Nova hiked his way back to his apartment, legs heavy from the morning workout. The sun was rising fast, its light blinding, yet shining like a beautiful star. Nova was beaten, but he felt pride and determination overtake some of his pain. He did three hours' worth of exercises: push-ups, sprints, and dodging imaginary obstacles in the park that had made him sweat buckets.
He was exhausted, starving to death. He wished to eat an expensive, large gourmet meal that would make his body gain so much weight that he could pop like a balloon. Never having to eat again.
Back at the apartment, he kicked off his shoes and checked on the kittens. They were all over the place in their box. They were still sleeping; sometimes a couple awoke, but then back to sleep.
Then, the black cat, with the white paws, that Nova had started calling Smudge, cracked open an eye, giving a lazy, but cute yawn, and flopped back down. He chuckled, the sound through in his dry throat.
"You gives have it so easy," he muttered, grabbing a glass of water and chugging it down. "You won't have to pay taxes, fight monsters, and all you have to do is sit and relax and look cute. Ay, ay, ay."
His stomach growled, loud enough to rival the kittens' snores. Talia's leftovers were calling his name, but he needed to pace himself. He had enough food to ration for the next couple of days, but after that, he was broke. Talia was a saint, helping him with everything, but eventually, he had to rely on himself. He couldn't rely on her forever. And this tournament was his chance of making it big, but till then, he had to somehow survive.
He heated some rice and chicken, putting a timer for two minutes in the microwave. He sat cross-legged on the floor; his new couch was still too stiff to feel like home. Then, as the timer was over, he went to grab it, touching the food to see if it was hot or not. He determined it needed to be microwaved for another thirty seconds, so he set the timer again.
This time, he waited for the microwave to finish, as he didn't want to keep getting up from the floor, since his body was still aching from the workout. Then, as the timer went off again, he grabbed the plate, feeling it was very hot, and quickly set it on the table in front of him. He touched the plate again, as it kept cooling slowly, eventually digging into the food as if it were treasure.
He ate slowly, savoring every bite. The food calmed him, relaxed him, lowered his hunger, and gave him a moment of silence and thought. Training wasn't just about the body; it was much more than that: it was about nutrition, rest, and strategy.
Without the basics, your body won't have the chance to evolve and sustain. That's why sleeping was so important, because it allowed you to relax completely, drifting into an endless abyss of imagination. Your body repaired itself, using the muscles that you train to help dense the structure and build even more.
As he chewed, his mind wandered back to the park. The kids playing tag had given him an idea. "'To confuse your enemies, first confuse yourself.' It was rewritten by Sun Tzu. All the chaotic movements that the kids displayed confused the enemy, because the kid himself didn't know what he was doing. So, along with my training, I need to learn how to confuse my enemies by confusing myself. If I achieve that, then maybe I can gain an edge whenever I'm fighting."
He finished eating, washed the plate, and checked the time, 11:45 AM. His body was screaming for a nap, but he decided to shake it off since he does get his eight hours of sleep. Besides, he didn't have time for that. The library was next; he needed to deepen his understanding of this mortal world.
He checked up on his kittens, seeing that they were all asleep. Then wore his shoes and headed out the door. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Talia about to ring his bell. She looked enthusiastic and had changed her hair.
"Oh, sorry." She said, her voice low, as if she had done something, her enthusiasm dropping down a couple of notches. "I didn't mean to peep or anything. I was just about to ring your bell."
"I wasn't suspecting you of peeping." He said with a sly grin. Then continued, baiting her like a fish: "But now I'm curious. How long were you peeping?"
"No!" she exclaimed. She didn't have any defense against his question, only a loud "no." Then she said, shifting the subject: "Do you want to get groceries? I know you must not have anything."
Groceries. He thought, his face dumbfounded. I do have a ten-dollar bill I found in the park, which I should use for groceries! Yes! I should join her, and then study later.
"Yes, of course." He said politely and excitedly. Since this was his first rodeo in a grocery store.
"Great!" she said, her voice hinting at something bigger than just picking up groceries with him.
They headed to the grocery store that was about five minutes away from the apartments, and along the way, they met a couple of people, politely greeting them, and even saw kids in the park, playing when the temperature was ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit.
The store they were going to be called: Rooted Foods. It was supposed to be a place where the food was purely organic, fresh from farms, and trusted by people globally. It originated in Europe, in the country of Switzerland. And since Switzerland was such a beautiful and reliable country for anything, being one of the richest, if not the richest, in 2030, people trusted the food from it blindly, not even questioning it, since the country was that good.
They reached the store, picking up all the food they wanted, as Nova said to one of the female workers there something that he needed, which, after she pointed to where it was, he went towards Talia, giving her the smirking side-eye. Talia returned the gesture, and Nova had read about it in the library; it was called being a "lesbian."
Then he asked her: "Are you a lesbian?"
Talia replied, her eyes still looking at the female worker, her eyes lingering on the worker's ass: "Yeah."
"Ah, I learned and applied something new," Nova said, proud of himself.
After another ten minutes, they headed to the counter, grabbing everything they needed. Nova grabbed mostly everything for the cats, then some piece of chicken for himself. On the other hand, Talia had bought some red meat, vegetables, and even some snacks, along with other dairy products.
They checked out, and Nova only left with a dollar. They started to talk and slowly transitioned into banter, then into some serious business, then back to normal conversational banter. They were like a guy with Bipolar disorder. But after another five minutes, they reached their apartments and entered their apartments, planning on meeting again tomorrow.