Drastic Family Cleanup
7.00 am. Saturday the week after.
Prof. Peter woke up, and feeling empty. He wished the day will go smooth and steady. He walked to the kids' bedroom. He wake up Blossom.
Blossom wakes up. She wakes up Bubbles first. A couple of tries, and Bubbles wakes up. Buttercup... ... ... Buttercup, she is a heavy case.
Blossom tried to wake her up the way she wake up Bubbles, but after 10 tries, to no avail.
Blossom said, "Buttercup... BUTTERCUP... COME ON, WAKE UP!".
Buttercup said, "NGH. Get out.", as she put the cardboard blanket deeper, sleeping on her mattress.
Blossom said, "Buttercup... ... ...".
Then she thought of a very dark idea, "Maybe a sprinkle of water on her face would not have hurt."
The idea felt too dark for her conscience, but she thought, "maybe it will work".
She went to get a cleaned small bowl at the kitchen, fill a tiny amount of water at kitchen's sink, and... before she do any of that, she wished that this action will not inflict on her any unneccessary pain.
So, she was about to sprinkle the water on Buttercup, when Bubbles stopped her, saying "Blossom, you must talk to Dad about this."
Blossom said, "Bubbles, it's just water on face. What could go wrong?"
Bubbles said, "Blossom! Ask Dad how we will wake up her. Why is Dad here for?"
Blossom said, "I'm sure I..."
Bubbles said, "No. Dad. Dad will wake up her."
Blossom, breathing a heavy sigh, says, "Alright, Bubbles."
So Blossom asked Dad that she is unable to wake up Buttercup. Dad said, "Alright, thank you Blossom, I'll get right to it."
Prof. Peter thought about getting up Buttercup. In the end, he just hauled Buttercup so that she sits at dining table. Prof. Peter had never hauled a load like this in his life since taking up job as a professor, but maybe this is a tease of the their next events.
The entire family waited for her to get up.
Buttercup wake up 30 minutes later. Prof. Peter said, "Buttercup, long time no see! We're just about to start our day today. Wash your face, and we'll set our hearts straight."
So Buttercup washed her face, and together they set their hearts straight for 10 miuntes. Prof. Peter also tells them to wish for a good and smooth day, since they forgot to do that when they just woke up.
Prof. Peter said, "I'm a bit frustrated today. My lecturer's room is still not clean and Buttercup, we need to think about your sleep schedule, like, bring it back to order. Alright? So, any questions?"
Blossom said, "Dad, groceries? The fridge's almost empty."
Prof. Peter said, "That... we had to be more judicious at that. Blossom, you think you can find for me a good local market around here, selling organic and locally-produced stuff? Just the closest one."
Blossom said, "How?"
Prof. Peter said, "Oh... er... ... ... wait, no... ... ... I will call Anatolya about places to buy organic gorceries, and then we will all go together. So..."
Prof. Peter pulled out a piece of paper and noted:
Get lecturer's room organised.
Solve Buttercup's sleeping problems together.
Call Anatolya where she gets her groceries, and buy organic groceries.
Prof. Peter pasted the note beside the 'home reno' note.
Prof. Peter said, "Now, about groceries..."
Prof. Peter pulled out his shopping list.
Prof. Peter said, "Alright, kids, what do we need? We're only here for breakfast and some light dishes."
Blossom said, "Fresh salad would be nice."
Prof. Peter said, "Hmm... yeah, salad. Would you like sauce with that?"
Blossom said, "Tomatos and onions. Dad, did we have a blender here?"
Prof. Peter said, "Yes, we do."
Blossom said, "That will be it, Dad. We'll do the sauce here, and store it in the fridge."
Prof. Peter nodded in a 'yeah, that's very clever of you' expression, and write what he sees Blossom often ate when they are there: Cabbage, mushrooms, carrot.
Then, Prof. Peter said, "Alright, others?"
Buttercup said, "... ... ... ... ... Egg?"
