Power Control and Hangovers
Power control. After throwing such a massive party, I woke up early the next morning suffering from a brutal hangover. Since the morning broadcast hadn't even played yet, I had definitely woken up too early. Clutching my throbbing head, I dragged myself out of bed. My feet wobbled, my body swayed, and my vision spun. Before I knew it, I was rolling around on the floor.
"Ughhh..." A groan escaped my lips. The headache was relentless. My memories were a hazy, jumbled mess. What on earth did I do last night? I remembered happily chugging beer, but that was about it. As I rolled around on the floor, I noticed an absurd amount of snacks scattered all over the place. If I so much as reached out, I'd crush them. Only then did I push myself up and warily look around.
A tiny fragment of memory surfaced. Completely wasted, I had climbed onto the table and ripped open every single bag of snacks. A bite of this, a bite of that, even stealing Shine's snacks... I had scattered them everywhere in a total mess. The table was, of course, covered in a mountain of crushed crumbs. I turned my attention to the bed. Shine wasn't spared either. Countless crumbs were tangled in her hair. Cleaning this up was going to be an absolute nightmare.
Clutching my forehead, I shuffled over to the fridge. Inside was a bottle of ice-cold water, which helped soothe my churning stomach. Man, I really wanted some hangover soup, ramen, or hot bean sprout soup. My stomach felt so bloated and nauseous that I covered my mouth and sank to the floor. The small plastic bottle slipped from my hand and rolled across the ground.
"Ugh..." When was Amy coming back? I sorely missed Amy, who always cleaned up after us whenever we ate snacks. Dragging myself up, I headed to the bathroom to wash up. I let the water wash over me, using the showerhead that had been adjusted for my short height. I blankly pressed my face against the warm stream. The sensation was sharp and stimulating. I stood there for a long time, flinching slightly under the water. I opened my mouth to rinse it out, letting time slip away aimlessly.
By the time my skin, flushed pink from the warm water, began to glow, I finally stepped out of the bathroom. A cozy warmth radiated from my body. I dried myself off with a fluffy towel. My long hair, heavy with water, clung tightly to my skin. No matter how hard I rubbed it with the towel, the moisture refused to leave. Water dripped onto the floor in streams. The scattered snacks all around began absorbing the water, turning soggy in an instant. Avoiding the mushy mess, I headed straight for the bed.
After giving the dirty blanket a decent shake, I climbed onto the bed, where Shine was curled up in a tight ball. I poked her cheek. Poke, poke. I reached out with my small fingers and gently squeezed her soft cheek. It felt incredibly nice. For some reason, it was highly addictive, and my hand showed no signs of stopping.
"Jeff?" Mid-poke, our eyes met. Shine, her eyes now open, reached out and caught my finger. "It's morning." "Ugh..." It seemed Shine wasn't immune to the hangover either. She massaged her forehead as she sat up. As she moved, the snacks stuck to her body showered down onto the bed. "Go take a shower." "Okay..." Shine quietly obeyed. Hopping off the bed, she stumbled toward the bathroom with tottering steps.
Now that Shine was gone, my task was clear. I vigorously shook out the blanket Shine had been lying on. Crumbs scattered into the air, and the larger chunks fell under the bed. The fuzzy teddy bear had ended up covered in crumbs. It looked like I wouldn't be resting my head on that plushie anytime soon. Now that a basic cleanup was done, it was time to change. Approaching the small dresser at the end of the wall, I pulled out a small piece of fabric. A pure white cloth. Its tiny surface area seemed just right for my current size. The design wasn't much different from the underwear provided by the laboratory, which made it less awkward to wear. Scratching my cheek at the slightly strange sensation, I slipped into the underwear and threw a comfortable tracksuit over it. Aside from the size being smaller, it was no different from what I usually wore on weekends. A satisfied smile spread across my face at the familiar comfort.
Standing in front of the full-length mirror and examining my body, I realized my hair was still soaking wet. Drying hair this long took an eternity—unless you had a hairdryer, of course. A fan would have been nice, but since it was clearly winter, there wasn't one in the room. Left with no choice, I crawled back into bed. I spread myself out and lay flat. I draped my long hair over the top of the pillow so it could dry more easily. This was a life hack I had figured out during my week at the laboratory. Drying it like this was much faster than walking around. In reality, the bed and blanket were just absorbing the moisture, but as long as my hair dried quickly, I didn't care.
After lying there for a while, the morning announcement broadcast finally chimed. It was time for breakfast. However, with my stomach still churning, I decided to skip it. I asked Shine as she stepped out of the shower. "Shine, are you going to eat breakfast?" "What about you, Jeff?" "I'm skipping." "Then I won't eat either."
