Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 646

Xin
Western Academy of Beijing, Liu, Alicia - 17
Shin
In the waiting room, he had to fill out a questionnaire. It was the summer break after the
sophomore year of college. The lazy air was saturated by the scent of flowers in full bloom, sticky and sweet
like honey. But the air conditioner buzzing away in the corner cut through Shin’s sweatpants and hoodie
like a knife. He shivered. Shin hoped desperately to be in The 1990s, a cozy café tucked into a nameless
street corner. He closed his eyes and tried to picture his favourite spot in the corner beside the big window,
with the owner’s cat snoring on the windowsill and scratchy music from the black record player. Maybe if I
think about it hard enough, I'll get there. He could almost hear the click of the vintage lamp as it turned
with a tug and flooded his little corner with amber light. Please bring me back.
Shin opened his eyes and felt the stab of the harsh clinical light. He sighed and tried to move the
chair closer to the coffee table. But his knee hit the table, causing it to vibrate and make a series of sharp
clinks with the vase on top. Shin looked up at the receptionist, but she wasn’t watching.
Out of all things, the first question on the questionnaire was about breakfast. Continental Breakfast.
Bakery Basket (Choice of 3): Butter Croissant, Cinnamon Roll, Toast. There was also American,
Cantonese, and the slightly dubious Steel Cut Oatmeal. He only wanted Cinnamon Rolls. It reminded him
of the ancient Christmas traditions he read about in history. It brought out a feeling of safety, old
photographs, children’s laughter and crackling fireplaces – although real fires barely exist anymore, and even
Shin had rarely seen them. Maybe at one or two weddings of AI moguls or movie stars. The government
regulations and costs were too much trouble to get past except for the extremely vain. Shin thought
cinnamon felt like the realest thing in the world.
But he didn’t want to ask for three cinnamon rolls, because then, he’d fall perfectly into their
expectations. Aw, the poor rich boy. Normal-people-things just isn't enough! Better give him his rolls, in
case Daddy sues us! His pen pierced through the paper and made a dark line on his pants with a ripping
sound that, in the silent room, sounded like the Concorde taking off. He dropped the pen. He hit the table
again while sitting up after picking it– this time with his head. The water inside the vase sloshed around. He
looked at the receptionist again, relieved to see her minding her own business. But then, Shin swore he saw
a slight, suppressed smile flash across her lips. He felt his face heat up and knew his pale cheeks were
probably tomatoes by now. This is why I’ll never be like my father. Or brothers. They were smoother than
the expensive cars they drove.
You would like your breakfast to be served at… Shin thought for a few minutes, and scrawled
down “15 minutes after waking.” Life was like this for Shin. He treated even the most inconsequential
decisions treated with the utmost formality- he had to. This let him at least pretend that some things
mattered. All the important decisions in his life had already been made for him. All that was left for him to
do was decide things like whether he wanted his coffee black or with milk.
A personal nurse will be on-call 24 hours for the duration of your stay. However, the doctor will
inspect your recovery at least once a day. What time would you like the doctor to make these visits? Shin
was not a morning person. His father had talked to this college – the best in Cantonesia – to explain why
he could not take classes before lunch. Actually, he sent an Email on his dad’s account.
Shin wrote, “after breakfast.” So 13:00 at the earliest. But he was worried the food filling his
stomach would make him look fat. He changed it to 15:00 instead. Wait, what if I have to use the bathroom
in the middle of an inspection? He crossed it out and settled on 17:45.
When would you like to receive visitors?
Shin couldn’t think of anyone that would visit him.