Epiphany

Clarissa lay on top of Sineas, a small red blanket covering their completely naked bodies. They had switched on the TV and turned to a sports channel, but they were not watching it of course. They had lowered the volume. The heavy rains could be heard beating on the roof from outside.

Sineas was stroking her back, gently. 'So…who taught you?' he asked her.

'Taught me what?'

'Don't play dumb, Claire. The moves.'

She smiled, then said, 'When you hang around sluts like Sabrina and Doreen, you pick up a thing or two. Not implying that I'm a slut too but when all your friends can talk about is how to catch a man…how to pleasure him; that stuff tends to stick to your subconscious.'

'So you've never..?'

'Had sex? No. That's actually the reason why Justin broke up with me. Sabrina and Doreen hooked up with some of the members in Justin's crew but Justin chose me. Their neediness and thirst for popularity led them to sleep with most of the guys in the basketball and rugby teams: Leonard, Tobias, James, Trevor, and the list goes on and on.'

'And why didn't you?'

'Sell my body just for some cash and popularity? No, thank you. I think I have what most girls in that school lack. Self-respect. All Justin and I ever did when we hooked up was kiss, nothing more. I guess his friends probably started laughing at him from the background, that they were "getting some" and he was getting none. That's when he started exposing his true colours. He would lose his mind each time I refused to sleep with him, he would yell at me and call me names...he just became a completely different person entirely. Two months later, he stopped calling and he started avoiding me. I didn't care anymore. If there's one thing I will forever be grateful to my parents for, it's teaching me how to be patient. To wait for the right time, and the right person. The best things in life are worth waiting forever for.' She picked up the remote and switched to another channel. It was a cooking channel. She opened her mouth to say something, then she closed it immediately. 'Sin..?'

'Yes?'

'Did you like it?' she asked him.

'Like what?'

'The sex. Did you like it?'

He chuckled quietly. 'It was unforgettable.'

She grinned. 'I think so too.'

They continued to pretend to watch the TV.

'So, what exactly did you talk to Viola about in class, after lunch?' she asked him out of the blue.

'All this time she's been working with Charles. Her aunt made a deal with him, that if she helped in finding my mother then the police would get her out of a certain legal situation she had gotten herself into. So, she got her niece, Viola, to try and get me to bring my mother out into the open so they could finally get her.'

'Viola, that worthless tramp!' Clarissa hissed. 'We should hold her down and pour summa dat OJ down her throat.'

They both laughed.

'I'm sorry I actually thought about taking the same deal, Sin.'

'It's okay,' he said. 'I knew you could never betray me.'

She moved in and kissed him passionately on the lips then returned her ear to his chest again.

He had felt the warmth of her breasts and the tickling sensation of her nipples slide up then down his chest. The soldier wanted to wake up but Clarissa had made sure to keep it unconscious for quite a while.

'Tomorrow's a Saturday,' she said smiling at the TV.

'I haven't forgotten,' he replied now stroking her long, brown hair. He actually liked it better like that.

'I want us to spend the entire day there,' she said. 'At least six hours…or more. I'm sick and tired of reality.'

'What about your parents?' he asked her.

'Let's not talk about my…' her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. She quickly sat up. 'Oh, my gosh! Sin, what time is it?'

He swung his feet to the floor and reached for his jeans. He pulled out his phone from his pocket. 'Damn! Its a-quarter-past ten,' he said scratching his head in surprise.

She got up and walked towards her panties. She quickly put them on then reached for her bra. 'My parents will be here in forty-five minutes!' she panicked. 'We're going to have to hustle, Sin. Oh, no..!'

'What is it?' he asked her also getting dressed. Her face had turned pale fast.

'The dishes!' she said now finally putting on the final clothing of her attire; her sweater.

'It's okay, I can help you with that,' he said.

'No, no! Remember, you're not supposed to even be here,' she said as she tried to walk past him, in the direction of the kitchen.

