I closed the door behind me, kicking my shoes off to the side and dumping my bag on the dining table. I rested my head against the swampy couch pillow, staring at the ceiling, thoughtless. 'What a day…' I murmured to myself.
'Hey,' my head jerked upwards, alarmed, only to see Keon with his shoulder leant on the door frame of the bathroom. His black hair was ruffled into a messy bedhead above his undercut, and he wore Adidas sweats with a graphic jumper over the top. He had an irritatingly complacent smile swept across his face. 'How was your first day at school?'
'You're so excited for me to come to school with you, it's disgusting.' I rolled my eyes and exhaled a sigh, continuing on. 'It was… actually decent. Confusing, but decent.' He shrugged carelessly as he swept his arm across his nose. 'Why are you even home right now? Dad told me you have football training overtime on Thursdays?' I added.
The corner of his mouth lifted. 'That's only every second Thursday: Thursday B,' he shrugged, pressing his lips together, 'but since today's Thursday A, we have training during lunch break instead. So, I had a free period.'
My shoulders dropped slightly, exhaling a small breath of air down to my chest, 'Lucky.' The sound of the door jerking open vibrated from my left. My head turned to Keon, who was sliding his feet into his 95's sneakers tiredly. 'Hey- where are you going?' His head lamely rotated in my direction. 'Buying dinner. You wanna come?'
'Why are you buying dinner? I thought…'
'--You thought dad and Aimee would be cooking and making dinner for us like one happy family?' Keon's mouth was set in a hard line as he shook his head, 'dad told me to buy you and Felix dinner tonight since Aimee and dad are working late tonight.'
I felt my jaw tighten. 'Wow. What a great dad.' I mumbled tersely. 'He's never there for anyone.'
'Oh-- I forgot to mention. I'm on my way to pick him up from preschool right now.'
Keon gave me a lopsided grin and squinted his eyes at me. 'We're also picking Felix up if you're coming, that is.'
And with that, I slipped on a jacket that I had vigorously tugged from my thronged suitcase and left the flat with Keon.
To inform you about my brother and I's relationship, Keon and I are close. Throughout my mum and dad's journey together, Keon and I were like the fragmented strings dangling at the end of their relationship that had confined them together. My brother and I were bystanders alongside our parents' divorce; we did nothing, despite the fact that we were just kids. Dad had, in fact, been having an affair with an American woman who I now call "mom" or more preferably, Aimee, and who he later decided to marry. My dad was previously never such an inconceivably abhorrent dick, but somehow, he had thrown himself down the wrong path. Keon and I, being the only ones who were still the glue that held our family together, stayed together. But if truth be told, my mum left four years after my dad did, where Keon and I began living with our grandparents.
Nevertheless, during an extensive and prolonged visit to my dad and his newly made family, Keon had received an unexpected positioning offer to train in a local football team - which genuinely meant nothing to me, as I assumed Keon wouldn't take it. But for him, this opened a new door, which concluded in his decision to move to Staten Island completely and labour towards his entrance at an Ivy League college. And so I was left alone, up until my grandparents had enrolled themself into an aged care home and I was lamentably forced to move to Staten Island, too.
Keon and I strolled mostly in silence until we made a left and had suddenly arrived at, what I assumed, was Felix's preschool. It was a rented space from a church on the corner of a quiet suburban street. 'So this is where the kid goes for childcare,' I blandly commented, 'It's in a church?'
'Yep,' Keon nodded his head and lunged up the stairs, gesturing his hands for me to follow, 'the teachers and the parents are really something- they're lovely. You'll start to look forward to picking him up.'
I tweaked a brow at him. 'What are you, a grandmother?' I questioned heartily. Keon laughed in return and dismissed it, as we both entered the twin doors of the church quietly. The babel of kids screaming, footsteps against the hollow floor, parents hollering for their kids echoed tumultuously, where the smell of cheese-toasties and mothballs lingered faintly in the air.
Promptly, Keon threw his arms out and crouched down. 'Felix!' he smiled, genuinely. I watched as Felix gleefully cantered into Keon's embrace. He was a small stubby white kid, though his skin was rather pinkish than pale. The kid had greenish-grey eyes and softened crimpy hair the same colour as an almond. Keon wrapped his arms around Felix as he raised his cheeks. 'How was your day, Felix? 'You have fun?' he asked energetically, shaking Felix's small shoulders a bit. Keon eventually, subconsciously left me alone to talk to the nearby parents that hoarded around their kids, who persisted to play with each other.
