"I don't know if I should be glad because doing this project with Jodie will inevitably allow me to get closer to her or if I should be vexed over the fact that you are in that group as well. Along with Riley and that stuttering fool," Dominic starts, pushing his side of the car door open to get out
After straining over to reach for my bag from the backseat, I mimic his actions and gently shut the door behind me.
The corner of my mouth curls down when I catch the pink nail polish that Chu Hua accidentally spilt on the goat last weekend when she forced me to prepare her nails for the sleepover she went to that night. I tried to get it off as quickly as possible, but some of it dried onto his white smile. I hate how it makes him look carnivorous. Who would ever want a meat-eating goat on their bag?
I slide the handle of my bag back over my left shoulder when it slips off, glancing over the roof of his car to see him scowling indignantly.
"You know I'd appreciate it if you stopped insulting Christian in my presence, because I am literally this close," I pinch, leaving a small amount of space between my two fingers, "to clawing your face off like the crazy hen I am."
"You don't have the guts to," he claims.
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah."
Yeah, he's right, but only because his parents are influential and I could be doing some serious jail time for touching him.
"Now as I was saying, I'm vexed that you along with Riley and that stuttering fool are in my group. Maybe it's more so you than anyone else. I can't be asked to spend more time with you."
"Since the reactions are both positive and negative according to science they'll just end up neutralising each other. How about you just keep being the impassive, emotionless prick you are?"
"My anger exceeds the pleased feeling," he informs me flatly.
With a hint of mischief in my eyes, I let out a mock gasp and place a hand dramatically on my chest, imitating the haughty demeanour of the posh. "My oh my, I don't think the fish will be pleased with the fact that your feelings for me have surpassed those for her," I tease, hoping to elicit a response from him.
However, he simply rolls his eyes, refusing to engage in the playful banter. It's become somewhat of a game to me, to see how far I can push his buttons with my lightheartedness.
After he's done locking the car which beeps, we begin to approach the diner.
Personally, I think this is great for our cause. At first, I wasn't particularly happy to be paired up with both of my former friends, but after much thought, it started to become clear that this was a gift from the gods.
I've seen this in the movies, the girl and the guy who are partnered for a project always end up falling in love. So, Jodie and Dominic need to be together almost every day. We already have her hooked and now all that is left is for him to reel her in.
The diner is just as homely inside as it is on the outside. A few customers are leaving while we enter through the door and Dominic being the chivalrous man he is, walks in before me and lets go of the door, forcing me to push it back open with a frown.
The ring of the bell alerts the waiters that they have some new customers to serve.
My eyes meet Analys', who is stationed at the till, and I see a spark of recognition quickly followed by excitement and joy at the sight of me. She calls Valerie over and hurries towards me with her brown hair intricately braided and cascading down her back from beneath a bright red and yellow cap. A broad, warm smile lights up her face as she reaches me.
When she engulfs me in a tight embrace, which I awkwardly return, I glance over her shoulder at Dominic, who appears to be slightly put off by the friendly gesture judging from the wrinkle in his nose.
"I was wondering when you'd ever start showing up again," she states in a whiny tone.
As she stands before me, I can sense her disapproval as she keeps me at a distance. Her eyes fixed on me, she gives me that familiar reprimanding look that I have grown so accustomed to.
Suddenly, she reaches out and pinches my cheeks, a gesture that has always annoyed me. I scrunch my face in distaste as her perfectly manicured fingernails dig painfully into my skin. Despite my discomfort, she continues to smile, amused by my reaction to her touch. At my breaking point, I slap her hands away and glower at her, hoping to scare her off.
She remains unfazed, still smiling mockingly at me.
"Why has it taken you two months to find your way back here? I missed you, little halfling."
"Analys, I'm like four years younger than you. Will you ever stop calling me little halfling?" I groan, crossing my arms in annoyance. "You and Taylor really have to chill it with the juvenile names you give me. I'm almost eighteen which means I'm almost an adult."
"And?"
"And I can't have you still calling me little halfling. Please stop."
"Never."
My face drops.
That's when she seems to notice the icy giant who is standing beside me, looking quite out of place in this friendly establishment.
