Shopping in the supermarket was a common thing for Ashley and Ellie. But Greyson had never
shopped like this before. It was his first time at a supermarket
and he looked around in wonder and curiosity.
Ashley's question brought him back. Averting his eyes from the rows and rows of shelves, he replied
innocently, blinking to take everything in, "Yes. This is my first time here." His reaction elicited giggles
from Ashley and Ellie.
A couple passed by, pushing their shopping cart forward. To Greyson's immense surprise, he found a
little boy sitting in the cart beside the vegetables they were shopping. "Ashley, what's that? It's so
practical! I can't believe it is big enough to contain vegetables and a little boy!" Greyson exclaimed,
pointing excitedly at the cart.
Ashley looked up at the couple with the shopping cart. The little boy, nestled comfortably in the cart,
was only two or three years old. And as he spotted Ashley looking at him, he giggled and waved his
tiny hands at her.
Amused at Greyson's excitement, Ellie smiled and pulled a shopping cart towards them.
"This is called shopping cart. You usually choose one when you shop in the supermarket. And the
reason why it's so convenient is that you can put snacks, vegetables or anything you want in it, even a
little kid. Is that clear?" Ashley explained patiently.
Greyson nodded. "But only little kids? What a pity! I'd have loved to be able to sit in it too," he
murmured and looked almost wistfully at the shopping cart.
Then he whirled around towards Ellie and asked with the most innocent and puppy-dog eyes, "Ellie,
can I push this cart? Please! Come on, let me try it!"
This supermarket was his world right now; a world full of curiosities waiting to be explored.
"Of course. Here you go. But be careful and don't push it too fast," Ellie explained, showing him how to
push the cart.
Greyson excitedly took it from Ellie and pushed the cart through the aisles, looking around in wonder.
Ashley and Ellie followed him. This trio of very good-looking ones captured the attention of people who
passed by.
It wasn't a surprise when they turned heads wherever they went.
Greyson came to a halt in front of the snack shelves and the girls skidded to a stop just behind him. His
eyes lit up as he took in the rows of snacks. The beautifully designed and the brightly colored packets
of food made Greyson fall for them, hook, line, and sinker.
"Ashley, Ellie, I found some chips! What flavor of chips do you like?" Greyson asked, holding up a bag
of chips in each hand.
"Uhmm tomato. Tomato-flavoured chips are the best," Ashley said.
"I like them both. You can buy both if you like," Ellie pointed out.
"Really? That's great!" Greyson said and almost threw the packets into the cart.
"Can I have some spicy food? I want to have a taste.
Wow, there are so many drinks! Can I get you something to drink? Which one do you like?
Oh, that cake looks delicious!" Greyson simply couldn't stop talking.
···
Their shopping cart had filled up even before they had arrived at the vegetable aisle. The cart was
heavy, full of snacks and drinks that Greyson had kept adding to it.
Ashley and Ellie didn't stop him from buying all of these snacks, considering that this was the first time
that Greyson had set foot in a supermarket. They just wanted him to have a good time.
Greyson turned around with another snack bag in his hand. He made to put it in the cart but it was so
full, he flushed with embarrassment when he made eye contact with the two girls.
Ashley and Ellie couldn't help but smile. They had never imagined Greyson to be a shopaholic. He was
enjoying himself a lot, so much that Ashley felt bad to be asking him to stop.
"Oh Greyson, you've picked too many snacks.
There is no space for our hot pot ingredients," Ashley pretended to complain.
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen! Should I put them back?" he asked, feeling a little
sad.
Ashley looked at his expression in amusement and thought, 'He's so cute! Will he cry if I say yes?'
Deciding not to do so, she touched his hair and comforted him, "It's okay. You don't need to apologize.
We can take another shopping cart for our hot pot ingredients." "Really?
We can take ANOTHER shopping cart? Now I can't wait to push two carts!" Greyson said gleefully.
"No, that's too dangerous," Ashley stopped Greyson before he could take his imagination any further.
On one hand, she didn't want Greyson to get hurt. On the other hand, she was afraid that Greyson
might put more snacks in this cart.
"Okay, okay, I know," Greyson replied, pouting.
"Just take care of your snacks and follow us, okay?" Ashley told him.
When they stopped at the vegetable shelves, Ashley and Ellie quickly and expertly picked out what
they wanted and put them into the shopping cart.
"Little Greyson, what do you want for hot pot?" they asked together after they were done picking their
favorite ingredients. But Greyson didn't answer them.
They turned to find Greyson watching the fish in a fish tank in rapt attention.
Ashley and Ellie looked at each other and smiled.
'Such a curious boy! Has he never seen live fish before?'
Ellie thought.
"Ashley, I want to have fish. But why does this fish look different?" Greyson asked, looking adorably
incredulous.
Ashley was stunned. "What kind of fish have you seen before?" she asked incredulously.
"Wait, let me think. I have seen pan fried fish, pickled fish, sweet and sour fish, and fish in chilli sauce,"
Greyson replied earnestly.
Ashley didn't know what to say to him. She turned to look at Ellie.
Ellie shrugged and said nothing.
Ashley thought for a minute, then answered softly, "Fish can be cooked in many different ways. But
before you cook it, you must kill it and remove its internal organs. Do you get it?"
"What? Really?" said Greyson in a shocked voice. It had never occurred to him that the fish could have
once been alive before being served to him on a plate.
The term "internal organs" filled him with disgust. Now, he didn't want to eat fish anymore.
Poor little Greyson! It looked like Ashley's words had scared him.
Ashley opened her mouth to say more but Greyson quickly interrupted her, "I changed my mind about
that. I don't want to eat fish. It's too much of a hassle." He looked away from the fish as he said these
words.
Ashley was confused. 'Why did he change his mind? Did I say something wrong?' she thought
worriedly.
Cooking fish wasn't difficult according to Ashley.
But Greyson clearly didn't think so.
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