" Damn. You guys look bloody terrible..."
Sera slowly pulls the nail out of Syd's shoulder before she began using her ability on him, recovering the injuries.
" AAAH! ..."
Syd moans horribly.
"... Ewww... I can't imagine how it's like to have a nail stuck under your skin..."
Sera said, wiping off his blood with a white damp cloth.
" Well, couldn't help. That bastard can drop anything down from the sky."
Syd said.
" Then How did you kill him? "
Mickey, who's driving, asked.
"We shot him in the nuts LMAOOO"
Syd and Toshi start laughing, Mickey also laughs at that too.
" Gross..."
Sera commented.
After she finished healing all of them, she settles next to Mickey on the passenger seat.
They're driving a white van, so there's a huge area at the back, connected to the front seats, enough to put 7 people in it. To help you see the picture, thinking of a van that at the back has 2 sides of the seats opposite to each other, like the van that they used to fill in the Swat team or police operator.
" Take this."
Mickey hands her a chocolate bar, He knows that healing all of them, it drains out Sera's energy a lot.
" No. It's fat."
".... You're already fat, just take it."
" I'M WHAT?"
" Just kidding,"
"...."
That poker face irritates her so much, but she took it anyway.
" Heh. In the end, you can't stand against your urge."
Mickey grins, while his eyes still looking on the road.
Sera didn't reply but chewing.
At the back, Jody and Roxxy are sitting on the opposite side of Syd and Toshi with Sally between the boys.
" Jody, how was your leg?"
Syd asked.
Jody shook her leg, then replied while she's also chewing a chocolate bar too.
"Better. Sera has connected them back again. What about you?"
" Still painful. I hope it gets better with time."
He said.
" Syd, why don't you have some snacks? I don't see you have had anything since we got on the car."
Jody asked in worry, Roxxy next to her glared at Jody in ambiguous eyesights.
" Save it for later. Because while we were leaving the place, I found some interesting items."
Syd pulls out a sandwich from his pocket.
"... How did you get it? "
Jody asked.
" I stole it from the shelf."
Syd proudly answered.
"...Stole it? "
Jody gazed at her partner in disappointment.
Toshi looked her in the eye and said:
".... Well... We already have killed somebody so things like this… 🤷♀️"
"...hm..you got a point though."
" Brother... How? When did you steal it?!... I don't even know?!..."
Sally asked in excitement.
" Shh, 🤫 it's a secret, Brat. I did it when nobody sees me."
" HOW!?"
"I call it the advanced misdirection techniques."
"... A-Advanced misdirection? "
" Yes." He said, moving his face closer to the kid.
" The more attention you pay, the easier you'll be in control. The more you look, the less you see. Like.This."
😲
Sally gasped.
It's her wallet that he's showing to her face.
When did he take it?!
"...."
Even Jody also being blown away by that. Even she's been observing them having a conversation, she still doesn't know when did he manage to take it out?
" and now you're amazed by how I took it away from you that you forgot I also put a penny on your shoulder."
Sally turns her face on the shoulder, she sees a coin. That even shocks her.
" !!!! "
Syd took out the coin, he put it back on Sally's wallet before returning it back to her.
" And when you think you have already got them back, it makes you forget that I took your sunglasses too."
" Huh?!..."
Sally looks up, sees him wearing her sunglasses...
Gasp.
The kid is very excited.
" Brother! How can you do it?!.. Please teach me!"
" Hehehehe...*puts off sunglasses* No, Bitch."
" Brother, pleeeease"
" 100 bucks and I'll think about it again."
" Syd... You can't just teach her to do this kind of thing..."
Jody said.
" Nah, I won't," Syd replied.
" Anyway, What I got here, is not just a normal sandwich. It's a "Vegan" Chicken Sandwich."
He took over all the attention from everyone.
" Oh no..."
Jody and Sera had a couple of ideas about what Syd is thinking.
" What?!... Real shit?! "
Toshi is excited, He moved closer to Syd.
" Why did you take it?? "
Sera turns back, asking.
" Uhh, I dunno... I mean... The veganism is now like...kinda thing on the internet...Ya know, like Peta or something like that..."
" Peta...Pft. more like Beta. Ain't even brave enough to eat animals like Lmao."
Mickey chuckles.
" What had to do with that??"
Sera gazed at Mickey, twisting her eyebrows.
Syd then says:
" And since being an open-minded person as I am. I think... I would give it a shot."
" I heard they said it tastes like real chicken... " Toshi said.
"... Really?"
" I dunno man."
