Accidents (Aiko & Chee Wye)

Guest

Aiko groaned as she came to her senses upon waking up in the Hospital Wing. When the angry face of the nurse came into view, she winced ready to take a full lecturing again about etiquette and proper eating habits. Usually she just tuned her out, which is what she did again. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead fixed a contrite look on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest and settled her head against a pillow propping her up. She wanted to throw her arms up and shout at the Healer: can't you see I'm doing the best I can? It wasn't as if either of her parents really instilled the healthiest of eating habits. When she was younger she had a hell of a lot more time to eat and feast around on delicacies and snacks than now.

Turning ten in the modeling world was the equivalent to a rite of a passage because suddenly she was being requested all around the world. She almost missed her letter of acceptance into Hogwarts because of a shoot in Morocco, France. The shoot was important however, as it determined her dedication to the work and set a predecessor for whatever she starred in later: was she a darling child star or the kind that never blew out of orbit and instead stayed in the center? She opted to be the latter, but she also needed to explore the tug of magic more than what she was discovering in her free-time.

Overall, she had nervously realized that the year was ending, and requests for her appearances were increasing slowly. She had almost a full schedule, with maybe four weeks of free-time in odd places for the summer. It was exhausting to say the least, but she was glad for the work. She wouldn't even mind eliminating those small weeks of freedom if it meant more work. She sighed as the Healer stormed off, before she ran a hand over her stomach. It wasn't that she was anorexic; this wasn't intentional in the slightest. Subconsciously, her anxiety acted up whenever she thought about a shoot and being nervous made her not want to eat. This coupled with the necessary tutoring she needed to do, and the other classwork she had yet to finish was a weight on her shoulders. She had too many things, not enough time to eat.

She closed her eyes, but opened them up again at the sound of footsteps. Her eyes shot open again in surprise. She didn't get visitors; that's not who she was. Of course she had the off the cuff friends that occasionally she spoke to, but that more often just revolved around school work. She smiled widely when she saw who it was.

"Chee Wye!" She exclaimed happily at the sight of his face, "what're you doing here?" She asked, still smiling at the idea that he may have been there for her.

Guest

It had been about a month since Chee Wye transferred to Hogwarts and he found he was settling in perfectly fine. Of course, he thought himself to be rather adaptable, having come from a country with so many different cultures to begin with, so being thrust in a place he was unfamiliar with was just another culture to add to his mix. Unfortunately, instead of conforming, Chee Wye had a tendency to take certain aspects of the Western country and combine them with the others, which meant that he still retained many of his bad habits.

Swearing in Chinese, for one; he also tended to call people who helped him (be it a Prefect, House elf, or Professor) 'boss', much to their confusion. Chee Wye also still spoke in the Malaysian English he was so used to, without even realising he was doing so, which didn't really help much in the communication aspect.

Despite all these shortcomings, Chee Wye had made some friends, including a rather nice Slytherin younger than him that he had met while lost in the large castle one afternoon. She had assisted him in finding his way back to his common room, but he had quite taken to her during that short walk and, having exchanged conversation, became what Chee Wye depicted as friends. Truth be told, they were more acquaintances, but in his mindset, anyone you spoke to for more than five minutes and left liking were his friends.

So when he heard that she had passed out and had been taken to the hospital wing, he was naturally worried as was his nature. Apparently, he heard, she had not eaten well (or so the rumors said) and everyone knew that rumors were usually truth. At least, that was what Cyee Wye had learnt. Malaysians, especially the Chinese, lived for gossip and stories, and Chee Wye was no different; he was a typical kay poh che, and not ashamed. ['Kay poh' = Hokkien for 'the act of being a busy-body'/minding other people's busy/poking your nose into other people's business. 'Kay poh chee' = a busy-body/nosy parker.]

