Saph Yāt Yuht

Chapter 1
Jacob Pierce, a 15-year old high school student lost his way around the playground outside, He was due to meet a friend there but he was unaware he went home early, he had a bunch of black and death metal CDS with him and a CD player.

He saw a strange figure sitting behind a wall that quickly retreated.

”Hm?” He thought to himself, He felt almost nervous to the core, was this another mugger or someone skipping school?

”Hello?” He asked nervously, Slowly walking to the wall, He felt nervous, then as soon as he went to see who the figure was, He saw an Asian-American boy around his age with long black hair, His jeans were torn and wore a dark blue hoodie, He then got out a pocket knife.

”你係邊個? (Who the hell are you?)” The teenager barked in Cantonese.

Jacob was so shocked he could barely speak, then the young teenager gestured him to sit down flat and held the knife to him.

”你係佩内洛普愚蠢嘅男朋友之一，佢甩咗，畀佢哋嘲笑我，因為我嘅種族？！( Are you one of Penelope’s stupid boyfriends she dumps and allows them to mock me because of my race?!)” He yelled again.

He recognized the transliteration of Penelope.

”No, No! I don’t know anyone by that name!” He cried out in protest, The teen then dropped the knife.

The teenager sighed, maybe he was just hungry, it was starting to cause him to become irritable and angry, yet so weak.

”My name.....is Lei....” He said to Jacob, “Stay here and do not leave this place, If you do, You’re dead, okay?”

Jacob nodded while panicking, what was Lei going to do to him.

”Can I ask you one thing?” Lei asked Jacob, looking at him intently.

Jacob nodded.

”Do you have food in your bag?” Lei asked him, It had been a few days since he’d last eaten, His twin sister was on lookout, “I’m very hungry, I’m broke and have not eaten for a few days.”

Jacob sighed, remembering eating his lunch.

”Nope, sorry and I don’t have any money left....” Jacob said sheepishly, causing Lei to sigh in response.

Jacob sat across from him, Lei twitched a little, His stomach then began to growl quite loudly, causing Lei to look down and then turn his head away, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

”Fuck.....” Lei hissed a bit, flinching a bit, He then noticed CDs and a CD player in the other teenager’s bag with headphones, ignoring hunger, He looked at them.

He picked up one titled ‘Deicide’.

”You like black and death metal, that’s great!” Jacob said, trying to lighten Lei’s mood despite how hungry Lei was.

”My first foster home didn’t like that music, I like heavy metal, I like Ozzy and Dio.” He said to Jacob.

”That’s great, I like Ozzy more though.” He said.

Lei smiled a little, this really took his mind off starvation.

”You want to have a listen?” He asked, getting out the headphones and putting the CD into the player then pressing play, Lei took the headphones.

It wasn’t too bad to be honest, He actually somewhat liked it, The drums and instruments were awesome and it was better than most things he listened to nowadays.

”You like it?” Jacob asked him, Lei nodded in response.

”我中意它，即使它唔會填補空腹，但它令我的頭腦遠離它 (I like it even though it won’t fill an empty stomach, But it keeps my mind off it)” Lei replied in Cantonese.

”You want to come over to my house after-school?” He asked as a young teenage girl sat down.

”I’m sure Lei would love that, me and him don’t really have the best life.” They heard her speak.

He turned to face her, she wore a Worn-out sundress, socks and shoes.

”That’s my twin sister, can she come too?” Lei asked Jacob, He turned to her in response before nodding.

Jacob smiled and nodded, an hour after talking to the twins, he promised he’d wait for them at the end of the day.

Chapter 2
Lei and Jiayi had just finished their final class for the day aswell as Jacob’s, Lei looked at Jacob as he left the science class.

”Hey.” Jacob said as he waved and joined them, Lei was leaning on his sister for support, which Jacob seemed to notice.

”Hey, You okay, Lei?” Jacob asked the Macau Chinese boy.

”Hungry.....” Was his only reply, Jacob looked and gestured the twins to follow him.

As soon as the twins and Jacob were outside school campus, Jacob then picked up Lei bridal style as he nearly collapsed from the hunger pangs.

