Knock the Clock

Short Escape Plan

The clock on the wall showed eight o'clock at night, however Kiran hadn't been home yet. Even though Aletha and Arka had been waiting for their mother to arrive at the dining table. The three plates of fried rice that had been served since seven-thirty minutes had clearly turned cold. Aletha looked at Arka with a limp look, she was tired of waiting, but she didn't want to eat before Kiran arrived.

"Bro, when mom coming home?" Anxious Aletha asked the same question a third time.

"Wait for ten more minutes, okay? Mom must be home soon." Again, Arka tried to calm Aletha, although he had a bad feeling that Kiran would not be home on time.

Arka repeatedly glanced at the clock on the wall, hoping to hear a knock on the door, which was a sign that Kiran had come home. However, it turned out that ten minutes were wasted again, Aletha was really bored, she started to stir her fried rice with a lethargic look. Arka felt sorry for Aletha, he shouldn't have let Aletha wait all this time.

"Aletha, I go to my room for a moment, okay?" asked Arka suddenly.

"For what, bro?" investigated Aletha.

"It's nothing, I'm only gone for a while. Promise it won't be long," replied Arka with a strange demeanor.

Without thinking, Aletha immediately nodded.

With a little haste, Arka entered his room. Arka immediately grabbed his phone from the table to call Kiran. Arka heard a long 'tut' sound before Kiran finally picked up the phone.

"Hello, mom?" Arka started the conversation.

"What's the matter, Ar? Mom is busy! If it's not important, don't bother!" shouted Kiran on the phone.

"You already said that you can go home earlier to dinner with us today," said Arka.

"Hah? What dinner?" Kiran tried to recall from his short-term memory.

"As a celebration, Aletha was accepted at Unsri. Did you forget?" asked Arka.

"Oh, yes, I just remembered. No, I didn't come. There's a lot of work, it looks like mom will be working overtime." Kiran easily refused to attend.

"But I've cooked three servings, Mom," complained Arka.

"You just eat mom's portion. Let mommy eat out," said Kiran casually without thinking about Aletha and Arka's feelings.

Arka still wanted to talk, but Kiran immediately turned off the phone unilaterally. Arka took a deep breath, he didn't know how to convey this bad news to Aletha without hurting her little heart. Arka stepped heavily into the kitchen, then returned to his seat. Seeing Aletha who was still faithfully waiting really made him Arka feel bad.

"Aletha, looks like we can start eating now," said Arka.

"No, I want to wait for mom to come home first," Aletha refused.

"I just called mom. Mom said she was busy. So, she is going to be working late tonight." It felt heavy, but Arka had to say it.

Aletha immediately looked gloomy, it turned out that her mother was still a workaholic. Aletha was given false hope, her waiting ended in vain. " It's okay," said Aletha trying to fake a smile even though the fake was easily read by Arka.