So, immediately, Chee Wye made a quick stop by the kitchens followed by his own personal stash of food - for which Malaysian didn't have that. Piling everything into a basket he borrowed from a housemate, he made his way down to the hospital wing. Seeing Aiko there, he started towards her. "Hello, hello!" he greeted, smiling at her words. "Har? Here for you lah. Abuden? Here for the nurse issit?" he replied, dumping the basket on the bedside table as he arrived at her side. [Abuden is a Malaysian phrase that literally translates to 'Ah, but then?' which more or less means 'duh' or 'you don't say' or 'obviously'. It's used sarcastically, when people state the obvious. Translation: "Huh? I'm here for you, obviously. Who else would I be here for? The nurse?"]

He pulled a chair over and sat, motioning to the basket. "Eh, why you never eat ah? Don't like school food issit? Nah, now you got many choice. What you wan? I brought you a bit of everything... Cincai put together only lah." [Cincai = simply/without careful thought, like "I cincai did my homework" means "I simply did my homework". Translation: "Hey, why haven't you eaten? You don't like school food, is it? Here, now you have a lot of choices. What do you want? I brought you a bit of everything. I simply put together a basket for you."]

Guest

After meeting Chee Wye in a lost common room situation, Aiko found that she liked his presence an awful lot. She could be two-faced and double sided but she wasn’t insincere in her actions. She never did anything she didn’t want to do is what that meant. Although they were more like acquaintances, she didn’t have a chance to explore the friendship after they first met thanks to the unfortunate surplus in requests for her. She had to pick which companies and photographers to work with which meant checking their portfolios to see where exactly she’d best fit in and where she’d best shine and help the company flourish. Aiko was nothing if not strategical about whom she worked with or where she worked. Her father taught her that tactic. He showed her examples of where cocky models thought they could shine in big companies early and then waste their opportunity to shine. When you’re with the top modeling company, you have to work extra hard to stay in the top and even after that you have to fight off the competition because the top never changes. Because top modeling companies were just looking for other top models to outdo the top model, her father explained to her when she was 11. It made her nose scrunch up. So she needed to be selective about where she went and selective especially about when she was to “plateau”, or join the top modeling companies and be the face.

With those things in mind, she pushed Chee Wye out of her mind. Sort of… She was enchanted by his strange language and so she pulled out a few translator books from the “WORLD LANGUAGES” section of the library. That was part of the reason that she was somewhat behind on her world. She found the phrase ‘leng lui’ to be locked in with Malaysian slang, and she took it from there. Then she realized she was behind and she pushed him out of his mind once more.

However seeing him there made Aiko feel extra special. She knew how fast the gossip train traveled; she still remembered the drama unfolding in the Ravenclaw House when Alexander (or was it Adam? Or Anud? or Ajax? She didn’t quite recall) asked a third year to the Yule Ball instead of someone more blah blah blah. She didn’t care. It was just an example of how gossip hungry people could be, so naturally her more publicized pass-out sessions were to be emphasized out of proportion. She was glad at the sunny way Chee Wye greeted her though, made her feel less bad about the situation she was in.

She listened intently at his words trying to decipher them as they came at her. She narrowed her eyes and then rolled them. “If you were here for the nurse, I’d say you’re um - angua ah with ah - ah moi?” She flushed a bit. “Did I say that right? I was trying to say lovesick with a woman.” She murmured curiously peeking up between her strands of hair at him. She glanced at what was in his hands and her eyes widened. “What is that?” She asked pointing at it with narrowed eyes, “is- is that food? Or are you trying to solve world hunger?” She pursed her lips at the heft of it. “How do you even carry that much food?”

Aiko focused again on his words as he shifted position. She recognized the word ‘cincai’ to mean food and automatically brightened even further, because she felt good that she was understanding him more. “What’s your favorite to eat in there?” She guessed that lah meant basket or something, “also what does abuden mean?” She’d missed the first ‘A’ portion of the book. She directly tried to avoid the question about why she wasn’t eating, a bit worried to unload that kind of stress unto him so early in the game.