Lei was nearly shocked at this, he could walk fine, but his movements had been a bit hazy

”My home isn’t too far from here.” He told Lei, who nodded weakly, “My parents are still at work, My younger sister is home, she’s 9.”

Lei nodded a bit.

”So, what’s wrong with your life?” He asked Lei.

”Terrible foster parents, they starve me as discipline, this time, didn’t get Penelope the right dress, 5 days, I think this is my third day....” Lei said sheepishly.

”I’ll make something, don’t worry.” He said.

Jacob opened the door and he helped Lei upstairs, Jacob’s sister Kylie was doing her homework when she saw Lei.

”Jacob, welcome home, Who’s that?” She asked him

”Friend from high school, He’s starving.” Jacob replied as he helped Lei upstairs, Jiayi followed suit.

Jacob’s room was death metal themed, Lei kind of liked it, Jacob then laid him down on the bed.

”It’s for your blood sugar, you need to be in a flat surface, It’ll allow full blood flow, I’ll get you some food and a drink.” He said, “I’ll order pizza.”

He got a notepad and handed it to Jiayi and then Lei, who was a little woozy from hunger.

”I’ll have....cheese please....” Lei said to Jacob, he was really hungry and it hurt like hell.

Jacob nodded as he left the room for a bit to order pizza, his family didn’t mind it as long as he had the money and gave some to his little sister.

While in the room Jiayi was comforting her hunger pain-plagued twin brother as he whimpered.

10 minutes later, the pizza arrived, Jacob and Kylie came in, holding two boxes each, The young girl almost didn’t see Lei hobbling towards her and snatching the box off her, and it was the one ordered for him.

Jacob, Kylie and Jiayi looked on as Lei put all manners out of the way and ate quite ravenously, He didn’t care about his twin sister, new friend or Kylie watching him eat like a pig.

”Damn, you’re hungry.” He said to Lei.

”Starving.....” was the only word out of his mouth.

Soon after he was finished, Lei burped loudly.

”Hey, Lei, You wanna listen to some music?” Jacob asked Lei, who nodded.

Chapter 4
It had been years since high school. Since then, Lei and Jacob have remained in close contact, and Jacob also got to be Xiu-mei's honorary uncle. However, that night will be the night everything changed...

Lei was catching up with the gang business when he got a call.

"Hello?" Lei answered.

"This is Jacob's father." Jacob's dad said.

"Hey. How's it going?" Lei said.

"It's my boy Jacob. He dead..."

When that line was said, it was as if time has stopped.

"H-how..." Lei asked, horrified, he covered his mouth.

Lei hardly felt sadness, but his façade cracked when he heard that

"He was found dead in his own home. The coroner concluded he died from overdosing on painkillers. He left a note that said that he was falsely accused of pedophilia from a pedo-hunting gang who practically ruined his life." Jacob's dad said.

Lei then remembered the time that he was waiting in line for a bit too long and Jacob helped Xiu-mei looked for her. He saw Jacob get confronted by a group of people, but didn't think much of it.

"Lei, I see that you and Jacob were close, and I'm sorry to break the news to you this late. I'll go tell the others." Jacob's dad said sadly as he hung up.

After that, it was as if Lei's world was falling apart. Of all the people in the high school, Jacob was one of the only few people who sympathized with him. And now that person was gone. Lei ended up spending the rest of the night crying.

Chapter 5
Today, Hope Plank and her three younger siblings Maria, Lianne, and Lilian were visiting the base again. While Hope is infamous for her extreme disliking to certain movies and music, she can be pretty nice. The four went to Lei's house to have a conversation.

During that period, Lianne and Lilian were exploring the house a bit when they came across a Deicide CD.

"That artwork looks cool!" Lianne said.

"Uh, this looks like a death metal CD, and Hope doesn't want us to listen to that type of music. We should probably tell Lei about this so he can put it away." Lilian said.

However, right when they were about to go find Lei, Hope arrived and saw the two with the CD.

"Lianne and Lilian, STOP! Give me that CD!" Hope exclaimed as she snatched the CD away from them.

