LUNCHBOX FRIENDS | changlix

.24

"mom?" jeongin's voice, quiet and alert, came from the door, coercing an electric shock through his body. felix never thought someone's voice would elicit such a visceral reaction from him, especially after surviving a haunted shack by the woods. the experience, paired with the blurry memory of alcohol, did not make him as tough as he'd thought.

miss yang was already by the door, stopping the door from opening any wider. from where felix still sat, all too close to the window, jeongin's face couldn't be seen — as if only his voice existed in the room, the whisper of friends past. if felix jumped out of this window, leaving nothing but a memory, and then deny any sort of association with miss yang's ineffable plan, would he be set free of this gruesome assignment?
it'd be a great plan, greater than miss yang's calculated mission. and they were just one store from the ground!

"yes, jeongin?" miss yang said by the door. and there he was. jeongin was in the room — or almost in the room. but why should felix hide from him, his best friend? conspiring with your best friend's mom wasn't a mortal sin, was it? or did friendships rely on loyal exclusivity?

then, he realized what sent uncomfortable guilt through his system. they... were lying to jeongin.

"my stomach is eating my liver," jeongin complained. "when's dinner."

miss yang was a better person than felix was because, to the question her spoiled child had just asked, all she did was chuckle. "soon, my sweet. what do you want for dinner?"

jeongin's answer came after a heartbeat: "mcdonald's."

ironically enough, that was what broke the spell. even though she had her back to him, felix watched as cool mom peeled off her skin to leave place for strict mom to proclaim a stern, "you had a burger for breakfast, lunch, and now you want it for dinner? no, jeongin, nuh-uh," she raised a finger, pointy nail sticking straight up at the ceiling. "if you whine, no fries 'til next month. you know what? no fries until next month. they rot your brain."

say whatever you want about felix leaving in solitude, but he wouldn't trade his free will for healthy cooked meals. he'd even have mcdonald's tonight. only if he could open this old window without a noise...

when felix tried to unlock the window, the bolt, orange from rust, screamed in protest. felix winced, expecting to be swarmed by a crowd of invisible forces, perhaps the spirits in the old cabin in the woods that attached to felix's aura, just waiting for an inevitable slip-up.

but nothing like that happened.

an even worse response, however, happened. jeongin was now aware of him. or, at least of his sounds.

"what was that?" as though jeongin's voice had power within itself, the door opened just a bit more than miss yang's hand allowed.

"nothing, darling." miss yang's arm forced the door to its previous position. "it's the wind, you know how old this house is."

a silence, then a quiet whisper: "this room creeps me out."

same, jeongin. same.

"then what are you doing here?" she said, stern and demanding. "go take a shower. dinner's gonna take a second."

felix heard the all too familiar theatrical sigh, and soon enough, miss yang was closing the door.

she had a look on her face. the look adults had when an imminent life lesson was bound to manifest. "this is why i need your help, felix."

—

on monday, felix looked at mr kim with renewed energy. energy to destroy.

"your egg is quite dirty," he said to felix and changbin. he scribbled on the tiny notebook in his hand. "minus two points."

"what!" felix looked up at mr kim, then at the egg. yes, there was still a smudge from the time he'd sharpie-d a moustache on the shell, but wasn't the whole point to humanize the egg?

"is there a problem?" mr kim asked, very unhelpfully, while placing the notebook on changbin and felix's conjoined tables. a blatant threat, one that made felix wonder if his teacher perhaps knew felix was janet wilson. what, for the love of all the gods, could it be that mr kim hated about him?

"uh," felix elongated the vowel for a few seconds, willing his mind to think some words — any words.

"uh," mr kim mocked. "minus one point."

felix wanted to cry. "but— but for— why?"

"one more point gone." reaching for his notebook, mr kim crossed off a line with his dreadful pen, then brought his unforgiving eyes back to felix. "indecisiveness is a weakness. never show hesitation, especially in front of your child."

felix blinked. for a second, he'd believed he was a parent. he glanced down at the egg, safe and smudged on its makeshift milk carton crib. "but it's an egg."

one of mr kim's eyes twitched, hand tightening around his pen.

"no– not an egg, not just an egg," felix let out an embarrassingly awkward laugh. he snatched it off its crib and cradled it in his arms like a real baby, not minding the pairs of eyes staring at his display of desperation. janet wilson or not, felix couldn't afford to fail this class. "shhh— shhhhh– hush little baby, don't you cry."

mr kim's hand stopped in place as though frozen, and all the while felix tried to concentrate on not crushing the egg in his arms, controlling his nerves so as not to close tight around his own frame in a last attempt at self-defence, which wouldn't be very effective: failing biology wouldn't kill him, but it sure felt like it.

but mr kim just scoffed and turned his back at him, returning to his desk.

he was soon back facing the rest of the class that, on a closer look, felix realized were just as scared as himself. every student that mr kim passed by had a terrified look plastered onto their faces, and took the sheets mr kim handed to them with shaky hands.

mr kim didn't even look at him when he placed the sheet on felix's desk.

it read, parental authorization — field trip, with a not-so-distant date beside it, just as miss yang had predicted.

beside him, changbin raised a trembling hand to bring mr kim's attention to him. why the hell would he want that?

"yes?" mr kim's apathetic voice demanded.

"do we have to bring our projects?"

at that question, mr kim's face transformed from an emotionless sculpture into a mischievous grinch-like grin. "you don't have to."

changbin visibly relaxed, letting his arm fall back in place.

his relief was short-lived.

"you must," mr kim said, voice flat despite his rejoiced smile. "take it as a test. if the egg breaks, you fail."