Author's Note ~ So you might be looking at the title of this chapter and wondering "What is this even about". Basically due to the length of this arc, I figured to help make it a bit more digestible I'd separate key points in that arc with interlude chapters. Interlude Chapters are going to act like epilogue/sun short collection chapters and feature a good amount of short snippets of different characters and also segway into the next part of the arc. Hopefully you enjoy these!
INGREDIENT #1 - Familial Flour for A Sourdough Bread
"I'm home!" Zesti remarks as she makes her way inside of the apartment room.
It's a very tiny apartment, the paint on the walls is chipped, a bit of the ceiling seems to be slowly caving in, and most of the exposed pipes have gotten rusty. Still despite that, it still feels like a home. Or at least somewhat. And the reason for that? It was thanks to just one person.
"About time you got home, you can get some leftover hamburger helper in the fridge," Francisco Champion, Zesti's older brother remarks.
Francisco has short black hair, green eyes, a mole underneath his mouth, and is wearing a blue tracksuit.
"Thanks Francy, but I already ate out with some friends," Zesti remarks as she plops down on a couch next to him.
"Really? Weren't you on my case for how money was tight when I got takeout the other day?" Francisco questions.
"Yeah but things changed, got a job today and it pays really well. Now you don't have to worry about going to that again."
As those words ring out, she can see her 17 year old brother getting more tense. That's when she notices it again. The bruises and bandages that are just barely peeking out from his sleeves.
"It's not that simple," Francisco comments, "You'll understand when you're olde-"
"Well I don't!" Zesti yells as she quickly storms off into her room. As she slams the door shut behind her she then sits on the floor.
That's when in the corner of her eye she notices the phone book in her room. She gets up, walks over to it, and opens it up to a page she never believed she'd ever want to look at.
INGREDIENT #2 - Gorgeous Grapes for a Fruit Salad
"Please you gotta help me!!" Frankfurt pleads on his hands and knees.
The snivelling mess of a 25 year old is cowering in a luxurious wine cellar, each bottle having aged for over a hundred years. Though despite the luxurious wine, the only thing the man is focused on are the two individuals he's talking to.
Covered by the harsh shadows of the cellar two figures look down at the man, one who is standing while the other is sitting down.
The one standing is a tall slim yet muscular white man. His face is obscured but you can tell he's wearing a new clean deep blue suit with a fresh yellow hyacinth flower in his left breast pocket and black caiman crocodile skin loafers. However, compared to the man next to him, he looks more like a twig than a human. An otherworldly physique, height that makes him look standing when he's sitting, and the only thing he's wearing are black formal pants. Despite the shadows hiding the top half of his face, what the light does show is him peeling the skin off some grapes that look to be the same size as his fingernails with a knife. A pile of grapeskin has been formed in between the man's feet.
"If anyone would've come begging to us for some help, they'd have been kicked out long ago," the man in the blue suit groans, "Consider yourself lucky we're treating you so well cause of our history. As for the money, we could help you pay it back but on one condition"
The man in the blue suit points down to the pile of peeled grape skin.
"Eat it."
Without a second thought, Frankfurt crawls over and begins to shove the grape skin into his mouth. As he does so, the man sitting down tells him, "Welcome back Frankfurt."
INGREDIENT #3 - Beef Patty for a Deconstructed Burger
Standing in Robert Jenksin's, Casey Burns is talking to the man all by himself.
"So Mister Jenksin, it looks like it's been a few days since those three started to work for you, do you want me to mail them their paychecks or to personally deliver them?" Casey questions.
"You can go and deliver them," Robert waves him off.
Casey nods and begins to walk toward the door to the office, just as his hands go to touch it-
"You're not going to get in, you know that right?" Robert sighs.
"I don't know what you-," Casey begins to say.
"The will," Robert remarks, "So you can just call it quits and walk away if you want."
"We didn't know it when we first started but Casey was that old fool's latest son," Ray begins to explain.
"I know I was going to never be in that will," Casey takes off his sunglasses and looks toward Robert before smiling, "I just wanted to spend time with the man who saved me."
"Illegitimate child born from an affair with a prostitute. That's all us three ever got to know about Casey's life before meeting Robert.
As Casey leaves, Robert scoffs as he looks out toward the doorway.
"Hey says it took him 6 years to meet the man who birthed him."
Casey exits the preschool with three checks in his hand, as he does so he walks past a kid getting picked up by his parents. The kid waves at Casey and he waves back.
Eventually, Casey makes it to the Ramirez household where he rings the doorbell.
"And when he did, that was when he first heard his father's voice."
"Coming!" a voice shouts from inside before running to the door, causing some stuff to fall inside the house.
"RAY PICK UP THAT GLASS YOU DROPPED!"
"In a second!" Ray yells back as he opens the door to see Casey standing there, "What are you here for?"
"And the words he told him were…"
Casey's eyes look down at Ray's outfit. Some old stained gray t-shirt and some sweatpants barely still together.
Using the metal chopsticks, Casey pulls out Ray's check and hands it to him before saying, "Hey, if you're gonna be by my side then you better dress up nicer. Don't want to be going around with someone that looks like a bastard."
INGREDIENT #4 - Smoked Paprika for some Cajun Shrimp Pasta
"Now that I think about it, the next time something huge happened was probably right here," Ray begins to explain, "School just ended and that's when it happened."
Several Starlight High students begin to whisper to one-another as they see a bunch of men circling around a frustrated looking Ray Ramirez. A bunch of school papers are on the ground and in a puddle.
Some students are going to get Amnestor's attention while Jefferson pretends not to notice the commotion.
"Oi," Ray Ramirez begins to hiss, "What the fuck do you think you're all doing?!"
"That was the first day of my life where I broke curfew and the longest night of my life."
See You Next Chapter!~