"Hey! Dullard! Dirty-halfsy!"
I grabbed my backpack and bolted out of the classroom. Ignoring the snickering and mean laughs that erupted from behind, I flew down the stairs, my eyes only looking forward, as I escaped out of school and hit the road back home. Shaking off those old and rusty arrows from my back, I forced their voices out of my head as I ran, ran, far away from those idiots.
Finally, when the sound of my footsteps reverberating in my head was drowned out by the hustle and bustle of a busy marketplace, I stopped in my tracks. Lifting my head, I closed my eyes as sweat ran down my eyes, and couldn't help the laugh of freedom that rang out through my lungs.
"Slowpokes!"
Sucking in the cool air, I breathed out and smiled as I bypassed the entrance of Bottom High Market, instead entering the small stretch of road next to its windowless wall
"Mom! I want some Purple Candy! Buy it for me! Buy it for me!"
Separated from this cacophony of laughter and shouts just beyond this slab of concrete, I ducked into an alleyway a quarter of the way through the road and took the winding path right into my humble little 'house'.
"....."
I pulled down on the fairly worn-out door knob and opened the wooden entrance. Then, placing my shoes in the shoe rack, I headed straight up the small flight of stairs to the second floor where my room was. Flinging my bag on top of my bed, I did a U-turn and headed out the door again.
I left that empty house, not wanting to breathe its dead and suffocating air as I headed, empty-handed, over to Dream Research Center's back door.
Digging through my pocket, I took out my cell phone, dialed my 'brother's' number, and waited for the large door in front of me to open.
"You came early today. How was school?"
Before the beeps could finish beeping, a familiar voice and a familiar face greeted me as he pushed open the door twice the size of his body. Smiling at him, I straightened my back as I entered the research center with a grin.
"The teacher finished early today. School is...the same as usual."
We closed the door behind us, everything outside of this center forgotten, like a bad nightmare, as I followed his tall back back to his lab.
"...try not to fight with them. If you can endure it, once you graduate, you most likely won't see them again."
He gave me a small helpless smile as his large hand naturally patted the top of my head. The reassuring warm weight forcing my head to sway from side to side until we reached the lab.
"Zack? Where did you go-oh! Flint! You're early today!"
Opening the large lab doors, the two of us came face to face with a gentle-looking woman. She had a lab coat on, a mask, and goggles tied firmly around her face as she twisted her body to face us.
"Emily!"
I held back the excitement inside me that wanted to bound over to her and wrap my arms around her, feeling the warmth of her skin, her clothes, as the tenderness of family rushed through my veins and soul.
However, all that would have to wait later. Trotting over to the nearest chair, I obediently sat on it, keeping my hands on my lap and to myself as Zack took up his lab coat from a nearby hanger and wore it.
"How has your research project been?"
Left with nothing to do but talk to the two of them, I asked about their projects as my eyes followed their every movement, my brain not understanding a single thing they did, but as long as I could see them, I was satisfied.
"It's been going pretty well. The funding has finally been approved, and with Zack coming to help me with it, we will probably be able to finish this in a couple of months."
She sighed with relief as she took hold of some of the scientific equipment, turned and twisted a couple of things, before pressing a button and putting it back down again.
"That is if everything works out correctly. We still haven't reached the testing step yet, so things might take longer. It depends on whether we have the protein or not. Ah, Emily, could you pass me that?"
"Sure. Here."
Emily took up that scientific equipment she was handling and gave it to Zack, who pressed something, twisted and turned it, then pressed the button again.
He repeated Emily's action, the corners of his eyes hidden behind the goggles turning up as he swiftly manipulated the things in front of him. Beside him, Emily was doing the same, her eyes never leaving what was in front of her, as her voice echoed throughout the lab.
"Flint, I brought some gifts for you inside my bag. You can take them out right now to use them and keep yourself busy. But remember, food and drinks must be consumed outside the lab. We don't want anybody to get poisoned here."
Gesturing with her head, Emily pointed to the small cabinet not far from me. In the cabinet, on one of the lower floors, was Emily's simple but durable bag. I nodded my head at her, said thanks, and immediately stood up to rummage around Emily's things for whatever gifts she brought me.
Running away from school every day was a tiring task. And it wasn't as if I had enough money to buy snacks from the market.
I placed both my hands around the opening of her bag, prying it slightly open as I peeked inside. In her bag, there were several notebooks and pens, a water bottle, a lunch box, and a zip-lock bag. Taking out the zip lock bag, the words 'Flint's Things' were scribbled on it with her charming yet straightforward writing.
This should be what she was talking about!
Tucking that bag under my arm, I put everything else back into its place neatly before closing her bag and returning to my seat.
