Imperfect Desires

Hangover; A natural reminder that you either had too much fun last night or you made the biggest jerk out of yourself last night. Or maybe, both?

As far as Xiu was concerned, she was in that 'both' category. After all, she did some pretty dumb stuff last night but there was no doubt that she was having a lot of fun as well. However, that fun was limited to last night because the morning certainly wasn't gonna be fun or pretty for her.

The sound of that chiming doorbell made Xiu aware of the cracking headache and slowly her mind started functioning and she realized the layer of dehydrated saliva that coated her lips. When the doorbell rang again, she felt like her brain was gonna swell beyond the capacity of her skull. Her body was already wrapped up in a duvet, and now, she even covered her face with the pillow to block the noises of the world.

Outside of her bedroom, Nora kept looking in the direction of Xiu's room but the latter didn't bother at all to check who was at the door. With a sigh, Nora made her way towards the door and pulled open the door. 

"Is that to beat me?" Darren was standing outside the door and he was pointing at the spatula in Nora's hand. 

Nora hid the spatula behind her and smiled saying, "Definitely not!" She took a brief pause before asking, "What brought you to our humble abode early in the morning?"

Darren's brows puckered up as he showed her his wristwatch and said, "It's half past 12. Certainly not a morning."

"Tell that to someone who is still sleeping like a log." Nora retorted helplessly.

His brows raised in surprise, "She's still sleeping?" Nora nodded in response. "How can she even sleep with a hangover? Isn't she nauseous by now?"

Nora waved her hand to correct him, "Her hangover is different. Except for a splitting headache, she feels nothing. No nausea at all. And to remove her headache, she just sleeps it off like she's doing right now."

"Hmmm..." Darren hummed in reply and said, "Did you make a hangover soup for her?"

Nora smiled sheepishly while scratching her head, "I don't know how to make that."

"Looks like it was the right decision to bring hangover soup with me," answered Darren and gave a thermos to Nora. "When she wakes up, give her some of this."

"Aww! I didn't know our neighbor was so thoughtful," said Nora while taking the thermos from his hand. 

"I am thoughtful but you're not." Nora frowned and continued, "Avoid opening the door with a spatula in hand, you'll scare the poor guest away."

"Haha..." Nora gave a dry laugh and said, "Don't worry, I won't scare you away."

"That's because I am a brave neighbor," said Darren in a poised manner.

 "Come inside, why are you standing at the door?" Nora offered as she took a step back to allow him to pass.

"Naw! I should head back now." 

"Don't be shy, buddy. I know we seem like a whole lot crazy packed in a whole lot of cuteness but trust me, we don't bite." Nora's face was straight as she spoke. The 'we' was referenced to herself and Xiu which Darren understood very well.

His lips twitched as he heard her calling herself crazy and yet cute. It was hard not to laugh but he somehow managed to do so. "Come already, I'll wake Xiu as well." Nora almost pulled him inside and leaving him in the sitting area, she briskly walked towards Xiu's bedroom.

Xiu's dimly lit room with thick drapes keeping the sunlight from entering in was a clear message that someone was not in the mood of waking up. Nora tugged at Xiu's duvet and the later didn't even budge from her position. 

"Baby Xiu'er, get up already. The sun is already shining bright in the sky." 

The only reply that Nora got from Xiu was, "Shut up and get out of my room!"

Nora didn't mind her rude words simply because she knew that hangover Xiu was not to be messed with. She was bitter, rude and crude. Well, anyone who's brain felt like exploding will turn into a bitch and that was exactly what Xiu was right now. Nora walked towards the windows and opened the thick drapes which allowed the bright sun to shine inside the room. 

"Ah! Turn the damn sun off!" Xiu shouted at the top of her lungs but when the headache ebbed and flowed back, she buried herself back in the duvet. It was not a good decision on her part to shout. Definitely not!

"Xiu, no-one can turn the sun off. It's mighty and humans are insignificant before it." Nora spoke as if lecturing a small kid. "But God can do this."

"Oh, so I should give up hope then." Xiu's reply made Nora frown. "After all, God hates me the most." 

Nora wanted to retort to that but Xiu didn't give her any chance.

"Can you stop talking? My head is gonna crack open." Xiu requested this time in a humble and polite manner.

"Okay. But you get up and come out. Darren has brought hangover soup for you. It'll help with your headache." Shaking her one last time, Nora left her room.

Xiu had no plan of leaving the comfort of her bed but when she heard that Darren was here, she had to get up. It wouldn't be nice to let him wait as a guest. 

Once her feet touched the floor, it seemed to sway which almost made her lose her balance. She reached for the wall but her hand slipped along the sheen paint and she sprawled onto the thick rug with a crashing thump.

As if the impact had jolted her brain or something but the last night's events played like a movie before her eyes. And Xiu was watching that movie or more like living through it with her eyes wide open. "You're so gonna regret it tomorrow." Nora's words rang in her mind and Xiu had the urge to cry. 

"What the hell did I do?" She pulled the roots of her hair, "Xiu, oh Xiu! What were you thinking? How can you embarrass yourself like that?"

"Xiu'er, you're okay?" Nora's voice startled her a bit. 

"I'm fine. Absolutely fine!" Xiu shouted back and ruffled her already messy hair. And the hair that looked like a bird's nest when she woke up after her ruffling looked like a bird's nest which had been destroyed by the wind.

She laid straight on the rug and kept her eyes on the ceiling. The room swirled again before becoming stationary, she used the bedstead to pull herself to standing. It was time to face the bitter reality.