Prof. Peter said, "Hmm... what for?"
Buttercup paused, and said, "uh... Dad. I saw hard-boiled eggs in the salad bar in the university cafeteria. Maybe it will make the salad, you know, not just one food type."
Prof. Peter said, "Hmm... that's true.", and writes on the paper: Egg.
Prof. Peter said, "Bubbles?"
Bubbles said, "... ... ... ... ... Cereal?"
Blossom said, "Doesn't cereal have permitted preservatives and colourings?"
Bubbles said, "Corn?"
Prof. Peter said, "Corn's quite cumbersome. I liked something simple."
Bubbles said, "Apple?"
Prof. Peter said, "Nearer, but not there yet."
Bubbles thought, "Hmm... ... ..., grapes?"
Prof. Peter thought, "Hmm... ... ... yeah, grapes... ... ... yeah, that will work.", so he put on the paper: Grapes.
Prof. Peter said, "Alright, that will be all. Alright kids, prepare yourselves, we'll go to the university first."
So they did, and they set off to the university, specifically, the lecturer's room.
Prof. Peter's lecturer's room.
His table's a mess. His books - lots of uncollected assignments - he had little time for sending these things back. His trinkets - he tought, wow, it used to be such a good idea, you know, having these, erh... ... ... 'lucky charms', now, NO. These things are burden, and he had a busy day with kids, so no time to notice these trinkets anymore. These have to go.
He said to kids, "Okay, we will just put all of my stuff out, see how my room will like if there's nothing there."
So they pull everything out. It is now 8.30 a.m.
So they look inside. The room feels spacious and gloomy, lifeless, like someone just put the bookcases and shelfs there because 'someone might need it'.
Something's wrong. The entire floor looks dusty and unkempt. Prof. Peter said, "Hmm... ... ..." Prof. Peter then found his broom and dust scooper, which tucked somewhere, but he did not realise where before. He wanted to find the broom and dust scooper ever since he had to move lots of things here for the kids to play with drawings.
Then ... their drawings.
Prof. Peter said, "Kids, would you take your drawings from here?"
Blossom said, "Will do, Dad."
So they take those drawings off the room.
Now, he was surprised at the amount of the stuff he has. That spill of stuff takes up quite a footprint! Man, what he will say to himself when he is no longer in this world?
So he said, "Kids, you can read anything here, but first, we'll put what I need first." Then, he added, "Wait, no... no... We will dust off this place, then we will put essential things here first, and we'll go through this mass together."
So they did. The kids dusted off the whole floor with the broom and dust scooper. For the shelves and bookcases, Prof. Peter use tissues for his office to clean off any dust. Lots of tissue went gray, coloured and fluffed by dust.
Prof. Peter choked a little. He rushed to his office's window, and opened it. Now fresh air is let in, and the kids feel fresher in their lungs too, what with them used to air-conditioned air in the office.
Now the office is cleaned. The office now feel brand-new and fresh. They felt a little dusty, but time... ... ... Prof. Peter looked at the time. It is 11.00 am.
Prof. Peter then tells kids to separate what he needs urgently from the mass of things. Wait... ... ... Prof. Peter said, "Wait... ... ... kids, I need to try to write what I need first." So, Prof. Peter write on paper, then he remembered the note at the monitor.
Then he read the note:
Classes today, research today, when to stop work, must look at shopping list.
Prof. Peter then pulled a new piece of paper from the mass and, instead for only a day, why not for the entire semester?
He write a quite large list, in 20 minutes. The kids continue their drawings for that time.
So, he tells the kids to separate what he needed. The kids find what he went for. The mass is not exactly a lump of debris. The mass is more organised, kind of like a small-scale city. Wait, small-scale city? The kids somehow felt very familiar by this 'city'. What do they do with the 'city'?
They walk around, and imagine they are helicopters, looking down on the city. Prof. Peter wondered how in the world they are able to think to play that. Anyhow, Prof. Peter must look down, not noticing anything, and sort out HIS mess. The cleanup must be done!
