Of the Twisted and the Lost

Chapter 19:

"Just knock on the damn door," Sera hisses to herself, as she gazes up from Junjie's doorway. "Knock, for God's sake!" 

Inhale. 

Exhale. 

You can do this. You can do this. You can do this. 

Sera holds her hand up to the door — only to yank it back down. 

"Oh God," she moans. "I can't even knock on someone's door." 

Inhale. 

Exhale. 

You're not going to anyone's funeral or something. This is only a study session. Not anything else. 

"I can't do this," Sera finally squeaks, as she squeezes her eyes shut. "I'm going to embarrass myself." 

She knows that for a fact. 

Because let's be honest here, if you don't call tackling your crush to the floor embarrassing, what would you call it? 

Sera inhales. Then exhale again. 

"Don't be so pathetic," she whispers. 

Before Sera can stop herself and let fear or paranoia creep through, she whips out her hand and knocks. 

A few seconds pass, and Sera finds her stomach tightening. 

"Maybe he's not home!" Sera says brightly. "Well, in that case, I'll just be on my merry way and—" 

The door swings open. 

"Hello, Sera," Junjie says, his eyes flickering briefly towards Sera, before he opens the door wider. "Do come in." 

Sera startles, making a noise between a squeak and a yelp. 

Chill, chill, chill — act chill, remember? Sera reminds herself, before she forces a smile, walking into Junjie's house. 

"Your house is big," she notes. 

That is not chill, Sera sighs. At all. 

"Hmm?" Junjie asks, his back turned on her. 

"Your house," she repeats. "It's big." 

That part is indeed very true. Junjie's house is big, with the whole entryway seeming about the size of Sera's whole apartment. 

Although Sera has been to his house quite a while, back when they used to be friends, it still awes her by how much more beautiful this place is. 

A tall chandelier graces the ceiling, sending sprinkles and lights dancing across the marble floor. It's all elegance and clean, contemporary, and sleek. 

"Yes," Junjie says, glancing at the dark walls. "I suppose it is." 

He silently guides Sera towards a staircase, one that spirals all the way to the second floor. Sera follows after him, still gaping at how huge his place is. 

"Where're your parents?" Sera asks. 

"My what?" he replies, as they reach the last step. 

"Parents," repeats Sera. 

"Oh." There's something in Junjie's tone like Sera had just asked a stupid question. "Most likely going somewhere. The way my father had purposely turned his collar up? It must be somewhere cold. And the way my mother's lip gloss shined brighter than usual? Somewhere fancy, I presume. The club in London seems like the best bet." 

Junjie stops, before flinging open the huge doorway that's waiting for them. 

"I apologize for the mess," Junjie says, briskly striding into the room. "And the bones. Please excuse the bones." 

Sera gapes at the skull that's sitting peacefully on the table. 

"There are, like, actual real-life bones on that table." Sera's voice grows an octave higher. "I thought you were joking!" 

Junjie makes himself at home, sitting on a couch. He motions for Sera to take the other couch, but she's too busy staring at the pile of bones on the black table. 

"I never joke," Junjie says seriously. "By the way, I forgot to give my gratitude to you." 

"What for?" Sera asks, her palms suddenly sweaty. 

"For not screaming out loud like the other guests do." He flashes Sera a brief smile. "You saved my eardrums from shattering." 

Sera nods, before slowly sinking into the chair Junjie is pointing at. 

"Just wondering," she says casually. "Why exactly do you have bones on a table?" 

Junjie shrugs. "It belongs to my brother, Zhiwei. Something to do with an experiment, I suppose." 

"You have a brother?" Sera asks, eyes widening. "How the hell did I not know that?" 

"You don't talk about me in school?" a voice asks, seeming slightly mocking. "Oh, how sad, Junjie. My feelings are truly hurt." 

Junjie heaves out an irritated sigh. 

"Hello, Zhiwei," says Junjie, as he glances across the room. 

Sera follows his gaze towards an older boy, who looks like Junjie except being much bigger and taller. 

"You brought a girl!" Zhiwei exclaims, a cold gleam appearing in his eyes. "Oh, you never bring girls here. It gets boring sometimes." 

Sera blinks. 

Does that mean she's the first girl who's ever been to Junjie's house? 

But that's impossible, she thinks. He's popular, for God's sake! 

"He never brought a girl here either," Junjie says, jabbing a finger in his brother's direction. "So it's a tie." 

There's something in both of their voices. Rivalry, maybe? 

"Ah, I suppose that's true," Zhiwei says. "But still, this is a surprise. Sera Chang, that's your name, correct?" 

Junjie's lips turn downwards, not quite a scowl, but not looking pleased either. 

"How did I know?" Zhiwei asks, reading the question in Sera's eyes. "Don't get your hopes up. Junjie didn't go talking about you." 

Sera feels a slight sting of rejection. 

"There's a faded name on your coat," says Zhiwei. "Starts with an S and ends with an A. Obviously, four letters, so that would bring us to 'Sera'. Plus, I noticed that Junjie was bustling about and I just did a little of my own research." 

"He means going through the school records," Junjie sighs. 

"Yes," Zhiwei agrees. "That's exactly what I did." 

"Boring." 

"Of course you would think that, dear brother." 

Sera awkwardly sits up, feeling like she's interrupting somehow. 

"Oh, and in case you were wondering." Zhiwei points at the bones. "I'm testing to see human reactions when they are forced to eat their own bones." 

Sera gapes. 

"You're joking," she stammers. "Right?" 

"My brother doesn't joke either," Junjie murmurs. 

Sera doesn't know what to think. 

Fascination, possibly. Intrigued, definitely, by this mystery boy who she wants to know more about. 

Zhiwei finally stands up. "Well, I best be going," he says. "I'll leave you two to be." 

With a wink, he saunters out of the room. 

"Apologies," Junjie says, waving a dismissive hand towards his brother's direction. "He can be quite overwhelming at times. Now shall we get to the study session?"