Do Not Feed Recklessly - Chapter 6. Part 1

Just as Jia vividly remembered her first meeting with Ethan, Ethan also recalled their first meeting, though with a slightly negative twist.

The night before Jia moved in, the sound of crying echoed from Ethan’s room.

“Waaah, Rocky! Rocky!”

It made sense, given that Rocky, the golden retriever from next door, was leaving, and new people were moving in. 

To Ethan, Rocky wasn’t just a neighbor’s dog; he was a lifelong companion and a brotherly figure who had been with him since birth.

Now, he had to say goodbye to Rocky in an instant. Even on the day Rocky moved away, Ethan hadn’t cried that much, but the thought of a new family taking over Rocky’s home overwhelmed him with sadness.

After crying into his pillow for a long time, Ethan quietly looked out of the window, his face a mess of tears. Beyond the glass was the green yard, filled with neatly manicured grass. Just looking at it threatened to unleash another wave of tears as memories of playing with Rocky in that yard flooded back.

“Rocky… sniff, sob.”

On the bedside table next to his bed was a small frame with a picture of him and Rocky together. Looking at the photo, Ethan made a silent promise to himself.

“I promise, I’ll bring you back.”

Ethan was determined to get rid of the new family moving in so that Rocky could come back next door.

Of course, young Ethan didn’t understand that Rocky’s owner had simply moved to Brisbane.

Unaware of the complexities of adult life, he firmly believed that if he could just get rid of the newcomers, Rocky would return.

* * *

The next morning it was chaos outside. It was true – a new family was moving into Rocky’s house.

The garden where Ethan used to play with Rocky was now occupied by a girl he had never seen before. He pouted and looked through the window at the new family.

“Ethan, it looks like a new friend has moved in. Shall we go and say hello to her with Mom and Dad?”

‘New friend? The only friend I want is Rocky.’

Ethan puffed out his cheeks at the thought. Regardless of his feelings, his mother smiled gently but firmly, took his hand, and led him outside.

“Oh, looks like you’ve just moved in!”

“I’ve been curious ever since I heard the house next door was sold. Nice to meet you! I’m John Taylor. This is my wife Linda…”

While his parents greeted the new family warmly, Ethan deliberately stood there with a pout on his face, making his displeasure clear.

Whether they noticed it or not, it seemed unfair to him that his parents were chatting amiably with the people who had taken Rocky’s place.

“Ethan, there’s a girl your age living next door. She could be your best friend, just like Rocky!”

His mother smiled in relief and ruffled Ethan’s hair.

“What a coincidence! You’re at the same age.”

“Yeah, it’d be nice if you two became friends,” his dad added.

Then, pushing Ethan gently from behind, they urged him towards the dark-haired girl.

“Come on, Ethan. You should go and say hello to your new friend!”

The eager look on Ethan’s parents’ faces only added to his discomfort. At this point, the girl in front of him didn’t matter. It felt cruel to be urged by his mother to make new friends as if he were being told to forget Rocky.

And so, in a moment of defiance, he said.

“You’re ugly.”

His mother’s face turned from eager anticipation to shock, and before anyone could intervene, the girl across from him grabbed a handful of his hair.

“You’re uglier.”

And just like that, the seeds of a rivalry were sown.

* * *

“Ethan, go apologise to Jia right now.”

“No way.”

“What kind of rudeness is that for your first meeting?” Besides, Jia has just moved here from Australia. You shouldn’t treat her like that.”

When Ethan finally got home, he had to face a long scolding from his parents.

“Ethan, stop acting like this. Rocky won’t come back.”

“But they took Rocky’s house!”

“They didn’t take it away. Did they?”

Deep down Ethan knew this. But admitting it would mean accepting that he might never see Rocky again, and that terrified him. He wanted to escape this reality and deny everything.

“Ethan, Jia is new to Australia. She doesn’t know the school, the language, everything. Why did you keep bothering her?”

“I didn’t mean to bother her.”

” I knew everything. It’s OK. Just apologize and try to get along with Jia from tomorrow. Okay?”

“Yeah…”

As Ethan nodded quietly, his mother gently ruffled his hair.

‘That’s right, she hasn’t done anything wrong…’ he thought, lowering his eyes as images of Jia came to mind.

As his mother had said, Jia was struggling with her English as it was her first time in Australia.

“Like Rocky, you can be Jia’s first best friend, right?”

Ethan’s eyes lit up with determination at his mother’s words. He nodded eagerly and went to bed, promising himself that he would apologize to Jia the next day.

* * *

As soon as he woke up, Ethan jumped in the shower. He wanted to look nice when he apologized to Jia, so he combed his hair and pulled out his favorite clothes to wear.

Holding some wildflowers he had picked from the garden, Ethan rushed over to the house next door, his heart pounding with excitement. But in contrast to his eagerness, Jia’s expression soured at the sight of him, as if she had seen a bug.

Before Ethan could utter a word of apology, Jia shouted.

“Get lost, you idiot!”

“Um, about yesterday-“

“Shut up! You’re the ugly one!”

Jia, still not fully comfortable with English, shouted a jumble of words she remembered. Caught off guard by her relentless attack, Ethan froze, feeling helpless.

In the end, his first attempt at an apology failed.

I messed up, but…

Despite Jia’s strong reaction, Ethan realized his mistake and began to think of another way to apologize.

But every time Jia saw him, she would hurl insults at him, calling him “idiot”, “fool” and “stupid dog”. It was all a result of Ethan’s own actions.