TBBM XXXVIII. The Legend of Porridge

"The youth of today really lacked decency," the senior nurse said loudly, disapprovingly. "The young never think what physical intimacies entail."

"P-physical intimacy?" I looked at Red, questioning.

"No idea," he mouthed, fighting off laughter.

I hadn't seen that kind of disappointed stare lately. She probably thought I and Red were doing---never mind. It was so embarrassing.

I found myself standing next to her, all prim and proper as the other nurse wheeled Red in front of us going to a private room.

We settled into the room quietly. Red literally couldn't make a scene as he started vomiting again shortly after our entrance. The younger nurse helped me fix him in the comfort room, and get him back to bed. He was hooked up to the dextrose so she gave us a small basin so he could use when he had to purge again.

"Hicks, I'm hungry," he pouted to me like a helpless kid.

When I met Red, looking from the outside in, I never imagined that somebody looking all cool and tough as him also had this soft spot. Every time he did that face, I felt like he was going down my level---the level of a simple girl with a humble life. It almost made me melt all the time.

"Can he eat?" I turned to the nurse.

"Soft diet for now, like, some porridge or cereal or pancakes" she smiled. "Pantry's on the second floor."

"I see. Thank you," I smiled back at her.

With that, she left. I looked at Red, checking if he somehow felt better after throwing up. After all the teasing he did to me today, it seemed like we were back to normal. I no longer felt awkward around him. Was that good? I could not tell.

"What?" he prodded.

"When you---" I was trying not to laugh at his situation but I couldn't help it. "When you act all baby like that and you're such a muscle dude, don't you feel awkward?"

"No. Not really," he folded his arms to the back of his head as he rested on the wall behind him. "I know you like it."

"How so?"

"For one, your face crumples like this," he copied my expressions. He was so ugly. It made me laugh.

"I don't do that!" I screamed. "You always make me look ugly. Everybody said I looked different. But you---you just nag me like that. You can't even pay attention---"

"You want me to call you pretty?" he concluded. "I see. I see."

I made face.

"Why are you so obsessed with changing, anyway?" he scratched his head. "I honestly don't get it."

Suddenly, his face turned serious; like he was some kind of a guy I could trust.

"Change..." for a moment, I thought deeply about what he said. I thought about everything I went through just so I could be this version of me. "When the caterpillar turns into a butterfly, you can't argue that the butterfly is less than the caterpillar or vice-versa. You just know that she has phases."

"Hmmm..." it took him a while to digest that. He looked at me, studiously. "So, you're saying that you're still you?"

I nodded.

He stretched his arm up in the air, looking relieved.

"Do you really not think this is pretty?" I spoke lowly. I always wanted him to say it but he never did.

"The what?"

I bit my lip and shrugged my shoulders.

"Fine," his face brightened. "I think you're pretty. Am I forgiven now?"

Dub dub. Dub dub.

Dub dub. Dub dub.

His last utterance came to me slowly, like raindrops falling from the sky above, enjoying its sweet traverse of the empty space and eventually landing to its rightful place in the ground below. It felt chilly on the skin.

"See," Red broke my instant trance. "I can make you giddy, too."

"I'll get you something to eat now. Money, please," I laid out my palms, dismissive.

+++

I had my hands on a bag of porridge and pancakes in roughly twenty minutes. I didn't realise it but I was such in a hurry because I feared he'd need me and I wasn't around.

"Insane," I chuckled lightly on my way to his room on the other side of the Emergency. "How could somebody like Red need you, really?"

Red. It would be so nice if he'd be less unpredictable. I could see how he was trying to understand me but I still could not really read him fully. Sometimes, he was needy and demanding; other times, he was cold and dismissive.

I opened his door and when I did, he looked up at me.

"What?" I asked while I steadied the food tray on his bed.

"I'm hungry. But I might throw up again," he complained to me like a child needing care.

"Did you even, actually eat anything earlier today?" I paused.

"Not much. Just some bread," he was making a baby face. "So, I really wanted a share of food earlier on the bus. But someone wasn't very willing to give me some."

"You pounced on it. What else do you want?"

"See. Now, you're even getting mad at me. I'm sick, you know?"

"You keep acting like a child. Should I consider getting you nappies?"

"You want to clothe me down there?" he chuckled. "Aggressive, Miss."

"Eat," I rolled my eyes at him, serving him his meal. "I'll get you some more food for tonight. No, I'll actually have them deliver it to you here."

"Why?" he stopped. "You can get me one yourself, later…'

"I mean, my mother's going to look for me."

"Let me talk to her," he grabbed my phone.

"Why? What are you doing?" I asked, confused.

"I'll ask her to let you stay here with me."

"Are you insane? Why should I stay the night here? You're okay now."

"Because I want to---"

"No. My mother can't know I'm with you."

"Hicks, aren't you gonna get all worked up at your house thinking about me left here alone and sick? I'm just thinking about you. For your sake---"

"Arrogance. You're back. It means you're not sick anymore."

"They said I'm not all well. You should stay here," he pouted. "What kind of slave leaves her master?"

"You know James is going to hate you even more for keeping me here after all you did to me---"

"James. James. James," he swallowed a huge fill of the porridge. "He's not your boyfriend, okay? Stop imagining---"

"There you go again," I tried to stand but he pulled me back.

"I don't mean to," his brows furrowed forward. "Come on, you should be used to me by now. I don't mean it. Don't leave the sick."

I stared at him, left with no energy to argue.

He grinned widely.

"What should I do with you?" I whined.

He smirked even more.

In just a few minutes. He was done with one serving. I knew he had a big appetite so I ordered two of it. I took the old container and replaced it with the second.

"A-re you... not having anything?" he suddenly sounded caring.

"I know you eat allot. I'm okay. Your body needs to recover."

He nodded and started on it, obediently.

I liked seeing him eat. I liked watching James eat, too. Guys have a big appetite so I always marveled at the time they take to finish up a meal.

"Eat slowly, you'll upset your stomach even more."

"Nah," he declined. "It all ends up there anyway."

At that moment, apart from wondering why he was so persistent in keeping me around, an evil idea occurred to me.

"Do you know the legend of porridge?" I began.

"L-legend? What are you? In gradeschool?" he scoffed.

"Long ago, there was this really fat kid who always gorged on everything he could see. He ate his brother's share, his mother's, even his father's. They had so much of him that they ended up sending him to his grandmother in a remote town---"

"What? And they invented porridge from the rice field?" he interrupted, sarcastic.

"Sssh," I shushed. "His grandmother was sickly. And the falling temperatures at night triggered her cough and colds. She would always keep a bowl by her side for this purpose. Come midnight, the boy couldn't find anything to devour so off he went to his grandmother's room and rejoiced as he found a bowl---"

"Stop!" Red choked on the porridge. "You bloody awful! Ouch!"

"What?" I cackled. "He rejoiced as he found the bowl and wasted no time. He slurped---"

"Cut it, Hicks!," his face warped into full on disgust. "I'm not listening anymore!"

"He sipped it quickly to the last drop---"

"Hickey! I'm telling you---" he couldn't contain his repugnance to the story. He covered his mouth and left the bed, running as he did.

I seized his hand like he always did me, until he failed to hold it down.

He puked on me!