“IS THERE something on my face?” Randall asked Meredith when he noticed the shock on her face when she saw him.

Meredith was taken aback when he saw Randall’s new appearance. His long hair has been cut short. She can clearly see the big changes in its appearance. Aside from that, she recalled the similarity between the events in her vision earlier and what had happened to Randall.  
Is it just a coincidence, or is Randall the man she’s been looking for all these years?
“Mer? Are you alright?” he asked again, causing her to return to her trance.
 “N-nothing. I just remembered that I needed to go to the supermarket,” she reason out.
“Okay!” Then he started the engine.
“Hey! Why did you buy so many loaves of bread?” he asked when they arrived at the supermarket. He followed her inside because he needed toiletries as well.
“Shanaia asked me to make snacks for the drama club’s practice tomorrow.”
Randall nodded. “Yeah. Everyone is getting ready for the school fair.”
“Hey! What are you doing?” she asked as he placed several bottles of various jam flavors in her cart.
“Ahm. . . Trying to assist you?”
She shook her head. “I don't make ordinary sandwiches. I don’t want Shanaia to be embarrassed in front of her fellow club members, so I’m going to make a clubhouse version 2.0, Tamago Sando, and Monte Cristo Sandwiches.”
“Wow! They all sound delectable. Can you show me how to make them so that next time I’ll have something new to try?”
“Sure! Are you free tomorrow afternoon?” she asked.
“When you want something, there are many ways,” he said.
She just laughed and shook her head at what he said then they lined up at the counter.
When they arrived at their house, he invited Randall inside for dinner after learning from her mother that she had prepared her favorite vegetable dish with fish sauce. She remembered promising him that she would let him try her mother's specialty.
“Hey!  That was cooked to be eaten, not for you to just look at it,” Meredith commented when Randall still hadn’t started eating. He only has rice on his plate but no viand yet.
She noticed him swallowing hard while staring at the food on the table.
“You only have two options. Vegetables with fish sauce or grilled fish?” she asked.
“I prefer vegetables,” he said so she immediately placed the food on his plate right away.
“W-what kind of vegetables are these?” he asked while his gaze fixed on his plate which was now heaped with vegetables.
Kannah looked at her mother in disbelief before returning her gaze to him. “Seriously, Randall?”
“Why? “The only vegetables I’m familiar with are tomatoes and pumpkins.”
Meredith is amused by what he said. 
Randall frowned. “Why are you laughing? Did I say something funny?”
“Nothing! I was simply astounded by the word you used.”
“Which word?” he asked.
“The word Pumpkin.”
“What about the pumpkin?”
Meredith forked a slice of pumpkin to show the vegetable to him. “Rich people like you called this pumpkin, but ordinary people like us, we called this squash.”
Mrs. Editha nodded when Randall looked at him. “Taste it! I’m sure you’ll love that.”
“How was it?” Meredith asked as he chewed the food.
He gave a thumbs-up and eat continuously.
“Told ya!”

_________________________

“WHY does the wind seem to be blowing in a different direction?” Letisha said while looking and referring to Barbara. 
“With the appearance like that? Who wouldn’t be?”  Esperanza added who had been looking at Clayton’s calm and handsome face, who was currently busy with his tutoring class at the other side of the imaret.
Barbara rolled her eyes. “It’s not about his appearance, Espe. I just want a peaceful life, that’s all!”
“Peaceful life? Where’s the fun in that?”
 “Is it still fun to be considered if we step on someone’s life? Grow up, girls!”
Esperanza rolled her eyes. “My goodness, Barbara!  What happened to you?  Have you been possessed by a good witch? What’s with the sudden change?  You defended him from everyone as if you two have a deep relationship now.”  
Letisha rose up to her feet and crossed her arms. “Espe was right! What gotten into you, huh? You even manage to finance him just to change his appearance and fashion style.”
“You are thinking wrong! I wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t put the paint on the door in the first place.”
“See! You’re defending him again from us!”
“Just stop bullying him, okay?  That won’t do us any good.”
Esperanza moved closer to Barbara and looked straight into her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love with that Basilio?”
She looked away and think of another way to change their topic.
“Why don’t you open your minds and try to get to know him so you know he’s not what you think he is?”
“What is he teaching you for you to change like that, huh? Good manners and right conduct?” Letisha said philosophically.
Barbara turned her hands into a fist. She couldn’t stand their attitude towards Clayton so she decided not to argue with them anymore and fixed her things on the table.
She was about to leave when Esperanza asked her again. “Hey! You haven’t answered my question yet.”
Barbara stopped in her track but didn’t look back at them. “All I know is that he’s a great man.”
After hearing Barbara’s response, the two shook their heads at the same time.
“Be careful, Barbara. Looks can be deceiving.” Esperanza added but she ignored it.
 
