Special Tutoring

The chestnut brown haired man

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[Mandarin]

姐姐: older sister

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After getting the prescription, we left the clinic. I didn't protest when the car shot past our house. There were questions that needed to be answered, and somehow both of us knew that that felt like the right moment. Qin drove us out to the C- lake, after she went through a drive-thru for some chocolate. The hot beverage scalded my tongue but soothed my ruffled senses after the traumatic episode.

The sun was but a dollop of yellow on the azure sky. We sat on the edge of the rickety wooden jetty overlooking the lake, dangling our feet over the clear water exposing the little pebbles worn smooth by currents past and present. Behind us, the naked weeping willows danced to the light breeze. After the howling winds of the last few days, we were finally experiencing a rare Indian Summer afternoon before the frosty onset of winter.

"We hadn't gone out alone, just the two of us, since you entered high school," Qin recalled. Clearly she was thinking about our simpler childhood. My brain chased away the instant memory flash of how we used to sit at this same place, eating our ice lollies on hot summer days, dangling our feet the same way we were now, toes pointing down. It was not the time now to reminisce.

"Hmmm. How did you know the doctor?" I asked, wondering how did Trevor not catch Qin's search history for gynaecologists. Qin didn't reply immediately. Instead her eyes bored into the distance, where a lone boat with a red sail was floating on the calm water.

"We met at an overseas building project I did in Nicaragua three summers ago. Dr Cohen was coincidentally there on a charity mission to provide medical care for the women and children in the village. There were only a few girl volunteers, so we spent most of our time together and quickly became close friends," she said softly. "We kept in sporadic contact after we came home, but when I needed help, she rose to the occasion and rendered me a lot of support."

"What did she help you with?" I asked, equally low, though I already knew the answer. It was obvious, she must have gotten a STD from Mr Chestnut Brown haired man. Why else would you need a gynaecologist for? No wonder the doctor's clinic was never flagged in any of the information Trevor dug up for me. Qin already knew who to contact after she caught a STD. That must be the reason why she was so adamant that I adopt a "no-sex" policy.

Qin didn't reply the question. Her eyes remained centered on the boat which was gradually shrinking  on the horizon. Her hands held onto the edge of the weatherbeaten jetty in a deathlike grip, her whole body tensed.

"Once upon a time, there was a plain and ordinary girl." I gave her a flabbergasted face. Was this the time for a fairy tale? Then it dawned on me that this perhaps, was the only way she felt comfortable to communicate what had happened. In third person.

"She was messed up inside and very lonely because she didn't know how to interact and talk to other children. She was invisible to everyone except for her little sister whom she was very close to.  She never told anyone but she loved and hated her sister in the same breath. She envied her sister because she was vivacious and pretty. She was jealous of how everyone, even their parents, lavished attention on her sister readily and everything just came to her easily, whereas she was fading into the background. The girl realized after a while, that the only way to stop being invisible was to do well in school. So she slogged hard in her studies."

"For a while, it worked. The school recognized her efforts by sending her to competitions. And with every win, her parents noticed her a little more and gradually lavished the attention she craved so much. Her only regret was that her parents started comparing her with her sister which ruined their relationship. But she thought to herself and accepted that it was the price to pay." I was going to retort, but decided to hold my tongue until the end of the "story".