I hugged the bag, clinging onto its slight warmth as I watched the two scientists in front of me speak in chemical names again. Sitting there, I listened to their words like a lullaby in a foreign language as they bustled about the lab. Watching the efficient movements of their arms, I waited until my eyes watered and a yawn bubbled up from within me before tearing my eyes away from them.
Opening the plastic bag, I carefully and silently took out the first of many 'gifts' Emily had given me. In true Emily fashion, I chuckled with glee as a small and intricately put-together notebook slipped rose out of the bag with pride. The notebook was handmade; durable and most definitely expensive papers were strung together at the spine with several strings, and Emily's neat and thoughtful handwriting decorated the front page.
'The Hero's Guide to Being Strong.' stood out on the cover with bold text, a smiling and buff character drawn right underneath the words.
Flipping the book open, I couldn't help but smile at the amount of effort that overflowed from the pages to drown me. Most pages gave tips and tricks on how to build up muscle, eat healthy, and take care of my health. After strength, there was more advice about studying, together with suggestions regarding time management and energy conservation. The only thing this book was missing was a page on how to make friends.
Pressing my fingers into each page, I slowly read and absorbed Emily's feelings towards me. I caressed each thick sheet of paper, the slightly rough texture a mark on my fingertips as I finally reached the last page. Then, once I was done, I carefully stored the notebook back into the zip-lock bag before digging around for other treasures.
And as suggested by Emily's words, my hand soon felt a hard and slightly crinkly object under them. Gently picking it up with two fingers, I slowly pulled it out of the bag with anticipation as the soft and musical sound of the candy wrapper rubbing together snaked out of the bag. When it was finally at the edge of the opening, the purple foil jumped out in surprise as the iconic color entered my eyes.
"Purple Candy."
Lifting my head, I saw that the two scientists were still wrapped up in their research, their attention raptured by whatever was in front of them, and I quietly stood up and sneaked out of the lab. Making sure that I made as little sound as possible to disturb them, I gingerly closed the door and heaved a sigh of relief once I was outside.
Checking my left and right, I made sure that nobody was around as I unwrapped the wrapper, careful not to damage it, and popped the little thing into my mouth. Immediately, the heavenly mixture of sweet and sour spread from the tip of my tongue, to the back of my throat, and into my heart and stomach. Closing my eyes as a particularly sour rush came, I rolled the ball around my mouth as I folded the wrapper and stored it in the bag. Based on the large size of the candy, it would be a while before I could finish it.
Swerving my head around, I spotted a small shadowy corner obscured by a potted plant. I wriggled into the corner, hiding my small and weak body with the large and solid pot. And just in time too, as the moment I got into a comfortable position, two voices like booming thunder shot through the corridor.
"...Have you heard? Emily finally got her research project approved."
"Finally? Isn't she one of the smartest here in our poor old Dream Research Center? I thought the approval council would be more than happy to throw money into whatever research project she wanted. Even though they're usually so stingy with everything."
"Yeah, if only she didn't put one of her research assistants as Zack."
"One of her research assistants?"
"Her only research assistant. \"
"As expected, the others all left?"
"Yeah."
"Yikes. If only she just dropped Zack. I don't understand why she would associate with those dirty halfsies. They're seriously contaminating the High Street Blood pool."
"At least halfsies are better than those rats. Can;t believe they managed to trick several High Street Families into adopting them. How sickening."
"Hahahahaha"
The two voices laughed loudly as they passed by the area where I was hiding. Freezing, I kept myself as still as possible as their poisonous words tarnished the flavor of the candy in my mouth. I followed the two of them with my eyes, their warped expressions and wicked words tangled themselves in my head, smashing the peaceful and warm illusion I had with Emily and Zack.
Finally, as their laughter faded away down the corridor, I held my breath until their voices disappeared before relaxing my shoulders. My mouth was stiff, the candy a numbing agent as I quietly rolled it around my mouth. It rubbed my tongue raw as its originally smooth surface turned rough, like a bristled brush, as it scraped the inside of my mouth. Leaving me with a gentle stinging pain in addition to its flavor.
I sucked on the candy, my arms wrapped around my knees as the flavor slowly faded and the big ball turned into a small little stone. Swallowing the stone, I quickly made sure nobody was around before darting back into the lab. Of course, I dusted off the dirt on my body before entering to not contaminate the lab.
Pushing open the big door, I saw the two of them still busy with the research project, either not paying attention to or not hearing those two jealous idiots' rants. I forced a small smile on my face as I returned to my seat, the zip-lock bag in my hands slightly crumpled from the tiny adventure it went through.
Smoothening out the creasers, I gave a silent sigh as I opened the bag once more. All the warmth, love, and happiness I had felt before dissipated along with the candy in my mouth. Casually peering into the bag, I searched the inside for any more objects. And I found one.
It was the last one. A second Purple Candy.
...
I'll leave this for Zack.
