Apparently, soap wasn’t just soap. There were other things, like conditioners and shampoo and lotion. I was used to taking care of everything with one bar of soap, sometimes with just water. It wasn’t as if the concept of such things were alien to me. I just didn’t give much attention to differentiating them due to their rarity.
Sin, however, did. And I was educated soon enough.
She scrutinized me as she worked in the kitchen, “Why’s your skin so bright?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I feigned ignorance as I waited at the dinner table. The table fan was turned on, oscillating a noisy, mild breeze as it swept across the table surface. It felt chilly against my skin. It threw my slick, wet hair across my scalp each time it turned to face me.
She came to the dinner table, holding two bowls of rice in her hands, “How much lotion did you put on?”
I shrugged, “Didn’t put on any.”
She didn’t pursue any further, but neither did she believe me. She kept a sceptical eye on me as she set the bowls across the table and made her way back to the kitchen. She came back with a wok, half-filled with stir-fried greens and carrots. She placed it down on the table. Not once through all that did she break her line of sight with me.
As she sat down on the opposite end of the table, she finally made the connection, “Did you use it as soap?”
I wanted to protest, but I couldn’t think of a viable lie. The jig was up, “I couldn’t tell which was which.”
Sin squinted, her freckled cheeks pushing up her eyes, “You couldn’t tell lotion from body wash?”
“Bottles didn’t have anything written on them.”
“You couldn’t ask?”
I made a quick spin on my wheel of excuses, “You were busy.”
It worked. I think. Sin didn’t seem all that convinced, but she didn’t press on any further. It’s enough of a victory for me.
Though I didn’t seem to be in much of a winner’s position.
Sin didn’t have any change of clothes that suited my size. I had to make do for my upper half with a borrowed jersey jacket from Sin. I couldn’t zip up no matter how hard I tried. I could barely move my arm without risking a tear or choking an artery. I was left with a significant part of my torso exposed down the middle. For my lower half, I had to compromise with another spare towel, this time in bright pink. It seemed every bit as reluctant to stay wrapped around my crotch as every little move I made would wriggle it loose. My genitals didn’t help either, as it would threaten to pull a jack-in-a-box every ten minutes if I didn’t adjust the towel right.
I felt less like a guest and more like a refugee.
“Whatever,” Sin sighed as she picked up her chopsticks, “You owe me a bottle’s worth now. Remember; red is shampoo, yellow is conditioner, green is body wash, and blue is lotion. If you can’t memorize, just remember the traffic light. Red, yellow, green. Hair to toe. Blue isn’t in a traffic light, so it goes last.”
“Hell of a system for a shower,” I picked up mine, “Why don't you just buy new bottles?”
She used her chopsticks and plucked out a vegetable from the wok, “Refill packs are cheaper.”
I took my share from the wok. I stirred it in the soft, fluffy rice and ate it straight from the bowl. I wasn’t good with the sticks; I could barely pick stuff up with them in the first place. I had to make do by using it as a shovel and stuffing everything from the bowl into my mouth. It was primitive, but it worked. Unfortunately, Sin couldn’t see past the former.
She winced, “Do all child soldiers eat like this?”
I drew my head up from the bowl, chewed, and swallowed, “Only the handsome ones.”
“Don’t choke on that ego, Guy,” she looked back down to her bowl.
“Food this good, I’d rather choke on this,” I took another helping from the wok.
“It’s literally just fried vegetables.”
“Wrong. It’s a woman’s cooking I’m having here. That’s a luxury most men don’t have. Remember that.”
“What,” Sin put down her bowl and walked back towards the kitchen, “A girl can’t cook?”
“Not when they got the men to do it.”
“Well, I don’t have a guy to do it for me.”
“Now you got this Guy.”
She came back with two metal mugs of water, “Can you cook?”
“I can make mean instant noodles.”
She placed one in front of me as she kept the other for herself, “I’m interested.”
“Only if you give me a bigger towel,” I took a swig from the mug she gave me, “And a bigger jacket.”
“Sorry,” she sipped from hers, “It only gets tighter from here.”
I placed my mug down on the table, “Feel like it’s gonna fall off anytime soon,” and picked my bowl back up again, taking another mouthful of rice.
“Don’t worry,” she gave a grin and a wink, “I won’t look.”
I put down my bowl and took a long stare at Sin. She gazed back, keeping eye contact for quite a while.
“Trust me,” Sin gave a reassuring wave, “Not like there’s much I could see from here.”
I chewed and swallowed, “Why’d you let me stay?”
She smirked, “You rather sleep next to the bathhouse again?”
I didn’t respond to that.
A moment of silence went by.
Sin picked from the wok of vegetables, “Well, I can’t let you stay outside on your own, can I?”
“You’re a girl, living alone in the middle of nowhere,” I pointed towards the girl before me, “And you just brought a boy home with you.”
Sin didn’t answer for a moment.