Guest

Chee Wye was glad that Aiko was, at the very least, cheerful. He hated seeing people upset - even more so his friends - and he made it his sort of mission to be the one that made everyone feel better. Unfortunately, this meant that Chee Wye didn't understand that, sometimes, people needed to experience hurt and pain in order to mature and grow. Nevertheless, he enjoyed cheering people up, and seeing Aiko happy to see him made that worthwhile.

As she tried to speak Chinese, Chee Wye's eyes lit up. It didn't matter that she got the words mixed up or that she misunderstood the terms (since, after all, direct translations didn't always convey how the term was actually used). She was trying, and that made Chee Wye more than excited; it meant a lot that people bothered to try.

"Ah moi is correct," he affirmed, then shrugged. "But it's angao. But very good leh. How you know ar?" Grinning sheepishly, he nodded at her question. "It's not that heavy lah," he said, shrugging again. It wasn't that big a deal. "I hear you never eat, so I bring you food lor." [Translation: "But you did very well! How did you know about it? ... It's not that heavy, actually. I heard that you didn't eat, so I brought you food."]

"Eh, cannot choose lah. All also I like," he explained, opening it and showing it to her. "But this one is all for you. You must eat okay? After you pengsan again then how? Got a bit of everything also in here so you just eat what you want lah." [Translation: "Huh? I definitely cannot choose; I like them all. But this is all for you. You must eat something, okay, or you might pass out again. How then? There's a little of everything in here, so just eat what you want!" Pengsan = malay for 'pass out']

"Abuden?" He paused, scratched his head. "Uhmmm... It's like... Actually, I dunno how to explain leh. Sorry..." He stopped, thinking a little. "It's sarcastic like that. Like, when you say something obvious. Wait. Got a very good video about it. Come, I show you," he added, remembering that a Malaysian YouTuber had made a video on this very subject. [Translation: "..actually, I'm not sure how to explain it! It's like sarcasm... Wait, there's a very good video about it. Here, let me show it to you."]

Pulling out his phone, he opened the link and held it out to her.

Guest

There was something homely about being with Chee Wye.

It was undeniable, that was for sure, Aiko thought. It felt safe to be around him. She didn’t feel scared or threatened. Not that she felt threatened anywhere on campus (yet). The modeling world was where she felt the most threatened what with all the swarms of competition. Girls who had enticing blue eyes and hair the color of night with skin the shades of gold untouchable by the sun. Girls who had eyes the color of emeralds and hair hues of silky dawn. Girls with smiles that were the equivalent to Helen of Troy that could start wars between boys with lovesick eyes. Girls who were lovely but lonely and scary on the inside. Girls that were like looking into a mirror. She felt threatened by them, that she could lose this job that made her the daughter of her father or a lesser being. She hated feeling threatened; feeling out of control.

Feeling scared was different. She felt scared quite often, mostly because magic was dangerous. Magic was a lot of power in her small hands. Power that could move mountains and even lethally harm someone. Power that she craved, but didn’t deserve. She gave a heavy sigh as she ran her hands through her hair.

But Chee Wye… He was safe. He wouldn’t hurt her, so she didn’t need to feel afraid. He wouldn’t take anything from her, so she needn’t feel threatened. In fact, here he was trying to help her! He was giving her something without asking for anything in return. She’d done nothing but be nice to him and here he was ready to feed her and help her. As she waited for his response, she straightened up a bit in bed, crossing her legs.

She nodded and made a mental note about her language slip ups.

“I read books,” she brightly answered, her lips curling and her smile growing as she beamed at him, she felt proud of herself and even more contented that she was doing something right. “But still, you must’ve carried it from the dungeons or at least the kitchen and that’s a good walk over here, so it must’ve been hard.” She flushed as she thought about carrying it herself. She would’ve folded onto the floor, she thought weakly as she gave a small sigh. At his next words, she winced and scratched her temple out of nervousness.

“It’s not on purpose,” she replied softly looking down at her hands, “I don’t eat because sometimes I forget and sometimes I don’t know what to eat and-“ she gave a heavier sigh, she bit her lower lip and looked up at him with concerned eyes, “can I tell you something, Chee Wye?” She asked with a soft tone.