" Who has ever had it? Anyone here?"
"...."
No one in the van has ever had it.
" Alright then."
"...."
Chew...Chew...Chew...Chew...
"..."
"...."
"......."
".....How's it? "
Jody asked.
"..."
".... *Chew* *Chew*..."
" You're like you're having an existential crisis dude, what the fuck. Lemme try."
Toshi took a bite.
"...."
".... *Chew*...*Chew*....*Chew*...."
"... Hmm...(*Visible confusion*) It tastes like Tofu...Not gonna lie..."
Toshi said.
" Let me have some..."
Jody took a bite.
"....*Chew* *Chew* *Chew*... It's not that bad...Why are you silent???..."
She mumbled.
" Roxxy, want some?"
"...."
Roxxy said, she almost spit it shortly after taking a bite.
"... Eww, I'd rather have a real chicken instead of this."
She instantly judged it, mercilessly before she said:
" Seriously? This is what Vegan eats? Like for real??... "
Syd took back the sandwich and started to split it apart.
"... Looks like this is a fake chicken...It's soggy."
He stirred the tofu piece out the sandwich, picked it up, and ate it.
" Yeah... It's not bad actually...*Chew* *Chew* *Chew*... But...*Chew* *Chew*... It ain't the chicken, You know what I'm saying *Chew* It's pretty vegetable smell... *Chew*..."
Toshi took another piece of vegan chicken and ate it.
"...Yeah... This is just seasoned Tofu...*Chew* *Chew* .....Nah... I won't eat that."
He said.
" Why do people make these when they're an actual chicken ready to serve like... *takes another bite*... *Chewing*... I-I would eat it...*Chew* If I have nothing left in the fridge... *Chew*... But... Nah...a real chicken would be nice..."
Syd wiped his mouth.
" Texture...3/10 ... Seasoned... 69/420... The weird smell... 8/10... *Chew* *Chew*... Overall I rate it 5/10... Well, actually Vegan is good though. We don't like to hurt animals...even though the new research suggested that plants can also know when they're gonna be eaten like Lmao, what a big bruh moment to Peta"
Both he and Toshi chuckle.
" Honestly I don't have anything against Veganism or---"
" Yes, you have."
Both Sera and Jody said it simultaneously.
" Yes, you have, Syd. You stand against anything."
Sera said.
" What? I really mean it!"
" Does Vegan food being a hit in Thailand too? "
Jody asked.
Syd shook his head.
" Meh. Veganism in Thailand ain't that serious like in Europe or America. What do you want from a country that eats insect, huh?"
"... Really? So it's real? "
Jody looks shocked.
" Yeh." Syd nods,
" You should have tried it once in your life. Back in my home town, there are like local street food near our house. And they sell shits like that. I miss the time when we went there to buy like 3 bags of fried insects, right Roxxy? "
" I couldn't say it better myself."
She said.
" So...you eat... cockroach?"
" What Jody-No! Disgusting."
"....."
"......"
"... But you said you eat insect..."
"Yeah, but It doesn't mean I should eat a cockroach. We more have like a higher class than that. Silkworms, grasshoppers, crickets...like that. At least They're better than this sandwich In my opinion. We even have a proper product in the supermarket."
Syd said.
" That's why we were so chill back when there was locust invasion in Thailand. We fucking eat them until we wiped out half of its population."
Said Roxxy.
" Syd is right, I've already tried them. They're better than you think. As a fellow western people, I'll say don't judge a food by its cover. They're actually good."
Mickey claims.
" You're always supportive, bro, I love you."
" I love you too…"
Mickey replied Syd.
" What are you, fucking gay?"
Toshi twisted his face, showing a visible confusion.
But that's just right there before Syd moved closer to Toshi and... Kiss on his cheek.
*Kiss*
"....."
"...."
They both instantly burst out a laugh.
" AHAHAHAHAHAH, This is fuck! I'm outta this shit."
Mickey laughs.
Syd wiped his tears.
" BRO. That's fucking gay LMAO"
Toshi said.
Observing from here, Roxxy cheeks turned a little red.
".... You like staring at dude kissing? "
" !?!?!? "
She startled.
Looks like Jody noticed her.
"... What- No! "
"...."
Jody seems not to believe it.
"..."
".... No! Hey! You're misunderstanding!"
Not knowing anything, her cheeks turn even redder.
Jody turns back and continues to the conversation.
" That's... Interesting...When this ends, I think I will have a vacation in Thailand again.
She said.
Toshi then suggested something up.
"... Great! I think this is the most appropriate time to teach Jody some thai101 don't you think?"
