Friday, August 18th, 5 AM.
William woke up to his alarm. He turned off the noisy alarm and sat on the edge of his bed for a while, waiting for his brain to fully function.
Then, he planned what he had to do in the morning and started walking to the bathroom afterward.
He entered the bathroom and saw his little sister brushing her teeth.
"Morning."
"Morning, brother."
Without hesitation, he entered and found his toothbrush then joined Maria afterward.
"It's so early, brother. You're usually still half-asleep at this hour."
"Hmm?"
"Nothing, forget it. Your brain hasn't fully kicked in yet, brother."
William yawned very long and shed a tear, then replied, "maybe you're right."
"Not maybe, but definitely true," Maria replied as she began to brush her hair slowly after finishing brushing her teeth.
"Yeah, doing things you don't usually do is very difficult. But if you do it constantly, you'll get used to it. That's the amazing thing about humans, their terrifying adaptation. Thousands or even millions of years, the human race has survived with their intelligence until now, that's an incredible achievement!"
Maria sighed and replied, "Now I understand why you don't have a girlfriend."
"What do you expect from me? Since I was little, all I've thought about is how to avoid accidentally hurting others. The world with love is just an impossible world, or maybe because I gave up on it from the beginning."
"Hmm, I see," said Maria as she started to leave the bathroom.
William gargled and spit out the water in his mouth, then replied, "Yeah, that's how it is."
After finishing, William was still wearing his pajamas and went to the living room where Maria was sitting on the couch alone. He saw Maria changing TV channels and giving up, then sighed deeply as she leaned back on the couch.
Meanwhile, William went to the cooking area and opened the refrigerator to get some snacks and drinks.
Maria, hearing the refrigerator open, realized her brother's presence and said, "Oh, what about her?"
"Her?"
"Your childhood friend."
"Ah, Beatrice?"
"Yeah, that's her."
"What about her?" William replied as he walked towards Maria with snacks in hand.
"Do you think she has a chance?"
William put the snacks on the table in front of the couch, then sat down before he replied, "No."
"Why?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure."
"Hoo! It seems you're stupid when it comes to love."
"What can I do? Love is a feeling, do you expect me to understand that? Even my world just feels very gray."
"That's just your perspective, brother," Maria replied as she started eating the snacks.
"There are peanuts too, you want some?"
"I want!"
"Then I'll fry them for a bit."
"Yay!"
William stood up from the couch and went back to the kitchen, but suddenly the lights went out, causing the TV, lights, and even the electric stove in the kitchen to become unusable.
Feeling that there was nothing he could do at home, William turned around and said to Maria, "Want to go for a walk?"
"Yeah, rather than rotting here without being able to do anything."
They both got ready and changed their pajamas into casual clothes, then went out without a clear plan.
"Another unexpected day, but a boring day as usual," William said as he walked beside Maria.
"That's true, but at least you're not lonely right now, are you?"
"Yeah, thanks to you."
"Ihihi."
Maria quickly hugged William's arm like a lover.
Meanwhile, William just remained silent and said, "Welcome back."
"Yeah, your sweet Maria is back!"
"Your change is so natural, it makes me shiver."
"That's a natural talent, because I accept all versions of myself."
"Accepting yourself..."
"Yeah."
"Maria, may I ask?"
"What?"
"Why would you go this far for me?"
"You Don't like it?"
"It's not that, I'm just curious if you're forced to do this or not."
Maria smiled upon hearing that, then replied, "You don't have to worry, brother, I'm doing this out of my own volition."
"Regret? Or returning a favor?"
"Neither."
"Then what?"
"Honestly, from the beginning, all I wanted was to be closer to you. But I felt that my old self couldn't do it. So I started changing my way of speaking, my mindset, my personality, and even every aspect of myself to adjust it to you."
"Character?"
"Yeah, my 'sweet little sister' self is a fake me, you could say it's fabricated. At first, I felt weird doing that, especially since I felt like I was forcing something that shouldn't have existed. But thanks to that character, I could see your smile again, brother. My real character wouldn't have been able to do that. You must understand what I mean, especially since you've done it yourself, brother."
William sighed and replied, "You're right, my middle school days were my worst."
"Ahaha, at that time, the only ones who accompanied you were Beatrice and me."
"Yeah, I'm grateful that we're only a year apart. You two saved two years of my middle school life from becoming even more gray than my elementary school days."
"You're really good at making trouble for yourself."
"But in high school, I won't do anything weird anymore. I'll just go with the flow like water and be myself without any tricks anymore."
"Ihihi, thank goodness. But it's a shame, I was already prepared for that to happen."
"It's a shame, humans are living beings who have been adapting for thousands of years!"
"Even though you've failed twice?"
"Oh my beloved little sister, your brother feels hurt."
"Ahahahaha."
William smiled as he heard Maria's laughter and smile. Then he looked at the bright morning sky and said, "This is my last chance."
"You're not planning to go to college?"
"No, college isn't suitable for someone like me. Especially if I want to, I could get money without going to school."
"Arrogance can kill you."
William smiled and said, "Thank you for reminding me, my little sister."
"You're welcome."
"But it's a shame, it's not just arrogance, but also self-confidence. Basically, self-confidence is arrogance. That's why arrogance isn't as bad as people think. It's just that everyone's perspective is different. And the type of arrogance is also different. That's why disagreements arise in society. But in the end, the majority wins, the one who looks good wins. That's why the doctrine of 'arrogance is bad' spreads widely. The majority creates a doctrine for the next generation. And I'm one of the people who wasn't indoctrinated with that, because I think."
Maria pouted and said, "Are you mocking me?"
"Ha?"
"Are you saying I don't have a brain?"
"I mean you're lazy."
"Humph!" Maria looked angry.
William just smiled at that and said, "What can I do to make you forgive me?"
"Who said I was angry?" Maria replied but turned her face away and released her embrace.
"Then what do you want?"
"Meat."
"Can it be something else?"
"Meat!"
"It's still morning."
"I don't care!"
"Alright, but don't be angry anymore, okay?"
"Do you think I'll forgive you just like that?"
"Order whatever you want, I won't forbid it."
Maria smiled and immediately hugged her brother again while shouting, "Yay! Best brother ever!"
"But you have to finish it all!"
"I'm ready! Let's order 2kg of meat!"
"You'll get fat later."
Maria looked at him with a sharp gaze and replied, "Did you say something?"
"No-nothing..."
"Ihihi."
There was silence between them before William said, "I like whatever character you use, Maria."
"Thank you, i know, but you don't have to worry about that. Because i like myself too. fake or real, they are all part of me. I am them, and they are me, in the end I am myself."
"You are really strong, Maria."
"Strong?"
"in terms of mentality and thoughts. You're strong than me."
"Maybe you right... No... You right..."
suddenly William sighed and then fell silent for a moment, then said, "Maria, can I ask you one more thing?"
"About what?"
"About what you said last night."
"Ha?"
"That... Um... Project B.H."
"Ah, what's that?"
"Don't you know?"
"I don't know, maybe I just said it randomly?"
"Oh, if that's the case, then good."
Silence fell between them, and William started opening his phone to find the nearest restaurant.
I guess I'm just overthinking...
After that, they went to the place they had agreed on and met some neighbors they knew along the way.
It was quite a long journey for them to reach the restaurant they wanted to visit. Zero City itself is a very large city, so it is divided into various different districts within it. Strict rules with the use of ID cards every time you visit another district made their journey a little hampered. Although in the end, they successfully reached their destination safely after that.