"Hope, no! We were gonna give it back!" Lilian begged.

"No excuses! You two aren't allowed to listen to Deicide, let alone extreme metal! Don't be like the six troublemakers!" Hope screamed at them.

Hope then grabbed a nearby hammer and proceeded to smash the CD. It was at this point that Lei went outside and saw what Hope was doing.

"WHAT THE-" Lei yelled as he went up to Hope and proceeded to take the hammer away from her and then slapped her in the face really hard.

"What the fucking shit?! Why the hell are you destroying my fucking CD?!" Lei asked while trying to hold his rage.

"My twins were about to play it, and I ban my kids from listening to Deicide because that band is too inappropriate for them!" Hope said as she got back up.

Fumei was behind Lei and sided with her husband, she knew Jacob and Lei were close.

"So you decided the best course of action was to smash it? You could've just gave it to my husband and have him put it away somewhere where your siblings couldn't get it, but destroy it? What the fuck?" Fumei exclaimed.

"Well you know what, Lei? Next time, don't be leaving your terrible albums around!" Hope argued.

This hit really hard for Lei. It had only been three weeks since Jacob passed away, and the wounds were still fresh as if it happened today.

"I’m not your fucking twins’ daddy, I’m Xiu-mei’s, It’s not my responsibility to monitor your fucking children because of your alpha 500 IQ brain who thinks her opinions are fucking facts, Even Xiu-mei knows not to touch my CDs without permission!" Lei argued.

At that point, BE!Maria arrived, she was stitching a plush doll that got torn while. Xiu-mei was playing with it.

"What the hell is all of that racket?!" BE!Maria asked.

"Miss 500-IQ-Brain-Who-Thinks-Her-Opinions-Are-Fucking-Facts thought it would be a genius idea to smash my fucking Deicide CD! You do realize that it was from a friend who recently passed away, right?!" Lei yelled.

"How was I suppose to tell?" Hope defended, "Lianne and Lilian were gonna listen to it, and you know my younger siblings are banned from listening to extreme metal, as well as most nu metal and hardcore punk bands. Maria, it's okay, you don't have to get furious, alright?"

BE!Maria, however, glared at Hope.

"You're angry at me, right?" Hope asked.

"You know what, Hope? We're fucking done. If you're gonna keep on flipping your shit just because people enjoy stuff that you hate, then we can't be friends anymore. Take your siblings and leave. You're no longer welcome here." BE!Maria said.

"About damn time!" Lei exclaimed, "She has been nothing but trouble! Selling her younger brother's NIN albums, trying to stop Xiu-mei from watching Ponyo, and now this shit? You owe me $15, bitch!"

"Don't call me a 'bitch', Lei. I'll give you the money, just chill out for a second!" Hope said as she handed Lei the $15.

"Now get out of my property and out of this base. We're done for!" Lei said.

As Hope was getting her younger siblings out of here, Lianne and Lilian wanted to tell Lei something.

"Lei, me and Lilian are very sorry for picking up your CD. It was our fault that we provoked our sister to destroy it." Lianne said sadly.

"Don't blame this on yourself," Lei reassured them, "It wasn't your fault that Hope couldn't think rationally. Hope is the only one getting banned from our house. You two can have Brooke, Kim, and Valentin come drop you off here."

"Okay, thanks for not getting too upset with us!" Lilian exclaimed.

That night, after Lei put Xiu-mei to bed, he went to the bathroom's tub and proceed to cry. Losing a sentimental item from an entitled critic was not what Lei wanted.

"Why Hope..." Lei sobbed, "why the fuck would you destroy my fucking CD?"

Meanwhile at the Plank family home, Valentin is looking at Twitter.

"Uh, Hope? Did you do something bad when you visited Lei?" Valentin asked.

"No. Why ask?" Hope said.

"Really? Because the people on Twitter say otherwise." Valentin said as he showed her replies of people criticizing her.

"Hope, you are an absolute scum! Why would you smash Lei's Deicide CD?!"

"Unfollowing Hope Plank! She destroyed a sentimental gift from a deceased friend!"

