Summer Vacation Day 28: Walking and Being Dumb

Hello, Tim!

Today, something funny happened.

7/26, Thursday

For the third consecutive day, I left school at noon, bringing home the test papers of the day, under the malicious sun with my soaking wet T-shirt as usual.

I called my mom on the phone, but unlike the previous two days, there was no response, she didn’t pick up. It was sort of confusing for me since she should be taking care of Aiden at the moment (that was what I thought then), so she either brought the kid out to some places and left the phone at home or she simply didn’t hear it. I didn’t give it much thought at the confusion and just kept walking under the sun.

So when I got to the gate of Aiden’s house, I called for the fourth time with no answer. Along the way of going over, I had had this particular scenario rehearsed in my head. In case Mom didn’t pick up any of my calls, I would just climb the ten stories because it requires an electronic identity card to take the elevator, hence I would have to do the steps, knock on the door, and perhaps lie flat on the floor and pass out for an hour or so.

I did the ascending of the stairs, straining calf muscles and all until I finally saw a stop on the tenth floor.

I was taking the stairs...

I knocked on the door, frustrated to find that no one walked over to open the door. The house felt like it was… empty.

That was when I started questioning my choice of taking the stairs without really making sure anyone would be there to open the door for me. Since I was too fixated on the problem in front of me, I still had no idea where Mom and Aiden could be. I then rested myself on the bench at the door, whipped out my phone, and called Aiden’s grandma, hoping she knows the whereabouts of my mother who ‘supposedly’ went a.w.o.l. The kid’s grandma picked up the phone, and when she told me she didn’t know where Mom was, I heard a little boy’s playful laughs… I asked her if Aiden was with her, and when the response came affirmative, every gear in my brain suddenly clicked.

The truth is… Mom wasn’t even here in Tianmu. She’s at work, near our current house, almost an hour away; she won’t have her cell phone until three! I know that it was solely my fault. She did tell me about feeling the need to keep on working despite the impending move. I kept chanting the phrase ‘Why do you have to be such an idiot’ while making my descending on the stairs. When I got back with my feet touching asphalt, I got a little wobbly, and that was when I knew my legs would be sore, very sore tomorrow.

Proof that I was here.

It was only two o’clock when I finally got home (which was over an hour after I left the house), and after a quick change of my wet and smelly T-shirt (eww) and decided that there was still time to visit Mother -at work. These would be the last several days she would be working over here at this 7-11. She had been talking about her work with such a feeling of accomplishment, of pride and everything. She said that the job can be ten times tiring than normal times when it feels like there are time times more customers, and the fact that being a clerk at a convenience store need to handle every problem with a smile on their faces without showing a tinge of bad attitude to the customers no matter how demanding and rude one customer can be.

Mom at work

Mom is leaving this 7-11, and I could tell she really didn’t want to leave. Hope she can find another nice job after we settle down.

This is all for today.