He turns to Syd.
".... Hmm okay..."
" How about how curse words in Thailand-"
"I don't even know anything and you already take me to the advanced level?"
Jody respectfully declined.
" Yeah... Man, Jody is right. Some Thai curse words contain a lot of background context. If she doesn't understand the culture in the first place, she'll get confused."
Mickey added.
" Don't you have something more creative than that?"
Sera asserted.
Syd turned to the front and asked Sera.
"... What? You wanna learn too? "
"... Well, yeah... I'm kinda interested."
"... Hmm... Since you two don't know any Shits about Thailand... Then I should just start from the time you step outta airport...umm-hm, yes. We should start right there."
Syd continues.
" At the time local Thais see you, You will hear the word ''Farang'' a lot."
" What's that 'Farang' mean? "
Jody asked.
" It's our word refers only to white westerners."
Roxxy replied, then she added:
" It's a word that also means 'guava' "
" Guava? A fruit? "
Sera asked.
" Yeah. You know, like a word with multiple meanings."
Syd then continues.
" And when you step out of the street. People will call you 'Farang' no matter what. Whenever you be, in the toilet, in the club, on the beach, on the mountain... I don't know exactly where this word comes from... There're many theories but I remember one, It's from the ancient times when our country is usually associated with France... You know, imagine like... People from France... They have like blonde hair and white skin and shit. So the word got changed by the time from France to Farang..."
" Wow. Hey, but my hair is not blonde like Jody--"
" You're still a Farang, Sera. Because you are still white people."
Mickey said.
" Additionally, Some foreigners thought that the word Farang is kinda racist... Both of you may feel weird for being called like that for the first time but we don't have any bad intentions towards you... You know, we're just too lazy to call your name. Especially, when you're the only white foreigner among us. If we really have a bad intention, we'll just add 'I (pronounce 'eye' ) ' so it becomes "I farang " ."
"I Farang? " Jody repeated.
" Yep. However, since you both are woman. It will be ' E ' farang. I refers to male, E refers to a female. But both of them means in the same way but for different gender."
"... So... If that people rudely call me and Sera, they'll say "E-farang" but If they say it to Mickey it'll be " I-farang"
" Yes. If someone who doesn't know you before calls you like that, It's like 80% disrespect. They are magnificent words. If we add "i" or "E" towards your name, that means we have a problem now. Like I call him *intense voice* ' i Toshi! ' "
Syd turns and shouts to Toshi's face.
" That's disrespectful if I don't know him before. To compare to your culture, It's like when you wanna have a problem with someone and you shout out their name in loud voice like "HEY, YOU!". Adding 'I' or 'E' is not as severe as calling him 'Toshi, you mother fucker' but also not soft as "TOSHI!" It's in the middle... You know. But you can adjust the destruction by the intensity of your voice."
" What about other races?"
Sera asked.
"If you're black, we'll just call you 'Kon-dam'. 'Kon' means human and 'dam' means black. So it's "Black people". Or you may say 'Farang dam' "
"The same pattern goes for Japanese. We call white ass crackers "Haku-Jin" and black person "Koku-Jin". Haku is white, Koku is black."
" How about Toshi? He's Asian, what do you call him?"
Jody asked.
" If they are Asians, we don't have a specific word for them. Because we're also Asian, It's gonna be weird for us to call Asians, Asian people. So... We generally call them by the country they're from."
Roxxy replied, instead.
Syd nods.
" Toshi is Japanese, so we call him "Kon yee-poon". "yee-poon" means Japanese. If I wanna disrespect him I'll just call him " I-yee-poon" or to make it ruder we changed Yee-poon to Yoon. You know like.. Shorten it a bit. So it's
" I-Yoon" which is a racist word to call Japanese for us."
Jody turns her face to Roxxy.
"... Oh... I see... So when I want to
Shut him up from calling me a cripple, I'll just say 'I Syd' is that correct? "
" Make it pure Thai. His Thai name is phai-thoon, so it's 'I phai-soon'."
" WHAT"
" I phai-thoon! "
" Shut the fuck up cripple or I'll break your legs apart."
" I-phai-thoon!"
" I shouldn't have taught you. Now I regret it.
" How to say Syd is racist in thai?"
Sera asked Roxxy, but Syd cut her off.
" Shut the fuck up bitch or I'll never teach you again."
.
.
.
.
.
30 minutes later; 5:00 P.m. At the Safehouse.
"..."
Nothing that Sally is very uncomfortable by the surroundings, Jody pad her head.