She smiled as she saw the food and picked out a dish she recognized from dinner with her father. Her eyes lit up as she spotted it and her smile grew again. She tore a piece of the roti canai and dipped it in the orange colored sauce and ate it greedily. She bit her lower lip and pointed at the satay. “That too? Can I eat that too?” She asked nervously, her mouth watering around the roti as she dipped another piece into a sauce. She listened intently, nodding along, but mostly focusing on the delightfulness of her food joyfully. She watched the video voraciously.

She laughed at the radio show part, she laughed even harder at the two guys on the phone, and she laughed the hardest at the football part when they mentioned Twilight. She felt special inside as she realized that Chee Wye was probably a muggle like herself. She grinned softly as she poked his arm.

“I get it, can I ask you something?” She didn’t wait for an answer this time, “are you a - a muggle?” She asked biting her lower lip, her brows scrunched in anticipation for his answer.

Guest

The explanation made him slightly confused. There were no text books that he knew of that taught Malaysian slang, which meant she went out of her way to not only find but to read things that pertained to his culture and his language, which in itself was a remarkable thing. It made him feel special, like he was worth all that effort, which he knew he wasn’t. Chee Wye wasn’t insecure, no, but he was realistic, and knew he wasn’t anyone special. Still, he couldn’t help but smile at her. Shaking his head, he shrugged. “Not that heavy lah, don’t worry,” he told her. [Translation: “It’s not that heavy, actually. Don’t worry.”]

It was true, too; he was used to carrying things like that, what with the huge textbooks he had in school and having to buy food for his family sometimes. While he was an only child (a rather unusual thing) he had many aunts and uncles, and during family dinners, he was expected to be the one to help lug all that his parents cooked or bought to the designated place.

He nodded at her words although he didn’t quite understand. Food was a part of him and his culture; not eating or forgetting to eat was not something that he had ever encountered. Not know what to eat, however, was common; with so much variety and choice back home, sometimes Chee Wye didn’t know what to have for lunch when he wanted so many different things! Still, that had never lead to him not eating. Rather, it meant he usually ate more than he should have.

“Of course can lah,” he said told her. “Tell me anything also can. Why scared?” He hadn’t missed the worried look she had given him, though he didn’t really get it. There was no need to be afraid. It wasn’t as though Chee Wye was select in the company he kept or anything. [Translation: “Of course you can! You can tell me anything; there’s no need to be afraid.”]

Smiling as she began to eat, Chee Wye joined her, although he forced himself to not take so much; anyone could tell the girl before him needed it more than he did, and it wasn’t as though he was particularly starving or anything. But when she hesitated and asked if she could eat something, Chee Wye frowned in confusion. “Of course, of course! All this for you lah. Eat everything also can,” he told her, reaching over and passing the satay. “Eh, I warn you first okay? This one not so good,” he added. The house elves had done a decent job with his Malaysian food requests, but they hadn’t managed to get it exactly the same, and while still nice, it wasn’t the same. But, that didn’t really matter right now, as long as Aiko was eating. [Translation: “Of course, of course! All this is for you! You can eat everything if you please. Oh, but let me warn you - the satay isn’t the nicest it can be.”]

He was glad that she was enjoying the video, and wondered if he should show her another. The ‘Only in Malaysia’ video was one he thoroughly enjoyed, for it encapsulated a little about his culture that was truly unique. But, for now, he didn’t, waiting to see her response first. At the question, though, he nodded; it wasn’t a big deal “Muggleborn, yes. Ma and pa both also muggle, so they dunno much about this. You leh?” [Translation: “...mum and dad are both muggles, so they don’t know much about magic. What about you?”]

» Eh, you here oso ah?! (Chee Wye) [Oh, you're here too!]
» Not so Spacious (Aiko & Max)
» Mind Your Language (Chee Wye)
» Letters to a wall (Chee Wye)
» Small Things (Chee Wye & Sumire)