Growing Pains and Coffee Stashes
I diligently followed along with the stretching routine. After finishing my stretches, I ran over to the wall and leaned my back against it. There was a faint line drawn right above my head. It was a mark I'd made to check how much I'd grown, completely in secret from Amy and Shine. I lifted a pen, pressed it flat against the top of my head, and turned around to check. But the dot I marked was in almost the exact same spot as yesterday. Or was it? Did I grow just a tiny bit?
"Jeff, what are you doing?" Shine asked, suddenly approaching me. Flustered, I quickly reached out to cover the wall. "Nothing!"
I shifted my gaze to Amy. She was still holding up her phone, pointing it in our direction. "Are you done for today?" "Yes. They say it's best to do it consistently every day," I replied to Amy's question, grabbing Shine's hand and pulling her away from the wall.
"You do this every day?" "Yeah." Shine furrowed her brows, looking less than thrilled. "But they say you have to do it if you want to grow taller." "I don't think it helps at all," Shine said, raising a hand to rest it on top of her own head. She seemed frustrated that she hadn't shot up in height instantly. I couldn't help but agree with her. As I nodded, Shine spoke up again. "I'm going to watch the news." With that, she scurried over and sat down in front of the television.
Left all by myself, I walked over to the giant teddy bear, Baek-si. Wearing a witch's hat pressed firmly on his head, he welcomed me with his large, sparkling eyes. "Hey, Baek-si." Baek-si said nothing. "Do you think I've grown any taller?" Baek-si remained silent. I suddenly found his sparkling eyes annoying. Reaching out, I poked his forehead. It sank in softly under my finger, and a moment later, Baek-si toppled backward. Playing with a doll by myself had only been fun for the first day or two. Now, it was just incredibly boring. I took the hat from Baek-si's head and placed it on my own.
"Amy." "Yes?" "What kind of person is Rain?" I asked, trotting over to her. Amy, who was sitting at the table, scooped me up and set me down right next to her. "Rain?" "Yes." "Hmm... A noisy person?" I nodded as I pictured Rain. I could almost hear her high-pitched, chick-like chirping ringing in my ears.
"What is Rain's ability?" "She can make it rain from the sky." "Rain?" "Yeah, and it pours like crazy." At Amy's words, I reached out to grab a small piece of paper and a pen. I wanted to draw the image of Rain that was forming in my mind. "Like this?" My doodle depicted Rain as a tiny girl enveloped in a massive raincoat. Wearing a wicked grin, she was reaching her hands toward the sky, summoning a downpour.
"No, a bit more than that." Following Amy's instruction, I drew even more rain. It looked as if a hole had been punctured in the heavens, unleashing a deluge. "Like this?" "More." "Even more...?" "Yes," Amy nodded. But there was a problem. Didn't she just say Rain's ability was making it rain from the sky? If I drew any more rain like Amy wanted, the entire area would end up completely submerged. "This isn't rain anymore, is it?" "Well, she claims it is," Amy said with a nod. I began to feel a chill of dread just trying to imagine the true scale of Rain's power. Pushing the paper with the doodle away, I slumped face-down onto the desk. My soft cheeks squished flat against the wooden surface.
"Mmm..." "Are you bored?" "Yeees," I answered, dangling my legs. I was so bored I could scream. In truth, asking about Rain was my own subtle way of signaling Amy. A hint that since I was interested in Rain, we should go visit her. But Amy, seemingly oblivious to my signal, simply offered a gentle smile and picked up her phone again. I puffed out my cheeks and glared up at her.
"Jeff." "Yes?" "Have you taken an interest in Rain?" "Uh... yes," I replied, averting my eyes. For some reason, admitting it felt a little embarrassing. "Why?" "Well..." I lifted my hand and began counting the reasons on my fingers. "Because she's around the same height as Shine and me?" "And?" "And..." One by one, more fingers went up.
"But we won't be able to go see her right now." "Huh? Go see her?" "Weren't you trying to ask me to take you to Rain?" "No, I wasn't!" I snapped, turning my head away. As my gaze whipped to the side, the cheek I had been squishing against the table swapped places, and now my other cheek was pressed flat.
"Let's go next time. Rain just got back, so she's busy right now." "Is she really that busy?" "Yes, she has to meet with Jin." "Does Rain work under Jin too?" "Of course. Everyone here works under Jin."
I pictured Jin's face. That wicked sandwich thief. Jerk. Idiot. Smelly-footed bastard. He didn't seem reliable in the slightest, either. When I looked up at Amy with a grimace, she gave me a wry smile and patted my head.
"Why do you work under him?" "Because he's capable." "He didn't look very reliable to me." "He looks that way to me too." "Then why do you work under him, Amy?" "Because he saved me." "Saved you?" Amy silently stroked my hair. Seeing her answer with a gentle smile that clearly signaled she didn't want to talk about it anymore, I shut my mouth. My curiosity about the history between Amy and Jin only deepened.
