In the deserts of Senebkay, there was an oasis. An oasis though known by the inhabitants, very few and very rarely was it visited. Due to its abandonment, it was more of a home to Ethan than any other place. He could go in and out of it whenever he saw fit and he could do anything he so wished to do there; including crying.
"ETHAN! ETHAN!" a worried Maria stood just out the oasis calling. "Come on Ethan. you know I hate ghosts so come on out already! It's getting dark."
"You didn't have to come, you know?" the sobbing voice of Ethan said from within. "I didn't ask for your pity. Now leave me alone. My dad always said a man feels no remorse when he acts on his ideals no matter how much others may frown on it. But he is a fool should he shed a drop of tear if the avoided remorse is met. And look at me now. I am a fool. A fool for staying with that coward of a mother!"
"Ethan don't say things like that! I am sure Madam Laila has her reasons for doing what she does. Now why don't we go back to town. Closer to people," Maria advised.
"You can leave if you are scared. I didn't ask for you. Why don't you follow your role model and show me how much of a coward you are!"
"You—" Maria staggered as she felt chocked by her sorrowful tears. Nevertheless, she swallowed and said, "you can be a jerk sometimes, you know? I ran all the way here to this haunted oasis and this is what I come to meet. An ungrateful hypocrite too scared to face and accept the facts of reality!"
"(SIGH) You don't have to hurt people when you will be hurt the most. I could hear the woe in your voice so much that it was annoying. Just go home. Get lo… Huh? I guess she's gone already."
It wasn't long till the falling sun rose again. Morning had arrived earlier than was expected by Ethan who laid asleep on a log. The rays poked through his eyelids and it lighted his way to consciousness.
"Damn! School!" he stood up in frustration tossing himself to and fro. He scratched his hair for answers or better still, a plausible plot. "Oh yeah! Mom is bound to believe this," he said with a wide crooked smile.
Moments later, he stood before Laila with that same crooked smile.
"…So, when I saw this ginormous polar bear, I knew I had to lure it away from the town. And I kept running till I was out of breath and the town was out of sight. I passed out, and seems I somehow sleep walked back."
"Oh really? And how do you explain Maria coming back in tears?" Laila asked.
That wide crooked smile on his face grew wider when the question was thrown at him.
"You know what? Don't answer that. I can't bare another smile. (DISAPPPOINTED SIGH) Next time, if you are going to lie about missing school, try and fix that smile of yours. It always gives you away. And try to do your research. Polar bears can't live here in the desert. (FRUSTRATED SIGH) Go take a shower. I will prepare your breakfast."
Ethan was a bit confused. As he was sure his mother would suck out every whiff of air in him should she discover he missed school. Unagreeably and uncomfortably, he replied, "yes, mom." As he walked away towards a wooden door, he still pondered on what could have possibly flicked the switch in his mother. Or perhaps she was feeling remorseful. "But then mom is the type to apologize right before your eyes if she ever wronged," he whispered. "She wouldn't bribe me by sparing my butt cheeks. Well, let's not think too much. Let's just enjoy the solitude in my room."
He got to the door and pushed it open with ease. "Oh," he led out in a sorrowful shock. "So, this is why? My replacement." He fell to his knees like a warrior with no will.
Just then, a soft welcoming knuckle knocked the front door. Laila went to tend to the guest and surprisingly, it was Maria.
"Shouldn't you be in school, Maria?" Laila asked with disappointment.
"I—I was just worried about Ethan. I went to the oasis and he wasn't there. I feared something bad might have happened. Please don't get mad at me," Maria pleaded.
"Why would I be? If anything, I am happy Ethan has such a good friend. I know how wrong it is to say this as his mother but, I know Ethan is weak but we both know he can handle himself. But next time, don't do something like this."
"Yes please," Maria responded with a glee of administration in her eyes.
"And Ethan should be in his room—"
AHHHHH! A loud howl burst out of Ethan's room dulling Laila's speech. Maria rushed pass Laila headed to the room and Laila followed. Upon approaching the room, they saw Ethan lying flat on the floor with a bleeding nose. They turned to the bed and on it was a silver haired girl aggressively wrapping herself with a blanket and pressing herself against the wall as if she wanted to pass through it. She had disgust plastered on her face.
"Master Laila, he tried to defile me," the girl reported with teary eyes.
"Zoe, are you sure that's what he was trying to do?" Laila asked.
Meanwhile, Maria walked to Ethan to check up on him. She pocked Ethan in the side then asked, "is it true? You know I am always here for you, right?"
"Shut it! You are a kid," he said.
"And what are you?
"Don't—don't say somethings that will make people misunderstand us," he struggled to bring out. "And mom, don't trust that beast. Whatever she said is a lie," he said as he struggled to his feet. He wiped some of the blood off with his sleeve. "This is what actually happened."
Moments earlier;
"Come on mom! If you are going to replace me, at least choose a boy and not a girl!" His words hit him back like a soccer punch. "Wait, a girl?" he walked closer with leering directed at the face of the silver haired girl, Zoe. Before he knew it, his right hand was ahead of him, he quickly slapped it down with the other.
"Come on, Ethan. She is just a kid. (DISAPPOINTED SMILE) A flat kid." His words hit him again and it came to mind, "is she really? Well, I can only know once those sheets are removed."
Without a second thought, he let his hands lead the way with his fingers wriggling all the way. Before he could even lay one pf those lustrous wriggly fingers on the sheets, a loud yelp blew his ear drums, followed by a tenacious punch right in his face that sent him flying meters away.
"And that is what really happened," Ethan concluded.
"So, you didn't try to defile her but rather you tried to molest her which is not far fetched from her complaint?" Laila inquired.
"No, not molest. I simply wanted to prove if my thoughts were right or wrong," he explained himself. "I had no intention of investigating further after that." Upon saying this, his wide crooked smile drew on his face again telling a whole different story.
"(SIGH) Let me guess. After settling your thoughts, you planned on checking for yourself if indeed she is a female, am I right?" Laila asked.
Without a second thought, the lewd drooling mouth of Ethan blabbered out, "you read my mind, mom."
"YOU PERVERT! I swear I willing fucking kill you!" Zoe cussed at the adventure driven boy who still seemed caged in his wild imagination. "I guess the beating I gave you in the market wasn't enough!" she got off the bed.
"What?" Ethan snapped out his ecstatic cage. "It was you? Don't make me laugh. There is no way I would lose to a girl even when I have no mana in my system."
"Oh, really?" Zoe mocked. "What a taint to the Hayman name for punishing a boy without mana in such a manner.
Nevertheless, a sin is a sin and no matter what people might say, he deserves discipline. I, Zoe Hayman, hereby challenge you to a duel."
"I don't think so young lady," Laila intervened. "Not in my house."
"Yes. What she said," Maria backed.
"My son deserves to be punished, and I will make sure to do so as his mother. That is my responsibility." She turned to Ethan then said, "Zoe will be living here with us for the next month as I train her as my student. As your punishment, for the next month, you will be her roommate and as long as the two of you are in the boundaries of this room, she is in charge."
Simultaneously, the three kids all shout, "WHAT!?"