" Don't be scared, Kid."
She said.
"....."
Sally moved closer to Syd Barrett like she's scared of Jody.
But Sally seems not to trust anyone but Syd Barrett, she always sticks with him all the way here.
" Hey. Brat. Go talk to my sister at the table. She will ask so some questions so that we can help you track down the people we will beat them asses for you, alright?"
Syd bent down, patting her head.
" Don't be afraid. She's my own sister, My real sister, Crawling out from the same womb as me."
"..."
"......"
" Or you wanna go back to the market?"
" NO!... I-I don't want to be taken back again..."
" Then go talk to my sister, Brat. I'll be following you later."
Sally immediately nods and runs to Roxxy and Toshi on the dining table.
"... How about me?"
" You can go rest now, Jody. Go watch TV or do any shits you want. Or If you can play some music, I believe Mickey is enjoying his Gibson custom right now."
" Why don't we all group up and listen to Sally?"
"No, Jody. That Brat still doesn't familiar with you guys. too many people will put too much tension on the brat. Roxxy is one of the best info collectors and Toshi is one of the best liar-detectors we've got. And I need to be there to make the Brat feels comfortable so that her memory won't be messed up."
".... I see...."
5 minutes after that, Syd Barrett had gone to interrogate Sally. Leaving Jody in the living room.
(... Maybe I should take a shower...)
She then heads to her room... No... More like the girl's room. Because they have split the place where they'll sleep at night.
The boys will sleep in the living room, the girls on the upstairs with Sally of course.
Due to her disease condition which needs a caution at all steps, Jody decided to finish any daily activities before others so that she wouldn't waste their time because this ain't her own house.
After a shower, Jody came out with a blue shirt and black pants.
"....."
"......."
".... I got nothing to do... Maybe I should practice the swapping technique... But I can't do it without a coach (Syd)...."
".... Maybe I should go watch some TV..."
When think like that, Jody walks down the stairs and goes for the living room.
There's a soft Sofa and a big smart TV over there.
She connected the TV to the internet.
*Sits on the Sofa*
That's the same time Sera appears in her shorts behind her.
" What are you watching?"
She asked,
" ... Random stuff."
Jody answered.
Sera came across and sat next to her. Jody sees that Sera also had a bowl of yogurt in her hand, she eats it while watching the news with her.
[ BBC news reporter's voice continues speaking in the background. ]
"..... Wait... This is where we went"
Sera spotted that they were reporting the incident that happened in the Swansea open market. Where they had a fight in the previous chapters.
{ News reporter voice }
" Police first assumed that the terrorists or nuisance group caused these injuries, However, experts are more suspected that the incident may happen because of the impetuousness of ability users since nothing was robbed and said there's no point for terrorists to cause harm in the place like this.... (Continues)..."
" Bullshit. Syd stole a sandwich and they ain't even realized?"
Sera said while ate her yogurt.
" I think just one sandwich is nothing compared to what we did."
Jody argued back.
"... Hmm... You're right...*eats another spoon of yogurt*... But Thrak surely covered up all..."
(.... They really are influential...)
Jody thought.
" Anyway. Jody..."
"? "
Sera looks to the left, looks to the right.
Making sure there's no one around them.
" I have found something long ago. Since we're still in England. I don't know if you already know this... But..."
Sera slowly lent her iPad to Jody.
"....?"
Jody receives it, looks on the screen.
" !? "
Sera can tell Jody is interested in it.
It's the small article reports on this strange website.
"The fire accident in Barrett's mansion"
"... Where did you get it from? This ain't even on google. "
Jody surprisingly asked
"Since the day I met him. If you're not dark web users, there's no way you can know it."
".... I see..."
Jody kept reading it all, in the end, the same question Sera has had before pops up.
"... This is just a normal accident that could have to happen to any houses...why don't I see any report on the news or anything?"
" Right? That's what I suspect. I've known the anonymous who post this. He has a lot of credits and most of his article always became true like leaking the evidence of Hollywood actors raping younger actresses, the secret sex tapes of USA president's daugther and many more... So... If this thing is not fake, then I think maybe... Just... Maybe... Barrett family is trying to cover up this thing from the public. For some reason..."
Sera explained her thoughts to Jody.
" Could it be that there's more than just an 'Accident' ?"
Jody asked as she still staring at the only picture of burning luxurious mansion.
" I don't know. But I find it highly unlikely."
Sera said.
" Could it be that this has something to involve with Thrak?"
" I don't know."
" Should we ask him directly?"
