12: It’s All About Stealth

Purse? Check. Courteous smile? Check. Prepared Questions? Check.

All that’s left to do was step inside and begin her mission.

The blonde wore a smile on her face that was ready to feed lies as she stepped inside the grocery that was bigger than the small grocery that she and Dakota went to three days ago. People were in their usual lives as they roamed around the store with shopping baskets and carts without caring about the other people around. The employees were busy either assisting the buyers or rearranging the items in aisles that people purposely disarrange for literally no reason.

Dakota told Olivia that she needed food for dinner so they were going to steal just a few. Olivia’s role was basically to distract anyone from catching Dakota while the latter does her thing, but that only lasted for a while.

The blonde looked around until her eyes landed on the girl with red highlights who was walking around aisles with her hands buried deep in her pockets, waiting for the perfect time to slip in small packs of beef jerky in her jacket. When Olivia noticed an employee on her way to where her partner was, she quickly stood in front of her as she looked at her with a smile on her face.

“Hi. Could you please show me where the jelly beans are?” the blonde spoke with politeness in her tone.

“It’s over there,” the woman lazily replied while pointing at a certain direction.

“I’m afraid I might get lost and end up not finding it. Please guide me?” Olivia batted her eyelashes when the woman initially looked like she had no intention to guide her to where the jelly beans were.

The woman let out a soft sigh before nodding and starting to walk toward where the candy section was. The blonde briefly turned around to see her partner staring at her as she gave her a wink before following the employee.

“Here. Not that hard to find,” the woman said as she pointed at a shelf filled with mostly different kinds of jelly beans.

The blonde turned to look at the older woman’s black polo shirt beneath her yellow apron as she recognized the small logo on the upper right. The smile on her face widened as she turned to her and asked, “Are you also a fan of Sun Girls?”

It was like that specific question was a throw of paint on her face as the employee’s face immediately lit up upon hearing it. Seeing her reaction, the blonde knew that she succeeded.

“Oh my god. Yes! Are you a fan too?” Even her voice that literally sounded dead earlier took a turn to being energetic.

“I am. I’ve been listening to their music ever since I first listened to ‘Caterpillar’!” Olivia then pointed at herself. “Am I the first customer here who knows about Sun Girls?”

“Honestly, yes. I hate to admit but our favorite girl group is too underrated. It sucks having to be in a workplace where no one who comes in here knows them.” The latter shook her head as she let out a sigh in disappointment.

“They’re called people with no taste.” The two of them laughed as they agreed with each other. “Anyway, who’s your—”

“May I help you, miss? What are you looking for?”

Olivia turned to where she heard the voice as she realized that an employee had noticed Dakota. The blonde remembered the reason why she was in that grocery store as she quickly turned back to her co-fan who was looking at her with questioning eyes and a small smile—the first smile the blonde had seen on the latter’s face.

“Who’s your favorite member? Mine’s Pil,” the blonde continued.

“Zoe. Who would not like her—”

“I remember that I have to go buy these jelly beans for my younger brother so he can stop crying at home. Anyway, it was nice meeting a fellow Sun Girls’ fan!” Olivia grinned as if she did not just cut the latter off mid-sentence.

“O-Oh, right. Here they are. Nice meeting you too.” The employee gave her a smile before walking away.

Olivia watched her leave as she secretly slipped in a few bags of jelly beans in her purse and grabbed a bag of mint candies before heading to the shelf where the sodas were. After making sure that there were no people near that section, she grabbed a 2-liter bottle of cola and placed it on the floor. She opened the bag of mint candies and folded the bag to a roll before dropping all of the candies straight into the cola.

Swiftly, the blonde ran as far as she could away from the cola as she hid. A victorious smirk appeared on her face when all of the employees ran to the explosion.

Olivia then walked to where Dakota was as she uttered, “And this is why people are able to escape from monsters with the use of explosives.”

