Since they all had school the next day, after getting acquainted and agreeing to meet at the party, the group dispersed. Kevin also drove his car back to his current home.
Lying in bed, Kevin began to study the Twelve Talismans in his mind. There was no change from what he'd seen that morning; the Horse, Dog, and Rabbit Talismans were still lit, while the others remained dim and unusable.
Kevin sprawled out, feeling quite helpless. He had never seen The Vampire Diaries. According to typical vampire lore, they should be afraid of sunlight, crosses, holy water, and a wooden stake to the heart. But today, seeing Stefan walking around in broad daylight without any issues indicated that vampires in this world were different from what he knew. That meant other traditional weaknesses might not be effective either.
Moreover, the question of why nine of the Twelve Talismans in his mind were unusable and how to unlock them was the most crucial issue.
Unable to figure it out, Kevin decided to shelve the thought for now. Tomorrow, he'd get a few cross necklaces, bracelets, and whatnot, just in case. Oh, and he also needed to find a housekeeping agency and hire someone. There was no way Kevin was going to clean this huge house by himself. Hmm... yes... and the person he hired absolutely had to be a good cook.
Early the next morning, Kevin went to a store and bought two crosses—one bracelet and one necklace—and put them on. He had originally planned to go to the housekeeping agency afterwards but went to school first as he was running late.
In history class, watching Mr. Tanner question students one by one, Kevin knew that as a new transfer, he probably wouldn't be put on the spot, so he wasn't too bothered and just rested his head on the desk, idly observing the proceedings. That was until Tanner called on Elena, and Stefan couldn't resist answering the question for her, even pointing out Tanner's mistake, thoroughly showing off in front of Elena.
Watching Stefan and how well-informed he was about the historical event, Kevin understood that Stefan must have lived for a very long time, possibly existing during that era or even earlier.
After class, Kevin went to a domestic help agency to hire a housekeeper. After considering several options, he decided on a live-in housekeeper. The services included house cleaning and cooking. Kevin only had three requirements: first, she had to be diligent and quick – with eight rooms upstairs and downstairs, plus a sizable lawn outside, someone slow wouldn't be able to manage. Second, her cooking had to be delicious; otherwise, if he couldn't get used to it, he'd definitely have to replace her. Third, she shouldn't be too old; some older people could be quite stubborn, making communication difficult, and replacing them would be a hassle, so it was better to filter them out from the start.
Choosing a live-in housekeeper was a bit more expensive, but with plenty of empty rooms in the house and his ample funds, it didn't matter. In fact, Kevin's primary motivation was to have a tasty breakfast that suited his palate before school every morning; he even offered a higher salary just to find the right person.
The agency contacted a few candidates, and after comparing their situations, they confirmed one housekeeper who would be available a bit later in the day. They gave Kevin her contact number, and she would call him when she arrived at his house.
Kevin completed the paperwork, paid the fees, and then made a trip to the supermarket. He went on a major shopping spree, stocking the fridge and his own room with all sorts of food, meat, vegetables, alcohol, and drinks.Surveying his haul with satisfaction, Kevin decided not to go out for lunch and instead lounged on the sofa at home, waiting for the housekeeper to arrive.
Around twelve-thirty, the housekeeper arrived. She first called Kevin, saying she was at the gate and wasn't sure if anyone was home. Kevin immediately opened the door and welcomed her in. The housekeeper was a young white woman, about twenty-two or twenty-three years old, and didn't even look much like a typical housekeeper.
"Hello, I'm Kevin Chase," Kevin said after they sat down facing each other on the living room sofas.
"Hello, my name is Sarah," the attractive housekeeper replied, stating her name.
"Sarah, how are your cooking skills? Can you make Chinese food?" Kevin asked, looking at the young woman and getting straight to his most important question.
"Um, I'm not very good at Chinese cuisine. But I can make common Western dishes like burgers, hot dogs, steaks, pasta, and things like that," Sarah said, slightly taken aback, then quickly elaborated. She knew that although Kevin's requirements were high, the salary offered was also very generous. If not for the preference for someone younger, Sarah might not have even gotten the chance to interview for this position; she was quite keen on the job.
