Quick Bite

"We don't have a net, so we gotta make do with this tin can as a proxy. The rules are the same as the usual volleyball, though. Do you understand, Miss Callisto?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Also, just call me Callisto."

Callisto went into this friendly volleyball match only expecting it to help get her mind into something else other than her personal worries.

Bam!

"Free ball! Callisto!"

"I got it!"

Bam!

"Go!"

"Thank you, Callisto!"

Bang!!

She didn't think she would actually enjoy playing the game with everyone.

Before she knew it, she was smiling so widely whether or not she was perfectly receiving the ball for her team or saving them from Elesis and the others getting a point.

"Another one, Callisto!"

"Yeah!"

Bam!

Callisto was glistening with sweat just like everyone, but it didn't matter to her. Right now, all that matters was the game and the thrill of it until the end.

Bang!

"Ah, I shot it downward. That means they get the point, right?"

"Nice try, Callisto!"

Time went by like a sudden cloud burst. The friendly volleyball match ended. Though the scores were very close, Callisto's team lost the game.

"We lost..."

Callisto's back crashed on the grass field. Though they lost, she still couldn't help but make that same satisfied grin despite breathing heavily out of exhaustion.

"Are you okay, Callisto?"

The quiet boy approached her, trying to catch his own breath just like the silver-haired girl lying on the ground.

"I've never had this much fun in a very long time," Callisto replied between gasping breaths. "Thank you for convincing your friends to let me and Elesis join you."

The quiet boy's face turned pink at the silver-haired girl's words.

"Callisto, how was it?"

"Did you have fun?"

"Your receives are amazing for a first timer!"

The others from their team ran past the quiet boy, one of the girls hitting his shoulder accidentally as they stood around Callisto.

"Thank you," she pushed her back off the grass. "It's a shame we lost, but I definitely had a lot of fun."

Callisto's team lit up in delight from her response.

"We're glad to hear that."

"Hey, let's play again some time!"

The silver-haired girl gave everyone a tender smile and nodded.

"Sure thing."

Right then, Elesis and the others approached them, expressing their gratitude for the great and fun game they shared with the others.

"Can you stand," Elesis asked as she offered a helping hand on Callisto.

Callisto gladly took the offer, allowing the red head to pull her back on her feet. "I can. Thank you."

"Everyone!"

A voice of a woman echoed from a distance. Everyone's gaze followed the direction of the voice where a bunch of tents were set up closely together next to a nearby tree, its shadow looming over the tents and the people gathered around the wooden tables that had been lined up next to one another.

On top of these wooden tables were straw baskets filled with a variety of foods and drinks, simply waiting to be consumed.

"It's almost lunch time, come here and eat," the woman instructed from a distance.

Everyone except Callisto and Elesis started marching towards the woman.

"I guess we should get going, too."

Callisto turned to face the red-head.

Just as Elesis agreed with the young lady's words, the woman's voice reached their eardrums once more.

"Callisto, Elesis, what are you guys doing? Come here and eat."

The two young ladies raised their eyebrows at the unexpected invitation.

Callisto and Elesis looked at each other one more time, right before the red head's stomach started grumbling.

Elesis chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry. I guess that volleyball game really took a lot of energy from me."

Callisto smiled at the red head. "Well, it'd be rude to turn the invitation down."

A pleased expression played on the red head's features.

"We're coming!"

As if she wasn't already physically spent from playing volleyball earlier, Elesis ran the distance towards the woman and the others with considerable speed.

On the other hand, Callisto took her time closing the distance between her and the others.

"Here, have some sandwiches."

"We've got juice here. Drink a lot."

As their hands gratefully accepted the offered food and drinks from the kind parents of the young boys and girls, Callisto's mind flew back to her previous concerns.

She was well aware that keeping the truth about her being able to talk and understand animals to herself could lead to some serious consequences in the future. However, interacting with people allowed Callisto to see more clearly that the opposite could also be true.

Callisto looked idly at the sandwich and juice on her hands as she concentrated on trying to feel something unusual with her body.

She felt nothing out of the ordinary. The slightly uncomfortable sensation of her tail being tuck inside her shorts already became natural with her.

"Maybe I'm just overthinking things," she murmured to herself, a slight pause before finally taking a bite off her sandwich. "I've made up my mind."

As far as she could tell, Callisto had nothing to worry about. And if she got nothing to feel worried about, then there was no need for her to do anything at all.

Having decided that, Callisto was finally able to relax.

She finished her sandwich and drink the juice down to its last drop.

Turning her attention to the red head, hoping to get Elesis so they could express their gratitude to the kind woman who invited them for a quick bite, Callisto's eyes widened as she realized that the red head seemed to have a different understanding of what a quick bite was.

"You're still eating," Callisto's voice was flat and in disbelief.

Her eyes locked on to Elesis.

Elesis was munching on a sandwich while holding another one with one hand.

"What?" Elesis's voice was muffled with the sandwich that was still being worked by her mouth.

"How many did you eat," asked the young lady, her voice deadpan, but genuinely curious.

"It's my fifth," Elesis replied as she stuffed the fifth sandwich in her mouth. "I went out to grab myself breakfast, but I totally forgot about it."

"Uh-huh..."

Looking at how Elesis gobbled the fifth sandwich, her explanation made perfect sense to Callisto.

"Still, to eat that many... what an amazing appetite," Callito murmured to herself while watching Elesis work the food in her mouth without a care in the world.

"Hey, what about you," the woman who invited them appeared next to Callisto. "I see you only ate one so far. Don't be shy, we prepared a lot of food."

Before Callisto could react, the woman placed the sandwich in her hand into Callisto's.

"Just grab another one if you want more, okay?"

"Yes, thank you."

A tender expression drew on Callisto's features, her heart melting from the woman's generosity.

Callisto's gaze snapped from the food in her hands to the woman who was now tending to the kids along with the other adults.

Watching the woman interact so kindly with everyone and making sure they were all cared for reminded Callisto so much of her mother.

After a while had passed, everyone finished filling their stomach full with food, including Elesis who managed to stuff herself with another two sandwiches she took as a left over from one of the baskets.

It was time for Elesis and Callisto to leave.

"Thank you for having us," said Callisto as she and Elesis faced the kind woman and the others for the final time, her expression reflect the depth of her heartfelt gratitude towards them.

"Thank you for the meal," Elesis gave everyone a bright smile made out of excess energy she consumed not too long ago.

The quiet boy waved his hand at Elesis and Callisto. "Let's play again next time." His gaze remained on Callisto until the end.

Callisto and Elesis left the nature park through the entrance they came across before heading to the subdivision.

"That's it for exploring the barangay. Time to go hunt for a job."

"Do you have a place in mind you wanna check out first," Elesis asked, a glint of curiosity in her eyes.

"Yeah. Let's go."