He has his hands shoved deeply into the crevices of his hoodie which is a bright yellow colour and has 'you wanna go, bro' written in a small font across his chest.
He has honestly come a long way from his former self because the old Dominic would have never even considered wearing something as clear and vibrant as yellow, let alone have something as corny written over said vibrant hoodie. His eyes are taking in everything with interest, storing every inch of the shop in his mind.
Leaning in, she whispers discreetly, "Who is that?"
"Dominic," I call him, tugging on his arm to get him to focus on us.
He eventually tears his eyes away from scanning the joyful scenery of laughter and scolds and teenage activity and makes us the centre of his attention. Arching a questioning brow at me, he silently asks me what I want.
I gesture to my trusty friend and introduce her, "This is Analys, one of my friends. Analys, meet Dominic, my uh… are we even friends?"
"No," he answers bluntly, pulling his phone out and misdirecting his focus onto that now.
"Awesome," I whisper-shout sarcastically, glaring at him for a quick nanosecond before saying to Analys who is now furrowing her eyebrows at the enigma standing before her. "Well, he's just a random guy I go to school with. We have a group project together with six other people so we're going to plan and revise how we're going to do it."
"Okay, that's cool," she replies, grin widening as she gives me a mischievous look which I completely do not understand. "So, do you want me to get you anything?"
"Um… may I please get a raspberry mocha and a chicken quesadilla?"
"Okay," she quickly scribbles it down on a notepad and then when she's done, she looks over at Dominic. "And what will you be having, young man?"
He frowns in a state of bemusement, typing away at his phone. Without even looking up at Analys he asks, "Why am I still standing?"
The question throws both of us off and after throwing me an inquisitive look which is answered by an unknowing shrug, she stammers out awkwardly, "Um… I-I don't… e-excuse me?"
"Why am I still standing?" he repeats in the same tone. "Is this how the ordering in this place goes, because then the service here is terrible."
What?
He taps something on his phone and I try peeking over to see what it is he's doing, but he has the brightness on so low that I can't even squint to decipher the thing he is doing.
"Does two stars seem like a reasonable review?"
Is he reviewing the diner?
"Two stars?" Analys exclaims, looking paler than she has ever looked in her life. "No, I just thought that it'd be quicker this way. Plus, Seong Jin knows where he normally sits. He knows this place like the back of his hand."
"What's that?"
Her eyebrows dip down into her eyelids from her confusion and I watch this altercation like a child, staring widely at his parents having their first row. She slowly lifts her hand and gestures to the back of her hand, stating just as slowly so that he can understand her, "It's like… this part right here."
"No I meant," he clicks his tongue in irritation, shaking his head at her idiocy probably, "I meant what is it that you're doing? Are you arguing with me, the customer?"
It dawns on her what he's getting at and she tries to stammer out her apology, "No, but—"
"One star."
"That ain't fair."
"It's okay, Analys." She frowns at me when I basically tell her to back down from this fight. She never backs down from a fight. "It's just one review. It won't impact that much on our diner.
"Our diner?" he muses in confusion.
I smile at him stiffly. "Yeah, my dad owns this place."
His face drops in realisation. "Oh."
"Yeah."
"Well, in that case," he quickly brings his phone up and quickly taps onto his screen to possibly change his ratings to better ones which will still keep the diner in the four stars region, "no stars. Just because I don't like you very much."
I gape at him shockingly.
He doesn't even regard me and turns to Analys ordering tersely, "And I'll have a large Sprite with the double beef and bacon cheeseburger. I don't want any onions or pickles in the burger and don't be stingy with the chips."
At his blatant disrespect, Analys' mouth drops in horror.
He gives her an impassive look and strides past us, choosing a booth of his liking.
To my dismay, it's not the one I had in mind. This booth is positioned right next to the window, which makes me uneasy. I would not say I like the idea of people gawking at me while I eat. I fear they may snap multiple pictures of me and create a meme that could ruin my chances of getting accepted into Oxford. The thought of it sends shivers down my spine.
Her eyes then trail over to me and she blinks her shock away.
"I know," I sigh dejectedly. "He's something else, that child."
