The Great Chore Trade

On the kitchen wall there was a paper chart. It listed every chore in the house. Quinn washed the dishes. Her brother Rafi took out the trash. That was the rule for the whole month.

Di dinding dapur ada sebuah bagan kertas. Bagan itu mencantumkan semua tugas rumah. Quinn mencuci piring. Adiknya, Rafi, membuang sampah. Itu aturan untuk sebulan penuh.

On Tuesday, Rafi came home from school with a plan. He stood in front of the chart. He rubbed his chin. He was twelve, and he thought he was a businessman. "Quinn," he said.

Pada hari Selasa, Rafi pulang dari sekolah dengan membawa rencana. Ia berdiri di depan bagan itu. Ia mengusap dagunya. Usianya dua belas tahun, dan ia merasa dirinya seorang pengusaha. "Quinn," katanya.

"I want to trade."

"Aku mau tukaran."

"Trade what?" she asked. She was fourteen. She sat at the table with her phone.

"Tukar apa?" tanyanya. Usianya empat belas tahun. Ia duduk di meja sambil memegang ponselnya.

"Chores," said Rafi.

"Tugas," kata Rafi.

"I wash the dishes. You take out the trash."

"Aku yang cuci piring. Kamu yang buang sampah."

"Why?" she said.

"Kenapa?" tanyanya.

"I like water," said Rafi.

"Aku suka air," kata Rafi.

"It is calm." Quinn looked at him for a long time.

"Airnya menenangkan." Quinn menatapnya lama.

"You hate water," she said.

"Kamu benci air," katanya.

"You wash your hands in two seconds."

"Kamu cuci tangan saja cuma dua detik."

"I changed," said Rafi.

"Aku sudah berubah," kata Rafi.

"No."

"Tidak."

"I give you a cookie," he said.

"Aku kasih kamu satu kue," katanya.

"I do not want your cookie."

"Aku tidak mau kuemu."

"Two cookies." Quinn put down her phone. She thought about the trash. It was heavy and it smelled bad. The big bins were far from the door. In winter, the walk was cold and dark. The dishes were warm and easy.

"Dua kue." Quinn meletakkan ponselnya. Ia memikirkan soal sampah. Sampah itu berat dan baunya busuk. Tong besarnya jauh dari pintu. Di musim dingin, jalan ke sana dingin dan gelap. Piring-piring itu hangat dan gampang dicuci.

"Three cookies and one week," she said.

"Tiga kue dan satu minggu," katanya.

"Deal," said Rafi. They shook hands. For one week, Quinn took out the trash. She did not like it. On Friday, a cat jumped out of the bin. Quinn shouted. Rafi washed the dishes, but he did it badly. The plates still had food on them. Their mother said nothing. She looked at the chart. She raised her eyebrows.

"Sepakat," kata Rafi. Mereka berjabat tangan. Selama satu minggu, Quinn membuang sampah. Ia tidak suka melakukannya. Pada hari Jumat, seekor kucing melompat keluar dari tong sampah. Quinn berteriak. Rafi mencuci piring, tetapi hasilnya jelek. Piring-piringnya masih ada sisa makanan. Ibu mereka tidak berkata apa-apa. Ia memandangi bagan itu. Ia mengangkat alisnya.

On Monday, Rafi was tired of the dishes. His hands were red. He found Quinn in her room. "I want to trade back," he said.

Pada hari Senin, Rafi sudah bosan mencuci piring. Tangannya merah. Ia menemukan Quinn di kamarnya. "Aku mau tukar balik," katanya.

"I do not," said Quinn.

"Aku tidak mau," kata Quinn.

"I like the trash now."

"Sekarang aku suka urusan sampah."

"You said the cat scared you."

"Kamu bilang kamu takut pada kucing itu."

"I met the cat. We are friends."

"Aku sudah bertemu kucing itu. Kami berteman."

Rafi was angry for a minute. Then he smiled. "Okay. I give you half of my game time."

Rafi marah selama semenit. Lalu ia tersenyum. "Oke. Aku kasih kamu setengah dari waktu main gimku."

"All of it," said Quinn.

"Semuanya," kata Quinn.

"Two days of it," said Rafi.

"Dua hari saja," kata Rafi.

"Three days," said Quinn.

"Tiga hari," kata Quinn.

"And you wash my cup too."

"Dan kamu cuci cangkirku juga."