 ___________________________

“THIS clubhouse 2.0 is so easy to prepare.  It’s just like a Clubhouse overload,” Randall commented after Meredith showed him how to do it.
Besides the usual ingredients of an ordinary clubhouse, she also added bacon and pickles too.
“You’re right! But I replaced the tomato with pickles to make it more unique and tasty,” she explained before putting a toothpick on both sides of it to prevent the fillings she put inside from spitting out when she cut it in the middle to make it two layers.
“So, what do we do next?” he asked eagerly.
“The monte cristo sandwich comes next. It contains fewer components than the clubhouse.”
“So what’s the ingredient?”
“Just ham, egg, and mayonnaise.  First, you have to beat the egg and then add some salt and spices,” she instructed that he immediately follow.
“Then cook the ham next. But make sure you don’t toast it okay?” He nodded and did as she instructed. 
“Hey!  What are you doing?” Randall stopped as he was about to pour the egg into the pan.
“W-why?” 
“We will not be going to make scrambled eggs there.  We will dip the three slices of bread instead. But you have to remove the brown part of the bread first. And when the pan is hot, instead of oil, we will use butter to cook the loaves of bread. Just let the bread absorb the butter.”
“Copy!”
She simply smiled as she observed him intently doing what he was doing. When she noticed him sweating, he immediately took a handkerchief from her apron pocket and wiped his forehead, which surprised him.
Their eyes locked for a moment when Meredith smelled something unpleasant in what Randall was cooking.
“S-sorry!” he apologized and began the process again.
When the bread finally absorb the butter, Meredith taught him how to arrange it. 
 “Put the ham first.  .  .  Mayonnaise.  .  .  then bread again. That’s it! You just repeat it on the second layer,” she explained while showing the arrangement of the fillings.
“I’m done!”
“Good! The last one we will do is the easiest of all, the tamago sando.”
“Wow! Your sandwiches have peculiar names.  Where did you learn those recipes?” he asked.
“On E-tube!”
“Really?”
She nodded. “Nowadays you don’t need to study culinary to learn how to cook or bake. All you have to do is to watch on social media.”
He smiled. Meredith’s face was full of magic. 
And he could say, no man would not fall in love with that smile of hers
“Hey! Are you okay?”
“H-huh?”
“I said, the ingredients and taste of tamago sando and egg sandwich are the same. The only distinction is its appearance.”
“How?”
“We need to crush the boiled eggs with a strainer to make them finer. When the egg has been refined, it must be mixed with mayonnaise.”
“Awesome! It looks like the egg sandwich I grew up with. It’s also very easy to make,” Randall said after cutting the sandwich into triangles and sprinkling a little black sesame seed on top.
“And did you know that it’s the traditional sandwich of Japan?”
 “Really?”
She nodded. The egg in Japan is called Tamago while the bread is called Sando, that’s why they call it tamago sando.”
“I see.  .  .” Randall said. 
Then they worked together to make the sandwiches, with the assistance of the entire cooking club, who had been watching them since earlier.
She even gave them a few slices, which they devoured.
“So, how was it, guys?” Randall asked.
“It’s delicious! But we enjoyed watching you two even more,” Carlota teased, making both of them blush.