So, eventually, Prof Peter's office is all set up. Now it is 1.00 pm. They went to the office, and set their hearts straight for about 10 minutes. They are quite hungry.
So, Prof. Peter thought for a while, and Prof. Peter said, "Kids, we'll just put aside the mass, and we will go to a... ... ... eat something... ... ..."
So, they drove off the faculty's parking lot, and Prof. Peter felt that there are cafes outside, within the vicinity of the university. Prof. Peter thought of a vegetarian cafe he did not go before. So, they went and ate at the cafe, and went back. Now the time is 2.00 pm.
Prof. Peter's mass... ... ...Prof. Peter wondered, "Kids, should we haul all of them back?"
Blossom said, "Dad, did you read any of them during our time here?"
Prof. Peter said, "Hmm... ... ... there are some I refer to, but otherwise, nope, not read."
So, Prof. Peter seperated from the mass, those that he actually referenced. The amount of books he referenced is smaller than the number of books he really did not read recently. He put those books nearest to his table, where he can reference any time of the day with ease and comfort. Others - they hauled them all back to their homes, some still in the car boot, to await their next fate.
Prof. Peter thought of their drawings, "Kids, your drawings?", says Prof. Peter.
Blossom said, "Coming, Dad!"
So they come, take their drawings frm the back seat of the car, and put them in their bedroom to await their next fate.
Now, Prof. Peter tells the kids to have a rest. He grabs the kettle, boils up water since there is little left of drinkable water. He waited for the heat to settle.
4.00 pm
Prof. Peter wakes the kids up, and set their hearts back again for 10 minutes.
He puts the drinkable water in their water container.
He crossed the sentence: 'Get lecturer's room organised.'
He said to kids, "Wait for me. I want to call Anatolya, then we will go out and have some fresh air."
He called Anatolya.
He said, "Peace, Anatolya! How are you?"
Anatolya said, "Peace, Peter! I'm fine here!"
He said, "Anatolya, how's your husband?"
Anatolya said, "Doing great! Hey, we've just done our house about two months ago. You like to come?"
Prof. Peter said, "Well, I have my kids here..."
Anatolya said, "They can come too, Peter! We've about to think to have kids, so it's nice if you can bring them around!"
Prof. Peter said, "Yeah, we will think about that... ... ... uh... ... ... ... ... Anatolya... ... ... ... ... I want to know where you do your groceries?"
Anatolya said, "We've reduced our groceries so that we can concentrate on our garden, but if you want, there's the New New Frankfurt Green Market. It often opens on weekends, and they will be there from 8 am to 5 pm. You can go tomorrow."
Prof. Peter said, "Well, Anatolya, thanks... ... ... wait, where is this Green Market located?"
Anatolya said, "It's in the New New Frankfurt Main Square."
Prof. Peter said, "Alright, thank you, Anatolya."
Anatolya said, "Your welcome. Hope to see you."
Prof. Peter said, "Yeah, hope to see you too."
Prof. Peter hung up the phone, and said, "Come kids, let's get some fresh air."
They went outside, and walk together.
They went across the park, and sees kids play together.
They looked like they had just been back from... ... ... school.
Blossom said, "Dad, when can we go to school?"
Prof. Peter said, "A while. If God wills."
Blossom said, "Dad, school looks so fun."
Prof. Peter nodded, and said, "For me, school's too rigid and neat for me."
Blossom said, "What? Dad, is school a police building?"
Prof. Peter said, "No, no, no. It's just that... ... ... my days with school are quite dull."
Buttercup and Bubbles listened to what they had to say, but those kids sure do look happy releasing their stress.
Prof. Peter said, "Now, if you want to get to school, I need to grab some forms for you to enrol to the school. It will take a while. I still feel it's not the time, but it will eventually come. Blossom, don't worry. You will eventually get to go to school."
Blossom said, "Oh, dad, that's nice of you."
