"Don't worry, honey. I talked to that online tonic seller again. He said our son's fine-- just a little weak from the heat. I'll make sure to give him some good supplements later," my mom said as she picked up a piece of opium-based tonic from the corner and handed it to my dad. "Here, honey, you should have more too. You're the backbone of this family."
Then she turned to me, her face twisting into anger. "You lazy girl, why are you just standing there? Get in the kitchen and start cooking! You trying to starve us?"
"Yeah, Mom, she didn't even get me a Coke earlier," my brother chimed in from the side.
"What?! You little brat! Are you trying to make me lose it? How dare you refuse your brother!" My mom glared at me with fury. "If anything happens to my precious boy because of you, you'll pay for it!"
She immediately went back to coddling my brother, and I watched them for a second, disgusted by their display of affection, before silently turning and heading into the kitchen.