2008-06-20 - 9:26 p.m.
June 4, 2008
He woke up at eight. He got out of my room to find me sitting in the living room, still working on the damn lesson plan for the day. (I know, I was being a lazy slacker.) After he'd gone to the bathroom and changed into a new T-shirt and shorts, he approached me with a warm smile on his cute face.
"Hi."
"Hi." I looked up and smiled back at him. Looking good, I thought. "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yeah." Nick nodded and grabbed a chair next to me. He sat down. "Have you finished with the lesson plan already?"
Oops. "Err...no,not yet," I admitted shamefully. In other words, I'm feeling as lazy as a world class slacker.
"Bad Ruby," he half-teased me, pretending to whack me in the head. "You're supposed to have finished all of that by now. What have you been doing since last night - after I was asleep?"
Good question. Instead of finishing the lesson plan, I had my eyes glued to "Pet Sematary 2" on TV. My favourite horror movie.
Then Mom suddenly came and scolded me in our native tongue:
"Ruby, you should make him some tea!"
"Okay, Mom." And so I did. Actually, I made two mugs for us. He accepted one and thanked me. He didn't want any sugar in it, because he felt that it was just fine that way.
"Okay." I shrugged and sipped my tea when it was not too hot for me anymore. He did the same. "So, are you ready for some breakfast?"
"Not until you finish your lesson plan first," Nick said while grinning at me. "Or else I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Okay, okay." He was right,though. I should've finished the lesson plan right away. Besides, I wasn't about to get him starving for way too long. No way!
Thankfully,I managed to finish it quickly, so then I could take you out for a brunch. (Especially since it was almost ten.) I was thankful that the weather wasn't too hot. I knew that your pale skin couldn't stand too much heat.
We ate at my next-door neighbour's house. I always like this old lady whom I call 'Ummi' (in Arab word, it means 'mother' or 'ma'am'.) She's always been friendly and honest too. She sells tasty food and it's pretty cheap too. Nasi uduk (a flavoured rice with fried onion, soy-sauced tofu, soy bean cake, and an egg) is my favourite there. Mom likes 'lontong sayur' (rice bun with pumpkin vegetables) better.
I was glad that he picked the nasi uduk first. I wasn't sure that his stomach was ready for the spicy ones yet!
After that, we returned to my parents' house. There were still enough time - although only a little - before I had to leave for work. The day before, you showed me your friend Sarah B's pictures when you were in Bangladesh and India from your laptop files. There were even pictures from China, including the one of your ex-girlfriend. (No, I'm not jealous at all.)
That afternoon, you played some of the songs from your laptop. I thought your friend Kelly and Sarah R (not Sarah the excellent photographer) were great singers.Honestly, I thought they both sounded like Indigo Girls.
I didn't want to go. I wanted to stay with you. But of course, that was not good. I knew you disliked fried food, but you ate fried rice with me for lunch nearby, just so I didn't have to be late for work.
"Work hard and make more money," Nick reasoned with a comforting smile. "I'll be here studying my Chinese for my summer school until you get back. Tomorrow, we can start exploring this city, okay?"
"Okay." I smiled back. "I'll be back soon, maybe around eight or so."
--- // ---
I hoped my working hours would've ended anytime soon. The kids in my children's class gave me a hard time. The stereo I'd planned to use for my next class turned out to be...not working at all. I ended up making them do their workbooks while I silently screamed inside. AARGH!
Then Mom suddenly texted my cellphone:
"Ruby, Dad and I are going to a party. Nick is home alone."
I quickly grabbed the materials I needed for the next lesson plan. Then I headed home as fast as possible.
I finally returned at sometime around 8:30.
"Nick, I'm home!"
From the window, I could see him sitting in the living room all by himself. His Chinese textbook was on the glass table. The light in the living room just made his red hair look a little orange.
I opened the door and went straight into the living room. He looked at me and frowned, asking, "A rough day at work?"
"Sort of." I didn't want to talk about it anymore. We bought rice and pumpkin vegetables for dinner at home. Then we watched the pilot episode of "Firefly" from Nick's laptop until my parents finally returned home. I thought it was a cool TV show.
And I couldn't wait for tomorrow!
The Author
