“So, Annabelle. I’m more than a bit lost. Where are we? What year is this?” asked Grandma Chen.

“Miss---”

“Don’t call me miss. I don’t like the way it sound” interjected Grandma Chen while thinking angrily to herself, Especially since I am older than you by a great deal of years. Kids nowadays don’t have any manners. You’re lucky I am not asking you to call me Grandma.

“Um..I’ve always called you miss. What should I call you now”

“My name is Chrysanthemum right? With a name like that, I’m sure there’s a nickname my friends and family members like to call me. Just call me that”

“...”

“What’s the problem?”

“Your father forbid anyone from calling you anything than Chrysanthemum”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because that was the name given to you”

“Tell me in all honesty, Annabelle, do I have any friends?”

“No, miss”

“That’s the fucking reason why” exclaimed Grandma Chen “Who would want to be friends with a kid named Chrysanthemum!”

“Miss, your father forbid cursing in this household”

“I’ll try my best, but cursing is something I can’t control. Anyways, don’t call me miss, please call me Chris. That will be my new nickname”

“If the master hears that, he will get mad….”

“Let him get mad. I would like to see him argue with me over MY name” said Grandma Chen “In addition, why don’t I see him here? Shouldn’t he be here worried and pacing in front of my bed? Is he one of those typical rich fathers you see on television that use money as replacement for love and presence in the child’s life? Is he always busy with work so I grew up with nannies and maids in place of family?”

Annabelle stared wide-eyed at the person lying in bed, that was supposed to be her miss. What was going on? The doctor said her miss might have amnesia when she wake up due to the nature of her injury, and she thought understood what amnesia was, but this person who looked like her miss felt very foreign. It was like she was another person. Everything was different from the way she wrinkled her brows to the way she moved her hands to gesture to the way she spoke. Especially the way she spoke! After this, she need to call and talk to the doctor, because she didn’t know amnesia could change a person like this. She wasn’t sure how to feel about this situation. On one hand, her old miss was gone, but on the other hand, her new miss finally developed a brain! She loved her old miss, but to say it nicely, she was a ditz.

“Miss…”

“Chris”

“I can’t possibly call you that. It’s a male name”

“I insist”

“...” Annabelle stared at her miss stubbornly

“...” Grandma Chen stared back

“Master is rarely at home. He works very hard in order to provide you and the younger miss with the lifestyle you have”

“So in translation, I was right and he is a workaholic father. And what younger sister?”

“The young miss is turning eight this year. Her name is Chamomile Wu and she is your adopted sister. Her family and yours were very close. Your father and her father were childhood friends, but four years ago, her parents died in a plane crash. Your father was her godfather and the will made him her guardian. He saw that the two of you were really close so he decided to adopt her into the family.”

After a long moment of silence, Grandma Chen finally spoke up “Is there a laptop, tablet, or phone, I can use to look up information?”

Annabelle walked over to her pink desk, and brought out one of each of the items she asked for. Unsurprisingly, each of the items were protected in a pink case.

“The password for all of them is 1,2,3,4”

“That’s unsafe, you know” said Grandma Chen while thinking, Ha! Screw everyone who thinks old people aren’t technology savvy.

“Well, to be honest, Miss, you weren’t that great at remembering things. If we changed it to a harder code, you tend to get locked out”

Grandma Chen thought to herself while looking at all the pink items currently in her hand. She’s not one to judge based on superficiality, but she can’t help but to ask “While you are being honest, tell me, was I...dumb?”

“No. no. no” said Annabelle shaking her head quickly “You weren’t dumb, miss. Just a bit scatterbrained. A bit of a ditz. You had a heart of gold. A kind and innocent personality. You wouldn’t hurt an ant. Sure, some people made fun of your grades at school and saying mean spirited things, but some people excelled at academics while others do not. You may not have passed algebra, but you can list all the Blondies in your collection according to the year they came out.”

“Blondies?” asked Grandma Chen

Annabelle walked over to a closet that was on the left wall and opened it up to reveal a large glass shelving unit filled from top to bottom with Barbies of all different ethnicities and body types dressed for various seasons, occupations, and events. They were lined up perfectly in their individual cubicle and still in their packaging. Grandma Chen had never seen anything like this and never wanted to again.