The standing ovation for the eight year old girl was taking place in the dull brown room, with the pain peeling off it's walls and the audience consisting of a single boy, that too being her brother.
"And that! Was a rocket roll!" She announced, coming to her feet after rolling on the ground.
"Um, where did you learn that?"
"Hm? While you were busy worrying, I was watching the tv at the store." She had a contented smile on her face, bringing her palm to her chest and raising her head high.
Anis sighed, "I don't see any practical uses for it though."
"Plactical use?" She shook her head, "When we fight someone, we do it to run away quickly!"
"Ohh."
"Yeahh! See! Like when a villain is giving a speech, the hero rolls around and kicks him in the butt!" She was on the makeshift podium once again.
The ceremony was coming to an end as the siblings sought it best to not thrash anymore than they already had. If their mother caught even a glimpse of such unprecedented mischief, they'd be in for a not so delightful session of spanking.
Remi might escape with the cries, Anis surely wouldn't. He eyed her with an envious look, then the feeling immediately shattered when the rebukes of his mother came back into his mind. Remi screamed so loud when she knew she was about to be punished, that she often ran out and started crying across the entire street.
One time an entire family followed her back home, concerned for her well being only to find her mother sitting on the wooden stool, slipper in hand.
Needless to say, none of them entered the threshold, Remi too, never did anything of the sorts again.
Shaking himself off of the memories that were many years too early to be considered nostalgia, he let his mind wander off to the actions of his sister that were eyeing a toy that had been put away by their mother.
It was a present from his big brother, although he never found it uneasy to share anything with his sister, even at times completely abandoning it himself, when she picked it up, he felt a pang of weight in his body.
It was a robot with a silver body, a metallic antenna and obviously a makeshift stomach with all the red buttons that could replace a cop car's sirens, it even made that kind of sound when it was turned on.
Remi set it on the floor, it's janky movements were unnerving, he had never seen a toy moving in real time, that too on its own. He reached for it but his hand was slapped away by another softer hand. Physically it felt like feathers, internally he might as well have been sent to the brazen bull.
"It's mine!"
"-yeah." He replied dismissively trying to look away.
Remi grew curious at his reaction, "Hmm? Why are you not looking? I'll share the toy ok?"
"It's fine." His voice was low yet bold.
"No! It's not fine! You're sulking! Anis is sulking!"
Anis practically lunged for the toy and latched onto it.
"This one is mine!"
Horrified.
"No! It's mine! Leave it! Leave it!"
"No! Ethan bought it for me!"
It was a tug of war battle, with both of the arms of the toy being pulled at either side.
Anis felt that he couldn't let go. That if he did so right now it'd be the same as trampling on the present his brother had bought for him. He poured all his energy into pulling, in hindsight it was sure it would be a pathetic display. A brother, five years older than his sister, snatching a toy from her sister.
What was worse was that he had never acted in such an abrasive manner before, yet he felt no remorse when he succeeded in getting the robot out of her grasp.
His legs shot up, she followed closely behind.
He was swirling around the dining table, rushing from one side of the room to another, although it was quite a short distance, the amount of times he jumped from one side to another had to have set some kind of record.
Soon after, Remi's luck took over as she lunged her small body forward and grabbed Anis by the waist.
With a shriek, his hands flailed.
And the Robot fell to its death.
Should he have set up a grave for him?
Was the robot even a 'him'? He didn't know, he was too busy pulling Remi's hair that he couldn't care about anything less.
The cry that escaped from her was loud enough to alert the police, and it sure did alert something that was even scarier than the police.
"The hell's going on here with you two?" A tired, slightly barbaric voice emerged with no subtly from the other room. When it laid it's eyes on the spectacle proceeding in front of it, the best decision the figure could come up was to sit down and console the two—after setting down the liquor bottle of course.
His father reeked.
The tears streaming down both of their eyes didn't help either as well.
"Now. Now. What's wrong? Break a leg or something?"
"Anis-! He broke it!"
"Ahh.." One of his eyes was definitely drooping, Anis visibly recoiled, "Your damn quarrels, when I was your age I used to run in the damn yard for hours on end." He inspected the murder scene of plastic metallic bits, "Who even bought both of you this damn thing? It wasn't your mother. She ain't into this clanker stuff."
Remi hiccupped, wiping the tears using her oversized pink shirt, "It was brother!"
Anis's eyes widened when Remi addresses Ethan as such. He felt a strange distrust for his sister at that moment, one he had never left in the eight years he had known her. It was a strange feeling that he ought to kill when he could, but it overwhelmed him, flowing out of him and was visible on his tear driven face.
"Brother?" It took him a while to guess the culprit, "I told your damn mother to never take anything from that damn rich freak." He clicked his tongue, "Alright, I got something for the two of you. Just wait right here alright?"
