Chapter 28 - Home

The crystal blue eyes swept swiftly around the room. After a second of hesitation, Misha stepped in, closing the door behind him.

Although he had stayed in this bedroom for a few days when his fever started acting up, he never took the time to observe it, much less appreciate it. Until now, he hadn't felt like it was his 'own' room. It was as if he was a freeloader living in someone's else bedroom. The childish decor clashed with his grown-up's mindset, but he had to admit that it was still hundreds of times better than the hospital room. At least, he didn't have any roommates who would mistake his bed for theirs.

After observing his room for a while, the boy finally walked to the shelf near the window. Standing on his toes, he stretched his arm to take a dinosaur toy in the upper part. It was a T rex with a rough texture. At first glance, Misha could tell that the plastic used to make the toy was of poor quality. Moreover, the awful brownish-red color was peeling, revealing the beige plastic underneath the paint. Nevertheless, that cheap toy had been his treasure when he was young, and he couldn't help but smile while looking at it, stroking its head with his thumb.

Once more, the child looked around his room, then he softly said, "It feels good to be home."

With the toy in his hand, Misha went to his bed and tossed the T rex on the mattress. If someone were to enter his room, he would pretend to be playing with it. He didn't know what a kid of his age should be doing when he was left alone, but since there were dinosaur toys scattered here and there in his bedroom, Misha guessed that he often played with it when he was young. Frankly, his memories were blurry, and he had a hard time remembering his childhood. He only remembered that he loved that toy very much, and that was all.

Climbing on his bed, which his mother had made up after his hospitalization, Misha sprawled onto it for a second. Then, he anxiously crawled to the head of the bed. With a swift movement, he tossed aside the pillows and slid his hand between the wall and the bed base. Because there was a narrow space between the mattress and the head, it created a crack where things could fell to the floor and roll under the bed.

Just after transmigrating, his mother had suddenly come into his room, and he had pushed the golden watch beneath the pillows to hide it. As they slept, the wristwatch fell into the crack, but since it was a bit too big, it was stuck between the bed base and the wall. It didn't fall on the floor and didn't make any sound. Thus, it didn't disturb their sleep. When Misha woke up the next day, he had forgotten about it. After that, he had a fever for a long time, and he wasn't in the mood to think about the device and what mysteries it held.

The space was narrow, but Misha's hands were just small enough to pass. When his finger touched the cold metal, he heaved a sigh of relief. His mother hadn't noticed it when she made his bed and didn't take it – the mattress hide the crack well, and if Misha hadn't known there was something there, he also wouldn't have found it.

Misha rapidly excavated the golden watch and sat on the bed, the time-travel device on his knees. Then, he examined it from all angles, fiddling with the buttons, but no matter how much he twisted and pushed, nothing happened. As Santa Claus as said, it was impossible to change its setting.

The boy pouted a little, glaring at the uncooperative golden watch. However, he soon regained his smile. He was already more than satisfied with his present situation; he was only curious about the mysterious device. It looked like nothing more than an ordinary but expensive watch. Although its craftmanship was exquisite and delicate, no one would believe that this beautiful wristwatch was a time machine. Even the handles of the watch worked, showing that it was presently 14:40.

Squinting his eyes, Misha stared at the watch for a long time, but in the end, he could only hide it, not knowing what to do with it. Anyway, even if he were to find something interesting about it, he wouldn't understand how it worked. Perhaps he could try to catch Santa Claus on Christmas and bombard him with questions. Until then, he had no other choice but to hide it and wait.

Because the crack between the bed and the wall wasn't completely safe – when his mother changes the bedsheets, she might inadvertently saw it one day –, Misha decided to put it somewhere else. There was a problem, though. His mother was the one who cleaned his room and folded his clothes. She had access to everything, and thus nothing was truthfully safe.

Misha was so discouraged about this weak body of his that he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Even if he couldn't follow any art martial class, he should at least try to get in shape. Since he threw his brain in the trash bin a long time ago, his only strong point had always been his stamina. Now that it had lost his sturdy body and was stuck with a hole as a brain, what was he supposed to do? Sell meng[1]? He knew his cute face was a good weapon against aunties and the like, but he was reluctant to use it. Every time he did it, it hurt his pride very much. He wanted to be a manly man, not a sweet angel!

After brooding over his situation for a while, the boy finally stood up, dusting his pants. He took a deep breath, glancing at the toy on his bed. Frankly, he didn't know how to kill time while his mother was preparing dinner.

If only he had access to the internet, it wouldn't be as lost. 'Things really changed in fifteen years,' he thought, slightly reflecting on his cellphone dependency, but he was missing it very much, so he stopped reflecting.

Misha seriously didn't know what to do. Playing with dinosaur toys wasn't that much entertaining. Was he supposed to make them roar at each other? How does a T rex roar?

In the end, he stood there without moving an inch until he had a stroke of genius.

A wicked smile bloomed on his lips while he dashed out of his room and then ran down the stairs. Once he reached the first floor, he remembered that his physical constitution was presently quite pitiful. He almost collapsed a second time. In the back of his mind, he was starting to sort out what kind of exercises he could do to improve his stamina. It was going to be a huge challenge.

As Misha was racking his brain over this problem, he trotted to the kitchen.

There, his mother was instructing her two helpers, Misha and Gabriel, on what to do. She had planned to make a feast to celebrate the return of his son and her husband, but she didn't expect the two teenagers to be kitchen killers. In their past life, Gabriel took a long time before learning how to cook. Misha had forgotten how many times he had eaten unidentified food. It was hard to believe that the teenage boy, after a few years of training, would become an outstanding cook.

Misha watched the messy kitchen with a small smile on his lips. It was a funny sight, and the frowning expression of both Masha and Gabriel was hilarious. It was as if they were experiencing a great ordeal. They squinted their eyes, glaring at the stack of potatoes they had to peel. Their knife skills were terrible, if not inexistent. Thus, they always ended cutting a big chunk of the potatoes instead of only peeling its skin.

On the side, his mother was looking at the two teenagers with a helpless expression, not knowing what to do. There were a lot of vegetables to cut and prepare, but her helpers weren't that much of a help. She had to take care of the meat and the stove; she couldn't do everything by herself in a short amount of time.

While she was still thinking about what to do, she noticed her son standing in the doorframe. The moment she saw him, a sweet smile appeared on her face, and her frown disappeared. "Are you hungry? Do you want a snack?"

Misha shook his head. He fidgeted a little and shyly asked, "Can I go over to Dereck's house? And play a little before dinner?"

When Mrs. Brown heard his question, she couldn't hide the worry she felt. She still answered, "Of course you can! But you have to come back before 17:00."

"Thank you!" giggled Misha as he ran over and hugged his mother's waist.

In Masha's eyes, a light of hope glinted, but it was soon extinguished when her mother added, "Then, ask your father to come with you." Why could she gave her that task!?

The boy's mouth twitched. Dereck's house was two blocks away! He didn't need to be escorted, and he didn't want to be escorted, much less by his father! He was a big man! Well, if he took into account this small body, not really, but still. It wasn't like he would accept candies from strangers and follow them.

Although Misha was unhappy, sensing his mother's worries, he didn't voice his complaint. Instead, he said, "Ok. I will go ask!"

[1] It's a Chinese expression that I loved very much. Basically, it's 'acting cute.' I couldn't find anything else that had the meaning of what I wanted to convey, so I just used it! I will probably change it one day.