" No, fricking way. Please don't be a Lizard, Jody. Do you really think that he'll properly answer us? I think a person like him will tell us that this is fake when it's actually not."
"....."
Sera's got a point.
"... Or maybe... If I convince him enough, He'll tell me? "
" You're saying...that you'll do this on your own?"
"... Well, I'm kinda curious. Or you aren't curious?"
"...that's..."
Sera didn't reply but ate her yogurt.
Suddenly, Jody closed down the screen as She noticed that Mickey Mannix has come in the house with an electric guitar in his hands.
Sera also sees him, so they stopped talking about it.
" What'cha doing?"
He asked the girls.
"... Nothing. Just watching some random stuff."
Sera replied.
" What'cha having?"
" This? " Sera lifted up her bowl.
" Yeah."
" Yogurt."
" Yogurt?..." He replied in a surprised tone.
".... What? "
" What kind of yogurt?"
"... No fat."
" No, No. Siggi's, brown cow, Racheal's... Or? "
" Stonyfield."
" Huh? Can I have some?"
"....."
Sera looks like she doesn't want to. But she gave him anyway.
"....."
"......."
" um-hmm... It's pretty delicious. In German, we'd say 'Lecker' "
He wipes all the yogurt on the spoon into his mouth.
"....."
He took another one.
" Hmm."
" Well, Can I have it back now?"
Sera asked politely but filled with sarcasm.
"... Well, look. I didn't mean to irritate you. But... Actually, I have a digestive problem for a while now. You know, I rarely poop. So I've been looking for some yogurt to eat but don't know what brand should I have"
* proceeds to eat more*
💢💢💢
This is irritating.
Intentional or not, But Sera doesn't happy with him bringing up pooping stuff while she's eating.
" Stop. Hey! another 3 spoons and you'll empty the bowl. Give it back!"
" You could just use your power to create another bowl of yogurt...but Fine..."
He gave it back.
" Did you try looking for some fibers to eat? Like Broccoli or something like that? "
Jody asked him.
" Uh... Well... I don't actually like veggies...so..."
" Have you tried boiling it? Or you just eat it raw?"
"... Raw. "
"... That's why it's hard to eat. Try adding some salt while boiling. Or maybe use some dressings."
" Dressing? Oh, no. Jody. I don't wanna be fat like Sera-"
" EXCUSE ME 😠???"
Sera stood up, showing her sexy body covering in a crop top and shorts.
" THIS IS FAT??? "
" .... "
Mickey and Jody ignore her and continue talking to each other.
" You can make a healthy dressing though. I heard you also can cook."
" Not as good as Syd...but enough to survive a day, I would say."
" You find some fresh basil, garlic, almonds, zucchini, apple cider vinegar... add some olive oil salt and pepper... And blends it all together. It's easy and healthy."
"... Hmm, interesting... I'll try making it. Thanks, Jody. Uh, you appear to be good at this stuff, you're fitness trainer or something? "
" When I'm still in quarantine there's nothing to do so I studied some stuff then it turns out like this."
" Hmm, No wonder why your body shape looks good. Not gonna lie."
" HEY, YOU EVEN LISTENING?"
Sera tried to cut Mickey off but got even madder when Mickey said:
" You don't even have to use a thick makeup like someone around here. I respect that."
" GRRRRRR!!!! 😡😡😡😡🤬"
"... Oh shit, Hey...WTF why you so mad?? Here, have some Yogurt."
Mickey picks the same spoon and puts it in Sera's mouth.
"..."
That calms her down a bit.
"..."
Sera sat back down. Mickey then proceeds to walk away.
" Jeez, what's wrong with him. Why he always aims for me... I don't understand *Eats* I never see he does that to you... He should have something with me. Bloody hell."
" Don't be hot-headed...Sera.Syd said that Mickey once had a bad memory with rich people... I don't know if this is involved or not... But..."
"...What?"
" Ain't that the same spoon Mickey had already licked?"
As Jody asked, Sera's eyes are completely frozen in shock.
"..."
She slowly brings it out... Starring at it... Breathes heavily...
" MAAAAAAANiiiiiiiiiiiiiXXXX!!"
Her loud voice goes all over the house.
" WTF, bitch Why are you screaming?"
Mickey walks out the corner.
Seraphina Gilmour rises. This time she can no longer hold it anymore. She quickly walks straight right to Mickey Mannix.
"GROSS! DISTURBING! ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING! Do you even KNOW How GROSS! You ARE?!... *Annoyed British complains* "
" BRUH. you called me out loud just to say this?..."
.
.
.
.
.