"Alright. Well, I haven't had lunch yet. Would you mind making something for me now so I can try it? I bought some groceries; they're in the kitchen. See if there's enough for you to work with," Kevin said, resigning himself to the reality of no Chinese food for now and asking Sarah to demonstrate her culinary skills.
"Of course, I'll go prepare it right away. Please wait a moment," Sarah said, standing up and heading towards the kitchen.
"Thanks for the trouble. Oh, and if possible, could you make a larger portion? Enough for about four or five people would be good. I have a pretty big appetite. And if your cooking passes the test and you end up living here, we can eat together," Kevin called out to Sarah's retreating back.
"Okay, Boss," Sarah replied without turning around, continuing on her way.
Kevin remained on the sofa, not moving from his spot, and pulled out his phone, Browse the internet for any information on vampires. Looking through various legends, Kevin understood that vampires weren't creatures known to the general public. So, he switched tactics and started searching for news about missing persons or unexplained deaths. He found that there weren't many such cases in recent years; the most recent ones were several years old, involving deaths attributed to wild animal attacks.
"No idea if vampires were behind these," Kevin muttered, looking at the heavily redacted reports on his phone, unable to confirm anything.
Soon, Sarah had lunch ready. Since the ingredients Kevin had bought were mainly seafood and meat—all things he enjoyed—he ate with great enthusiasm. After the meal, Kevin confirmed the employment terms with Sarah, let her choose a room on the first floor to live in, and gave her a key and some money for daily grocery expenses and household supplies. Then, he went back to his room to rest.
He took a short afternoon nap, then checked the time. Figuring it was about right, and without having had dinner yet, he drove to the party.
When he first arrived at the party, he saw students in twos and threes, some chatting, some hugging and kissing. Kevin felt a bit unaccustomed to this kind of gathering; after all, such behavior for sixteen or seventeen-year-olds would be viewed very differently, if not outright frowned upon, back in his home country.
"Hey, you made it!" Kevin hadn't been standing around for long when he saw Caroline walking towards him.
"Yeah, I'm not late, am I?" Kevin responded to Caroline.
"Nope, Stefan isn't even here yet. Let's go grab a drink," Caroline said, taking Kevin's arm and leading him away.
Kevin saw Matt, Elena, and Bonnie nearby, exchanged greetings with them, and then followed Caroline to a table.
"Here, let's have a drink," Caroline said, handing him a bottle of beer.
"Thanks. So, about that big meal for me today, did you manage to prepare it?" Kevin clinked his bottle with Caroline's, took a sip of beer while noticing the distinct lack of substantial food nearby, and jokingly brought up her promise from the previous day to bring him a late-night snack. After all, he hadn't had dinner, so a proper snack would be perfect.
"Of course, I brought some for you! But it's still early, not long after dinnertime, so I just brought some snacks," Caroline said, placing some snacks from the table in front of Kevin.
"Thanks a lot," Kevin said, looking at the small snacks and feeling they wouldn't be enough to even line his stomach. Still, having something to eat was better than nothing. He picked up the snacks and started eating them slowly with his beer.
"Have you been to see the falls yet? It's really beautiful there at night. If you'd like, I can take you," Caroline said, noticing Kevin eating by himself and proactively inviting him for a private viewing of the scenery.
"Of course, I'd like that," Kevin said, looking at Caroline. To be honest, she was an attractive blonde, and she had at least remembered to bring him some food, so he had a somewhat favorable impression. Although he was still finding it a bit hard to adapt to this fast-paced social scene, it's often said, when a girl makes the first move, it's an easy catch. With Caroline being so direct, Kevin wasn't going to be a killjoy.
So, Caroline led Kevin to the area near the falls. He had initially thought most people would be near the bonfire, but surprisingly, there were quite a few people at the falls too. They were all couples, whispering sweet nothings in shadowy spots, some even already hugging and making out intensely.
"The view here really is quite nice, huh," Kevin remarked, feeling a bit awkward given the circumstances. He tilted his head up to look at the night sky. To be fair, the starry expanse combined with the waterfall was indeed beautiful.