, Estelle thought. She finally spotted it and placed her basket down. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached for the cans. She grabbed two and placed them in her basket before reaching for two more. Satisfied, she walked into the next isle where she saw another friend, Ollie.

"Hey Ollie," Estelle greeted, walking over. He turned around and waved, quickly pausing whatever music he has playing on his headphones. Ollie was wearing sunglasses; a very common sight when he was in a store.

"Hi Estelle. I have noise cancellation on these right now, but the music is off," he said.

"Hey no problem," she smiled. "Gotta do what you gotta do right?"

"Yeah. Waiting for Lycanthropy to get back. He left to get drinks while I found snacks for later. We're gonna have a movie date tonight."

"That sounds fun," she remarked. "I won't keep you then, I do have things to do myself. But tell Lycanthropy that I said hi."

"I will." With that Ollie resumed his music, silently half dancing to it. Estelle strolled away, grabbing a big bag of candy as she left.

One of the last items on her list was bottled water. She sat in place while looking at a pack, unsure of how to carry it and the basket at once. The basket was somewhat heavy on its own; attempting to carry both it and water at the same time would be a task. She didn't want to hurt herself either. In the end, Estelle asked an employee to help. She still had to wait for Raymond but as long as she was close to a check out she could wait.

She didn't have to wait long. While she was double checking that she got everything she needed, her brother rolled up.

"Carried all that on your own?" he questioned.

Estelle looked down at the water and basket and back at him. "Hell no," she laughed.

Raymond shrugged. "I'm all done, what about you?"

"I am. The basket isn't terribly heavy if you wanted to keep it on your lap for a minute while I got the water up first."

"Yeah, no problem." At this she gently placed the basket on his lap and quickly heaved the water bottles to an open register.

While the cashier started scanning the items, Raymond talked.

"We could put the bags on my wheelchair handle and you could carry the water if you think that'll work," he offered. "You need some muscle anyway." He said the last bit as a joke.

"Estelle rolled her eyes. "I am plenty capable of carrying water, thank you." Raymond sniggered. "Sounds like a plan though."

He rolled past the bagging area and allowed Estelle to place the bags that were ready on each handle. After they all had been placed, she paid, grabbed the water, and they left.

On the walk back, the two chatted. It was mostly about what time they wanted to leave to their grandparents (on their mother's side), as they we're usually busy during the day. Tomorrow, however, their grandparents were free and they could hopefully spend the whole day with each other. They had supported the siblings throughout their childhood and even now, so they wanted to make the most of it; their father wasn't exactly what one would call a good parent, and their mother has been dead since Estelle was 9.

Estelle glanced over to her left. She saw Blixer walking further away in the opposite direction she and Raymond were going. Raymond saw him too.

"Oh, it's that guy," he said, his voice full of scorn.

"He helped me out a while back, when I was bringing those boxes to your house..." Her voice trailed off as Blixer took notice to the siblings. Raymond squinted at him.

"And you trusted him." He said it less as a question and more as a statement.

"Well... yeah?" she muttered, giving a nod and half smile at Blixer who weakly waved back before hurrying his pace. "He didn't do anything. I don't know. He seemed more willing to help than not."

"Uh-huh," he said absentmindedly. Estelle stayed quiet. She wasn't willing to argue whatsoever.

Blixer dashed away and entered a separate store than the one Estelle and who he assumed was a relative walked out of. He saw them leave from far away and at first didn't recognize Estelle. Knowing he could have looked suspicious (at least he felt he would have) if he avoided them, Blixer stayed on his path, hoping that he didn't have to interact with the two. He looked back before entering the doors, watching for only a few seconds as they walked farther away. Although he was grateful they didn't immediately avoid him. Even if it was only Estelle who seemed friendly.