Xavia
left more than an hour ago, leaving Sky watching a war movie and me soaking on
the tub in a warm bath. I felt incredibly clean and relaxed as I changed my
clothes – rather, Sky’s big clothes;
I actually didn’t have the leisure of packing
for this supposedly great adventure. I sat next to Sky at the couch, his eyes
were glued to the screen and he was leaning forward slightly. It’s like he was
on the war field himself or something. For the first time ever, he didn’t feel my stare burn through him.
Or maybe he did. Sort of.
He’s worse than my Dad when watching
these kinds of movies. Like, with every shot of gun and a cannon fired he moves
closer and closer to the television screen.
“Sky, sit properly or you’ll get
sucked in the tv.” he said,”Shh!” complete with hand gestures. I rolled my eyes
and leaned on the back of the couch, feeling my still-damp hair and moving to a
squatting postion.
“I can’t believe – ”
“Shh!”
That’s
just plain rude! I thought, aghast. I was going to give him a compliment! A
bloody compliment. Why do the
testosterone-filled human beings enjoy these kinds of movies anyway? People
just kill each other for no reason – it’s really downright depressing. No
offense to the people out there, of course.
“I
was just going to say that – ”
“Shh!”
he said again.
Okay, that’s it. “Don’t you know any
word besides – ”
“Shut up, Ryne!” he replied in
hushed tones. “They’re going to kill him…” his voice trailed away as his
attention grew slack.
“That’s what the movie’s about,
anyway. People just kill each other and – ” he started opening his mouth but I
beat him to the punch. “Yeah, I know. Shh.”
Five more minutes of Sky’s crazy
attitude and the movie itself, I gave up. I stood up and was a half-step to the
kitchen when Sky caught my wrist. How he did that while still being hypnotized
by the screen was admittedly awesome. But because he was Sky freaking La Brea,
he quickly changed my opinion about it. He said,
“Where are you going? You know
you’re not allowed to – ”
“The kitchen, Sky.” Really. He
wasn’t even looking at me while
speaking and then he just had the guts to – “No. Who knows what you might to in
there – ”
“What? Do you think I’m too stupid
that I’ll stab myself to see if it would work or – ”
He shook his head slightly at my
answer and responded, “We both know that you’re kind of smart. No need to
flaunt it – ”
“I
wasn’t! I was just
going to the kitchen for God’s sake.” My voice came out rather irritated. But, seriously. It’s his fault.
“Running for valedictorian? Honor
student? Yeah, Ryne, that’s you. This movie’s almost over. Just wait and we can
go there together.” This guy needs help. Lots of it.
“So you’ll just force me to just stand here – ”
“Of
course you can sit down. You’re just making this more difficult.”
“I am not, for the last time. I just want to go to the – ”
“Do you want to see my handcuffs
again? We should baptize him, you know, and – ” I cut him off with “Damn you.”
I sat back down on the couch forcibly and tried to focus on the movie playing. Honestly, I did! But it doesn’t make
much sense because I started at the last part. But I’m sure which part of the
ancient history it belongs to – World War III. It’s not really ancient, but you
know, it’s water under the bridge.
I tried to scan my surroundings
instead of the film. The room looked stuffy – it feels like it, too – but it’s a comfortable kind of stuffy. The
curtains were closed as always, making the room dim. Aside from the light of
the television and the reading lamp, the room was in semi-darkness. The shapes
and structure were impressive but I
need to eat. It’s my calling. I gave
Sky ten more minutes. Ten more and that’s it.
After fifteen minutes – fifteen! What happened to the plan? – I
was sure I was going to die of boredom.
“Err, Sky? I thought you said it was
already finishing up.” He just patted my knee repeatedly. “Almost there, almost
there.” I almost groaned in frustration. I’ll bet he was talking more to the
television than me when he said that. Five
minutes, I thought. He has no right to starve me.
I was feeling pretty good at myself
– patience is a virtue, right? Though, the third minute came and went, I grew
sleepy. I was seriously considering the handcuffs right now. At least I can
eat. My eyes closed again and it was just the perfect position for dozing off.
One does not simply sneeze all day and not be exhausted. Slowly my mind entered
the unconscious state, my head lolling on the side. Then I suddenly heard,
“That was epic!”
I felt myself jolted back to
reality, body startled and heart beating frantically. I scowled at him. “Yeah
nice work, Sky.” with my hand on my chest to feel my heart, as if to calm it
down.
“Oops. Sorry.”
I rolled my eyes, again, and stood up. “Fake apology
accepted. Come on, we need – ”
“That wasn’t fake!” he defended,
turning the tv set off.
“We still need to eat. All I had was ice
cream.” I started walking briskly to the kitchen, with him behind me. When we
were inside, he raised an eyebrow at me quizzically.
“Do
you even know how to cook?”
