the theory of everything

3

"she actually said that?!"

liu suyin, the head of the neurology department at the university of california los angeles medical centre, renowned specialist in neuro-oncology and spinal neurosurgery, stumped at a simple societal problem, outsmarted, outwitted, bamboozled by a cheeto-sized girl.

preposterous!

"yes, i did." suji smiles, pushing a piece of a4 paper in her direction. the colourful crayon words on it are sloppily written on, with only the words FORMAL CONTRACT being readable.

"oh," suyin scoffs, "you didn't ask your daddy to help you draft this contract, did you?"

"no need. i have my sources and i know they're credible."

"so? mind reading it out loud for me? or could you summarise it, thanks?"

"yes, so. basically. i will help you and your fuckbuddy become boyfriend and girlfriend in three weeks, just in time for you to make it home before lunar new year, and in exchange, you will give me a lifetime supply of chocolate covered strawberries." the little girl even has the gall to gesture at the tiny strawberry charms on her hair ties. the resin charms that suyin made.

she thinks it's funny, all of this. from her mother asking for a boyfriend out of the blue, to threatening to disown her, to being eavesdropped by a child genius while ranting to her best friend, to signing a contract akin to selling her soul to the devil.

and suyin knows. oh, she knows. that last part is especially accurate, because suji is smart. she can and will make a contract that is free of loopholes and decorated with pretty crayola colours, and signing it may cause her to end up in a lawsuit against one of the best lawyers in california.

but, suyin thinks, it will be fun. she needs more spice in her life, and surgeries are starting to get boring.

so she takes a neon pink crayon and signs, in full, exactly where suji tells her to.