Downtime

[Gwbiii†]

((AKA, how to expand a previously smallish post indefinitely through too much dialogue. Also, being edited))

((Sarah Xu continued from My Mild Traumatic Brain Injury))

It was the day after Sarah's "collision" and she'd slept through most of it. With her headache and general feeling of "bleh" she couldn't be bothered getting out of bed, and had felt too nauseous to eat. A day's worth of sleep had her feeling a bit better come dinnertime though, the smell of food luring her from her bed. She put her glasses back on, and after almost toppling over she managed to steady herself enough to make the trip downstairs in her pajamas.

She felt kind of groggy still, having just woken up, but also very, very hungry. Her little brothers already had their food and were sitting on the couch in front of the telly. Her dad was serving from a pot on the table, and her mother was sitting there as well, marking a bunch of students' papers.

Her dad spoke as he ladled her favourite beef stroganoff into a bowl for her. "So Hui, mind if i ask you something important?"

She eagerly took the bowl and sat down opposite her parents. "Sure" She said before she started stuffing her mouth with delicious beef and pasta goodness.

"Well it's just, we were wondering, well, are you interested in girls?"

Sarah had to struggle not to spray stroganoff across the table. Head down, eyes watering, she chewed as quickly as she could, before looking up from her mother to her father and back. Both of them were watching her now. Holy crap. Okay, she was just going to have to leave some of it in her cheeks. She kind of wanted to pretend the question hadn't been asked and just get on with eating, but her parents could be pretty persistent. Easier to just get it out of the way, into the open and all that.

"Uhh..." She took a deep breath. "Yes?" She looked over her shoulder, help from the boys was not forthcoming.

Her father was grinning. "Aha, thought as much"

Her mother spoke next. "Not so fast, are you interested in boys at all?"

"Well... No, not really." She'd finally managed to eat enough so she didn't look like an acorn-laden squirrel.

"Huh." Her mother looked slightly disappointed as she rummaged around for her wallet, pulled out a fifty dollar note, and handed it to her father.

"Thanks" Her dad on the other hand, looked delighted.

Sarah just sat there with her mouth agape, until hunger overcame shock and she got on with the shoveling. She tried her best to look serious and disappointed with the childishness of her parents, but her amusement was obvious.

Her dad looked like he'd had a brain wave. "Wait wait wait, you didn't include inflation."

Her mother gave her a smile as she gave him the finger. "Don't worry Hui, I'll forgive you eventually"

Sarah swallowed again and coughed. "Hold on, how long have you?"

"Oh, about seventeen years."

"What to buy what to buy what to buy.... hmmm..."

"Ah. Of course." Sarah really wasn't surprised by this revelation. It seemed her parents weren't particularly surprised by hers either. She jerked her head back towards her younger brothers on the couch. "And them?"

"Well we all know Mingyu's gay so I'll be getting that fifty back eventually."

The older brother called from the couch "Huh?"

"Nothing dear!" Her mother called out. He turned back to watching television.

Sarah felt like stating the obvious. "You're both horrible people."

"Thanks dear. I think it's only right to continue the family tradition. I got plenty when your grandparents found out I was bi."

"Me too." Her dad chipped in.

"You're..."

"No no, I got plenty from her parents."

"Uhhuh, where is she by the way?" Sarah's grandmother was staying with them at the moment, waiting for her husband to finish travelling around in Canada before they went back south.

"Out, should be back soon."

"Ah okay" She got back to devouring the creamy-pasta and beef goodness, trying to work out whether she should be more fazed by this conversation. Her parents had stopped talking for a second. Hopefully that last question had shifted focus away from her.

"So, who's the lucky girl then?" Her mother asked. Sarah was used to being completely wrong, she should have seen it coming.

((Sarah Xu continued in Decisions, Decisions))