Then she broke into a giggle, "I know you boys can't make weapons but it's not like I'm gonna use mine on you."
"Not that," I shook my head.
“You think I’m gonna do something to you?”
“Not me," I pointed towards Sin, "You."
She looked at me funny for a moment before replying in a near comedic tone, “You’re gonna do something to me?”
“I could," I paused, "If I want to."
Sin snickered, "You want to try?"
"I won't, but I can only speak for myself."
A shared silence passed by the two of us.
Sin picked up her bowl again, "This is the first time I've seen anyone worry for the woman in this situation."
"Just saying. For safety."
"It's not like I'll pick up a child soldier once every few weeks or so."
"You shouldn't have brought me here in the first place."
"So what," Sin put down her bowl, "You wanna leave right now?"
"N-No," I cursed my quick tongue, "Just want you to be careful."
"If I were you, I'd be the careful one following a girl home alone," she picked it back up again, "But good to know you care."
I had more to ask, but the time didn’t feel right. I left the exchange as it was, and lowered my head towards the table. We continued with our meal, letting the ambience take the soundscape as we shallowed our bowls.
Sin was the first to finish. She pushed herself from her chair and turned off the table fan, “You know how to wash up?”
“Can’t be that har’,” I blurted out with a mouthful of rice.
“Good.” she grabbed the utensils, walked towards the kitchen, and dumped them in the sink, “I’m gonna take a shower.”
“Hey,” I swallowed everything in my mouth, “Quick question.”
She looked towards me, “What?”
“Where’s the toilet?”
Sin threw a thumb towards the bathroom door, “You see the drain at the corner?”
“Oh.”
“Any other questions?”
“What if it’s coming out the other hole?”
“You time your meals and use the school bathroom,” she then drew her finger towards the direction of the forest, “Or use the outhouse at the back.”
I know I had complained a great deal before but, “Can’t afford to have one in-house?”
“Well,” Sin sighed as she leaned against the kitchen counter, “This place isn’t really built as a home to live in. It’s more of a storehouse converted into an actual house. The water and electricity are all makeshift, coming from the mountain rivers and a generator. We can’t connect to the town’s infrastructure, from where we are. We’ve wanted a septic tank for years but we can’t get to it. We’re too close to the farms for that. The best we could manage is a pipe system towards the nearest drain ditch. Make sure nothing solid gets in, else it gets clogged.”
I stared at her for a moment, “Who was that otter girl you told me about? The one that hates guys.”
“You mean Wet?”
“Yeah, that otter girl.”
She tilted her head, “What about her?”
“You sure she’s the only one that used to be in abject poverty?”
She scoffed at me, “You know, for a child soldier you got a high standard of living.”
“You’re not wrong,” I finished my bowl of rice and drank from my mug of water, “City life softened me a bit.”
“Well, I get three square meals a day. If you work your part and fund your stay, you’ll get the same. Would that be enough, Your Royal Highness?”
I put my mug aside and pulled the wok towards me, finishing the last of the vegetables, “Know anyone hiring?”
“You’re in a farm town. It’s almost harvest season too. Just ask around,” she pushed herself away from the kitchen sink, “You’re gonna wash again after I do. Can’t have you walking around the house all slimy. You have a toothbrush with you?”
I finished every last scrap on the dinner table and picked everything up, “You see me walking in with luggage?”
“How are you gonna brush your teeth?”
I brought all the dishes into the kitchen sink and ran the water, “It’s not like you can smell my breath, right?”
That answer only seemed to invoke disgust on her expression.
“What,” I shrugged, “Now you’re gonna say you can see the dirt on my teeth now.”
“Yes,” she pointed at me, “There’s a carrot piece on your bottom teeth.”
I brushed my finger across my teeth. She was right.
“Just gargle. A lot,” she began walking towards the bathroom, “I’m gonna take that shower now.”
I dug the carrot piece out and swallowed it, “Have fun.”
Sin made her way towards the folding door, held the handle, paused, and turned towards me.
She lowered her voice to a stern tone, “No peeking.”
I turned towards her, a hand holding the wok with the other gripping a sponge.
There was a moment of silence before, “I’ll try.”
As a response, Sin pulled a frown and extended one of her hands towards me. Sparkles began burning in the air, shining an area just above her palm. They congregated as one, growing brighter as the visual embers grew frequent in numbers. For a split second, it seemed as if she was holding a star. They began to grow in length, forming a short, stick-like figure.
After a few seconds, they dissipated as abruptly as they came. The switchblade I saw from this evening emerged from within the light show; plain black grip, stainless steel blade, modern design.
The switchblade dropped onto Sin’s hand which aimed the tip towards me, “Try.”
I stared at her, keeping a casual gaze at the girl and her weapon as I scrubbed the oil off the inside of the wok.
Then I pulled a grin, "You shouldn't have brought me here in the first place."