As I stood in the corner like the anti-social girl I am, Keon called me over with a hand gesture. 'Hey V, do you mind ticking Felix's name off the roll, over there,' he pointed his index finger towards a small table where a woman and a man sat, comfortably sipping at their mugs. My shoulders dropped and I lazily huffed, glaring back at Keon. 'No,' I silently mouthed from across the room. Keon nodded convincingly, mouthing back a silent: "yes". Annoyed and suddenly shy, I sauntered over to the roll mark table as I shoved my hands in my pockets again. As I slowly approached the woman turned her gaze in my direction, as well as the man beside her.
'I-I'm here to sign out for Felix Anders…' I stammered, flustered. The woman dipped her head to glare at me through her glasses, squinting a bit. The man frowned at me curiously, repositioning his seat as he took another sip of his coffee. 'I'm Felix's sister,' I added, 'I just recently moved to Staten Island too, because…' my voice came to a halt as I realised the complexity of what I was about to say. 'Well, it's complicated.' I said nervously, attempting to flash them a grin.
The woman pressed her lips in a firm line, as the man leant forward, resting his elbows upon the table as he set aside his coffee mug. 'In no intended commentary of racism at all, miss,' he said, trailing on as he spoke, 'how could you be Felix's sister? As he is caucasian, that is.'
I narrowed my eyes. 'Excuse me?'
The woman beside him suddenly jutted in, her hands outspread in wariness. 'Before you make assumptions, our intentions are not to be racist. It's just, in this situation, Felix Anders appears to be white- on the other hand, you are Asian,' she steadily stated, 'we're just trying to make sure Felix goes home with his rightful guardian. Perhaps you're mixed up?'
Oh.
A laugh escaped my lips as touched the base of my neck. 'See, we're step-siblings. That's my brother with Felix over there.' I pointed a finger in Keon and Felix's direction, where the two of them were playing about with the other fellow kids alongside their parents.
The woman then gasped in shock and slapped the man beside her, chuckling out of embarrassment. She swallowed hard and gritted her teeth. 'We are so forgetful, this is Keon's sister!' she sweatily beamed at me and shot me an apologetic smile, as the man did too. 'Sincerest apologies, dear. Just sign this and you're free to go. Say hi to Keon for us.'
My hands shakingly took a blue pen that sat in a jar beside me, signing my signature and drawing a tick in Felix's box. I gave the man and woman a grin and a quiet "thank you", before I scurried off to Keon's side. 'We can leave now, I just signed Felix out.' I said impatiently, attempting to appear ecstatic in front of the parents. Keon took one glance at me and forthwith nodded his head, slinging Felix's kitten-sized bag over his broadened shoulder- which was also where all the mums had been touching him in a playful manner as they spoke. Together, we exited the church, greeted with a warmish-cool breeze. 'You know,' I started, 'the people at the desk didn't think I was Felix's sister... because I'm Asian.'
Keon stopped in his tracks, his brows knitted together to make a creased line in between. 'Really…?!' he asked in sudden shock. I nodded in reply and chewed on my lip, pretending not to care.
'It doesn't really matter though,' I said with a sigh, 'it's not like I actually want to be this little brat's sister anyway.' In the corner of my eye, Keon's attention on me worriedly lingered longer than it should have, as usual. Eventually, he returned his gaze forward and I allowed myself to breath.
We walked through the somewhat empty street, where the roads and houses were washed over with a tinted pinkish-orange glow. I gazed off into the distance, looking at the intensely vivid sunset that painted the horizon in the distance, feeling the debilitated sun deluging atop my exposed skin. The faint sound of chatter and restaurant music played in the background, alongside a soft gust of wind that came and left every now and then. Keon and I talked about nothing completely important, we talked about Sydney to Staten Island, homework, what to eat, my grudge against our sonofabitch dad and reminisced mum, whilst Felix quietly walked next to us helplessly holding Keon's hand.
'What do you want to eat?' Keon suddenly snapped playfully, punching my shoulder. 'There are few Chinese takeaway places here, oh-- Wendy's is around the corner.' Keon hoisted Felix up into his arms, 'What do you feel like eating, Felix?'
Genuinely excited, Felix retorted back vibrantly. 'A burger' he grinned impertinently.
'Wendy's it is.' Keon smirked, nodding his head at me.
We made our way to Wendy's, which was implanted on a slightly busier street next to the main road. Wendy's was surprisingly busy inside, where people were lined up from the door to the counter, and where people sat table after table. 'What do you guys want? I'll take your orders to the front,' Keon said, placing Felix in the seat opposite to mine.
'Wait- don't leave me alone with him,' I pointed to Felix, who was sitting there innocently. 'I'll just go with you, Felix is fine on his own.' Keon gave me a quizzical smile and threw his head back.
'What?! We're not leaving Felix on his own, he's a child.' Keon retorted back.
'Fine,' I huffed and snatched Keon's wallet out of his hands, 'I'll go pay. Now tell me what you want.'
