A fast shadow the size of a small child crawled through a small alleyway and entered a Chinese restaurant. One of the rats crawled up the counter and handed a note to the girl behind it.

“Ah... Boss, a rat just gave me a note!” she yelled; meanwhile, the rat showed her that they had a credit card with them and were, in fact, ready to pay. “And they have money with them... What should I do?”

“What?” An old but elegant Chinese lady came to the counter and read the note before glaring at the rats. They didn’t seem to be dirty or dangerous, and the one on top of the counter was using a little red bow tie. It was kinda cute... “Make them pay upfront.”

“Ok...” complied the weirded-out employee.

A few minutes later, the shadow was exiting the establishment carrying a bag with sweet and sour pork, yang chow fried rice, spring rolls, and hot pot.

The shadow went up the side of a building and crawled into a dark kitchen through the window. They put the bag on the table and went into the corridor. Their squeaks were the only thing that could be heard in the dark apartment.

They stopped by a door at the end of the corridor and squealed as loud as they could.

The door slowly opened, and they followed a slightly tanned figure into the kitchen. The figure set the table and ate the food in pitch-black darkness, while the rodents gave their daily report.

“I see… I can’t say he didn’t deserve it, but I still feel a little bad for him.” She said, still processing the whole locker thing. Well, it’s just paint, it's not like it was broken or something... Still, those two have to be more careful...

They kept squeaking.

“He drew what?!” she looked at them, her face shining with a warm red glow and her green eyes glittering “Well, can’t say I blame him. Cassie would look good in a gothic lolita outfit… I don’t think I ever wore one of those before...” she said in a saddened tone, mentalizing herself that he was attracted to Cassie, and not to the true her. If he saw her true form, he would probably throw up. Pity, he was rather nice and cute... She definitely wouldn’t mind dating him... Well, even if he liked the true her, they would never work out, since she would be gone from his life by Christmas... Yep, it was a pity indeed. 

They squeaked again.

“Oh yes, of course.” She got up and opened the fridge and took out a plate full of grapes, sliced apple, and some bread “Here.” She placed it on the floor and filled a bowl with water while the mice ate.

“We’re having a pretty violent snowstorm tonight,” She put the water next to the plate and brushed a straw of light brown hair off her face. “You guys should stay in the building’s boiler room for tonight.”

The rats agreed and thanked her. They left after cleaning both the plate and the bowl and leaving them to dry on the dish rack.

The girl turned on the lights, and Cassie finished eating.