As I sink my teeth into the warm, gooey centre of my quesadilla, I savour the burst of flavours that dance on my taste buds. The rich, creamy texture of the melted cheese and the spicy kick of the salsa make for a perfect combination. I take a sip of my steaming hot mocha, feeling the smooth, velvety liquid slide down my throat and leaving behind a sweet aftertaste.
While we wait for the rest of our group to arrive, Jodie has already joined us and taken a seat next to Dominic instead of me.
I cannot for the life of me feel jealous. Not of her; of him. That sort of emotional commitment would be extremely tiring. Besides, this means that we are making progress with my plan. It means that my theory was right about detailed plans not working with simple creatures. We get through people like Jodie with meetcutes, Instagram accounts, shirtless pictures et cetera, et cetera.
She's waiting for her ice-blended cappuccino with whipped cream and looking at the guy beside her openly with a sense of hunger, like a predator getting ready to pounce on its prey. Dominic is either very good at pretending to not feel her stare or he can't feel it at all. I'm going to assume it's the former because nobody is that oblivious.
As the sound of the bell echoes through the diner, I look up from my books for what seems like the umpteenth time today. With a quick glance over the top of the booth's seat, I see the familiar reddish-brown hair of Christian. I immediately wave him over, hoping that he notices me.
Luckily, he does and quickly makes his way over to our table, his footsteps quick and light. As he slides into the seat beside me, I can't help but notice the beads of sweat on his forehead. With a loud pant, he pulls his glasses off and wipes his sleeve across his face, before letting out a long sigh of relief.
"Gosh, what happened to you?" I ask, watching him quite concerned.
When he continues to inhale and exhale heavily, I grow ever more concerned and quickly scan our table for something to offer him to lower his breathlessness. My eyes land on Dominic's cold drink, and I instinctively reach out to grab it. However, before I can even touch it, he smacks my hand away, catching me off guard.
"Don't," he starts in a deep, warning tone as I retract my hand into my chest, massaging the small throb, "even think about it."
After thinning my gaze onto him, I decide to shift my mocha over to Christian, but he immediately shakes his head in objection.
"It's uh… it's okay. I'm f-fine." Pulling out his inhaler, he presses it against his lips and takes two pumps in before finally being able to breathe moderately. "I'm sorry I'm late. The bus d-didn't arrive and so I had to wait for Riley to ask his coach to let him drop me off."
"We don't care," Dominic responds bluntly, cutting him off.
"Dominic," I scold, glaring at him for his blatant disrespect. What is up with him today? He seems gloomier and much ruder than he is on other days. "Well, I wanted to know."
"Then go ahead and ask him. I'll just talk to the lovely Miss Dillon right over here." He turns to look at her with a small, constipated-looking smile.
She instantly beams at the compliment.
"So can you tell me what this crystal is for?" he muses curiously, picking up the purple amethyst and glancing it over.
"That," she reaches for the crystal and gently takes it out of his grasp to unceremoniously place it on his forehead, "is an amethyst. It is mostly used for creative thinking, spiritual awareness and even healing. It combats things like insomnia."
His eyes widen and I'm surprised by how seriously he seems to be taking her. "Does it?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Yeah, but does it actually work?"
"Yeah," she answers adamantly, smiling up at him brightly.
He squints at her dubiously and then crosses his pupils to stare at the amethyst which is still stuck to his forehead. Reluctantly, he asks her, "Can I… have it?"
"Sure," she says without even hesitating and takes his hand which is on the table, placing the crystal in his palm and then closing his hand around. "I have others at home, but you need to promise to never lose it, okay?"
"Because it came from you, I will make sure to cherish it forever," he says to her intimately and then they just stare into each other's eyes for a few seconds. I watch as Dominic leans closer to her to whisper, "Have I mentioned that you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen? In the sun, they glow like a pair of gems, emeralds."
"Oh… uh," she stammers nervously, looking down bashfully.
I almost pass out when I catch the light blush which paints her cheeks crimson. Jodie never blushes. Ever. Dominic might actually have some good charisma… even though in my eyes that was disgustingly cheesy.
"Is he—" Christian doesn't even have to finish his question, because it's obvious what he's doing.
Dominic Lachowski is flirting with Jodie Dillon.
"Yep." I nod slowly, a feeling of pride exploding in my chest and I murmur, "Yes, he is."