Disappointment

[20 minutes left]

Doll's head ached. His throat was a little painful and his jaw hurt. His eyes stung and his temples throbbed in pain.

Rik was getting a little more louder while questioning him. He could feel the urgency and hurry in his voice.

"Seventeen times seven?"

He couldn't remember.

"Doll, what's seventeen sevenza?"

He didn't know.

"One hundred and fou-," he shook his head looking at Rik's expression, "-sev-"

"One hundred nineteen," corrected Rik.

"One- one hundred nineteen."

"Repeat it five times."

The clenched jaw. The slightly harder grip on the crinkled paper. Narrowed eyes and tense mouth muscles. A sight he has seen multiple times.

Frustration.

Rik was frustrated with him.

"Again. You've seen this so many times already, Doll." A misty, warped figure stood by him. It wasn't Eeyore anymore. He was more unfamiliar and fluid yet Doll knew. All of them were like that. The creatures back at the forest. There was no Thousand Acre Woods. No knockoff loveable characters.

"It's your fault."

"Seventeen times seven is one hundred nineteen," began Doll.

"All the others back home have already learnt all this, right? They already finished this even though they were younger than you. Even babies do better."

"Seventeen times seven is one hundred nineteen."

"Is there something wrong with you? Why would this person adopt you? There were many better choices, right?"

"Seventeen sevenza equals one hundred ninety- nineteen."

His throat hurt. He wanted a sip of water. But Doll did not stop looking at Rik's hands.

"Are you really allowed to be here?"

"Seventeen sevenza ONE hundred and NineTEEN."

"Are you really, really allowed to be here?"

"Seventeensevenza one hundrednineteen."

Rik leaned back in his chair. He wasn't focusing on him. His eyes were looking at something else. Doll saw a tiny wince.

"Think careeeefully, are you reeeeeallly allowed here?"

"Seventeensevenza onehundrednineteen. Seventeensevenza one hundrednineteen. Seventeen sevenzaonehundrednineteen,"

[15 minutes left.]

"Doll, stop."

Doll didn't stop.

"Seventeensevenza wone hun-ded nineteen, seventweensevenza, "

Rik's hands were blurry.

"You expected something else, didn't you?" Fog said. "You expected, didn't you? How dare you."

Doll kept repeating. And repeating. And repeating. Till he couldn't remember how he fell asleep.

••••••••••••×••••••••••••

"Yeah, I messed up," said Rik through the virtual interface, "He's in his room now,"

Rik regretted many things. He should have known it wouldn't be easy for Doll to learn the multiplication table all at once, mission be damned.

"Yeah, come home fast."

The call ended and he sat down heavily and rubbed his face in anger. Face buried in his palms, he felt the burning shame.

It was dawn the next day. Fer was still on the way. He quietly prepared the usual breakfast. Watching the bubbling tea did nothing to calm his heated face. Feeling a little impulsive, he thought to dip his fingers in the tea kettle.

He drowned in his thoughts until he noticed a small shadow by the door. "Come sit, Doll."

Puffy eyes peeked at his feet. It slowly made its way to the table and sat itself obediently. He was much quieter today. Rik placed the food in front of him.

He made no attempt to eat. Fer entered that moment. She took a seat too and waited for her serving.

She behaved cheerfully and greeted Doll with a kiss. She chattered away as if trying to fill in the empty conversation all by herself.

"I'm sorry," a tiny voice came, it's tremble and hesitation covered and hidden. He didn't look up because didn't want to see the disappointment he caused Rik. The kiss on his temple became itchy.

The food in front of him was wispy and shifting. Fog stared at him with its sunken eyes from his plate. Its droopy face drooped more till it looked all saggy and sad. Like a skeleton whose flesh melted away.

"Will you be sending me back?"