Taste of Home (Stephen and Finley)

Guest

Nodding confirmation at the boy's question and statement, Chee Wye paused at the question, wondering how he could explain it without bringing in the politics and current status of the Malaysian government. The truth was, it had been mostly random, with the lower scoring students being sent to whichever nearest and cheapest one they could find, and the ones with higher scores - or the Malay students - being sent to better and more well-known ones.

"They see the exam marks lor," he replied. "They say Hogwarts is best, cos UK mah." Deciding not to mention the whole race issue thing, he left it at that. Not many people who weren't Malaysian would understand the situation back home, and therefore he knew his comments might just confuse the boy. [Translation: "They say Hogwarts is the best, because it's in the UK."]

"That's all of m-my name."

"Har?" he questioned, confused. "Why you give me all your name? You want me call you that, issit?" Chee Wye hid a frown, genuinely uncertain in that moment. One thing was for sure - UK culture was so weird. [Translation: "Huh? Why did you give me your whole name? Do you want me to call you by your full name?"]

At the question, Chee Wye paused to think, then frowned. "Mamak? It's... Uhm... Food place. You know, to eat?" The explanation wasn't the best, but Chee Wye just did not know how to explain something that he so often went to and yet, never called anything else other than that word. Indeed, everyone - Chinese, Malay, Indian, Western, or whatever else you found in Malaysia - called it as such; that was its name, and nothing else would do.

Guest

Stephen was famished. He had spent the evening in the dance room, thinking of a new choreography for the next dance session, and he had not eaten anything aside from one protein bar. Thinking that it wasn't too late for him to grab some supper, he headed for the kitchens, which was fortunately near the Hufflepuff Common Room.

The voices he heard from outside the kitchen surprised him. Since it was getting late, he had assumed that everyone would be retiring in their own rooms, but two wizards seemed to be talking inside the kitchen. He took a peek and saw Chee Wye, who was a friend of his, and the Ravenclaw prefect who he had never spoken to. Seeing the Ravenclaw prefect reminded him of a certain good-looking Ravenclaw, and it was a memory he struggled to push out of his mind.

He was hungry, after all, and not thirsty in that way.

'Hey, Chee Wye,' he greeted his friend then nodded politely at the Ravenclaw prefect. 'Er, don't mind me. I'm just looking for supper.' He looked around to see if he could make a mozzarella and prosciutto sandwich. Most days, he actually longed for the taste of kimchi and bulgogi, but he doubted he would find random Asian cuisine in the kitchen. He would have to make do with whatever he finds, even if it's not as satisfying as food from home.

Guest

Finley took in that Hogwarts was the best with a small nod, he could agree with that much, Finley could see why. Though, it still seemed like a very long way to travel for school, but the Ravenclaw didn't press for more information, even if he wanted it.

"Uh..." Finley frowned slightly, before shaking his head. "F-Finley is fine." He admitted sheepishly, his cheeks flushing as he realised he'd been wrong in what he thought the other boy had said. But, not really knowing about the boy or his... culture, Finley decided to take the plunge with his next question. "I-... Is Ch-Chee Wye your full n-name?" Finley asked, his tone apologetic from the moment he started asking because he didn't know.

Finley was distracted from the explanation of what mamak was, though, when the door opened and someone joined them. His head turned to see the new boy, and Finley gave him a small smile as he explained what he was doing. The other two boys seemed to know each other, and Finley was not confident enough to introduce himself.

Guest

Nodding at the name, Chee Wye hesitated for but a moment, wondering why the boy was asking, before remembering that he was now in the UK and people only had one name. "Har? My name is Chee Wye lah," he told the Ravenclaw, grinning a little. "But you want my surname also issit?" He didn't wait, instead continuing with, "My full name is Leong Chee Wye lor." [Translation: "Huh? My name is Chee Wye. Did you also want my surname? My full name is Leong Chee Wye."]

For the second time that day, the door opened, and Chee Wye turned to look at the person who entered, smile growing wider as he realised he knew the male. "Eh, Stephen!" he called out, pushing back his chair and standing up in greeting as was usual in his culture. "So ngam wan? Come, come. Sit." Motioning to the table he was at, he glanced at Finley. "Oh, ya, Stephen, this is Finley. Finley, this is Stephen," he introduced. [Translation: 'Ngam' has multiple uses; in this case, it means 'coincidence'. "Hey, Stephen! Wow, this is so coincidental!"]

Guest

The two wizards seemed to be in the process of introducing themselves to each other, and based on Stephen's experience, he knew that introductory conversations with Chee Wye weren't exactly the easiest. His friend had a habit of mixing Malaysian with English, and his accent made even the English words sound foreign. Stephen hid his smile as he turned around and searched the cupboards for cheese. He knew he shouldn't laugh, but it was also fun to see British witches and wizards be so befuddled by Chee Wye.

The minute he turned to them again, Chee Wye introduced him to the Ravenclaw prefect. 'It's a pleasure to meet you, Finley,' Stephen bowed slightly. 'I'm sorry I can't shake your hand right now.' He showed Finley the block of cheese he was holding and gave him a sheepish smile.

From the way Finley acted, Stephen could tell that he was shy as well. Stephen wondered how such a shy person could become a prefect. Perhaps his shyness was why Christopher didn't mind breaking the rules at all. Not knowing what to say next, he focused on slicing the cheese evenly, to make sure that his sandwich looked like art. He knew it wasn't necessary, since it was just a snack, but Stephen didn't want a haphazardly-made sandwich, and besides, he wanted to linger and see how this interaction between Chee Wye and Finley would go.

» Se Hun 'Stephen' Han
» Where there's a quill, there's a way (Stephen)
» The Follow Up (Christopher & Stephen)
» You Can Stop Staring, You Know? (Stephen & Christopher)
» so far back in the closet you found narnia // stephen & eun soo