Red Room

11

Moloch's question was everything Kataleya needed in order to decide she didn't like him. The picture in her mind showed him as somebody who didn't quite understand the concept of common sense and was vocal as well, to make matters worse.

I hope this old motherfucker isn't gonna force him to babysit me or something, she prayed in her head.

The boy would have liked to talk to her, but something told him it was better not to. In his opinion, that clap-back was a little bit exaggerated. He didn't mean to offend her, it was just a name he'd never heard before.

Because of the tension between the two teens, everybody was silent all through the meal. Afterwards, Moloch got up and left under the excuse that Agnes was waiting for him to help her with some chores.

After Joakim was sure the guest was gone, he turned to his granddaughter and spoke, "Hey, uhm... you know... Moloch has been isolated from people for the most part of his life and-"

"Yeah, yeah, don't be mad at him for what he said, he's a good guy. I know this kind of poems.", she cut him off.

"That too, but I wanted to tell you something else."

"What?"

"Could you please help him get out of his shell? Because I've seen he's having a hard time interacting with others."

Kataleya sent him an 'you've got to be kidding me' look and mumbled, "I guess?"

"Thank you."

"Anything else?"

He shook his head for 'no'. Seemingly satisfied with the gesture, the girl rose up from the table and headed back for her room.

So.... I have to babysit him or something? For real?

Grandpa couldn't have actually asked her to take care of someone around 3 years older. That was crazy! Was that guy really so disabled that he couldn't act or talk like a normal human?

Then another thought popped into her mind: who was going to take care of her? Where was she going to go to if she needed help? Because the old man was doing his grandfather job quite poorly so far.

Whatever. Kataleya could take care of herself.

The following day, Moloch went over to Juho for the promised hang-out. His friend came to Agnes' house to pick him up because the newcomer hadn't gotten used to the tangled streets of Stockholm yet.

On the way to his home, Juho observed the younger boy's fascination about... basically, everything. He couldn't help but ask himself what did the other one find so special about numerous blocks and houses.

He's gotta be coming from some very small vilage that nobody really gives a shit about, he explained himself.

They eventually reached Juho's block. Juho was the first one to enter and led the way.

The inside of the building, as well as the outside, was poorly maintained. Scratched words and marker graffitti covered the walls. About half of the windows of the stairwell were broken and the entrance door looked like it wasn't going to resist much longer. All in all, the block looked like it was built before the world wars and hadn't been restored ever since.

In fact, the entire neighborhood looked rather unwelcoming. That was because it was located at the "border" between Ursvik and Rinkeby* and construction companies, as well as other commercial businesses, preferred to stay as far away from that area as possible for safety reasons. If one wanted to renovate his home, for instance, he had to do it himself or find somebody brave enough to want to work there.