Garlic Fried Rice NOAH SALES
It was a humid Monday morning as the whirring of fans mumbled throughout the house and the sizzling of oil danced in the frying pans. He could hear his mother banging the metal pots together as she looked with her favorite spatula. He lied there in bed thinking about how they had moved to the U.S. a year ago from the Philippines. It had been one year since he started the fourth grade at Crown Hill Elementary School; a year of rushing to learn English or else he would be ostracized from the already-growing isolation he had been feeling. As a 10-year-old who emigrated from the Philippines to a new country, he was having a hard time adjusting to the culture shock. Now he had to start a new school year in the fifth grade. “Food is ready! You better get up soon! It’s your first day of fifth grade! If you aren’t down here soon then I’ll make sure that today won’t be your last, Joseph!” his mother yelled from the kitchen below. She always had a fiery temper, typical of the most loving Filipino mothers. Joseph rustled underneath the sheets as he heard the familiar voice of his mother wake him from his peaceful slumber; he had to face his fears once more and this time he had planned to overcome them. The door slowly creaked as he recognized the pitter patter of his mother’s flip flops, her typical weapon of choice. She made her way up the stairs quicker than usual. “Joseph, wake up. You’re going to be late, hah.” A thick Filipino accent penetrated the room, as her voice had found its way to pinch his ears. “No, five more minutes,” Joseph said dreadfully as he turned in bed and burrowed into the pillow face first. However, he could not avoid the familiar aroma of garlic as it had stung his eyes closed. He tried to wrap himself in his blanket but to no avail, this scent had been proven to be impervious to his failed attempts. The smell was a growing reminder to his alienation that he had been feeling for a while already. Fwoot! A short, shadowy figure raised its arm in the air like the flying bat lady of Filipino legend and the sun’s rays chased her away as the blinds flew up. Left behind in the monster’s wake was a short little brown woman who looked quite peeved. The noise startled Joseph as he peeked under the blankets to see Mother Mary dangling down as his mother stared at him. He saw her blue nursing scrubs against her Hello Kitty flip flops. However, the contrasting color palette of her clothing only made him more afraid of what he had planned to do.
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