After the midnight snack, I left the bowl like an oily moon in the sink and locked my door, heart fluttering like moths to a lamp. I needed to cool down.

Morning crawled in like fog, and I oozed out of bed, mind a tangle of seaweed.

Last night’s sleep was a shipwreck. A madwoman swung a scythe under the sea, the water blooming red like sunset. Even my quilt fell like a dead gull.

That dream felt too real, like cold tide on bare ankles, and I woke damp and shaky.

If I really met that scythe-wielding thing, I’d be chopped like falling leaves into eighteen pieces.

Pah. If I had that kind of scythe skill, I’d carve through anyone in my path like wind through reeds. The Vampire King’s old crone of a relative? Get lost like dust on a road.

But… but I’ve never trained a scythe, heart sinking like a stone. Dreamsound never taught me, and my hands feel empty like winter branches. Still, a scythe is so cool my blood hums.

In the dream, that woman danced the blade like moonlight and slipped past every strike like rain through netting. No one even brushed her hair.

I want to learn. I want it so bad it burns like noon sun.

Decided. When Frostwhisper wakes, I’ll see if she can take the shape of a scythe, like frost forged into a crescent moon.

My mind wandered like mist, but my body moved on habit like clockwork. I dressed smooth as water, dizzy but steady.

There are bowls to wash… ugh, such a thorny vine. Toss them? No, that’s wasteful as burning fields, I hate that thought.

Speaking of which, I thought Xuewei would come stir trouble last night like a cat at midnight. She flaked, and I waited a whole hour like a lantern in rain.

What, you wanted me to launch a night raid? Her voice slid in like a smile behind a fan.

I didn’t see when she ghosted past the door, but she was suddenly at my side like a shadow at noon.

!!! I hopped back like a startled rabbit, heart drumming like war rain. L-l-Teacher, when did you come in?

Right when you said being wasteful is bad, she said, voice cool as a pond.

…

Teacher, you look like you didn’t sleep well, I murmured, worry fluttering like sparrows.

Without a body pillow, how could I sleep well? Her head tilted, eyes bright like twin stars.

That’s a hint, right? A flag waving like red silk. It has to be.

Then I’ll go buy you one right now! I blurted, words tumbling like marbles.

Hold it. Her fingers hooked my collar like a fishhook. …Tangxue, didn’t you beat me with a stick last night?

Xuewei’s eyes narrowed like a cat’s, the air crisp as frost.

Ah-ha-ha… about that… My gaze skittered like minnows, not daring to meet her eyes.

Now, two choices, she said, voice like velvet hiding a blade. One, lie obediently on my bed and let me sleep on you. I didn’t sleep at all.

Two, come shopping with me, she added, smile curling like smoke.

I choose two. I shouted before her last syllable fell, words like pebbles skipping water.

… Her cheek twitched like a cut string.

In that case, go make breakfast, she said, tone cooling like a sudden cloud. She left like a drifting leaf.

Whew… I dodged that arrow like a deer. My knees felt like jelly.

Didn’t think Xuewei really had that kind of thought about me—my scalp prickled like pine. Lolis? That’s weird moss growing on a temple wall. I’ll show her how wicked a brat can be.

I made up my mind like setting a sail: I’ll trip her up with little storms, one by one.

But first, breakfast, argh—my stomach cried like a hollow drum.

I shuffled to the hall, mood sour as unripe plums.

Huh? The bowl’s already washed? The shine lay there like a clear lake.

I remember Xuewei hated washing dishes, like cats hate baths…

Forget it. Better to make a beautiful breakfast than chase shadows like butterflies.

Nothing warms a heart like a fragrant breakfast, steam curling like morning mist.

Decision made, I marched into the kitchen like a little general. Half an hour later, a feast spread out like a harvest field.

We had plenty of ingredients, like a pantry forest, so I cooked big and bright.

It’s fine. I’ll eat it all, like a wolf with a clean conscience.

Awoo!

I padded to Xuewei’s door and knocked soft as rain. …Teacher, breakfast is ready.

…

Is she… asleep? Doubt pricked like thorns, but I pushed the door open like a slow tide.

Her room was bare as winter bamboo. No frills, just the necessities, neat as a sparrow’s nest.

Weird. It’s not my first time in here. Why am I blushing like a peach?

I patted my cheeks light as tapping drums, trying to clear the fog.

Maybe it’s my imagination, but the Xuewei curled on her side seemed to move, a ripple under still water.

No way, right? Her breathing was even as a sleeping lake. She couldn’t be faking. Right…?

Xuewei was sleeping. That was a rare chance, a ripe persimmon on a high branch.

How does a brat wake someone? I grinned like a fox in the henhouse.

Got it. A wicked little sun rose in my chest.

I picked my spot like a hawk picking a perch. Time for my first prank.

Crow rides the plane!

Take this! I yelled, heart leaping like sparks.

Right as I thought I’d nail it, Xuewei’s eyes snapped open, glinting like steel under moonlight.

She flipped the quilt like a wave and rolled me under like driftwood. The little loli was pinned as easily as a leaf.

You climbed into my bed yourself. How considerate, she purred, smile sharp as a crescent.

Mmph mmph! (I came to wake you up!) My voice was a tied-up ribbon.

Can’t hear~ If you whisper like a breeze, how can I catch it~ Her sing-song curled like smoke.

Mmph mmph! (Help!) I wriggled like a caught fish.

This is my room, you know? Even if you scream like a gull, no one will care~ Her breath brushed like warm wind.

Mmph mmph mmph! (Loud won’t work, soft won’t work—what do you want!) Panic flickered like moth wings.

Heehee~ We didn’t finish last night’s business, did we? Her words dripped like honey over thorns.

??? (cat-ears question marks) My mind went blank like a white page.

Don’t forget, I haven’t had breakfast yet… Her gaze smiled like a crescent moon, dangerous as dew on a blade.

… Even blindfolded by quilt, I could feel her grin like sunlight on ice. Then hurry up and eat!

The quilt slid back like a slow tide… revealing a blue-haired girl trembling like a leaf.

Ding ding—danger! Bells rang in my bones like alarm birds.

… (⁄(⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)⁄)

Tch. In the end, only two hours—like a brief summer storm.

I glanced at the dimming sky and let a shadowy smile bloom like ink in water.

No good. Little sisters are still little sisters. They play, then nap, even dragging me along like tangled vines.

No sense of responsibility, and I’m the one handling breakfast, like sweeping leaves in wind.

Might as well go out for a stroll, let the city flow past like a river.

Ah… the air outside is sweet as pine and not cloying like syrup. My lungs opened like windows.

~ (*≧▽≦) ~

My mood soared like a kite. I want to wander, feet light as petals.

My belly’s a hollow drum. I’ll grab snacks, little comets of sugar to tide me over.