Both watched him with great enigma as he retreated back into the other room, which was about three steps away for him. Anis didn't expect him to return. Why would he?
His son had literally fought with his younger sister like both of them were five. He was sad, Anis could tell. Disappointed even.
But to his surprise, he did arrive back with great anticipation. With the best smile he could muster, he set down a car in front of them, it's red paint was fading into oblivion and instead of a remote control that was extremely expensive, it had a thread attached to its front.
The first thing Anis noticed was the fastest drop of a person's smile ever. His father set himself down with a great thud and practically glared at Remi. Her hands folded and eyes wincing in great anger.
"Why can you never bring good toys!" She yelped, "I wish brother was here."
....Brother was here?
Anis's hands hastened to reach for the car, he pulled it with little to no force, dragging it across the creaking floor effortlessly, forcing a laugh.
"-Look! It's so fast! Umm, you can also run it by hand."
His father's gaze slowly turned to him like a villain turns to a hero after losing everything, "Is it good Anis?" His voice was completely flat.
"Um, yeah! It's- it's super cool! And-And-"
"You too!" He yelled out of the blue.
Both Anis and Remi froze.
"Your brother's amazing Remi." He said.
Anis wanted to run over, hug his father from the behind. Yet that seemed far more like a delusion than getting back the robot.
He could smell the alcohol still on him. His instinct yelled at him to go to Remi first. To cover her and hide her from her father.
He didn't want father to hurt Remi again.
The toy was gone, it would never come back. Mom would scold them sure, but if father got angry he would beat them. Both of them.
Mother wasn't here.
Anis was scared that if he did, he couldn't stop.
Anis clutched his fists at his side.
Even if he was scared, it didn't change a thing. The man in front of him was still his father.
He took a step forward, reaching out for his father when,
"Daddy....Are you okay?" Said the concerned voice of a child.
Remi was already near him, her eyes boring into his face from below.
He snickered, "I'm alright. Sorry for worrying both of you." He took Remi in his arms, to which she covered her nose. He just laughed.
What was Anis supposed to do? It was right here for him. For his father. This was his lifeline. Anis was there sure, he didn't doubt it. But the one person his father would surely yearn for, was Remi. Father loved Remi. He probably regretted hitting her.
He didn't know if he felt the same for him though.
The situation in the house calmed down by miles, if it was a thermometer it had gone from a fifty to a fourty.. It wasn't normal, yet he could survive with it.
Remi crawled back to the floor, she stuck out her tongue for a few seconds before bursting into a wide smile. Their father had took his place at the opposite wall, which was only a few steps away.
The serene environment was interrupted by a loud banging on the door. Their eyes shot up but they didn't move from their spots. Anis saw his father's alertness rack up to a hundred.
There was another bang. Then another.
It wasn't subsiding.
He got to his feet and made his way to the door. He sure as hell regretted not having a peephole in the door, then again, he didn't want to sell off the couch for it.
When he did open the crooked door that barely hung to the frame, a young woman stood in front of him. She was wearing a deep green uniform with a smile on her face. Her blonde hair made her face glow, it was then grounded due to the mole left of her mouth.
It was difficult to discern whether the smile was a mere formality or if the woman was clinically insane. Was she really the one who was banging that loud? He turned to look behind her, no one near the door, all he could see was the distant views of people walking somewhere from their homes.
He greeted the woman, she retaliated. She was asking him where his entire family was. Getting defensive, he made sure to put an arm in front of Remi and Anis, his eyes never leaving the woman as if she'd jump at them.
Which Anis was sure she would, she looked like the type of person to do so. There was a certain uncertainty in her eyes. Though not easily visible, Anis was sure she was more crazier than the average person.
"Kindly follow me with your family to the middle of the city. We have quite a few announcements to make." She said, trying to be friendly.
He shook his head and stepped back.
"It seems you have mistaken something, we were not asking for you to cooperate, it is necessary for you to do so."
So they were going to break the door to their house to escort them to the square of their own city? Funny, really. There weren't even going to take them to the centre of Old Magshire, the politicians consider the lower district a different city on it's own.
He sought to fight back, going to raise his arm. Then he felt a tug. It was Remi.
She was scared, asking him to not let things get more scary.
Trusting the government was one hell of a no-go. He'd rather enter into a battlefield.
But just in this instant, he sought to have it ended quickly,
"Who else is being taken?"
"Hmm? Everyone. Every thinking living creature of this city is being taken there."
It didn't take much convincing, and all three of them were off after that.
Remi on her father's shoulder, whilst Anis gripped his hand. The three of them walked through the unconstructed, dirt roads of the lower district. The crowd was growing fast, by the time they reached the centre, at which they found a makeshift stage.
