Read The Smartphone Saga: A Distracted Journey of Spells and Signals :: Chapter 7: Cooked --- End of A New Home Arc - Part 2

For Jasson, Life Debts was something confined within the cheery UI of TikTik or between the pages of a book. Someone saved your life so you swear that life to them. Poetic if cliche.

But as Jasson tossed and turned for sleep he found those deadly moments flashing in his mind on repeat. His mistake, the pain ripping through him, the helplessness encompassing his whole being. Then the blessed light, a merciful heat piercing through the chill of death. Petra’s panic and concern, her ferocity turned not into insults but into passionate care. She might not have been an angel of mercy, but there was angelic mercy within her.

Yeah, it had been nothing but death threats for the past hour, but those words lost the sting that once made Jasson resentful. Petra had a lot of pain in her, and it screamed from her lips the moment she thought that he was dying. That deserved his devotion.

Even if they decide I can stay, Jasson thought, should I? It’s clear that they’ve been expecting attacks. Who are they running from? I will probably get caught in the crossfire if I stay. But…it’s not like this world is a safe place. The battlefield made that clear yesterday.

These girls needed help. They may be a hundred times stronger than him, but they still needed help. It was an odd dichotomy. Jasson was someone who, beyond basic chores, had never been asked to help and never been needed. These were women out of his league in every way. How could they want his fraction of aid?

What would he be able to do? Could the effort he made actually be worthy of these women? What would he do if he dragged them down, getting in their way or even getting one of them killed?

On the other hand, Jasson thought, I will get better as well. Stronger. I don’t know what else my phone can do, but I know that that spell was powerful. Then there’s the other apps as well, like Punching John.

Jasson laughed to himself as sleep finally claimed him. At the very least he could squish slimes and bugs for them. Mister pest control at your service.

****

Breakfast was an education in eggs and early birds. Jasson found, to his great surprise, that he rose early. Even after staying up another hour charging his phone, Jasson had risen with the sun. The summer sunrise woke him as it peaked through the holes in their walls, painting pink beams of morning for Jasson’s bleary eyes.

Clank!

Sizzle…

“Ouch!” Petra said, “You #$%$&^ dirtwad excuse for cooking oil.”

Apparently, Petra’s fire resistance didn’t extend to frying oils. Petra bustled in the kitchen and the smell of frying eggs tried to wipe the sleep from Jasson’s eyes via the nasal canal. Grumbling, but not loud enough that he might lose breakfast, Jasson got up. He rubbed his eyes and cast his bleary gaze around.

Could be a nice breakfast. Jasson thought in half-asleep judgementalism. A couple of eggs and some toast maybe?

As Jasson stumbled out of bed, he was greeted with the sight of a table spread with approximately two dozen eggs cooked four different ways. For three people it was a mountain of protein that had been boiled, fried, scrambled, and omeleted.

“Umm,” Jasson said, approaching the table, “I like eggs as much as the next guy, but don’t you think this is excessive? It’s just breakfast.”

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” Petra shot back, “And I don’t intend to feed you lunch. Besides, I haven't even gotten the bread out yet. What you’re looking at is a light breakfast.”

Now, Jasson was not impartial to having four eggs for breakfast when he was really hungry. But it seemed that last night’s dinner had filled his appetite to multi-pound levels. Would she be offended if he didn’t finish his plate?

Jasson helped as he could, which meant going to the bathroom and leaving Petra alone. When he came back his plate was pre-piled with eight eggs and half a loaf of bread. Despite himself, Jasson felt his mouth watering as his stomach growled.

I’m gonna gain weight at these portions, Jasson thought, maybe that’s to keep me from running away.

Petra was kicking Clara’s bed, saying “Come on sis. Get up. Time for breakfast.”

Clara sat up muzzy and fuzzy, hair an absolute mess as she looked around. Clara tried to lay back down but Petra caught her and hauled Clara bodily to the table.

“Get started,” Petra told Jasson, “We have a lot to do today.”

“We?” Jasson said, “Am I included in that we?”

Petra was quiet for a few seconds before saying “Yes.”

“Really?!” Clara perked up, sleep banished as her eyes alighted upon the world, “Oh thank you sis! I love you! Thank you!”

Clara flung herself at Petra, hugging roughly in the way only a sibling could.

“I know so get off,” Petra said, prying Clara off of herself, “Let’s have breakfast. Jasson, by your tone I assume that you accept?”

I spent all night thinking about this. Jasson thought. Time for me to Cook!

“Not a lot matters to me in my life except that I go on living.” Jasson said, “You ensured that I could, and so I cannot help but feel strongly about my debt of honor. It would be my pleasure to help as I can.”

Petra smirked and said “Really? You accept before you hear the terms?”

Jasson hesitated and scanned what he had said, then said “Umm…for safety’s sake I must mention that I never directly said that I accepted. What are these conditions?”

“Simple,” Petra said, “And since we seem to be procrastinating breakfast, let me get into this.”

Petra pulled out a document and said “I spent all morning writing this up, but I’ll read it out loud since you probably can’t read at all.”

Jasson decided not to mention that he could read, if only with the assistance of his phone.

Petra coughed and said, “Jasson Boar. Until the day you save our lives more than we save yours, you will be in our debt. For this debt, you will pay it off through service to our cause. This cause is building this House, the very structure of our future. Brick by brick and coin by coin until this house stands proud. Then your life debt(s) will be fulfilled. Your goals shall align with ours, and our dreams shall be yours. Do you agree?”

“Oh sure,” Jasson said, “That sounds reasonable, where do I sign- Are you kidding me? Build this whole place?! That will take decades! And I doubt that I’ll ever save your lives more than you do mine.”

Petra grinned predatorily, enjoying Jasson’s reaction as she said “Good. You’re finally thinking. However, decades is perfectly reasonable. That’s why it’s called a life debt. It can be for life. Of course, you could die saving us. Then we’d pay for your tombstone and call it even.”

Jasson twitched and tried to stare Petra down, but gave up and said “You’ve got a point. Clara, I would like a second opinion. Do you think this is fair?”

Clara twisted her nightgown for a few seconds before saying “Jasson, I understand that you’re new. But this is an extremely forgiving life debt. Most ask for the full lifetime, some even require generations, but Petra is only asking for you to stay until the house is done. And don’t underestimate yourself either. I expect you to get strong enough to save our lives soon enough, just not in the ways you expect. And if you really don’t want to stay, then you don’t have to sign. We’re not forcing you.”

Taken aback, Jasson nodded. This lined up right, and Jasson supposed that he had been shocked by the implication of a lifetime’s work. He wanted to retire at forty after all. But…well it wasn’t like he was doing anything else. Jasson didn’t have anywhere else he’d rather be and he did love this dream of theirs. It was a beautiful thing, a rise to glory from tragic adversity, and it was a goal leagues above the TikTikers he watched. Most of them anyways.

‘If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.’ Jasson thought, remembering the quote from social media somewhere. (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll 1865)

“Okay,” Jasson said, “Until you don’t want me around I will swear to this contract. Is that enough?”

Petra nodded and jotted a couple of things down on the contract, then handed it over with a quill. On the deeply scarred table, beside a happy plate full of eggs and bread, Jasson scratched his literal life away to a girl he’d only met yesterday.

This would be considered naive, right? Jasson thought, chagrinned. I guess I am an idiot. Ah well, at least the girls are cute.

End of A New Home Arc