Chapter 4 Their Debate

Uti lived in the suburbs, in a small house with her mother, father, two younger siblings, and her sickly grandmother. The house is always crowded, especially since Uti's younger siblings are still small, the biggest still in the fourth grade.

Telling Novan that she was very busy was not a lie. After school like this, Uti was always busy helping her mother. Uti had to look after the small shop while her mother worked in the kitchen. Actually, it wasn't always like that, Uti could do any job her mother told her to do. And Uti couldn't refuse, she didn't want to see her mother struggling alone, and Uti would gladly help her mother.

Uti knew what to do after she got out of her room and changed. The girl first went to the kitchen, to see her mother. It was late afternoon, and her mother was, of course, in the kitchen cooking.

Uti walked slowly to the kitchen table to get a drink. The girl grabbed a glass and immediately filled it with mineral water that she poured from the teapot. Her mother, who had her back to Uti, turned around when she heard a voice.

The middle-aged woman then asked quietly, "Are you home yet? From when?"

"Just now, mom." Uti replied softly after downing the water in her glass. "What are you cooking this time?" she continued.

"Ah, I want to make vegetable soup, I'm slicing carrots. I'll make some chili sauce later." Susan replied softly.

"Want I to help mom?" she asked.

Her mother chuckled softly as she waved her hand at Uti. "Are you sure you want to help me?"

Uti blinked her eyes. "Why not? It's not weird."

"Yes, it's not strange, I mean, you just got back from school, you must be tired, so I don't think you need to help me, besides, I can do it myself, I don't need help anyway. I can handle everything myself."

Nodding her head in understanding, Uti sighed softly. "Then Uti will go to the front first, mom? There's no one guarding the stall, right?"

"There is, your younger brother is looking after it."

Uti was stunned on the spot for a moment, her eyes slightly wide in shock. She looked at the woman in front of her with her forehead folded. "Omar looks after the stall?"

"There are two younger siblings, Uti, Omar and Leo. Leo is still young, he's not in school yet, and Omar is in the fourth grade."

"Yes, you don't need to explain it again, mom, i understand."

"So what? Why do you ask?"

"What do you mean? Why are you going around like this? I am getting a headache."

The strong woman who gave birth to Uti then turned around, looking at Uti again. "The one who looks after the stall is, of course, Omar, who else could it be? Leo? That's impossible, why do you even ask?"

"I just didn't expect it, mom." Uti answered after Susan's sentence was finished steadily. "Before, Omar didn't want to be told to look after the stall when someone bought, he was reluctant, mom. Once i asked him to, he flatly refused and instead went out to play with his friends." At the end of her sentence, Uti let out a long breath.

"You told him while you were angry, so that's why Omar refused to obey." Susan, Uti's mother, chuckled softly. "Mom asked him nicely, and he understood."

"There must be something the child wants, right, mom?"

"I don't think so."

"Ah, how could Omar just want to do that? I don't believe you, mom."

"Why don't you believe me?"

Uti was about to answer, her mouth was already open, but suddenly she shook her head slowly. Uti chose not to continue her sentence. The girl looked at her mother, then smiled. "That's it, mom, let's not talk about it anymore. I getting in the way of mom's work."

"Hm."

"Are you sure you don't want my help?"

"No need this time, I can still do it myself."

"Then i go ahead first, Mom? I want to check on Omar."

Susan nodded, followed by her voice answering softly. "Yes, whatever you want."

Before completely exiting the kitchen area and leaving her mother alone, Uti took the time to smile faintly at her mother. Then, her footsteps slipped out. Uti could not believe that Omar was guarding the stall; to Uti, it seemed impossible. That's why she was surprised and shocked at the same time. And now, Uti wanted to check it out, to see with her own eyes.

Her mother's stall was right in front of the house, so it didn't take long to get there. Uti entered through the back door, and there she saw Abram sitting at the table, snacking.

Seeing that scene, Uti sneered softly. "No wonder I told you to take care of the stall, you're too busy eating snacks here." Uti crossed her chest, her sharp eyes fixed on Omar, who now looked surprised by Uti's sudden presence.

Omar turned his face away, watching his sister's face with annoyance. "I'm just waiting for the customers to come here. I also want to help mom, is that not okay?"

"Yes, that's fine, it's your duty as a child, obey what mom wants, don't argue with mom. But, you have to know yourself too."

"Know yourself what does that mean?"

"Don't run out of snacks that are sold, how come it doesn't connect with what you're saying?"

"You didn't explain anything." Omar shrugged his shoulders, then went back to stuffing his mouth with snacks. This made Uti sigh rudely. Her younger brother sometimes made her head spin.

"Do you intend to sell or help mom?"

"Yes, I do, but didn't you see that I've been sitting here waiting for customers to come? If I didn't want to, I would have run away to the field to play with my friends." Omar answered at length.

"How many packets of snacks have you eaten?" This time, Uti asked softly and carefully. Trying to keep her emotions in check so she wouldn't get tired. Uti's gaze did not turn away from her younger brother.

"Just one."

"And then you're going to get another one when you've finished the snack you were eating?"

Omar widened his eyes. "I'm not saying that!"

"You would have done that if I wasn't here. Wouldn't you?"

"What's wrong with you? It's really annoying. Just tell me you're jealous of me. Just take the snacks if you want them." Omar pointed to the snack hanging in front of him.

"You can't make mom lose like this. Instead of making a profit, I'll lose money because you keep eating the snacks that are on sale like this."

"You don't overdo it, I only ate one, and it didn't make the shop lose money, did it?" Omar defended himself, not wanting to be blamed.

"If you hadn't come here earlier, maybe all the snacks we sell would have disappeared because you ate them." Uti was still fuming.

"Ih, where is that, don't say anything nonsense. How can you accuse me so carelessly?"

Uti was silent for a split second, before she finally asked a question. "So, how much money have you made, who's buying? What did they buy here?"

"Only one, the next-door neighbor."

"Just one, for real, when have you been running the stall?"

"Not even an hour, that's normal. Don't blame me because there are only a few customers. I didn't know."

"Still not many customers but you've already eaten your snack, huh? Wow, that's great." Uti clapped her hands, intending to insinuate her brother. The girl smiled wryly.

"It's only one way, why is you so annoying?" Omar sulked, his lips curled, his hands now folded in front of his chest.

There was a moment of silence, before Uti finally chimed in, "but it's usually crowded at this hour. It must be because your aura makes the customers run away."

Omar rose from his seat, the boy looking up to meet his sister's gaze. "If so, I'll take care of the stall!" he said quickly, loudly, and harshly, making Uti's eyes bulge.

Omar continued, "I want to play soccer in the field, join my friends!"

Not caring about his sister's next response, Omar stomped away from the stall.

"Hey!" Uti snapped, but Omar didn't seem to care, the boy continued to stride away, leaving Uti resigned and only letting out a tired sigh. The girl shook her head.

Uti then looked down, something under the table caught her attention. The girl widened her eyes in surprise when she found something so unexpected that her breath stopped in her throat.