Saved for Macha

Stepping inside after them a hostess bustled up and lead them to a booth. The woman first took drink orders then handed them a few bowls explaining what each was supposed to hold before being given to the cooks. With a smile on her face she went off leaving the three of them alone.

"So, the bar over there has the rice and chowmain, the one next has vegetables, then meat, then sauces. fill up your bowl and they cook it for you. As for chopsticks, am I going to need to teach both of you?" MY eyes danced as I leaned back in my seat, Lexi beside me.

Emily:
I sat in the seat across from the both of them and smirked. "No, I'm sure I can figure it out," I said. There were a couple sets of chopsticks on the table and I grabbed one of them and tried to mimic the technique I had seen other people do. It was awkward and when I went to pick up my napkin, they basically fell out of my hands. "Damnit..." I mumbled, totally forgetting about the child sitting with us.

I watched her then chuckled softly, picking up the chopsticks myself and demonstrated how to use them. I wasn't very skilled myself, but I managed to at least pick up my napkin and my fork. Lexi however had a wide eyed stare at Emily before she just erupted into giggling.

Emily:
I raised an eyebrow at Lexi and tried not to smile. "Hey, you cant laugh unless you can do better!" I said, sliding some chopsticks over to her side of the table. I kept trying and was totally unsuccessful every single time.

Lexi didn't do any worse than Emily, but she certainly wasn't any better. Eventually I stepped in and took Lexi's hand in mine to show how the motion was supposed to go. She did better then, though she struggled with how small her hands were.

Emily:
"Hey, don't help her, thats cheating," I insisted, waving my chopsticks at each of them. I poked my tongue out of my mouth in concentration as I tried once more to pick up the napkin and when I failed, I threw the chopsticks down onto the table with a pout.

With a laugh I nudged Lexi out of the booth so I could slide out. Moving around the table I collected her chopsticks and sat down beside Emily. "Here. Let me show you...". I offered as my shoulder brushed hers.

Emily:
I turned a little bit so my body was angled towards him and held my hand out. "I don't know what to do with my fingers," I explained, looking up at him.

I took her hand in both of mine, setting the chopsticks into it and adjusting her fingers. "Here. You move them like this.". Carefully I showed her how to move the chopsticks and helped her pick up the napkin. "I'm not very good at it...but this is how I was shown."

Emily:
I smiled when he coaxed my fingers to pick up the napkin. "Hey, look, I got it!" I said, happily. I turned to face him and smiled wider. "Thanks!"

I returned her smile with one or my own. "Of course.". I removed my hand from hers but remained seated beside her.

Emily:
"Okay, so now that I know how to use them, what are you guys gonna get to eat?" I asked.

"fried rice, beef, broccoli, and this peanut sauce they have. It's pretty good.". I replied while Lexi tried to peer at the different food bars.

Emily:
I nodded and looked around, like Lexi was. "I think I want chicken," I said. "Maybe I'll try the peanut sauce too," I nodded.

"Shall we then?". I scooted out from the seat and stood, leaning over the table to snag my bowls.

Emily:
I smiled and nodded, following him out of the seat. "You ready Lexi?" I asked.

((If you wanted to time skip a little, i'd be fine with that))

((sure! Did you have an idea for what happens next of shall I go with my next idea?))

((You can go for your next idea! If you were going somewhere with the resturant thing, feel free to continue I just felt like we were only doing once sentence and those are no fun))

(( I picked a poor restaurant xD. Not an easy thing to describe...time skip it is! ))

Lexi:

I walked with my head downcast and a hood pulled low. I wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come. Even as my cheek throbbed I dredded the walk to Emily's place. My parents had found out about Michael. They weren't happy. Incredibly angry over it.

So caught up in my thoughts I didn't even notice that it had started to rain on me until a flash of lightning startled me. Squinting into the storm I rushed the last fee blocks to Emily's where I stood on the steps and shuffled my feet. Finally with a sigh I opened the door, keeping my chin tucked close to my chest. "Emily I'm home.". I called while pulling the letter my folks had written to give to her.

My parents had called and left a voicemail along with writing a letter to explain that under no circumstances was i to be near Michael. That if Emily couldn't follow with their wishes they would find a new babysitter who would. They went so far as to offer extra payment to the money they gave every week, doubling the amount.

Emily:
I came out of the living room in my sweat pants and a hoodie. I had just gotten home from grocery shopping and I had barely time to change into comfy clothes before she came home. It was one of those rainy days where all you wanna do is lounge on the couch and binge watch movies.

"Hey, I was starting to get worried. It's getting pretty bad out there," I said.

When I finally saw her, I knelt down and helped her unzip her wet jacket. I hung it up on the kitchen chair and then wrapped a blanket from the living room around her shoulders. She looked upset. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, watching her face. I gently brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Did you have a bad day at school?" I guessed.

Without my hood on it was easy to see the bruise on my cheek, bit since I was in long sleeves it was harder to see where hands had gripped my arms hard enough to also leave a bruise. "I'm okay...". I murmured. "My parents wanted me to give you this letter.". I held it out to her.

Emily:
As soon as my hand left her face from brushing her hair away, I paused. Then I squinted. "Lex..." I said, slowly, cautiously. "What happened?" I asked again, putting my hand gently on the side if her face and tilting it towards the light so I could clearly see what was definitely a bruise forming. It would probably darker even more over the next few hours. I took the letter out of her hand and threw it somewhere off to the side, my eyes never leaving her. "Honey, who did this to you?" I asked, horrified. Spanking was one thing but someone had hit her across the face and left marks.

"I-its nothing...i just....fell at school." I tried not to look at her, tried to play if off like a joke. But my smile was forced and my face held a guilty expression. "I'm okay...i promise..."

Emily:
"Alexis Brooks, don't you lie to me," I said, sternly...But my voice shook. I might have believed her if she didn't looks so upset. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" I asked, taking the blanket away from her and grabbing her hands, trying to inspect as much as I could. I took a chance and rolled one of her sleeves up and my breath caught in my throat. There were hand prints on her arms. "Lex... you have to tell me what happened. I love you and I just want to help," I said. I pulled her closer and hugged her tight so she wouldnt see how upset I was.

I began to tremble, unable to stop her from discovering the bruises. My lips worked but no sound came out and the tears that had threatened to fall finally flooded free when she pulled me into a hug. My arms were thrown around her as I sighed into her shoulder.