Adrift

5

Aoi Ishiki

I broke my promise. I know and I'm paying for it.

Daichi looks at me with a disappointed gaze every time he passes by in the dining room. How am I paying for Chigusa Aoi's nose? I'm kneeling on a basin of salt and raising my hands.

The worst punishment though is that Eiji and Hitomu can't talk to me for as long as I'm kneeling. I want to cry for several reasons. First, because I am convinced that whatever I did is right. Second, even if it is, I hate disappointing Daichi. Third, I want Eiji nii-san to comfort me.

You know that moment where you're slicing onions and it's just so hard not to cry? That's what I feel right now. The sting on my eyes is so strong that I couldn't hold it any longer. My tears just flood down from eyes.

Why is life so unfair to me?

The sink is filled with unwashed plates and I could smell the spoiling food. It stinks so bad that it gives me headaches. My back and forehead are wet and sticky from sweat. It's stupid that I wearing my tracksuit today.

I hear a door slide open right behind me, that means, Hitomu has just woken up. Bad timing because I'm dying. My hands and knees are shaking.

"Oi!" He calls out. Hitomu never really follows any of Daichi's rules. In return, since people expect little from him, they just become lenient. He clicks his tongue and before I know it, he pushes my hands down. My hands collapse together with my body, face down. The basin of salt flips over behind me.

"Baka!" I hissed under my exhausted voice.

"You're the idiot. No matter how long you kneel on salt. The milk is already spilled," he says. One of the few times he is serious. I bawl in response and move my arms towards my face.

For a while, I just cry loudly there while Hitomu cleans up the mess behind me. He usually mocks me for crying but he doesn't do it now. The idiot just whistles a traditional tune and pretends he doesn't hear me.

The main door opens with a rash slide and presents my other brother, Eiji. He's bringing two paper bags from what I assume is from the convenience store nearby.

"Aoi-chan! I bought you strawberry milk," he announces with his usual calming voice. Once he saw my ruckus, he clicks his tongue and approaches me.

"Awww," he mumbles and pulls my torso upwards. I squat properly and face him with a blank expression. My nose is warm and I know it's becoming wide and red. He wipes the remaining tears that's moistening my lids with his rough thumb, then he places my head on his shoulder.

"So how did little Aoi kick that pretty boy?" he asks. I shake my head and refuse to answer. He lets out a little laugh and furrows his eyebrows jokingly.

"I grabbed his hair and kicked his face with my knee," I shamefully say, my voice croaking because I just cried.

"Muay Thai surely is amazing!" he exclaimed. Another door slides open and my reflexes then prompt me to raise both of my hands. Daichi walks out from his room and then towards me.

"Wash the dishes," he commands. He definitely sounds like a soldier when he gives orders, hasty and stern. I nod and automatically go to the sink. Eiji looks at me in wonder and drops his jaw. "Whoa, she's like a robot."

I squeeze the sponge and put soap all over the plates. The smell is overwhelming up close, it makes me puke but I tried my best not to by biting my tongue. Bubbles form up all over the sink and the smell somehow kinda decreases, however it's still appalling.

The telephone rings and sends my brothers running after it. Hitomu picks it up first and answers it.

"Ishiki Residence, who is this?" he asks. He nods and then places the telephone head on his shoulder. "Aoi! Hatsumomo-san says sorry," he shouts to me. I widen my eyes and gulp. I have a call from a girl? Oh right, I have a friend now.