Kazoku Futarikiri had never placed much value in labels - fat, skinny, loud, quiet, nice, mean. All they were good for was dehumanizing someone, trimming their existence down to a few adjectives.
But she was pretty sure she was a bad person.
Steal...
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A knocking at the door interrupted my cooking. Well, less of cooking and just boiling some noodles only to throw a cheese packet, milk, and some butter on.
I opened it, revealing a familiar face that was always a dread to see. Of course she was a delight to have around, but her presence was yet another reminder of how I was unsuited to take care of Nikko.
"Hello, Miss Kazoku," Keomi Nakamura, a social service worker, greeted. "How are you doing today?"
"I'm doing good," I replied, "And you?"
She shrugged, a typical response for her. I guess it was hard to have good days when you were constantly surrounded by struggling children. "I'm alright. Hey, Nikko."
Nikko waved from his spot on the kitchen counter. "Hi, Keomi."
"How is my favorite boy doing?" She gave him a warm smile. Nakamura had a gift. A gift to make everyone feel special. Not just children, but the parents or guardians as well. While the reasons she may be here are nothing good, she'd always be welcome in our home.
Nikko beamed at her. "Pretty good. Tomorrow I have a club meeting so I'm excited for that."
"Oh, really?" Nakamura asked, "And what club are you in?"
"I'm in the Robotics club," he answered, "I get to make machines and program them to do simple things."
"Hmmm," she nodded, "You must really be smart then. So I'm guessing you get good grades in school and stay up to date with your homework?"
Nikko nodded. His eyes flickered over to me, as if asking for clarification that this was, in fact, one of her double ended questions. "Yeah, Boss always makes me finish homework before we can play any board games."
"That's good," Keomi said, "What other good habits has she taught you?"
Nikko thought for a moment, before scrunching up his nose. "Be nice to people I don't like." His eyes shifted to me. "Like Mrs. Suzuki."
I grinned, but rolled my eyes nonetheless. "She does good things for you, Buddy."
"She doesn't like you," Nikko reasoned.
Keomi's eyes shifted between us before sighing. "Miss Kazoku, could I have a moment?"
I nodded, "Watch the noodles while I'm gone, alright?"