“Okay, genius,” Dakota responded as she quickly pocketed pouches of beef jerky and cups of instant noodles in her jacket.

The both of them then walked out of the store without giving attention to the employees that were in utter frustration because of the cola explosion that none of them knew who did it. The blonde felt even more satisfied as she heard cusses from behind her while they stepped out of the store.

“I’m such a great partner, aren’t I?” Olivia asked when they were already far from the grocery.

“Whatever.” The latter shrugged.

“By the way, what’s with your jacket? How the hell do you fit everything in it and it still doesn’t look that bulky?” The blonde could not help but ask as she took glances on her partner’s travel jacket.

“Big pocket spaces. Thick jacket. Plus, I always keep my hands in my pockets in case anyone starts staring,” Dakota simply answered.

“Has anyone ever stopped you and searched your jacket?”

The blonde had no idea where they were going, though she did not bother asking and taking a walk with her around the street as she was more curious about the latter’s jacket.

“Not to brag, but no.” The blonde squinted her eyes when she noticed a small smirk on the latter’s face.

“You’re bragging.”

“What? I just said I’m not bragging.” This time, the smile on Dakota’s face was visible. “It may not be obvious because of our first encounter, but no one really has ever. I’m pretty skilled at escaping from situations like that, you know.”

“Yeah. You are bragging.” The blonde shook her head.

“Really. I am not a beginner at this field…” Olivia was unable to pay attention to what Dakota was saying when her eyes caught something from afar.

When she realized, the blonde briefly widened her eyes as she quickly held the wrist of the latter and pulled her to walk away, heading straight in yet another alleyway.

“Hey. What are you doing?” Dakota asked in confusion as she let her pull her until they stopped once they were not that visible from the pedestrians.

“I have something to show you,” Olivia said as she gave her a smile to mask the nervousness that she was feeling at that moment.

She saw a maroon coupe with a plate number that she had memorized since last year, so it did not take a minute for her to realize that Theodore was in the same street as her. The consequence of being seen by him was already obvious.

“What is it? And why do we have to go in an alleyway?” Dakota raised an eyebrow. “Do we have a thing for alleyways or something?”

The blonde let out a short laugh at the latter’s joke as she realized that they were together in an alleyway for the third time already. She slipped her hand in her purse and fiddled around inside since she did not know what to give the latter until she felt a leather material.

“Here.”

Dakota’s eyes widened when she saw what the blonde was handing to her as she quickly went to glare at her while grabbing it away from her.

“You’re an asshole. All this time, I thought I lost it,” Dakota said with a sense of relief in her tone as she quickly looked in her wallet for anything lost. Fortunately, her identity card and cash were not touched.

“I’m actually not the asshole here. The day when you beat all those four men, I found it on the ground while I was searching them. You would’ve gotten it back that day if only you weren’t such a dick for suddenly leaving without a word,” Olivia quickly argued.

The latter pursed her lips in as she decided to not argue back because of guilt that she was completely correct.

Dakota cleared her throat as she slipped her wallet in her pocket and looked at her without a glare. “Anyway, thanks.”

Olivia flashed a cheeky grin as she recalled something. “Shall we have another picnic again?”

The day when Dakota agreed to be partners with Olivia was also the day when she invited her to have a picnic at the park with the snacks which they stole in the grocery store while watching the sun set. It was a romantic moment that Olivia never wanted to forget.

Dakota let out a laugh before abruptly putting on a blank expression as she responded flatly, “No.”

The blonde teased her about it a bit more as they slowly walked out of the alleyway with the blonde cautiously looking around with hope to not see Theodore or his car anymore.

Olivia then let out a sigh of relief when she saw that his car was gone. The two of them then decided to separate ways after a while.

***

Olivia immediately jumped on her soft bed as soon as she arrived home when she heard her phone’s text tone. She got up and opened the message that was from Theodore.

Ashleigh, Lana, Mia, Ethan, James, Mike, and I are in the arcade on Mobi Street. Come join us!!!