The Disparate One

Chapter 20 - Salmon

Ray abruptly woke up from his sleep. He yawned as he rubbed his eyes gently. His room was pitch black when he sat up, but it was then flushed away by light when he stood up, carefully searched for a switch and turned it on. He yawned for the second time while he was opening the blinds and noticed that it is already night outside. He was fascinated by the view of the city. He then grabbed his hat and placed it on his head comfortably. He stretched his arms and legs out, he even did his neck and walked out of the room after.

"Goodnight, had a nice sleep?", Oxford, who was sitting on the sofa and having a conversation with the robot, greeted the man that just walked out of the hallway that connects Ray's room to the living room.

"Better than yesterday.", Ray replied while walking towards them.

"Have you showered?", the robot questioned after he turned his head to the man.

"I just woke up.", said Ray who came to a stop, looking at the two on the sofa.

"Go and take a shower, dinner will be served soon.", said Oxford to Ray.

Ray sighed and yawned for the third time when he turned around to walk back to his room. The two watched Ray leave their sight before continuing their conversation. Ray closed the door of his bedroom, not locking it, and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind him and locking it. Ray was surprised by how spacious the bathroom is. For him, it is like twice the size of his cell back in the facility, bathroom included. Before he removed all of his clothes, he first checked his uniform for smell by, of course, smelling it. He was confused by the smell of his clothes. They smell fresh, so fresh that he can smell it all day long. He decided to focus on that mystery later, he needs to take a shower first.

"Are you going to introduce Ray to your family?", the robot questioned Oxford when he stood up.

"I'm still thinking about it...", Oxford replied while he was walking to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients for their dinner.

"You better think fast because they'll be here tomorrow for sure.", said the robot who also left the sofa and joined the man in the kitchen to help him.

"Would you, if you were me?", Oxford asked as he went to the fridge.

"I would. I will introduce him as a friend, why? Because he is a human not an alien, a robot, or worse, a monster.", answered the robot who was chopping the onions.

"Hey, monster, alien, robot, or human, they are all equal.", Oxford argued.

"Y-You asked for my opinion, besides who would even introduce someone who is not a human?", replied the robot.

"I would, if only we, humans, are ready for it.", said Oxford as he placed the vegetables on the countertop by kind.

"There must be a way right?", questioned the robot when he turned on the electric stove after he placed a frying pan on it.

"I don't have the answer for that.", replied the man who was slicing a salmon perfectly.

"Oh. I didn't know we are having salmon.", said the robot when he saw the man just finished slicing the salmon into pieces.

"Is there a problem?", questioned the man.

"I don't know how to cook it.", answered the robot.

"You're joking, right? Because I don't either.", said Oxford with an eyebrow raised.

Ray walked out of his bedroom in his white general uniform since he found no clothes in the cabinets. He was greeted by a smell that doesn't match his satisfaction. He went to the kitchen and found the source of the smell. The two were trying to cook the salmon but were failing so bad that Ray interrupted them by joining them and taking over.

"Frying a salmon is easy as cooking a chicken, only it is more delicate.", said Ray when he grabbed the frying pan, which already has a salmon in it, and changed the heat to medium.

The two watched Ray how he fried the pieces of a salmon perfectly without a single error. The smell started to change, from horrible to delicious. He then threw a pinch of salt and pepper on it and later was followed by vegetables.

"Since when do you know how to cook salmon?", questioned the robot who moved to the other side so that Oxford can get closer.

"I don't remember. It somehow just came into my mind.", Ray answered while he moved the salmon out of the frying pan, piece by piece, and placed it gently in the middle of the two plates.

Oxford and the robot moved away from Ray to gave him space as he turned around to place the plates on the table. While Ray was preparing the table, the robot grabbed a blow torch from one of the cabinets, lit it, and carefully moved it closer to Ray's right hand which was hanging freely on his right side when Oxford was having a conversation with him. The robot was surprised and also scratched his head as he kept the blowtorch near Ray's hand.

"Do you feel it?", the robot let out a question that made Ray to turn around and caught the robot.

"N-No...", answered Ray as he stared at his right hand that is being heated up by a blowtorch.

"The more we know... the weirder you get.", said Oxford after Ray moved his hand away from the torch.