"#HopePlankIsOverParty! Hope is not gonna recover from this after smashing a death metal CD from a dead person!"

"Um, dad," Hope stammered, "it was an honest mistake..."

"An honest mistake my butt! I understand you don't like death metal, and you don't want the younger siblings to listen to it, but destroying Lei's CD was crossing the line." Valentin scolded.

"Wait, Hope destroyed someone else's CD?" Brooke and Kim asked.

"Yeah, and not only that, it was from a deceased friend of his!" Valentin exclaimed.

"Hope, that is completely unacceptable!" Brooke said.

"Yeah! I don't like death metal either, but not even I would do that!" Kim said.

After crying in the bathroom, Lei calmed down a bit and went into his room, his young daughter still sleeping, he gently picked her up and crawled into bed.

Chapter 6
Lei, Fumei, BE!Maria, and Xiu-mei were returning home after eating at a very popular restaurant in the area. When they returned to the house, they saw Longwei and Feng standing there, looking a bit nervous.

"What's wrong?" Fumei asked.

"Yeah, you two looked like you saw a ghost." Lei said.

"Well, uh..." Longwei stammered, "some special guest came and said they wanted to talk to you."

"Who is it?" BE!Maria asked.

"I don't know if we can reveal them yet..." Feng said nervously.

"It's me!"

It's then revealed that the special guest was Hope.

"What the hell are you doing here?! I thought I told you not to see me or my family again!" Lei exclaimed.

"I know, but I've done some thinking, and I think it's time to make things right." Hope sincerely said.

"What are you leading up to this?" BE!Maria questioned.

Hope then brings out a large cake that says "I'm Sorry, Lei!" on top of it. The group awed as the cake shined through the room.

"Lei, I am deeply sorry that I destroyed your Deicide CD. I didn't knew it was from a deceased friend of yours, and I can assure you that if you accept this apology, then I will never get mad at you all for liking a movie/music album I don't personally enjoy." Hope said.

Silence filled the room for the new few seconds. However, Lei was feeling furious, Not even cake would make this okay.

"After all the shit you've done to us and this is what you do?" Lei said, sounding like he's about to kill someone.

"Well yeah. Don't you like it?" Hope asked.

That's when Lei snapped. He grabbed the cake and proceeded to slam it on Hope's face.

"Holy shit!" Longwei shouted.

"Damn, Lei!" Feng said.

"Ha ha ha! That's so funny!" Xiu-mei laughed.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!?! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!?! I WORKED VERY HARD ON THAT CAKE!!!" Hope yelled.

"No! What you did to my CD was completely unforgivable!" Lei exclaimed.

"No... it can't be..." Hope worried, "Come on, I thought you loved cake!"

"I'm sorry, Hope, but I have to agree with Lei here. What you did was fucked up." BE!Maria said bluntly.

"Yeah, please get out." Fumei said.

"THIS IS WHY I DON'T DO NICE THINGS TO PEOPLE!!!" Hope cried as she ran out of the house.

Lei then got a broomstick and proceeded to clean up the mess. As he was cleaning, Longwei and Feng confronted him.

"What the hell was that about, Lei?" Longwei said.

"Come on, guys, she sold her younger brother's NIN albums because she thought it would make him a goddamn Columbiner, tried to stop my daughter from watching Ponyo because she hates the movie that fucking much, and we've recently ended our friendship after she destroy a Deicide CD that was given as a gift from a deceased friend of mine! And she thinks that we're gonna forgive her with some cake? I don't like to waste food, but that cake slam was satisfying!" Lei defended.

"But Lei, that cake looked good. I was hoping to snag some pieces myself." Feng said.

"She deserved it," Fumei said in defense of her husband, "What made her think that giving Lei cake would make up for destroying a sentimental item of his?"

"Yeah. I thought it was funny for daddy to slam the cake on her face!" Xiu-mei giggled, “I don’t usually laugh at stuff, But it reminds me of cartoons!”

"Yeah, I'll admit that it was kinda funny." BE!Maria chuckled.

In the days that come, Longwei and Feng eventually realized that ending the relationship with Hope was probably a good thing, and decided to cut ties with her as well.