That’s the worst insult ever.
“Of
course I do!” he only chuckled at my fuming and at my response. He put both
hands at the back of my shoulders and steered me to a high chair. “How about you
watch the pro first, what do you think?”
“I’m
not the one to boast, but I’ve fed myself for the last five years. Not to
mention I have Dash.”
“This
isn’t about your cooking skills, Ryne. It’s about mine and I honestly owe you
one – I forgot to let you eat, your flu – ”
“Speaking
of flu,” I replied happily. “I think it’s gone.”
“It
is.” Maybe it’s because of Xav.” he said randomly, pulling out pans, plates and
a spatula. I turned my chair side to side, feeling like a kid. “Yeah. With a
face like that, she could cure cancer.”
He
laughed. “You should’ve seen the list of all the guys madly in love with her.”
he shook his head in obvious admiration, while turning the stove on and started
searching for the ingredients. ”She doesn’t like any one of them, though.”
“She doesn’t? Why?” I asked, perplexed. A person
like her must’ve been in more than one relationship, or five. Sky just
shrugged, flipping the oil bottle in the air and catching it repeatedly. “Xavia
Walsh has someone else in mind.” he turned his back on me then, pouring oil and
started sorting the other ingredients for the dish. I stared at the back of his
head, mouth open.
“Xavia
likes you?” That’s just so - shocking! I mean, if they had babies,
they would be like cherubs straight from the gates of heaven. God, have mercy.
They’re too perfect for each other.
“She,
err, told me about it.” he vaguely
answered. Honestly. A blind person
could tell that he was lying. I said to him, “Sky, please don’t insult me. I
know that you know that I know that you’re lying.” he stopped his spatula,
posed in mid-air.
“You
know that what?”
“You’re lying! That’s the point.” I
answered. “She didn’t tell you –
Xavia doesn’t seem like that kind of person. She probably –”
“Ryne! Will you just… stop?” he
finished meekly. Oh my God. I knew it. “What did she do exactly?” I asked,
piqued.
“Why in the world are you asking?”
he complained, obviously wanting to change the topic. “I can’t cook properly with
you hounding on my back – ”
“I’m just curious! Who wouldn’t be?
And I don’t have other means of entertainment, so – ”
“It’s private, okay?” I can sense that talking about it made him feel
really uneasy, maybe even nervous, and I felt more and more intrigued. If only
there was some way that he could tell me – Oh.
Yes. Yes, there is. I thought evilly. This is going to work perfectly.
“I wonder what Mr. Mafia would say
if he saw us right now.” As soon as I said the magic word, he froze. I smiled
triumphantly, though he couldn’t see it. Nevertheless, he answered, “His main
priority is to keep you safe and you can’t exactly escape now.” That is true, sadly. Before leaving, Xavia
tinkered with the door and connected it to a monitored password com on the wall
right next to the door. I sighed in mock sadness. But maybe not that mock, but whatever.
“Yeah, you’re right. I wish I could
have a bit more fun, though. I can give him a good feedback and – ”
He finally turned around to face me,
his eyes tortured. “You’re a devil, you are.” I just laughed at my victory and
prodded him to spill everything. He continued cooking, the sounds of clinking
metals echoed in the small kitchen of the suite.
“Well? I’m waiting.”
He hesitated for a minute more
before he tried to answer. “Xav and I were alone then – her friends left to see
something, a movie, I think. And, uhh…”
“That’s it, go on.” I said,
encouraging him. I told you one of my best qualities was being nosy, didn’t I?”
He covered the pan with the lid and
faced me, his hands on the countertop. I didn’t have any idea of what he was
cooking but it smells delicious.
Soon. Sky tried again,
“She told me some things – ”
“What
things?”
He
actually groaned. “Please don’t make this harder than it already is, I beg
you.” I felt so gifted at that moment. He continued, “She told me things, and before I could respond, she
– she – ” I can see beads of sweat on
his forehead from where I’m sitting. Good God, I’ve never seen him like this
before.
“She
kissed you, didn’t she?”
His
face flushed. “I don’t know why the hell you are entertained at my personal
expense.” he turned back to the stove. “Show’s over.”
“You
like her, don’t you?”
He
whirled at me. “No, I don’t! She’s like a little sister to me. I don’t
reciprocate her feelings.” I pursed my lips at that. I knew it wasn’t exactly
true. I heard their laughing earlier and nobody can deny that Sky likes his
“little sister.” Or maybe it’s just me.
I
felt myself frown. I suddenly felt very alone right then. I stifled the urge to
sigh and forced my tone to be upbeat. “What are you cooking?”
“Enchiladas.
And I got some Monopoly cookies.”
“Monopoly cookies?” I’m not sure I heard that brand
before.
“They’re
my recipe. Don’t you want to eat cookies while playing Monopoly?” I smiled
slightly.
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