He stepped right onto her path. He looked earnestly into her eyes. 'Claire, listen to me. We would get this done quicker if I gave you a hand.'

She stared back into his eyes for a long and apprehensive time. Her face was still ashen. She nodded. 'Fine, but we'll have to move fast. We've wasted enough time already.'

Sineas and Clarissa did not wait any longer. As soon as they got into the kitchen, they instantly got to work. Clarissa washed the dishes, handed them over to Sineas and he would dry them. They were well coordinated. She would swiftly sweep a utensil with soap and water and without even turning her eyes away, she would hand it to him.

Sineas was just as productive. He would snatch the plate from her hand, glide across the floor and place it safely inside the cupboard. He had already learned where most of the utensils belonged. It only took a few pulls of the drawers and cupboards before he recognized where what belonged where.

A few minutes later they were done with the spoons and plates and they had now moved on to the forks and knives.

'Why don't you guys just get a dishwasher?' Sineas asked her as she handed him two forks.

'My mother said household machines, particularly dishwashers, microwaves and washing machines promote laziness. She's sort of the old school type.'

He grinned. 'I hear old school parents are good with beatings…well, maybe from a racial perspective. So, what do you think your parents would do to me if they found me here?'

'Probably kill you. Slowly.'

'Wow: they must really love me if they would be willing to prolong my life instead of taking it right there and then.'

She shrugged, handing him the last knife. Only the bowls were left. 'Maybe dad would want a quick death for you but my mom…' she shook her head, 'If it were possible, she would grill you over an open fire and raise you from the dead just to do it again.'

'And what would they do to you?'

'Lock me up in a tower somewhere until my Prince Charming, my knight in shining armour comes galloping for me, mounted on his Pegasus.'

Sineas smiled at her as she handed him one of the bowls. 'And so I'm your Prince Charming?'

'I think I prefer to call you my merchant of peace.'

'And what does that make you? I mean, what should I call you?'

She dried her hands and walked slowly towards him. She stopped within a hare's breath. 'I don't care what you call me, Mr. Murphy, as long as you do call me.' She kissed him gently on the lips.

He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her in. He savoured the mango.

A minute later, she walked back to the kitchen sink. She opened the drain and began to wash the sink. She had forgotten one more spoon. 'Isn't life strange?' she asked him, taking her time washing it.

'Why do you say that?' he asked her before he sat himself at the corner of the table.

'Who would have thought that I, Clarissa Sherman, would end up dating the only black guy at Malrich High School? The "unwanted freak"?' She laughed hysterically. 'Life, definitely, is something strange.'

'Any regrets?'

She looked over her shoulder. 'No. Maybe not yet.'

They laughed together.

'Shouldn't you be getting home? Your aunt is probably there by now.'

He shrugged carelessly in reply. 'I think I'll wait a little longer.'

'Suit yourself. But don't blame me when she starts chasing you around the house like you're playing cops and robbers.'

Sineas laughed out loud, his eyes to the ceiling. 'Games, Clarissa. Do I look like I play games?'

The spoon slipped from Clarissa's hands and dropped inside the sink. It made a loud clang on impact. Her eyes narrowed. She felt a chill run through her entire body, from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. Her eyeballs widened as she stared at the wall in front of her.

'Clarissa. Is something wrong?' he asked her concernedly.

She did not move, or even reply.

'Clarissa..?'

'Yeah…yeah, yes, I'm fine. I'm okay.' She looked over her shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

He smiled back. 'Good.'

She squinted. 'Uh…can you pass me the dessert spoons, Sin? I've just remembered that dessert spoons belong in this cupboard.' She tapped the cupboard just above the sink.

'Sure,' he said dismounting from the table. He walked over to the bottom cupboard where he had placed the spoons. He stooped down and opened it. He grabbed them and began to look at them. He said, 'These markings, Claire. Are they Japanese or Chinese? I don't think I can tell the difference between the two languages.'

She didn't respond.

'Claire?' He turned his head. She was gone.