When I return home, I text mother: “I’m home”. I know she’ll text me “Are you home?” sooner or later, it’s better to deliver a preemptive strike.

Voices come from the living room, Amy must be watching TV.

After taking off my shoes and bag, I head toward my room.

While crossing by the living room, I give my sister a small hand wave. She only looks at me for a split second, then nods and glues her eyes to the TV again.

I change my clothes and continue to the bathroom beside my room.

The bathroom is small. It only has a shower, a sink and a small closet which mother decided to cram in here for some reason.

I turn the sink’s valve to wash my hands... but it comes off.

The cold water successfully pours out, yet the white valve is resting in my hand.

“Damn, not this again...”

I sigh as I forcibly insert the crappy valve back into its spot.

“And stay there!”

I deliver a light punch at the valve and bring my hands toward the sink.

“Is this even going to clean my hands...?”

Parts of the white sink are stained yellow by the pouring yellowish water.

It takes a couple of seconds for the rust in the water to disperse; the pouring water slowly turn clear and transparent.

After washing my hands in the “clean” water, I CAREFULLY turn the valve around to close the stream.

I walk toward the kitchen and pass by the living room again; Amy is still glued to the TV.

RRRUUU RRRUUUU

The refrigerator is acting up as usual, making loud rumbling sounds which remind a generator. There’s clearly something amiss with it, but this ancient artifact is still miraculously functional.

I open the refrigerator and take out a lunch box prepared by mother.

It’s very convenient that she always prepares my lunches, even though I’m already a 22 years adult. She has been doing that my whole life, so much that my cooking knowledge is nil.

Once the lunch box is warmed up in the microwave, I join Amy in the living room with my meal.

Amy is sitting on the big sofa, whereas I sit on the sofa chair beside it.

Though it’s an unwritten rule, this chair is MY chair; mother and Amy usually sit on the sofa.

“So, Nicky? Like, how did it go?”

Amy asks absentmindedly while gazing at the TV.

“So-so.”

“Hmm, I see.”

She gives an indifferent response, just to affirm that she sorta heard my answer. She doesn’t care in the slightest, does she?

I ignore her and watch the TV as well.

The ongoing show is a cheap, melodramatic soap opera which Amy enjoys for some reason. It’s not interesting in the slightest, but at the very least it can be used to kill time during lunch.

The currently ongoing scene shows a minor antagonist character: Roberta. She’s a sharp tongued woman with long black hair and pretty navy eyes. Even though her role doesn’t have too many appearances, I think she’s my favorite character in this half-assed show.

Most of her lines are sophisticated insults and criticism toward the stupid main characters, which I can’t help but agree with.

While I eat and sorta watch the show, something strikes me as odd.

“Huh? Doesn’t Roberta already know that Sebastian is her brother?”

“Nope.”

“But last time I watched, Eduardo was going to tell her. That was last week.”

“He was, like, interrupted. He never said it.”

“I see...”

This show really moves at a snail’s pace, mostly due to stupid developments.

... though I’m not sure which is the bigger problem here: the show’s pace, or the fact I know all these characters by name.