Safe

Fun

Covering your mouth with embarrassment, you sat down at the edge of your bed and tried to steady your emotions. After a while, you finally grasped the situation.

Jim.

Hawkins.

Has seen you almost naked.

You shook your head and shivered.

A million thoughts were going through your mind right now. It reminded you of what you almost said to him last night when he was asleep. Had he heard you?

Shaking the thought from your head, you stood and tried your best to quickly change into your uniform.

After brushing your hair, you left your room and went downstairs to meet Sarah. Once you looked up, you saw Jim sitting on one of the tables, eating his breakfast with no interest as he looked out the window. Then his head looked toward you and you locked eyes.

You immediately looked away and blushed. Then you threw open the kitchen door and was met by Sarah cursing over a pot.

"Darn it!" She yelled.

"Sarah, what's wrong?"

She turned with a scowl on her face and gestured towards the pot. "I over boiled the stew! Now the vegetables turned into mush." She began to mutter incoherently.

You walked over. "How did you manage to forget you were boiling vegetables?"

Sarah pressed a hand to her forehead. "Oh, I don't know. I guess I'm tired." She gave out a half-hearted laugh.

"Well what will you do now? You can't just throw it away."

"I'm afraid I'll have to. What else could I do with it?"

You shrugged. "I remember that happened to me once. What I did then was mash them well until they form a puree. You could make a good soup with toasted bread or something."

Sarah's eye lit up. "That's a wonderful idea! Thank, God I haven't added the meat in yet."

"Here, let me do it. I don't want you to stress any longer. We can add the meat as a side dish with this." You took the ladle you asked her for and began spooning the vegetables into a smaller pot. Fortunately, they were very mushy, so you didn't have to add much effort into using a potato masher for it. After adding a few herbs and spices, voíla!

"That smells wonderful," Sarah commented and she took a taste. "That's amazing as well."

You smiled as you poured yourself some. "It was no problem. I'm just so glad to have sorted the problem out. You should put a sign or something to tell customers of this amazing vegetable puree soup."

You grabbed a roll of freshly baked bread and sauntered out the kitchen. You noticed Jim was gone, to your disappointment; he didn't even pick up after himself. What a slob.

You gingerly took your wooden bowl of soup and bread over to a nearby table and sat down.

As you blew on your soup, you heard a door slam shut above and footsteps coming down. You looked up and saw Jim practically sprinting towards the door.

And idea popped into your head and you sprung up from your seat and called out to him just as he left.

You grabbed the door before it closed shut and ran after him just as he turned the corner.

"Jim, hold up!"

He stopped and turned. He wore his usual dark jacket with his hands in his pockets, and his pants and boots. "Yeah?"

"I, uh, wanted to thank you, I guess for last night. The screen board, you know. " You inwardly cursed yourself for being so stupid and speechless. Really, you were thinking about your incident upstairs. You're sure Jim is too.

Jim grinned. "No problem, Read. I was happy to do it."

You grinned awkwardly and glanced over to the shed behind the inn.

"Hey," you told Jim nervously. "I, uh. I haven't really done anything fun in the few days I was here. An idea popped in my head just a while ago on what we could do."

Jim looked taken aback and a pink color formed in his cheeks. He took his hands out of his pockets and pointed toward you, then him when he said, "You...want to have fun...with...me? After an idea came into your head earlier?"

You frowned. "Yes? I just wanted to-" a sudden realization came into your head and you gasped and turned red. "Oh-my God, no! That's not what I meant, Jim! I only meant if I could ride with you on your solar surfer. Oh, God I'm so sorry."

Jim pulled the collar of his neck nervously. "It-It-s alright. And, um, sure. I can give you a ride on my solar surfer. Maybe later tonight -when you're done working at 6 or something."

You beamed. "That would be amazing! I can't wait till then."

You both said your awkward goodbyes and you went back into the inn to work.