The Moonwalkers

A Feast of Flavours

Charlene ordered some Chiangmai fried rice from this Thai shop that she found. It had special Chiangmai sausages, apparently. It was good, spicy too, and the sausages were really good.
A few hours after the rice disappeared, Mom and Charles went to work in the kitchen, completely barring any of us from entering.
So we took the time to watch the third episode of Marry My Friend.
"Char, no spoilers, okay?" Chris warned as he turned the TV on.
"Sure," Charlene shrugged, folding her legs as she curled up on the armchair. "Turn it on."
Ji-young is still in high school and her crush's sister starts hanging out with her more. She was only two years younger than her and had now grown very close to her. She even had another new friend besides the witch that killed her in the future, a humble senior who was also friends with the younger girl.
Her stupid husband was there too, stalking around since he refused to accept her breaking up with him. He indeed was a psychopath, even at that time.
"How did she even let it all slide and marry that red flag?" Chris commented. "Like that kind of behaviour is anything but normal. If a girl did something like that to me, I'm breaking up with her."
I snorted. "So you're not replacing her foundation with mud and lip gloss with slime?"
"Nah, I wouldn't waste my time on a psycho like that," Chris said.
I nodded at Chris. "I support that."
I can't actually blame him on that, it was true. Why waste time on a psycho like that?

We sat down for dinner and stared in surprise when Charles exited the kitchen, holding a Shepherd's Pie. Mom was right beside him, holding a casserole of roasted cauliflower and carrots.
"This should be good," Chris said, already drooling ate the sight of food.
Looks like he's excited for dinner. Can't say I'm any different...
"So since today is a celebratory day, Dad and I decided to whip up some Shepherd's Pie and roasted carrots and cauliflower.
It was hard to not slobber as they set it down in front of us, the heavenly smell surrounding the room. I readily grabbed my cutlery and waited for the dish to come to me.
To my surprise, Charles pushed it towards me. "Have some, Charlie."
"Uh..." I uttered, but shrugged and proceeded to cut a slice and place on my plate. I then helped myself to some of the vegetable, which smelled just as heavenly. I couldn't stop myself from slobbering as I piled my plate. "Looks so good..."
I pushed the dishes towards Chris and started tackling my pie. It was so good, with a generous amount of cheese. The veggies were really good too, savoury, yet still with a hint sweetness from the carrots.
"How is it?" Charles asked as he sat himself down in front of me.
I nodded. "It's amazing. Very cheesy."
"Oh, I love cheese," Chris said as he helped himself to a slice of pie before pushing it towards Charlene. "Anyway, did you put sesame oil in the veggies?"
Mom nodded. "We did! Is it good?"
"Whatever with sesame oil is always good," Charlene added, a slice of carrot entering her mouth as she filled her plate, making her face light up. "Oh my gosh, it's so good."
"It is?" Mom asked, smiling as she sat herself down beside Charles. "I'm glad you guys like it."
None of us responded to that with words since we were too busy cleaning out our plates. Dinner was just that good, it's been really long since we actually had Shepherd's Pie and roasted cauliflower and carrots. It brought a smile to my face as I savoured every bite of the delicious meal in front of me, so clearly made with love and joy.
I looked up at Charles and spotted him pulling over the casserole of veggies for another round. He noticed me looking and gestured towards it, wordlessly asking if I wanted another helping as well. I nodded and just took some more though there was still lots more on my plate.

"There's this new movie that looks good," Charles said when we all gathered in the kitchen to wash up. "Wanna watch it?"
"Do you think there's time? It's a school night, after all," Mom added as she placed the leftovers in the fridge.
Charles looked over at the kitchen clock. "I think there's some time, it's only eight."
Darn right, we had time. I could also hear the living room clock ring eight times too, making a smile come across Charles's face.
"Ah, been so long since I heard that in this house," Charles remarked.
I like how Mom actually packed that clock along when we moved to the rental house. Priorities, ya know?
We made our way to the living room to watch this new movie that Charles spoke of. It was a really funny animated movie about a family going on a road trip, with the children being distant towards the parents since they dreaded at the thought of a road trip at first, but eventually warming up to them and enjoyed themselves. I couldn't help but burst into laughter at certain parts since it was so hilarious.
It feels good to watch a movie together like this, as a family. Mom and Charles cuddled on the loveseat as they watched, an arm around each other as leaned into an embrace.
"I will never let you go again," I heard Charles murmur as he snuggled against Mom's shoulder.
Mom responded with a smile as she kissed his head. I almost forgot how adorable their relationship used to be. I guess it's safe to say that everything is sorta back to normal.
Almost everything. I'm going back to school tomorrow, that's that's when everything will become totally normal. I'm already shuddering at the thought of seeing Barbara and Luna again. The former isn't so bad but the latter...
I shuddered slightly in my seat as I reached for the water bottle on the table to take a sip.
"You okay?" Chris asked as I leaned back to open the bottle.
I nodded. "Yeah, just thinking about school."
"Is everything alright?" Charles asked almost immediately. "Did something happen?"
Mom sighed. "It's the Loony girl isn't it..."
"Yep," I groaned. "I hope she doesn't do anything stupid."
"What did she even do?" Charles was still curious.
We started filling him in on what Loony did, how she messed with me, how she tried to chase me, how she fell down, and how she came over to apologise.
"That wasn't even the first time," Mom went on. "She also blamed Charlie earlier for giving away her 'hiding spot' to her concerned friends."
"They were genuinely worried for her, I just told them that she was at the gardens reading a manga and that was apparently a big mistake," I sighed. "She really is Loony."
"This isn't that blonde girl I saw the other day, right?" Charles quipped.
"It's some goth freak," Chris added. "I mean, I don't usually have anything against goths, but this one definitely counts as a freak."
He's right, some goths are actually really nice people. Luna is definitely an exception.
"She blames it on the grief she feels towards her cat, Banana's death," I shrugged.
Charles looked bewildered. "She named her cat... Banana?" He snorted. "That says a lot..."
"Yeah, I'll just try to stay away from her as much as I can," I shrugged. "And not speak with her during recess."
"Or why don't you not sit with her?" Charles asked.
I let out a humourless chuckle. "Haven't I tried that before." I sighed. "But at least she brought me some chocolates to apologise. It's still in the fridge."
"Why don't we eat it now?" Charlene suggested, getting up and making her way towards the kitchen. "It's Fusha Rosha too."
"It's a big box too," Mom added. "This girl must be rich."
"She got you a big box of Fusha Rosha and you haven't even eaten one?" Charles said in surprise.
"I'm sorry, but I was busy getting kidnapped and then trying to escape from it as well," I said to my defence.
Charles looked like he regretted what he had said. "Sorry... I didn't know it was the same time..."
"You guys still want the chocolate?" Charlene stopped midway to the kitchen.
"Just bring it," Chris groaned. "You brought images of tasty Fusha Rosha into my mind, but refusing to bring it over."
Charlene snickered and walked over to the kitchen, returning with the box of chocolates. It was getting late, but not too late. It's not even ten yet.