Ichigo nodded back before continuing where he left off. "I was actually planning on visiting the summer house that my mother used to own before she passed away," he announced, "It's located at a private beach only two hours away from here by car."
Angel's eyes widened at the news.
Summer house?
Private beach?
Ichigo smirked as he read the sudden interest in her eyes. "Wanna come with me?"
"Yes!" Angel replied rather too quickly, "I mean, can I?"
Ichigo nodded. "I don't see why not. If I leave you here my family might suddenly come over, leaving you in a tight spot. And besides, when I turned old enough the beach house was passed down to me so I practically own that place now."
"Really?!" Angel grinned like a child given a huge piece of candy without even having to ask her parents for one, "Then when can we leave?"
Ichigo looked over at the clock. "We can leave as soon as today if you want—"
"HURRY UP AND PACK UP!" Angel shouted back to him as she ran to her room to pack up for the long stay at a private beach.
Ichigo, who was now alone at the kitchen table, was still a bit shocked when the midget suddenly ran off as if the apartment was on fire. When he got back his senses he smirked while picking up the dishes to get them cleaned before leaving for a much needed vacation.
"Ichigo! Hurry up!" Angel shouted at him from her room, realizing he was washing the dishes when she heard the water running.
"Alright, alright," Ichigo shouted back, "Calm down! It's not like the beach is going anywhere!"
"I don't care! It's been almost ten years since I last gone to the beach so this is a very happy moment for me!" she defended herself.
Ichigo slowly made his way to her room and leaned against the open door to watch her pack. "You don't have to take all that stuff," he pointed to her bed that was dumped with whole bunch of unnecessary items such as her Chappy toys, Chappy slippers, Chappy coloring book, Chappy pencil holder, Chappy nail polish—anything Chappy-related was NOT necessary!
Angel, who was rummaging through her closet, looked over at her bed and frowned. "Well, I don't know what's over there, so—"
"You can use my sisters' room which already has a bed and blanket," Ichigo tried to explain the house to help her figure out what she might and might not need, "There's also tons of towels so don't take those. Cups, plates etc. are already there so no need to pack any of those stuffs either. We can go to the store near that place to buy some food and other small essentials if they're not at home."
Angel nodded. "I guess that means I only need to bring my clothes and sun cream." She frowned at the thought of taking so little. "You sure I don't need to pack anything else?" she looked at him.
Ichigo shook his head. "It's not like we're moving over there. We'll mostly stay there for two weeks so just bring extra clothes, maybe a book or two to read, but other than that there really isn't a need to bring so much stuff."
Angel pouted, still thinking she was forgetting something, but reluctantly nodded.
Satisfied, Ichigo went to his room to start packing his stuff as well. As he grabbed the small duffel bag from his closet, he eyed the papers he had to grade on top of his desk. He stared at the stack for a few seconds before walking over to organize them and stuff them into another backpack that he was planning on taking with him.
Who said you can't do work while on vacation?
…Damn he needed a life.
Mark smiled as he let out a long, relieving sigh.
The day was going really well.
Especially with a newly installed air conditioner!
Now his little store was winning the battle against the hot summer as the cool air surrounded him. "Ahhhh, this is really nice."
"If you don't turn that thing off every now and then it's going to break down again."
Mark turned around to see Lucy entering the room, wearing a very revealing outfit: a pair of shorty shorts that was barely an inch down her hips, and a simple sports bra on top.
"Kya! What are you wearing, Lucy-chan?" Mark hid his blushing face and looked away, squealing like a little shy girl. "You're such a pervert!"
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Don't act like a shy virgin. We both know how long it's been since you lost that."
Mark grinned at her with no evidence of a blush on his cheeks. "Touché, my love."
Ding!
"Iratshaimasen!" Mark shouted a welcome at the sound of the chime ringing as the front door of his store swung open and a customer entered. "Ara, what might I do for you today, Walker-kun?"
Ichigo looked back and forth between the two other people occupying the room and groaned. "Can't you be more careful? What if somebody else came in and saw you?" he asked directly to the woman.
Lucy smirked. "Ah, thanks for caring about me, Ichigo. But I'm old enough to wear whatever I want so don't mother me."
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You two will never change, huh?" He walked towards Mark and extended his hand. "Anyways, I need to borrow your car for two weeks."
"Ara, so direct to the point," he giggled, "I do like being the frail one in a relationship."
"Of course you do," Lucy grinned at him.
"When will you two ever grow up," Ichigo groaned, "Are you going to give me the car or not? I know you don't even drive that thing so it shouldn't be a problem."
Mark looked at him with an evil grin. "And just what were you planning on doing with the car? Planning on taking a little innocent girl on a date?"
Ichigo raised a quizzical eyebrow at him. "What?" he asked totally confused at the man's mischievous tone. "What are you talking about?"
"Why, don't act all shy Walker-kun. We all know who's been staying at your place for the past month. Or should I say a certain student?" he emphasized.
Ichigo visibly stiffened. "H-how'd you know about that, Mark?"
The store owner giggled at his 'freaking-out' expression. "My, Walker-kun, have you forgotten who I'm good friends with?"
Ichigo didn't say anything but shook his head. Who he's friends with? Why, that could range from his crazy father to people he never met before!
Lucy, annoyed at the slow thinking-process of the boy, slapped the back of his head. "You idiot. He's talking about me! Your landlady!"
"Oh, you," Ichigo glared, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Well, it wouldn't have been a problem if only you let Angel actually move in with you," he glared, "You're never there anyways. You're always here."