"What about Victor?" "No, Victor is just here because he agrees with Jin's ideology." "Jin's ideology?" "Yes." "What is it?" "Freedom for all ability users." "Freedom..." I stopped swinging my legs back and forth. The memories of the countless test subjects that had flashed before my eyes were impossible to forget. "Isn't that a good thing?" "It is. It's a noble cause. But..." Her voice trailed off as she stood up.
"I have to step out for a moment." She spoke while staring down at her phone. So that was why she'd been tapping away at it earlier. It seemed something had come up. "Have a safe trip," I said, waving to Amy as she slipped out of the room.
Once I was absolutely sure Amy was gone, I headed straight for the kitchen cabinets. My target was the stash of instant coffee mix packets stored inside. Tiptoeing quietly, I moved without making a sound. Right now, Shine and I were the only ones in the room. Shine was completely engrossed in the news, so she wouldn't notice. Dragging a tall chair over, I climbed up and grabbed a double handful of the coffee packets. Having successfully secured my loot, I dashed back to Baek-si. I flipped the teddy bear over from his back, exposing his spine, and pulled down the zipper on his back. Zzzzip. Through the opening, a heart-shaped mechanism was visible. I slid Baek-si's heart to the side and stuffed the coffee packets inside.
"Jeff, what are you doing?" "Gasp...!" I frantically hid Baek-si behind my back. But because I hadn't zipped him up yet, the coffee packets spilled out, scattering all over the floor with a loud rustle. "What's that?" "This...?" "Isn't that what Amy always drinks?" Shine hopped down from her chair, her face lit up with curiosity. I scrambled to gather the spilled packets and stuff them back into Baek-si's back. "Uh... Baek-si said he wanted to try some..." Cold sweat broke out on my forehead as I nervously watched Shine's reaction. Stepping closer, Shine picked up a stray packet that had rolled to her feet and spoke. "I want to try it too."
"But... Amy told us not to drink it." "You drank it, though." "Me...? When did I?" "Well, you're about to," Shine corrected herself, shaking her head. "No, I'm not." "Then you won't mind if I tell Amy about this, right?" Shine stepped closer and poked Baek-si's back. The crinkling sound of the coffee packets echoed through the room. "Ah..." Left with no choice, I had to prepare a cup of coffee for both Shine and myself.
Shine sat at the table, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. I emptied the coffee packets into the rabbit-printed mugs Amy had bought us. A faint, sweet aroma wafted up, bringing a small smile to my face. I poured hot water into the mugs. The subtle scent instantly grew rich and fragrant. As the hot water filled the mugs, the printed rabbits began to change. Their droopy ears stood straight up. I absolutely loved how cute it looked. Holding a rabbit mug in each hand, I walked over to the table.
"We have to drink this quickly before Amy gets back." Shine and I sat side-by-side, blowing on our coffee. Wisps of steam rose from the mugs. *Whoosh, whoosh.* Shine was completely focused on her mug, her eyes locked onto the liquid. I blew on mine as well and took a small sip. "It's good." Shine seemed to really like the coffee. Her eyes sparkled as she stared intently at my Baek-si.
"If we drink this every day, we'll get caught." Shine didn't reply. "Amy's going to scold us!" Still, Shine remained silent. In the end, she ended up drinking another cup. "Why did Amy tell us not to drink something this delicious?" "Because it keeps you awake at night." "At night?" "Yeah." Shine looked at me with a strange expression. Then, a slow smirk spread across her face. For some reason, that smile felt incredibly suggestive.
I took the empty mugs to the bathroom to wash them. After scrubbing them clean and shaking off the excess water, I put them back exactly where they belonged. "Perfect." All I had to do was secretly throw away the empty packets when we went out for dinner later. It was a flawless plan.
"Jeff." "Yeah?" "You said we won't be able to sleep tonight if we drink this." "Yeah." "Then what were you planning to do tonight, Jeff?" "Uh..." It wasn't like I drank it with some grand plan in mind. I just drank it because I liked coffee. "I didn't drink it to do anything in particular." "I see." Shine nodded and went back to sit in front of the TV.
Watching her walk away, I sat down in front of the computer. The strange text files that kept multiplying on the desktop day after day were starting to make me uneasy. "Shine." "Yeah?" "You didn't use the computer, did you?" "Nope. I hate those things." If it wasn't Shine, and it wasn't Amy, then who on earth was it? I deleted all the mysterious text files cluttering the desktop.
It was quite a while later when Amy finally returned. I had been lounging lazily on the bed, but I bolted upright the moment I heard the front door unlock. "Amy?" Shine stood up just like me, peering toward the entryway. Soon, the door swung open and Amy walked in—accompanied by a little yellow chick. "Hey, kids!" It was Rain.