It being a makeshift one didn't make it worse though, it wasn't made of cardboard and duct tape. It was made of cheap wood, tin can hanging from the top, and strong cardboard, along with blank duct tape.
The entire crowd was murmuring amongst themselves. Officers in deep green uniform, most with a few stars on their chest were stationed around the stage. They never bat an eye at the people. Anis wasn't sure whether to find it assuring or ominous.
A man of average height stepped upto the stage, if you focused hard enough you could see the stage moving ever so slightly every time he took a step.
"Greetings lads!" He announced, expecting a response and only getting silence.
He coughed into his fist, "We've been facing some difficulties. Our mates have been crushing all of em' one by one." He grew slightly prideful, until his voice became more solemn.
"But even we ain't free from problems are we lads?"
Something about that accent...
"It'll be over in a jiffy. The trains ain't enough to get all of ya into them. Now, now, most of you must be asking, 'but I am recognized by the government!' Ya don't worry I was too until a day ago." Confused glances came his way, "We're making amends lads!" The stage was shaking slightly.
The tin cans above were rattling.
"So we ain't doing it. Instead, we're gonna pick another time. What the old lads at the parliament came up with was to get all of ya registered in the city itself. Quite the best idea ain't it?" His crooked mouth twisted into a smile.
The rattling was getting louder.
"To make up for it, they also decided to hold that one Aaergalian festival with the Earth god on a larger scale! The Hampstermorgan park will be one hella fun place in a few weeks. How many of ya are coming? Are you coming?" He pointed to a random family in the crowd. Struck by the sudden, half of them nodded their heads while other half chose to be still.
The man repeated it a few more times with other families, never pointing out Anis's, thankfully.
"I wanna go too." Murmured the little girl that was now gripping her father's leg.
He slowly turned to look at her, "Hm?"
"Daddy..Please?"
The eyes filled with charismatic mischief. The carelessly daring frown. Who could ever deny such a specimen?
His thoughts became distant for a moment, when he returned he gave Remi a smile, "Alright. Only if you behave." He said. The rattling was growing worse.
Anis felt a small smile creeping up on his own face. Though it didn't stay for long when a car drove past the crowd, forcing the people to make way to let it go. Behind it, there were troops, shouting for it stop, some even cursing it.
"Catch that foul man!" he yelled out, desperate.
Then it came. The tin cans had had enough of him. The stage started to shake, the officers began to move as well, running behind it as if trying to shoo a mouse away.
But it was already too late, the cans were all falling.
One of them landed square on the man's head, making him roll on the cheap wooden dais.
"Rocket roll!" laughed Remi. She wasn't the only one. The entire crowd was in disbelief. People held back their laughter, whilst others let it free as if they were witness the greatest performances of their lives.
Finally after more than a minute of the farce, the very same woman who had forced Anis's father out of their house made her way to the stage, her voice was much sharper. She demanded silence at the instance, which she readily got.
The man, who was now on the floor, winced in anger. "Aye! I was handling it fine! Get your cocky heads of my dang business!" He continued to argue but it was of no use.
There was something going on behind them. The people in the crowd had decreased drastically. Something was wrong. This new crowd of people that had walked in didn't say a word. They seamlessly took their positions withing the crowd.
Only a few seconds later, an incredibly foul stench took hold of the entire crowd. It was unbearable. The man had now gotten up and rushed back on stage, "We need all of you to be there at the Hampstermorgan park, aight? Government provided holidays ain't frequent, so take advantage will all of you!?" He was much more panicked now.
He opened his mouth once again to speak once then, then a fish slapped him.
Then another.
Then one more.
From all directions, those finned animals were being thrown on stage, "STOP!" He cried out but the crowd ruthless.
He turned to meet his father's eyes, what he saw though was a wide grin with eyes filled with hubris.
He turned back, there was a crate. No. There were crates, spaced out between the five hundred-ish people at the square. The stench was foul. But that didn't stop them from landing one fish slap after another.
It was all laughter. Like a shameful punishment by the gods. Alot of the officers were gone for some reason. That 'some reason' could only be one. They'd return quickly, with black suits and whatever those sticks they carried were. There was still time for that though. Right now, it felt like a rebel's dream.
Soon enough, chanting would start. Banners would appear behind them shortly. From an embarrassing fail at public speaking to a full blown riot.
The best part was that everyone, had joined in.
The once timid people of the lower district were laughing their assess off, and soon enough were also yelling, "To death with the Trivola act." and "Leave our homes".
He was in awe. He didn't have the time to continue being in that state though.
His father had already joined in. He would too. They would go to the festival too. If not for the food, then for the fights.