The Spencers – Day 11

I was the first one up on Wednesday morning and grabbed a serving of tofu tacos for breakfast. I ate in the kitchen because I didn’t want my crunching to wake the twins.

As I put down my empty plate, Cole came around the corner and hugged me.

“What’s the hug for, buddy?”

“Thanks for taking care of us, Emma, and for making us a place to live.”

“Aw, you’re welcome,” I said, squeezing Cole tight. “It’s not pretty yet but at least we have the basics. Remember, you and Kylie helped a lot, too. I certainly didn’t do all this alone.”

Cole smiled, grabbed some leftover tacos and went back into the bedroom.

While I caught up on my homework, the kids ate breakfast. Kylie wanted nothing to do with my yucky tacos and made herself a ham and cheese sandwich instead.

Cole actually liked my cooking, making me smile as I heard him biting into the crunchy taco shell. When he was done eating, Cole took a bath. Then he and Kylie left for school. I wanted to get my homework done first, which made me a little late.

After school, I weeded and watered the garden, harvesting everything that was ripe.

Kylie’s new friend Max came over after school and wandered out into the garden to say hello. I found it interesting that both of Kylie’s new friends were boys, not girls. Maybe she gets along better with boys because of all the time she spends with Cole.

Speaking of Cole, he’s been a real help around the house, cleaning up after us when we leave dishes everywhere in our rush to get to school in the morning.

I had really wanted to get to the library today, so I let Kylie know it was time for Max to go home so we could go. She didn’t seem to mind, remembering the fun we had there the last time we went.

I was anxious to learn more about vampires and was pleased to learn that the library had a copy of  the Encyclopedia Vampirica, Volume 1. I pored through the pages, picking up tips as I went along.

Meanwhile, Cole had gone into the kids’ room again, heading straight for the activity table. He didn’t often have a chance to express his creativity and appreciated the craft supplies the library kept on hand.

Kylie wanted to get her homework done before playing, so she found a comfy spot to read.

Once her homework was done, Kylie hopped onto an available computer and practiced her typing skills.

Cole had come out of the kids’ room and let Kylie know the activity table was free if she was interested. Kylie’s eyes beamed as she made her way to the room. That girl loves her glitter, so I was happy that she had a chance to use it here for free. One day, I’ll be able to buy you and Cole something fun. 

I was getting antsy from sitting in the same place too long, so I took my book and wandered around a bit. I had a feeling I was just getting to the good parts. In the next chapter, I learned how to make plasma packs from fish and frogs. Hmm … Sounds simple enough. I’ll have to check out the market value on those.

Cole had been doing a bit of fishing in the scenic pond behind the library. I joined him for a few casts before I realized I hadn’t done my homework yet. Cole kept fishing a bit longer.

As I entered the library, I saw that Kylie had curled up on a large ottoman. I took out my homework and sat on a chair where I could keep an eye on her. I made it about halfway through my homework but was too tired to finish. When I looked at the time, I was aghast to learn it was 12:15 AM. And we have school in the morning. Great.

I woke up Kylie, then went out back to get Cole and found him asleep on a wooden bench. I roused him gently and said, “Let’s go home, guys. It’s late.” Cole rubbed his eyes and nodded.

We were all hungry when we got home, so we made ourselves sandwiches. As soon as they were finished, the kids went right to bed.

Before I hit the sack, I Googled what we’d collected today, as well as what plasma packs were worth. Nice! They’re worth $50 each and I can make them from inexpensive fish and frogs that I’ve been selling for as little as $5. It would’ve been nice to know this a week ago. In total, we’d earned a whopping $2,205 today.

This journey has been rife with new experiences. Right now, I’m exhausted and all I want to experience is how my pillowcase feels against my face.

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Here’s where everyone stands with skills:

Emma:

Emma gained two levels in vampire lore and posted small increases in gardening and fishing.

Kylie:

Kylie increased nearly a full level in mental skill and half a level in motor skill, along with small gains in creativity and social skills.

Cole:

Cole gained a full level in mental skill, along with gains in creativity and social skills.