GAEA

Chapter One

Chapter One: Pause

"Hey" a voice from my back said. I could hear her footsteps on the cold tan tiled floor and smell her flowery perfume from last night's hangout. A hand touched the small of my back making me look at her direction. "Food smells nice." She inhaled deeply with her eyes closed and sat next to me.

The food really did smell nice. And I know for a fact that it tasted amazing. My dad cooked tomato and onion omelet, fried rice and corned beef. Ah, it's heaven. I swear I could hear angels singing from up above. I used to take my dad's cooking for granted back in high school because I eat it every single morning. But ever since I started boarding in a dorm near my school, I missed my parents' cooking every single day. Fastfood and cheap canteens didn't really suffice when you eat it tous les jours.

Rule number one: don't take parents' food for granted. They work their asses off to buy food and then they have to work their asses off again to make us eat it... and like it.

I tried cooking for me and my sister when we're starving while mom and dad's out. The food I make is not terrible per se, but it's not really amazing. Maybe I just need more practice?

It wasn't long before I notice my cousin, whose bedhead is really very much a sight to see, staring at me. Chewing. "You awake?" She asked lazily then swallowed. I didn't really want to answer her, but ignoring her would be mighty rude. Was I really awake? Now that she brought it up, my eyes do feel heavy. I think I slept fully last night. Even with our three a.m. talk about travelling and food.

Staring at her was the only thing I could do at the moment. Mai is usually "made up" every time I see her. Now seeing this person wearing a tank and shorts with her face oily as the omelet on the dining table and her black hair looking like a nest, it's kind of funny. Slowly, I felt my lips curve upward.

Mai's eyes widened and spat her food out. Our sisters sitting in front of us laughed. I looked at them; narrowed my eyes towards them as if it could help me understand what's going on. My sister looked like me in a way. She has paler skin and smaller eyes which were from my mom, and they look like they have Caucasian genes, while I got my grandma's big round eyes and grandpa's dark and puffy eye bags. My cheeks are pretty puffy, too. They called me meat bun at school because of this. Mai's sister was slim and had slightly slanted eyes. She's the one who usually gets asked if she's half Chinese or half Korean.

"I guess you're high, then. I don't remember you taking drugs last night, though." Mai wiped her chin. "Unless..." Then gave me a 'I-think-I-know-who-killed-me-last-summer' look.

My dad sat next to me and asked "Who's taking drugs?" His tone casual as if this happens every day.

"Uncle! Cala took drugs without me last night!" Mai whined. "She's so greedy!"

"What?! Cala! You should have at least woken up Mai when doing crack!" Dad put rice on his plate and forked a small portion of the omelet then began eating--- again being as casual and cool as possible, riding along Mai's joke. "We've talked about drugs remember? That it's not okay to take it by yourself. You should always have a loved one close to you to fully savour its enriching effects."

As much as I wanted to retort with so much wit and uncanny cleverness, all I could do was give my dad a dumbfounded look; complete with my mouth agape. My mind didn't really function well in the morning.

"What?" I finally said, sounding husky and croaky. It took all of my energy to say it.

"SHE FINALLY SPOKE!" said my sister, her palms facing the ceiling as if thanking God for blessing her.

"Let's pray that she would continue to talk to us, and that her mind remain with us." Mai's sister added.

"We must give thanks to the heavens for this joyous event." Dad put his hand on my head and started to murmur chant-like sounds. "Let us sing Jingle Bells as a tribute to the summer heat! The sun has graced us with as much UV rays and heat as possible to make us all look like Oompa Loompas and has dried up my daughter's grey matter!"