I woke up to the bright rays of the morning sun shining on my face. My head hurt. Something was underneath me. At first, I thought it was a crab, until I sat up and looked at where my head had been laid. A hand. I felt something warm around my upper body and my head. I put my hand on my head, and I felt cloth. Not just a random piece of cloth. I was wearing a hoodie, and it smelled oddly familiar. Like sandalwood and franchise.
"You like my hoodie?" Ee Zhen sat up, and I realised it. It was his. I'd never worn any of his clothing before, not even a jacket, so I felt embarrassed. I could tell my cheeks were bright red and glowing.“Yeah. It’s really soft.” I replied him and pulled the hood over my face, attempting to cover my flushed face. He chuckled at my embarrassment, and pulled the hood off my head.
“Why’d you give me your hoodie though?” I was curious. “Weren’t you cold?”
He shrugged. “It was cold, but you were shivering. I couldn’t stand it that you were probably going to get sick if I didn’t give it to you.” I looked at him. “But then you’d get sick.” I put my palm to his forehead, checking for a fever. He took my hand and placed it on the mat. “I know you’re worried, but I’m tough enough to ward of a simple flu germ.” I smiled at him. He didn’t want me worried and that was sweet. “Now, let’s make breakfast, shall we?” He took my hand and pulled me off the mat, but not before taking my slippers and putting them in front of me. I stood up, placed my feet into the slippers, and walked back to the tent with him.
We reached the tent, and I took out the portable gas stove and the pots and pans. “Help me wash them?” I asked him, passing the pots and pans to him, not bothering if he agreed or not. “Man, I hate that attitude of yours. You don’t even care if I want to do it or not. But that’s exactly why I like you,” he told me, then walked off to the tap that was provided by the campsite.
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I took out the sourdough bread and used my trusty chopping board and knife to slice it. Then, I took out my prewashed mushrooms and sliced them into thin slices. Tomatoes came next, then a clove of garlic. By then, Ee Zhen still hadn’t finished washing the pans.
“My fucking gosh. Even my 7-year-old cousin can finish faster than you. I guess that’s what happens when you have 4 maids doing things for you, including helping you to wash your underwear.” I teased him, knowing that when he came back, he’d be flushing like I had just asked him to go strip in public.
“Fuck you.” He cursed at me. I chuckled at him. He came back to me and placed the pans down on the table. I noted his face was red all the way to the tip of his ear.
“I suppose you’re used to me helping you drop off your underwear at your place when you leave them in my bathroom.” He retorted, and I scowled at him, my face flushing up to my scalp. He smirked at me. Victory. I groaned in embarrassment and palmed my face.
“Shut the fuck up.” His left eyebrow rose up to his forehead. “I see I’ve struck a nerve.” He looked at me with a dirty grin. I had to control myself. I wanted to slap that smirk off his face so badly. Instead, I took the pan and placed a slice of butter on it, and then I turned the fire on and put the pan on it.
While he occupied himself by teasing me and joking around, I was busy cooking up a delicious breakfast for the 7 of us. The fragrance of buttery grilled mushroom and garlic toast filled the air, and I had to stop Ee Zhen from eating the food with a spatula.
"Ow! That hurts!" He howled in agony as my spatula smacked him on his hand for the 5th time. He shook his hand, which was swollen red.
"I'm sure that there will be a lovely dark bruise there later." I couldn't help but enjoy his "suffering". After all, he deserved it for attempting to steal a meal meant for 7.
The tent flap opened, and the rest of the group finally came out. "I say, I'll have a wonderful time filling myself with Charlotte's tomato focaccias and honey-cream cookies." Max declared, and all of us laughed at this gluttonous habit of his.
"Well, sit down then, and eat up, or you'll feel the wrath of my spatula." I joked, pointing to Ee Zhen's hand, which was already bruising.
And we did exactly that.