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415words
The owner beams,piling the buns high on a plate.
Ryan scratches his head,sitting.
Chloe’s shy but hungry,reluctantly joining.
I glance at her: “You’re washing the dishes.”
The owner waves it off,but I insist, “No,she washes.”
Comments explode:
Chloe’s lick fans:[Big Sow,making my sister wash dishes?]
Chloe haters:[It’s for show,not like they’re filming it.What’s wrong with dishes?]
[My sister could buy a hundred of these breakfast stands!]
[Let her try!Money makes you special?Hate entitled rich folks!]
Amid the fight,others chime in:
[Knowledge can actually buy food.]
Haters:[Shameless,demanding buns.Easy for the owner to earn money?]
Defenders:[Encoujragements priceless.Pearl’s promoting the stand!]
I don’t care about the drama.First time eating meat buns?One word:Delicious!
I gulp down five buns,two bowls of soup,two pancakes,three eggs.
Cursing this body’s tiny stomach!
I want that fried thing with sesame on it too!
Ryan and Chloe gape.
Swallowing my last bit of soup,stuffed,I push my bowl to Chloe: “Dishes.”
Chloe,stunned: “Oh!”
Cameras follow her.
Comments shift to my appetite:
[Ethan and Lily are starving,and these three are full...]
[Five buns?I can’t,but she can, an actress?Fake?]
[It’s live,duh.]
[Can’t eat five?Your IP says small island—heard you guys get only a tiny bun and water for each meal?Unlike our vast lands with rich resources...okay,I’m done making things up.I just hate “small island.” Who eats that much for breakfast anyways?]
Breakfast done,lunch and dinner loom.
I’ve got a pretty face.
Ryan’s got brains.
Chloe’s got a rich dad.
Still,we’re broke at this market.
We brainstorm.
I suggest begging.
In pelican lore,humans trap us in glass rooms,feeding us as crowds watch.Elders call it begging.
Ryan suggests more tutoring gigs via the breakfast owner.
Chloe backs Ryan,nixing mine.
Joking—Miss Bennett the great lady begging on TV?She would be whipped even after death.
I agree,pointing at a pasta stall: “I want that.”
Owner: “Their kid’s one.”
I ask Ryan: “Can you tutor babies?”
Ryan’s face darkens: “You tell me.”
I eye a bacon stall.Never tried that.
Owner: “Their kid’s the smartest in town,tutoring others.”
Fries.
“Grandkid’s studying abroad.”
Pancakes.
“Wife’s a teacher,handles tutoring.”
Comments:[LOL,Pearl’s doubting life.]
[I want pasta!bacon!]
[That fries is amazing,recommend!]
Comments veer into food recs.
Defeated,the owner leads us to a pickle stall.
Those red pots full of pickles...look tasty.
While tutoring,Ethan and Lily pass by.
System stirs.I ask, “Lick where?”
System shuts up.
Lily smirks,seeing us at the pickle stall.
“Still no food?I’ve got bread..but only two.”
I rub my full belly.Bread!Never had!Want!