Rafi groaned, but he agreed. They shook hands again. Quinn went back to the dishes. Rafi took out the trash. Quinn also wanted her cookies back. Rafi brought them. They were a little old.

Rafi mengerang, tetapi ia setuju. Mereka berjabat tangan lagi. Quinn kembali mencuci piring. Rafi membuang sampah. Quinn juga mau kue-kuenya kembali. Rafi membawakannya. Kue-kue itu sudah agak basi.

The next day, Rafi wanted more trades. He wanted to trade the floor and the plants too. Quinn had her own ideas. Soon they had a long list. It was on an envelope. One chore cost a snack. Another cost a favor. A third cost a funny story.

Keesokan harinya, Rafi mau tukaran lebih banyak lagi. Ia ingin menukar tugas mengepel lantai dan menyiram tanaman juga. Quinn punya idenya sendiri. Tak lama kemudian mereka punya daftar yang panjang. Daftar itu ditulis di sebuah amplop. Satu tugas dibayar dengan camilan. Tugas lain dibayar dengan bantuan. Tugas ketiga dibayar dengan cerita lucu.

By Thursday, the list was very long. Nobody could remember who did what. Quinn washed the floor, but Rafi paid her in cookies. Rafi watered the plants. Quinn paid him in game time. Their mother came home and found the kitchen floor wet. She looked at the chart. It still said: Quinn, dishes. Rafi, trash.

Pada hari Kamis, daftarnya sudah sangat panjang. Tak seorang pun ingat siapa mengerjakan apa. Quinn mengepel lantai, tetapi Rafi membayarnya dengan kue. Rafi menyiram tanaman. Quinn membayarnya dengan waktu main gim. Ibu mereka pulang dan mendapati lantai dapur basah. Ia melihat bagan itu. Di sana masih tertulis: Quinn, piring. Rafi, sampah.

"Why is the floor wet?" she asked.

"Kenapa lantainya basah?" tanyanya.

"I washed it," said Quinn.

"Aku yang mengepelnya," kata Quinn.

"Why?"

"Kenapa?"

"Rafi pays me in cookies."

"Rafi membayarku dengan kue."

"And who took out the trash?"

"Lalu siapa yang membuang sampah?"

"Me," said Rafi.

"Aku," kata Rafi.

"But Quinn pays me with her phone time." Their mother put down her bag. She took a pen from the shelf. She looked at them for a long time.

"Tapi Quinn membayarku dengan waktu ponselnya." Ibu mereka menaruh tasnya. Ia mengambil pulpen dari rak. Ia menatap mereka lama.

"So," she said.

"Jadi begini," katanya.

"You trade chores. You trade cookies. You trade game time. And in the end, who works more?" Quinn and Rafi looked at each other. They did a quick count in their heads. Then they looked at the long list on the envelope. Nobody spoke.

"Kalian tukar tugas. Kalian tukar kue. Kalian tukar waktu main gim. Dan pada akhirnya, siapa yang bekerja lebih banyak?" Quinn dan Rafi saling memandang. Mereka berhitung cepat di kepala. Lalu mereka melihat daftar panjang di amplop itu. Tak ada yang bicara.

"I think we both work more," said Rafi at last.

"Kurasa kami berdua jadi bekerja lebih banyak," kata Rafi akhirnya.

"And we both have less cookies," said Quinn.

"Dan kami berdua punya kue lebih sedikit," kata Quinn.

"Fewer," said their mother.

"Lebih sedikit, bukan lebih banyak," kata ibu mereka, membetulkan.

"Fewer cookies." She picked up the envelope and tore it in half. Then she wrote the old rules again. She used a big black pen. Quinn: dishes. Rafi: trash. She put the chart back on the wall.

"Kue lebih sedikit." Ia mengambil amplop itu dan merobeknya menjadi dua. Lalu ia menulis ulang aturan yang lama. Ia memakai pulpen hitam besar. Quinn: piring. Rafi: sampah. Ia menempelkan kembali bagan itu di dinding.

Rafi looked at it sadly. "I miss the business," he said.

Rafi memandanginya dengan sedih. "Aku rindu bisnisku," katanya.

"Next month," said their mother, "you can trade."

"Bulan depan," kata ibu mereka, "kalian boleh tukaran."

"Really?" said Quinn.

"Sungguh?" kata Quinn.

"No," said their mother.

"Tidak," kata ibu mereka.

"Dinner is at six. Wash your hands."

"Makan malam jam enam. Cuci tangan kalian."