Gran's Boutique The quiet morning came to an end the second Audrey's grandmother turned on the television. 55 corpses and 140 injured people... those fucking terrorists weren't joking around. The news of the bombing left a bad taste in Audrey's mouth and her stomach tied itself into a knot as she sat speechless on the wooden floor, eyes glued to the TV and a forkful of noodles crammed into her mouth. And humans thought they were goddamn awful? The thought forced a humorless chuckle out of Audrey and her grandmother shot her a look.
"I don't see what's funny, Riri," came the older woman's curt reply.
Audrey was startled. "Of course it isn't, Gran." It was terrible, and thinking about all those reapers who'd been sentenced to death got her blood boiling. Who were the humans to condemn them when they themselves performed terrible atrocities like this? She clenched her fists and jolted to her feet, nearly knocking the bowl of noodles over in the process.
The TV droned on as her grandmother spun around to look at her.
"Humans should get over themselves," Audrey scoffed.
The older woman frowned. "It's horrible, but not all humans want this."
She knew that, she wasn't stupid. Still, Audrey couldn't help but hate them. "Yeah, anyway, I'll catch you later, gran. I want to check something out." The worried look on her gran's face made her soften her scowl and Audrey paused as she gave the back of her head a sheepish rub. "Hey, gran, don't worry. I'll be careful out there, I always am." It helped that her grandmother wasn't aware of all the trouble she was throwing herself into, but hey, a girl's gotta have secrets, right? Audrey made a show out of reaching for beloved skelly gloves and pulled them over her hands. "See, presto chang-o, I just made my mark disappear."
The older woman shook her head before letting out a soft sigh. "Be back before dinner this time, okay?"
Guilt flashed across the girl's face, but she quickly buried it beneath a grin. "I'll try, promise." And with that, Audrey was off, grabbing at her jacket and cap before thundering down the steps and to the clothing boutique on the first floor. The tiny bell above the door gave a soft jingle as she exited the shop.
From the top of the stairs, her grandmother watched as Audrey hopped onto her bike and zipped off.