Shine looked down at me lying there, then began to copy me. She dragged a large pillow next to mine and lay down, spreading her long hair over the top of it just like I had. "Why are you lying like that?" "I'm drying my hair." Shine nodded at my response. "It dries really fast if you do it this way." "It really does seem like it." And so, we spent our time lying on the bed until our hair was completely dry. To be precise, it would be more accurate to say we fell back asleep.
Eventually, the familiar sensation of waking up washed over me. With blurry vision, I raised a hand to rub my eyes. I wiped my damp mouth with my sleeve, wondering if I had drooled in my sleep. Looking around blankly, Shine was nowhere to be seen. The spot where she had been lying—specifically, where her hair had been spread out—was damp. I touched my own hair. It felt incredibly soft and smooth as it slipped through my fingers. It's completely dry.
"Shine?" I looked around the room for her. She was sitting at the table, watching TV. What was she watching? Following her gaze, I turned my eyes to the screen. A stiff-faced news anchor was talking passionately about something. "Are you watching the news again?" News is so boring. But even as I thought that, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen. It was supposed to be boring. It should be boring. So why was it so watchable? Why was I curious about what would happen next? I touched my lips. I suddenly wanted a cup of coffee. A strangely familiar scene seemed to flash before my eyes.
"Are you awake?" Shine asked, turning back to look at me. A bright smile was plastered across her face—an expression she had never shown before. It hit me all over again just how incredibly beautiful she was. She looked like a doll. I touched my own face. Wait, so that means this is what my face looks like too.
"Jeff?" "Huh?" "Is your stomach okay?" "Yeah. I think I'm fine now." Maybe it was because I had slept it off, but my stomach felt reasonably settled as I got up. A wave of laziness washed over me. I wanted to sleep more, but I knew my head would start throbbing if I stayed in bed any longer. I let out a massive yawn and stretched. My small body stood on tiptoe, reaching as high as it could. "Ngh..."
Dragging my tired body over, I sat down next to Shine at the table. The messy pile of snacks scattered across the tabletop was still there. I reached out and popped a few into my mouth, one by one. I didn't care for the texture; they had gone stale after sitting out for so long. At least the cola was still fine. I picked up a cup rolling around on the table and poured some. The lukewarm soda fizzed up, filling the cup to the brim.
"Want some, Shine?" At my question, Shine shook her head. Her eyes remained glued to the news broadcast. I sipped my cola and watched along. Stories of various crimes, politics, and trending issues flashed across the screen. I eventually looked away and slumped onto the table. I was so bored. What did I usually do on my days off again? I tapped my small fingers against the table, lost in thought. I'd kill time on my phone, watch TV, or play computer games...
I bolted upright in shock. A week had already passed since what I'd told my friends. I had told them I was going on a trip, but what was I supposed to do now? One of them had even threatened to file a missing person's report if I didn't come back in a week. I paused mid-rise, sinking back into thought. A week. There was something much more important... What was it? I couldn't remember. Was it because of the hangover? I glared at an empty can rolling on the table. It was all this thing's fault. Feeling needlessly petty, I reached out and shoved the can away. The can slid forward, knocking into the mountain of other empty cans and snack wrappers behind it. A cascade of trash came tumbling off the table.
"Jeff?" Shine turned around, looking at me with confusion. My eyes darted around. This was bad. I was definitely going to get a massive scolding from Amy when she got back. But that wasn't the priority right now. I needed a phone or a computer. I had to let my friends know I was alive and well.
"Shine, I need a phone." "A phone?" "Or a computer." "What can you do with those?" Since Shine had likely spent her entire life in the laboratory, she obviously had no idea what they were. I gave her a basic explanation. "They're tools you use to contact other people or have fun." "Other people?" "Yeah."
I stood up. In a facility this massive, there had to be a computer I could use somewhere. Even the laboratory had its own computer room, after all. "Do you need other people?" Shine's question felt a bit off. As I made my way to the door, I gave a casual reply. "Yeah!" I slipped into Amy's oversized slippers that were lying by the entryway, only to jump in surprise when I felt Shine right behind me. She was glaring at me with a deep scowl, clearly displeased about something.
"What's wrong?" "I'm coming with you." Wasn't she just watching the news? I peeked past Shine's shoulder at the TV. The screen was pitch black. "You're not watching the news anymore?" "No." I nodded at her short reply. It was well past lunchtime by the time we finally stepped out of the room. The fresh air instantly refreshed my mood. Standing in the hallway, I looked around. There were still so many places we hadn't explored yet. If possible, I wanted to check them all out today.