Keon sat himself down and leant over the table, 'Just get Felix the jr. cheeseburger' Keon nodded, reaching his hand across the table to ruffle Felix's curly hair. 'And I'll get a double bacon jalapeño cheeseburger.'
I winced in disgust, wrinkling my nose at the sound of it. 'How can you eat that? It sounds mortifyingly huge,' I said, curling my upper lip.
I began waiting in line beside arguing families and couples who passionately kissed their way through the line. As the line dialled its way down to me, I stepped up to the cashier and stared down at the menu. Staring at the menu, my lips pursed at the names of each menu item.
Wendy's must have a reputation for permitting people with diabetes.
'Um-- hi, can I get a jr. cheeseburger and a double bacon jalapeño cheeseburger,' I said hesitantly, still deciding my order.
'I'm guessing they're not all for you, right?'
The cashier's familiar voice uttered in front of me, as my head tilted up steadily. Before me, I saw Dmitri, who wore Wendy's uniform; the bold red shirt and black cap. I had to put some effort into not laughing. 'H-hey?' I replied, cocking my head to the side with a sceptical smile.
'Funny seeing you here,' his grinned, his shoulders contracting as he relaxed his posture, 'Of all places, I didn't expect to see you here.'
Dmitri's smile was so shameless. He stood in front of me, towering over myself and the counter. His cheeks were tinged a faint red and he had light drops of sweat atop his forehead, beneath his black visor. 'Are you tired? You look… worn out,' I blurted out, unaware of the words that had just left my lips. His forehead puckered, giving me a tight-lipped smile.
'It's just hot in here,' he mumbled, then returning his gaze downwards to the cash register. 'Ah- by the way, that will all add up to six dollars, fifty.' he beamed up at me, tapping his fingers along the bench. I slid a note and a few coins out of Keon's wallet, tossing it across the bench. Dmitri gave me a perplexed eye. 'Is that… your wallet?'
I glanced at the wallet, then back at Dmitri. 'No, it's my broth--'
'Mitty, is that you?' I turned my head to the side, only to see an excited Keon, his doe eyes widened and his arm extended out to playfully punch Dmitri's shoulder. Dmitri suddenly broke into a weirdly doughty smirk, his eyes lazed and his shoulders tensed up alongside his neck. 'So this is what you do when training is cancelled?' Keon chuckled, dipping his fingers into his pockets as he observed the interior of Wendy's.
'Yeah, I work part-time here- it's harder than you think, I'll tell you that,' Dmitri leered jokingly.
I raised a brow, staring between the two as they talked unusually comfortable with one another. 'So, you guys know each other…?' I asked our curiosity, pointing a finger between the two.
Keon bared his teeth into a broad grin, 'We play football together. He's a year younger, though- quite the star of our team.' My head turned to Dmitri cluelessly, who stood there awkwardly by the cash register, rubbing his hand by the nape of his neck half-timorously. In the corner of my eye, Keon's head swished back and forth from Dmitri and me, confused. 'Do… do you guys know each other?' he stammered, an upcoming arise of excitement slightly raised in his voice.
Dmitri and I remained silent for a moment, exchanging bemusing expressions with each other. 'We talked for a bit at the lunch break,' I said, forcing a laugh, 'I got lost, and I found Dmitri--' before I could finish, Dmitri shakily cut in.
'I-Ivy found me in the office,' he clashed, giving me a tense look that screamed: "what the hell?". Keon rested his elbow against the bench, raising a brow. God, luckily there was no one behind us. 'Since she was new, I, you know, gave her a helping hand.'
Half-ashamed and apologetic for forgetting to retain his unique secret, I nodded and forced a laugh. 'That's… that's right, I walked into the student office. You know, since I'm new.' I added, staring at Dmitri remorsefully.
Keon cleared his throat, pursing his lips as he turned to Dmitri. 'So that's where you were during the lunch break… Do you know your mates were looking for you?' he asked with a playful punch, chuckling huskily breath. 'They were trying to find you for football training this lunch.'
Dmitri's breathe hitched quietly as I watched him. 'Sorry, I um- forgot to tell you guys, I had a meeting with the head sporting coach in her office,' he replied, furrowing his eyebrows, 'so, I couldn't make it.' Keon shook his head and slapped Dmitri on the back friskily.
'Don't apologise. We know you're the coach's favourite.' Keon joked, proceeding to talk about their upcoming matches, games and training sessions, which were things I was clearly clueless in. Uninterested and partially vexed, I returned back to our table leaving Keon behind, who persisted to make conversation with Dmitri (or who he dubbed, "Mitty"). I sat myself down with Felix, who had been left alone (what a hypocrite Keon is). I let out a sigh and slumped back into my seat.