Kindling Flame

1. Aster Li Zhou Ling

"Aster Li Zhou Ling."

Aster stiffened up.

"If you're not going to take this seriously, then just drop out. Don't waste everybody's time and effort." Her tutor's high-pitched voice grated on her nerves.

"...I'm really trying my best." She murmured.

"You call this your best? It's nowhere near your family's talents."

Aster kept her lips pursed and her head low. This was nothing new. 

"Do you have nothing to say for yourself?"

"...No."

Her tutor went red in her face. "That's it for today. We'll resume the next time. Revise your content as usual." 

Aster nodded and calmly kept her study materials, ignoring the slamming and stomping of her tutor's departure. She checked off the box in her to-do list. 'Alright, last tuition for the day and it's cooking time.'

She trudged out of her room and stalled at the top of the stairs. She could still hear voices from the living room down below. 

"She's still performing the same as any average person out on the streets. Is it still the same in other areas?" Based on the high pitch of the voice, there was no mistaking who it belonged to. She could also guess that her parents nodded. She knew her own results.

"Perhaps she's the type to do better with less work? You know, work smart, not hard?" Her mother's worry was evident.

"We're already trying that. Any lesser work and you might as well stop calling me over. No offense but she may really be the dud in your family. She has completely no talent."

"Excuse you. Even if she has no talent at all, she's never a dud." Her mother's voice was raised a notch. "You don't have to return any longer. Perhaps the issue is you."

"Pardon me." Her tutor's solemn words was quickly accompanied with the slamming of a door.

A sigh travelled up the stairs and weighed heavily on Aster's heart. "Should we give her a break from everything?" Her mother suggested.

"We could try. It's all trial and error now, my love."

Aster looked at the tall bookshelf in her room behind her. It was packed full of nonfiction books, everything she had ever delved in for the past 18 years of her life. Yet, she had only ever produced mediocre result, unlike her siblings who both revealed talents at a young age.

Were they finally giving up on her?

Aster twirled her fine hair between her thumb and finger. 'It's about time, I guess.'

Aster waited to hear footsteps before she made her way down. There was no need to make her parents feel any more guilty.

At the dining table, the results of Aster's research, planning, and cooking was laid bare for everyone to see. The food looked appetising, but the taste was... Ordinary. Sometimes, it would be the other way around.

Nonetheless, everyone showed joyful and proud expressions, praising her for the effort she had put into the dishes. Aster received it all with a polite smile and asked for critiques and suggestions, which earned her even more praises from her parents and admiration from her siblings.

After they were done with the small discussion, their talk carried on to more casual topics. Aster was not much of a conversationalist, so she spent more time listening and staring than talking.

Occasionally, her mind would drift by itself and she would see herself and the people around her from a third person's point of view. It was during those moments that feelings of being the odd one out were the strongest.