Taking the candy out of the bag, I resealed the bag and placed it right next to me. According to the clock on the wall, quite some time had passed, and it was almost time for them to end work.
"Time to clean up."
Clearing the things from in front of them, the two scientists dumped half of the tubes into the bag in front of them and kept the other half in a drawer inside the lab. Once the whole lab bench was cleared, they sprayed some sort of liquid onto it and wiped it down with tissues. Throwing the tissues away, the two of them then threw their gloves, took another bag, and stuffed their lab coats, goggles, and masks inside. This bag was then dropped into a big basket located in front of the lab.
"That should be a good place to end things for now. According to the incubation time, we can take the dishes out tomorrow morning."
Emily spoke to Zack, and he nodded his head. After discussing several more science things, the two of them then slung their bags over their shoulders and headed towards me.
"Did you like the Purple Candy I bought?"
Reaching me, the two dropped their science talk as they flanked me, one on each side as we all left the lab together.
"Mmm! I did! I saved one of them for Zack too. Here!"
Opening my palm, I pushed the sweet onto Zack as he glanced helplessly at me.
"If you want to, you can eat all the sweets. But thank you."
He unwrapped the wrapping, slowly placing the candy in his mouth as he stuffed the wrapper in his pocket.
"Hehe."
We left the Research Center, heading towards the Bottom High Market as Emily held onto my hand with a firm but gentle grasp.
"What do the two of you want for dinner?"
"Honeyed Dumplings!"
I exclaimed in excitement as I tugged Emily's hand towards one of the cheaper restaurants. Holding my other hand, Zack shrugged his shoulders as he smiled at the two of us,
Turning to Zack, I smiled at him as he lifted a hand to rub my hair, his long fingers gliding through my locks as he accompanied us to the restaurant. Talking to the waitress, the three of us were seated in a small area with two menus on the table. Reaching out my hand, I was about to pick one up when Zack beat me to the punch and took it instead.
Immediately, he flipped to the page containing the honeyed dumplings and ordered one set for me. Holding the other menu, Emily smiled at us as she ordered several more dishes. With Zack helping me flip the pages, I pointed out several dishes I wanted to eat, and Emily happily ordered them for us. Once we were done ordering, the waitress collected our menus and the three of us waited patiently in our seats.
"I'm looking forward to these honeyed dumplings!"
"You really do like them don't you."
"Mmm!"
I smiled as I replied to Emily, waving one of my hands, the other being held by Zack.
"So do you like them better than mine?"
Zack teased me with a mischievous smile as he caressed the back of my hand.
"No no no. Nothing could beat your honeyed dumplings!"
I shook my head fervently as I leaned on Zack's shoulders, his warmth a sear on my own skin. as we smiled and took soft jabs at each other.
"I also want to taste Zack's honeyed dumplings! It's not fair that Zack stopped cooking to focus on his studies before we met."
Emily whined as she laughed, her hands instinctively reaching out to cover her mouth.
"Does that mean that my cooking is worse than Zack's?"
"No no no. I just wish I met the two of you faster."
She smiled at us, sadness and regret absent in the air as we all chuckled at her words.
"I also wish we met with you earlier."
Zack caressed the back of my hand again. His smile was part happiness, part longing, as he closed his eyes.
"Are you imagining what life would be like if we all found each other from the start?"
I caressed Zack's fingers back, and those sparkling and gentle eyes reflected mine as he nodded his head.
"I bet it would be wonderful. Before becoming a researcher, I could cook some honeyed dumplings for the two of you. And even before that, Emily would also be able to have time to cook food for us as well. Then after the two of us enter the lab, Flint could cook for us. It would be a perfect cycle."
Zack rubbed my hair again and the three of us put dreamy smiles on our faces, indulging in an unrealistic fantasy we all knew would never happen. While the three of us were talking, the waitress finally entered again with plates upon plates of food.
"Here's your food! Enjoy!"
Gently lowering the plates, Emily and Zack helped the waitress arrange them on the table. Facing a whole table of food, we took the small bowls they provided and shoveled food into each other's bowls. Like a happy family, we laughed, talked, and ate until we polished off all the plates. Eventually, the meal had to end, and I patted my stomach as we left the restaurant with wide smiles and happy hearts.
Arriving at the entrance of the market, we paused for a moment, reluctant to part.
Stretching out her hands, Emily's fingers stroked my cheek as she looked at me with love and joy in her eyes.
"See you tomorrow."
"...Mmm. See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
We waved goodbye to Emily as she left first, leaving us two brothers together.
"It's getting late. We need to return."
Holding hands, we walked into the small road next to the market. At around the quarter mark of the road, we ducked into the small winding path that led to a cluster of houses, ostracized by the rest of High Street.
"See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
Bidding farewell to each other, we let go of our hands and entered into our own houses,
"...I'm 'home'."
"..."