8 An Unexpected Message

"Hi Mom, I'm back from school." I turn towards my Mom in the kitchen as I walk through the door and give her a small bow. She nods, acknowledging me as kick my shoes off and head into the living room.

My house is a bit of a squished one, but to me, it's perfect and homey. The kitchen is just across from the living room, and both rooms are the first thing you see when you enter the house; they're essentially like one room but split in half. I think the design suits the house.

Once I reach the couch, I proceed to sling my bag onto it and toss myself beside my bag. I let my hair hang over the edge of the couch and my eyes to roll back. While in this somewhat uncomfortable position, I catch sight of a colourful cardboard paper bag. My hands begin to reach for it, examining the packaging.

"Mom?" I call out, my voice sounding nasally from my head being upside down. "What is that bag sitting on the coffee table doing?"

I glance over at my mom, her eyes widened as she started dashing for the bag, snatching it from my hands.

"That's a secret. You'll just have to find out on your birthday." My mom brushes my hair to the side and pats my shoulder. "It's only today left to go. Waiting won't kill you."

She chuckles and goes back to the kitchen, leaving me both smiling and rolling my eyes. Did I ever mention that waiting was not my strong point? Of course, my mom knows this too well so she's practically teasing me about it at this point.

I heave a large sigh and grab my bag, deciding to unpack my things upstairs since dinner isn't ready yet. I head out the doorway to the hall's stairs, running up to the second floor. My eyes travel to the ground in front of me, examining closely as my feet go one in front of the other.

I hear my mom from the kitchen: "Dinner's almost ready, just give me 5 more minutes to prepare the rice."

I shift my head back facing the direction I was headed. At the moment, all I want to do is eat then collapse; getting my bag unpacked is the only thing left on my to-do list.

I start by zipping open my bag and taking out my laptop. I place it back on my desk to charge, examining it closely. I sometimes hated my laptop for having a random case. It looked a bit out of place and the bottom plate and the top one didn't match each other. I was fine with it for a while, however, I think it's too childish now. A part of me still can't bring itself to change it, as it's what I've had for the longest time.

I whip my head back around to unpacking as I pull out my textbooks and binders, placing them on the desk as well. I reach deep into my bag, grabbing my pencil case and chucking it on my bed. I hoist my bag on my shoulder, carrying it to the wall and leaning it against it. Standing up, I turn to my closet to change out of my jeans and sweater.

While straightening my stance, I scan the room. Just like the childish mismatching computer cover, my room still looked like it was meant for a 7-year-old, mainly because I kept so many things from when I was younger. They mean so much to me and every time I revisit my old belongings, I get so much nostalgia. I suppose you could say that I keep them because I don't want to grow up. Is it that wrong to keep everything that played a major role in you becoming you?

I will admit, I used to have the mindset of 'If only I was older' or 'If only I was not in middle school and was in high school, things would be better'. When I start thinking of those things, I just recall what my 5th grade teacher told me. 'When you're younger, you can wish you were older as much as you want, but be grateful to be who you are in the present as there is no better feeling than being a kid'. You can have a kid mentality even when you become an adult, but nothing is the same as truly having a childlike freedom. Maybe that's why I still refuse to grow up.

I take a few steps towards my bed, plopping down on it like a bird shot out of the sky. My bed was no exception to looking like a toddler's. I had a fleece blanket lining sitting on top of the bedsheets and used two covers because I loved the fact that I could have a soft cover on the inside and a pretty one of the outside. My outside cover was a rainbow grid and my inside one was a pseudo fleece material.

At the end of my bed, there was a stack of blankets and pillows, along with a pile of stuffies right beside it. Whenever I slept, my feet would just barely touch the blankets and pillows. Any more growth in height from me might mean I can't fit in my bed anymore. It's alright though, I like my bed that way and wouldn't change it for anything else. After all, they meant so much to me. I run on four limbs from the head of the bed to the end, hugging the stack of blankets and pillows, just like the days when I was 10. I stand up from my bed to pat my clothes down then grabbing my phone.

I dash to the door, my hands slamming it to the side as I make my way to the stairs. Running around my house is the best thing, I swear. I quicken my pace, flying down the stairs while holding onto the railing. My mom has always hated my habit of touching the railing as it's supposedly dirty. I'd honestly rather get germs on my hands than trip and fall, but she just doesn't understand that.

"Is dinner ready yet?" I prop a seat at the centre kitchen counter, examining the assortment of vegetables and meat laid there.

"Yep, plate your own food this time." My mom teases me while taking her plate to the dinner table.

I sigh while grinning, looking at the plate; it carried a large serving of rice on it. I nab a fork from the dish rack and begin poking at the plates of food, grabbing some from each and putting it on top of the pile of rice. I make sure to separate each of the food items, making a mini pile of meat, another pile of vegetables and a gigantic thing of rice. I take one last look at my plate before heading over to the dinner table.

My mom was already a bit into her food, finishing her pork on top. I take my fork and pat the small balls of meat rolling around on the uneven surface of rice. I glance over to my mom who seemed busy with eating her vegetables. I stab a few balls of meat before gobbling them down in one bite. My mom looks at me confused, then in joking disgust. She thinks it's weird for me to eat them in one bite, but if I can, why shouldn't I? I look over at her a few more times, just to catch her attention before stabbing two balls of pork and eating them whole. My mom chuckles for a bit, shaking her head and returning to eating. I try making an audible laugh, but the balls of meat threatened to fall out of my mouth while doing so. I can only imagine how much of a chipmunk I look like right about now with two balls of food in each cheek.

While chewing my mouthful of meat, my phone receives a text. I tilt my head, signalling confusion and I pick it up to inspect the sender of the message. I take a deep breath, seeing that it's from Jun. The thought of 'how did he get my Kakao ID?' ran through my head, only to realize that we were using Kakao to talk to each other during class about his project with Nayun today. I thought he would've deleted my contact by now, but I guess not.

Wonjun: We should meet up tonight. Let's go to Cheongju community park. I'll meet you there in 15 minutes

Minji: WHAT? I'm eating dinner right now. Can't you push it back to 30 minutes?

I respond while chewing on my balls of meat aggressively. The audacity of some people, I must say.

Wonjun: That's not for you to decide

Stupid. I close my phone and run off to my bedroom to change. While sprinting up the stairs, I feel my thighs burn. Oh to have my old youthful physique back. I burst through my room door, practically kicking it down and running for my closet. I changed into leggings right before dinner too - he just had to text me now! I hastily grab a grid pleated skirt and a white blouse with a knot bow, quickly changing into it. I slap on a matching beret and shimmy into over-the-knee socks before making a mad dash back down the stairs for the doorway. As soon as I reach the end of the stairs, I scan the doorway in a blind panic for a pair of shoes. I lay my eyes on one and hurriedly jump into a pair of block heels before slamming the front door open, forcing myself through it. While running out, I call back to my mom:

"I'm meeting up with a friend! I'll be back in a bit."