So we had just left her bedroom and now we were coming into the kitchen. The clock read 5 P.M., well actually it was more than that but I'm just rounding down to say it more easily, so we're in the kitchen which was like partially connected to the loft in a weird way, it's hard to explain. Connected to the loft was also the door to Jade's dad's bedroom and as far as I knew he was still in there since he leaves work at 3. The kitchen was brightly lit, but it looked darker than usual since we had spent so long outside at the market. The floors Jade walked on were sterile and white.

Although Jade hadn't actually like communicated to me what we were doing here, in the kitchen, I could guess that it was lunch time for her. I didn't really mind that at all since I hadn't had an actual non-oat meal today. She moved toward the counter, and then proceeded to slowly place me down onto it. I came in contact with the cold surface and fell to my knees. There was a moment where I didn't want to stand, but eventually I did, placing little pressure on my ankle. Jade immediately went into action, moving toward her pantry where she took down some supplies for food.

Once everything was all sorted nearby, on the counter adjacent to me, she started cooking. First she pounded some chile with garlic and fish sauce. I couldn't see into the bowl but it seemed like she finished that and began to add lime and sugar to flavor. She took occasional tastes until she was done. Afterward she carefully whisked the sauce and then transfered the mixture into another smaller bowl for what I assume will be dipping. Once finished she moved back to the pantry, got some plastic wrap and used it to cover the bowl, then she put it in the refrigerator.

As she was cooking the number of ingredients laid out reduced in number so I started to get more of an idea of what she was doing. She took some turmeric and retrieved a grater from a cabinet. She put the grater onto a plate and began to grate the turmeric into a fine powder. The color was vibrantly orange. Finally she moved away from the plate and went to rinse off the grater, placing it in the sink. She then added corn starch and flour into a bowl, adding the ground turmeric last. From another cabinet she took out a measuring cup and filled it with one fourth of a cup of water, and she poured this into the bowl as well.

First she rinsed off her whisk and then returned to the bowl. As she whisked the batter she sprinkled salt into it. Once she stopped that she took the whisk to the sink and rinsed it again, then placed it next to the grater. She went to the fridge and took out a bulb of scallion, then from one of the cabinets she took out a cutting board. She got a knife from a block in the corner. After clearing some of the ingredients away, she placed the board down and began to slice the scallion very thinly. At the end she disposed of the head of it.

We both sat still for maybe ten minutes, then she finally continued after allowing the batter to sit. She added the sliced scallion to the bowl and mixed it in as well, then she sat the bowl aside. From the same cabinet she got the cutting board from, she took out a pan, then heated a tablespoon of oil into it. As it was heating, she took an onion from the refrigerator and chopped it carefully using the same knife she used on the scallion. She took the cutting board to the pan and scraped about a third of the onions into it, and allowed it to cook without stirring. She took the cutting board to the sink and placed it down next to it.

After a moment she began to pour the batter over the onion, then she took the pan up and guided the batter over the entirety of the pan, coating the bottom. As it cooked she went into the refrigerator and took out a plate of shrimp, covered in plastic wrap on a plate. With the other hand she took out a plastic bag of bean sprouts. On top of the partially cooked crepe she placed three shrimp and a small bit of bean sprouts. Once it seemed arranged well enough, she covered the pan and reduced the heat to medium. After a minute or two she removed the cover, and took an egg from the counter, cracked it, and drizzled the yolk over the crepe. Gently, she lifted the side of the crepe and added small amounts of oil.

Another four or five minutes later she took a spatula from a block and used it to fold the crepe over itself, and then she moved it to a plate. After adding more oil to the pan and allowing it to heat, she cooked another two crepes and put them on the same plate. Once finished, she retrieved the sauce from the refrigerator, uncovered it, and put a teaspoon into the bowl. She set this aside and then took a bunch of shiso leaves and lettuce, garnishing the plate with them. She took some small herbs like basil, dill and mint and added these to the crepes as well. Finally, she took the grater from the sink, almost like she forgot to use it, and used it to grate some carrot onto the crepes. Again she rinsed the grater and set it in the sink.

Now it was time for clean up. She disposed of the plastic bag from the bean sprouts as well as the plastic wraps she used, putting the shrimp plate into the sink after rinsing it. She had to wipe off the counters that were covered slightly in the juices from the vegetables she cut. She threw away the skins from the onions. At the end, she took the knife and rinsed it and placed it into the sink as well. It looked like she was done.

She took me in one hand and the steaming plate in another. We moved to the kitchen table, and she sat down, then put me down onto the plate, on top of the shiso leaves. From where I was, I was elevated above the rest of the meal, and I had an aerial point of view over it. Before I could do anything, she stood up, and returned to the counter. She got some silverware and then returned to the table, sitting down again. Immediately she started to eat. She cut a piece of the crepe, then wrapped it in a lettuce leaf and dipped it into the sauce. She ate this. I watched as she ate all three crepes, with me sitting on top the shiso leaves not eating anything. It didn't take long before she was completely finished with all three, having ate most of the lettuce as well. The leaves I was sitting on were untouched.

"That was good," she said to me. She plucked me off the plate, taking me into her hand again and then she took what she hadn't eaten and scraped it into the garbage can. She took the plate to the sink and rinsed it off, and we began to move to her room.

As we were walking through the loft, her father's door opened. He stepped out. In a panicked manner, she quickly slipped me into her pocket. The motion was explosive, completely overwhelming me instantly. As I tumbled down into the pocket I yelped in pain, grabbing at my head and suddenly my stomach went over itself, flopping around like a fish, and I violently vomited while I was still falling. When I hit the bottom, all of my vomit came falling back onto myself. I moan and roll around in my filth. It takes a while before I could find the energy to sit up and check my ankle again.

The sight wasn't pretty, I don't want to talk about it. I weeped silently as I cradled my ankle in my hands, rocking back and forth. Above me I could hear Jade and her dad arguing.

"Where the fuck have you been all day? I've been sitting in my room calling for you and I don't hear anything, where were you? Are you crazy?"

"I'm fine. I'm here now. What did you need?"

"What did I need? What the hell do you mean, what did I need? You were supposed to pick up your little brother from school at 4 PM, but you were missing in action, I had to pick him up myself."

"I was in my room."

"What? Are you telling me you've been in your room all day? What are you even doing in there?"

"I was on my laptop."

"Oh my God, your laptop, you spend the entire day on that thing? It's always you and that fucking laptop, it's all you're spending your life on."

"Okay."

"I'm taking that shit away, I'm sick of you living your life on your stupid websites, you think I don't know what you're doing in there?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Fuck you, I know what you've been doing behind my back. You're done."

"What the hell, dad! What are you even talking about?"

"Shut up, get out of my way, I'm taking your laptop."

Jade suddenly jolted into action. I could feel her running, running to her room, and when she arrived she took me from her pocket again and threw me onto the bed. I was flying for a second, and then the impact was enough to rip my consciousness from me.

When I was awake again, the light in the room was out. Jade wasn't anywhere near me. I couldn't hear anything at all. I tried to look over to her computer desk, but my entire body shouted out in pain. I was unable to move at all, completely immobile. I wanted to cry again, but I felt like I was totally dried of tears. I looked up and watched the fan above me slowly turn, squeaking on each revolution. My entire body was incredibly tired. I don't know.

I passed out again, but when I'm up I saw that it was night time. Jade still wasn't around. I sighed and finally felt I could sit up again. When I got to my feet, I took the time to examine my environment, and see the mountain of pillows and blankets before me.