joelle | d.m

53 | messed up

April, 1995.

"Devonte," Imani snapped impatiently. "I told you not to add the oil onto the pan until it's hot."

"Too late." He held the pan by its arm and tilted it around to spread the oil. "And what difference does it even make?"

"That's not the point," she drawled, and placed the bowl of teriyaki-marinated salmon next to the stove. "The point is you don't listen when I tell you to do or not do something."

"I do too," he protested as he took the tongs from her hand. "You told me to cut the salmon in long pieces, and I did."

Joey turned the volume on the tv higher as a weak attempt to drown out the bickering in the kitchen.

Seated on the floor in front of the coffee table, she was doing a word search in an old activity book she found in a drawer. She had a packet of garlic Nagaraya opened next to her and a small bottle of yakult, snacking as she did the word search.

Devonte had just arrived hours before with his stuff. They'd already blown up the air mattress for him and it was sitting beside the couch with sheets, a pillow, and blankets folded upon it.

Imani insisted on cooking dinner tonight and Devonte was persistent on helping as a token of his gratitude for having him over. The planned dinner consisted of teriyaki salmon, kimchi fried rice, and eggs.

Nayun was supposed to be arriving soon after spending a few days at Luna's house. Together, all four of them would eat dinner.

"No, you turned the heat up too high." Imani groaned in annoyance as she pushed Devonte away from the stove. "If you turn the heat up too high, the salmon will burn on the outside and won't cook properly in the middle."

"Hmm..." He nodded and seemed to make a mental note. "Shall I cut up the kimchi with the scissors?"

"Are you capable of doing so?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then go ahead," she allowed as she took cover in cooking the salmon. "Make sure they're all around the same size, so they cook evenly at the same time."

"Question; was I supposed to wash the salmon?"

The girl's eyes went wide as she turned to the boy. "Did you not wash it?"

"I'm joking, Imani," he quickly said through a sneaky grin. "I did. Of course I washed it. I know you're supposed to wash the meat before using it. My mum told me that."

"Good." She exhaled in relief and used the tongs to plop more pieces of salmon onto the hot pan, eliciting a sizzling sound.

There was a faint jingling sound behind the door before it clicked and opened. "Hi, guys," Nayun beamed as she entered the flat with her bags.

"Hey," the other three called out in unison. Devonte added, "We're making salmon. Mani says I'm a great chef."

"I think you're deluded and you should probably get your ears checked because I've said no such thing," Imani muttered, and flipped the salmon.

Nayun giggled and kicked her shoes off before she padded to the living room.

"Hey, Nayun," Joey greeted as she crossed over a word in her wordsearch. She used her free hand to reach into the packet of Nagaraya and pinch a cracker nut between her forefinger and thumb. "How was Luna's?"

"Brilliant." Nayun nodded happily. "We walked along the beach and made jewelry out of seashells."

"That's fun," Joey chimed, and offered her friend a warm smile before tossing the cracker nut into her mouth.