Chapter 27 - Binge Eating and Discussions

Fried chicken. They were eating fried chicken.

Scarlet looked at the array of chicken parts in front of her and wondered how they were going to finish thirty unique fried chicken cuts with only two people a the table of four. Her question was soon answered when a few familiar faces showed up.

Scarlet was tackled from the back by Alex who hugged her tightly, squeezing the oxygen out of her lungs and Jasper gave a quick wave. Jenna stood stiffly even in her casual clothing. Although the fast-food restaurant wasn't very crowded, there were still many people around. The trio who just arrived were attracting more attention than Scarlet and Benjamin did. It wasn't a common sight to see anyone as good looking as Alex, as odd as Jasper, and as refined as Jenna in a local fast-food chain. Scarlet just wanted to hide underneath the table... why did they always attract so much attention wherever they went?

"It's great to see you here," Benjamin greeted Jenna and moved in to make space for the newcomers.

Jenna smiled and grabbed a spare chair from another table nearby before joining them. Scarlet was doing the math mentally. With five people at the table, they'd each have to eat six pieces of chicken on average to finish everything... that was still a lot of eating to do. She didn't feel confident about finishing three, much less six.

"Will anyone else be joining?" Scarlet whispered to Alex who claimed the spot beside her. Jasper was awkwardly sandwiched between benjamin and Jenna.

"I don't think so, the whole team is here. Unless you'd like to invite my mother too?"

The young genius shook her head rapidly. Who would dare to invite the Wilde heiress to a regular fast-food restaurant? She certainly didn't have the gall to do something so outrageous. Also, of all the things they could be eating, why fried chicken? Scarlet didn't want to question the choice of food because it was certainly better than tuna melt sandwiches.

"Shall we start eating first? The discussions can happen after we've filled our stomachs," Jenna commented.

Jasper happily dug in and Alex excused herself to wash her hands first. Scarlet thought that Jenna would chide Jasper for not washing his hands first, but the butler did no such thing. In fact, Jenna joined in and started eating without reservations. Seeing that washing hands before eating wasn't mandatory, Scarlet relaxed and joined them. She bit down on a juicy wing joint and closed her eyes in bliss. This was what happiness should feel like.

The children chattered as they ate, making a little mess on the table but Jenna didn't comment on it. Benjamin also seemed more relaxed and even joined in teasing Alex about her mismatched socks. Apparently, the Wilde Princess was in such a rush to see Scarlet that she grabbed the wrong pair of socks. Scarlet looked down and giggled at the black sock on Alex's left foot and orange sock on her right.

"Isn't it great that they're ankle socks? Nobody would notice if you didn't mention it," Scarlet consoled the girl who was pouting. To cheer her up, Scarlet placed another wing part on Alex's paper tray.

Jasper let out a loud belch and Alex looked scandalised by the uncouth behaviour. Jenna smiled slyly at the young lady's mortification. Benjamin's idea of bringing the discussion to somewhere less formal was a good call. She was initially sceptical but then there was just something about the commoner's comfort food that brought the best out of everyone.

"How are you coping?" she asked Scarlet. The light in Scarlet's eyes dimmed significantly at the question as she fell silent.

Benjamin noticed the shift in mood and decided to salvage what he could. He gave Jenna a warning glance before he turned his focus to the downcast girl who'd retracted back into her shell. The butler looked apologetic. She should have known that Scarlet was still in a fragile mental state.

"Did you manage to get any sleep yesterday? I remember you saying that you're still working on an outline of your very first book. Is that going to be a short story or a children's book?"

Scarlet looked up and blinked. "It's not a children's book. I... I'm still stuck at knowing how many characters to create or what to name the characters. The page is still blank... I'm sorry."

Alex blinked. "Don't worry about that, I have lots and lots of ideas, I can help! What kind of book are you going to write?"

Jasper continued inhaling chicken as he listened attentively. Scarlet blushed under the intense stares. She didn't feel comfortable being in the centre of attention.

"It's just a book about starting a new life... I just want to go on an adventure but I have not decided what kind of characters there should be... I did consider writing something about a powerful person losing their memories and going on a journey to find themselves but that's too difficult for a first book... maybe later. I think I should start with something simpler but I don't know how to do it..."

Jenna nodded. "How about writing a story about your Grand Plan? You can add Alex and Jasper into it too. Something that you've experienced is usually a good inspiration for any stories."

Alex bounced with excitement. "Since it's going to be make-believe can I be a pretty princess? Jasper can be a strong knight!"

Jasper raised a brow beneath his bangs. "I don't want to be a knight... can I be the rich and lazy dragon who lives in a cave in the mountain guarding a pot of gold?"

Scarlet blinked. "What that got to do with children ruling the world?"

Benjamin laughed and promptly choked on a chicken bone much to the children's panic. Jenna kept her calm and delivered the Heimlich Manoeuvre with enviable precision.

The children debated heatedly about the story Scarlet should write and the plans that should happen. Benjamin waited for them to be engrossed in their make-believe before easing in sly probing questions about Scarlet's personal life.

Jenna took down notes about the girl's answers. The Liu's didn't mistreat Scarlet as parents but they didn't give her the right kind of treatment a child required. It wasn't considered neglect but it wasn't considered care either. This was going to be a tough case to push.

"Scarlet, what do you think the parents of this brave child warrior would like in return for letting her go? What can they be convinced with so that the child warrior can go on the adventures she always wanted? Imagine a rich merchant really wants to engage this child warrior as a mercenary. How can they be convinced?"

Scarlet thought about it for a while and everyone waited nervously. Then she shrugged. "Money I suppose. And also some story that will make them look good so that they won't need to deal with people asking why they let such a young child fend for herself and blame them for being bad parents."

Jenna and the lawyer exchanged glances when they heard her answer. Finally, they can make their move.