Prof. Peter walked past the park, and go round the neighbourhood. Except for a few modifications, but if you strip all those modifications, the houses are all same, in shape, size, even the position of components. In short, they were all clones.
Blossom said, "Houses look same."
Prof. Peter said, "Yeah. They are all built in 1950s."
Blossom said, "Really?"
Prof. Peter said, "Yep. These houses are government-mandated mass housing scheme."
Blossom said, "What is mass housing?"
Prof. Peter said, "Imagine you build not just one house, but a LOT of houses. Not just for yourself, but ten thousand persons. That is what mass housing usually denotes."
Blossom said, "WOW. So we ourselves build ALL these houses?"
Prof. Peter said, "No. These houses are not built by any of us. Yes, not you, not those ten thousand persons. It's a different organisation. Now, imagine a group of people that whose job is just to build buildings. That's the organisation. We call them 'contractor'."
Blossom said, "Wait, Dad, if they just build buildings, where do they live?"
Prof. Peter said, "In shacks they built for themselves, if they are in site."
Blossom said, "Dad, wish they can live here, where they build these homes."
Prof. Peter said, "Unfortunately, these houses, they do not own it. These homes are for the real estate company. They will sell them to the customers. Now, Blossom, these customers, they have the money and want to live in homes, but they cannot build homes. So, yes. They are just doing their jobs, building houses."
Blossom said, "Well, that's not good, Dad."
Prof. Peter said, "Blossom, you have to realise that you are dealing with who owns the land, and also, you need to know what is responsibility. Imagine you are given the job, and the one who is willing to give you the job said, "Finish it. No extra, no reductions." Now, if you are given something like that, you cannot just do whatever you want, like, abandoning the work you're supposed to do, or finishing up the work, and inserting something he or she does not want. What happened is that you will be slapped, that is, because you're not following instructions. The instructions said, "Finish it. No extra, no reductions.", and you cannot follow that simple order, you will not get your paycheck, and trust. Nobody want to deal with someone who always flip-flopping."
Blossom said, "Dad, it's not like that, it's just that, I wished that they are given better houses. Shacks? Why can't they live like us, Dad?"
Prof. Peter said, "It's because it is cheap, and it is easy to tear down, and it is not intended to be permanent anyway. Besides, what can these workers afford anyway if they live in an expensive house? They can't buy all those vases and trinkets, and follys rich people can buy otherwise. They can't pay those huge bills, electric, water, and sewage. They can't pay those taxes. They will be bankrupt in no time if they stay working as a builder!"
Blossom said, "... ... ...I agree."
So they went back home, saying nothing. Sometimes the kids run together, playing silent tag, and Prof. Peter runs at the same speed with them. They got to their homes at 7.00 pm. They then set their hearts straight for 10 minutes, then another one at 8.30 pm. They rested after that.
Prof. Peter said, "Wait, Buttercup, you can sleep well tonight?"
Buttercup said, "Wasn't sure, Dad."
So, Prof. Peter took Buttercup round the neighbourhood in the dark of night, in his car. Prof. Peter told Blossom to keep guard of the house.
Once back, Prof. Peter said, "Buttercup, you feeling sleepy now?"
Buttercup nodded.
Prof. Peter knocks the door, then enters the kids bedroom, and said, "Alright kids, wish for a good sleep, and sleep well." At the end of wish, Prof. Peter hugged them, and hugged them as warm as he can, feeling sorry for them, then he turned off the lights.
Prof. Peter then turned off the lights in the main hall, and into his bedroom he goes.
He write down a new note: Go to Main Square at 8.30 am for Green Market.
He turned off the table light.
He wished that he had a good sleep, and sleep.
The End.
Experience of waking up somebody, cleaning up, going to cafe, helicopter pretend, hauling stuff, going outside, construction industry discussion, night ride, hugs, sleep from author's personal recollections. With a lot of thanks to Sir Weston for a South Park story (Paranoia) I can cruise along with. Before this chapter, several 'small steps' have been made.
