The Experience Buddy [Completed]

Chapter 15

Warning: Coarse language used (one line)

"Take a sip." Hero told me as he pushed the can nearer to me.

"Here goes." I took in a deep breath and drank one mouthful.

"What the fuck, woman? Sip! Not gulp!" He cursed.

"Oops." I smiled sheepishly.

"How are you feeling?" He asked after rolling his eyes at me.

"I feel fine." I told him. Other than wanting to burp, this tastes better than the vodka and rum that I accidentally drank the last two times.

"Okay, then we wait for 5 minutes before you take another sip." He said.

This whole new dynamic between us felt weird. Perhaps it was us spending way too much time together as compared to before that felt weird. Or maybe it was seeing a different side of Hero that felt weird. I wasn't exactly sure of the reason which might possibly be a combination of everything. But what I know for sure is, this wasn't a bad change.

"Okay, take another sip."

I did as I was told.

"Now we wait another 5 minutes."

My attempts to suppress my burps led to the gas trying to find an alternative channel to exit my body. It fizzled through my nose instead. Is this what people called a 'fuzzy feeling'?

The next half an hour was a repetition of this. I would take a sip from the can, then we wait five minutes and make small talk during those five minutes. I brought up the topic about his grandmother. He said that essentially she was the one who raised him and his brother since his parents were always busy working and were never around.

I wondered if Hero and his brother looked alike.

Some of those five minutes were silent as Hero was scrolling through his phone, while I was trying very hard not to burp.

"Are you sure we are doing this correctly?" I asked when he told me to take another sip. I felt like a pet on potty training.

"I don't know? It's what the article says." He showed me the article on his phone that he was reading from.

"WikiHow? Are you serious?" My mouth was left agape, for I was at a loss for further comments.

"Do I look like I've done this before? I have never met someone like you who hasn't touched alcohol before. Even infants drink rum with their milk." Hero snorted.

Halfway through the can of beer, I started to feel the heating sensation throughout my body. I didn't feel like gagging, but I really need to let the gas out. So I ran into the kitchen and burped then went back into the living room.

"Are you okay? Did you puke?" Hero asked.

"No, I went to burp. I couldn't suppress the gas any longer." I told him as I sat back down on the floor.

"You mean, you were suppressing the gas the whole time?" He chuckled.

I nodded.

"Anyway, I don't think I can drink any more. I can feel myself getting flushed." I told him.

"Yeah, okay." He agreed. "You look like a cooked Boston lobster now."

He took my unfinished can from me and drank all of the remaining beer. I found out that Hero's brother is two years older than he is and is currently studying at Harvard University. But unlike him, his brother got into Harvard based on his own merits. I didn't quite understand what he meant, but my gut instinct told me not to dig any deeper.

"You know...I've always wanted a sibling." I told him while looking down at my feet.

Then I went on to rant about how I always imagined having someone close to me in age in my family. Being able to share our things, talk about our feelings. Sometimes argue a little but then become closer after. Stuff that I would never be able to do as an only child.

"But sometimes reality is different. When you have a father like mine, he will pit the two of you against each other and then you and your sibling will just keep drifting apart. Until one point you realize it's better off to be alone." Hero mumbled.

It was the first time seeing Hero looking so downcast. I didn't know what to say that would make him feel better so I thought of holding his hand in mine but later decided against it. Instead, I plastered a smile on my face and looked at him.

"Hey Hero?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to brush my teeth."

-----

So I really did brush my teeth at Hero's place with the toothbrush from the previous time. Hero said he kept it, just in case. Afterwards, we cleaned up the empty beer cans and scraps of wrapping paper. He offered to help me drop my parcels at the post office so I only took Davin's, Nat and gang's gifts back with me when Hero dropped me off at my dormitory.

Back in my room, I had to wrap his gift as I couldn't wrap his in front of him. I bought him a fixative, so that he spray on his sketches to help preserve his work longer. While wrapping it, I really hoped that he would like it.

That night, I stayed up past midnight to continue working on the draft for my incompleted story. Hoping to get some feedback on the early stages of my writing, I sent the unfinished piece to Madison and Frank, asking for their opinions.

Then I went to bed and fell asleep soon after.

I woke up to the buzzing of my phone and saw that Madison and Frank had left a few messages in our group chat.

~*Madi*~: Hey Ems! Read your story!

~*Madi*~: I think you described the experiences with your friends vividly

~*Madi*~: Which is good but...

Frank: But the story as a whole is too flat

~*Madi*~: Yeah, well, you really write very well. The things done by the characters in the story are quite common, so it's relatable to the general masses

Frank: When put together, the story is not compelling enough

~*Madi*~: It's like your title. There's just something missing

E.L.: Thanks both! You know how much I appreciate such constructive feedback!

What is the missing ingredient? What am I missing? I racked my head for the rest of the day to think of the answer but I just couldn't place a finger on it.