It was a dim Friday morning. Dawn was slowly filling the sky and my alarm clock was 10 minutes away from ringing. It was then my mother came into my quiet room, filled only with my deep, rhythmic breathing, to wake me up. I remember in my half-asleep state that I instantly became annoyed – no one ever wakes me up before the alarm clock rings. She had asked me for a favour.

“Zi Ying, I promise if you do this for me, I’ll double your allowance for 3 weeks,” she had stated.

It took me a few years to realise that she was so desperate that she nearly had to beg. And of course as a 10 year old, I was at that age where anything monetarily profitable would be a good enough opportunity for me to get involved.

I forgot all about my being annoyed and slipped out of bed quietly. We passed by Zi Tao’s room, and Mom had contemplated about waking him up, but decided against it. Oblivious to the situation, I happily bounced down the stairs and kept my spirits high. I mean c’mon, doubled allowance for 3 weeks? I’d be the richest kid on the street!

Mom stopped outside the kitchen and turned to me.

“Be nice, and try to talk to him, okay? Make him feel comfortable,” she asked, before leaving me stranded by the hallway that led into the kitchen.

Dad had come up beside me and gave me a pat on the shoulder. That probably made me more nervous than anything. I was scared, but the fact that I’d be getting doubled allowance was possibly the only reason why I bravely took a step into the kitchen.

I saw a body hunched over the dining table, breathing erratically. I walked over and took a seat across the hunched body. It somehow must have been my curious nature that made me walk over like it was nothing. I couldn’t see its face, but the mug of hot milk was left half-drunk and the sandwich was totally gone (except for the edges). I looked up at my parents and smiled. They looked worried, but continued to stand nervously by the kitchen door.

“Tell them to go away,” the voice spoke up.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise and saw a young boy, probably the same age as I was, staring straight back at me. “Tell them to go away.” He repeated, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

I looked back to my parents and shrugged. They contemplated for a few seconds before walking away hesitantly. It was quiet for a while.

“They’re gone,” I said, propping my head on my hands.

I couldn’t see him well with the limited amount of light, but I could make out a face and a body. It was better than nothing. “So, what’s your name?”

The young boy didn’t answer me. To be honest I didn’t see why I needed to talk to him, but I figured that my doubled allowance had something to do with it, so I continued to push. I really wanted my doubled allowance, and nothing was going to stop it.

“Want another sandwich?” I asked, pointing to his empty plate.

The boy was beginning to shake his head but his stomach proved otherwise. “Peanut butter and chocolate spread good for you?” I asked again, taking his plate and heading into the working area of the kitchen. I pulled out the loaf from the bread container and unscrewed the jar caps.

“My name is Wu Fan,” he responded quietly. I paused momentarily to let his voice resonate in my ears before finishing the sandwich. I nodded to myself while I plated it up.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Zi Ying,” I replied, placing the sandwich in front of him.

He stared at the sandwich without touching it. “Just to let you know, I actually make the best peanut butter and chocolate spread sandwich in this house, like, ever. So if you don’t want it, then I’ll take it.” I quickly added. 

Wu Fan didn’t look up at me, but he reached out and grabbed the sandwich so quickly I had to stop blinking for a few seconds. While he gobbled up the sandwich, the sun rose and provided more than enough light for me to properly see his face.

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A/N: I'm sorry if it turned out really short. I actually have the whole story on Word, but I break the chapter's up when I'm typing it up (it's like a natural thing for me to do that). I didn't realise that it'll turn out so short on this. But I'd either have short (but more frequent) updates, or longer (but less frequent updates). 

What do you think? Comment and subscribe please! ^^ This is my first time I'm doing a chaptered fic, so that's exciting on my part :) Thank you for reading! ^^