The sound of gravel gratifyingly crunching underneath the car tyres fills the silence between Fleance and me, and I quickly clamber out of his borrowed or stolen car, I don't know, hurriedly thanking him for dropping me off at my dad's diner on such short notice.
I have no idea what happened, but apparently, Franklin is understaffed, and he needs me to come and assist him. I wasn't going to come, but he sounded extremely desperate over the phone that I would've been filled with too much guilt to bear if I didn't come and help him.
Rushing up towards the door, I catch the many customers inside the diner through the glass window and I jog up the three steps before the glass door.
Behind me, the car zooms away and, I scratch inside my bag to search for a granola bar to nibble on before. For energy… I'm not addicted. Eventually, I find one under my many books and I pull it out. As I'm pushing the door open using my back, the bell atop it rings my entrance. Clumsily, I zip my bag close while tearing the wrapper off the granola bar.
Unknowingly, I notice how quiet the diner has gotten and with my eyebrows furrowed and my heart rate subtly increasing, I slowly turn around.
"Surprise!"
A loud scream ripples out of my throat and I stumble back into the door clumsily, banging my head into said door too. Painfully. Black dots play in front of me, so I blink fastidiously to make out what's in front of me. A soft cuss leaves my lips and I hear my heart drumming so fast that I have to press a hand against my chest to calm down. Only, I don't manage to compose myself so easily, so I glance down at my feet and breathe in and out.
I think I'm having a panic attack.
"I think he's having a panic attack," someone states panicky, repeating my thoughts exactly and they rush over to help me up. That's when I noticed the many, familiar faces in our diner.
"He's fine," my mum says, waving my abnormal breathing away dismissively. "He's just being dramatic."
Thanks for the concern, Amma.
I look over at the person holding me up and realise that it's Edward. He looks at me in concern, his eyes asking me if I'm okay and I nod at him reassuringly, my breathing slowly returning to normal.
After releasing a breath of relief, he lets go of my arm and I manage to balance on my own two feet without relying on him to hold up my weight. The aftermath of being frightened to death almost still reels through me and after a few more intakes of oxygen, my tense shoulders relax.
"What's going on?" I ask everyone, specifically looking at my dad. Didn't he say he was understaffed and needed help? Why the hell are they trying to give me a stroke at my young age?
"Don't look at me," he replies, crossing his arms over his chest. "This was all Taylor's idea."
"What?" I frown in confusion, glancing over at Taylor for an explanation. "What idea?"
"Well," a smirk snakes onto her lips as she carries on, "we needed to prepare for the party today, so I had to find a way to stall you. My first idea was gonna be to get Damien to tear up one of your assignment papers."
"The fuck?"
"Watch your language, Seong Jin." Amma scolds with an angry scowl and then glancing over at Taylor, she adds, "I don't remember agreeing to that, Taylor."
"No, I'm just kidding, Mrs Lee. I was going to distract Seong Jin the whole day while everyone planned the birthday, but you distracted yourself all on your own being a procrastinator."
Amma then focuses her glare on me and nervously, my gaze wavers from hers because I did lie and tell her that I had already finished that specific assignment that Taylor is speaking about, even said I submitted it early.
In the crowd, I catch Mia, Christian and Veronique. Mia waves at me shyly when I glower at her.
She knew about this, didn't she? No wonder she kept giggling behind her palm when she found me in the library during recess. I thought she just found it funny that I was stuck there, finishing my assignment. Behind me, the door opens and Fleance walks in. He has a delighted smile on his face and he throws his arm over my shoulder, the stupid grin widening. I shake my head in disbelief.
"Wait, but what is this party for?"
"Are you serious?" she asks in shock.
I shrug questioningly.
Taylor frowns in the same bemusement and then muses slowly, "You do know it's your birthday, right?"
I rear back in surprise and blink thoughtfully. "It is?"
"Yeah, mate," she answers, nodding with a look of amusement. "Wait, so you're telling me you really didn't know it was your birthday?"
With a small grimace, I shake my head from left to right.
The people in the crowd laugh at me and I bow my head so that they don't see the blush accumulating on my cheeks.
Did I really forget that today is the fourth of January? I have been so busy with both my school work and trying to figure out what extracurricular activities I could partake in so late into my final year, that I couldn't even stop to think about the fact that I'm turning eighteen… or rather, I am eighteen. I'm regarded as an adult now. I'm old enough to drink alcohol… although I don't have the desire to.
How did I forget that today is my birthday?
Is it because I spent the last three confessing my undying love to the three boys that I once liked? The boys who all rejected me on my birthday. I never forgot that the day was the fourth of January because I was always confessing my feelings on that day for some weird specific reason. Why was I so determined to ruin my own birthday? Well, I mean, to be fair, I didn't plan to get rejected. I was always optimistic, expecting something good to happen.
"Surprise," Yang Jin says dully, walking into the room with a large bowl. We all stare at him blankly.
"We already did that," Chu Hua eventually says to him.
"Oh." He lifts his shoulders nonchalantly.
Chu Hua grabs the bowl out of his hands with an excited smile. "Ooh, gummies!"
"Alright, can we get this over with? I want you kids back at your homes by eight," Amma commands.
Everyone starts moving towards the large table and Fleance drags me over to stand in front of my cake. This one is much bigger than the circular ones I usually get. Chocolate too, my favourite. A little grin touches my lips as I avoid everyone's eyes. Franklin lights the eighteen candle and then ruffles a hand through my hair, messing it up and I glower at him, trying to fix the mess he created. I don't want to look like a drenched rat in the pictures they're going to take.
And the embarrassing happy birthday song commences as I smile awkwardly, but I can't help thinking that this is actually the best birthday I've had in years.
After thanking her for the millionth time, Taylor gives me a fist-bump and then jogs over to Edward who pulls her into his side. He waves over at me, and I grin at him as politely as I can. I won't lie, it still feels a little awkward between Edward and me. I sensed it tonight whenever we were forced into situations together. Like cleaning up afterwards. Yes, even if it is my birthday, I had to wash the dishes, because it's still technically my turn. Edward offered to help.
And as they walk over to his car, I hug myself and watch them drive away before shuffling backwards and taking a seat on one of the steps leading up to the door.
He's going to drop her off at her house like the perfect boyfriend he is. The longer I don't have feelings for him, the more I realise why Taylor and Edward are so good for each other. It's almost as if they were made for each other. I don't know what I was thinking trying to date him. He and I are good together, but only as friends. We've always been good friends.
I guess that's one thing I should be thanking Dominic for. By allowing me to fall for him, he inadvertently let me fall out of like with Edward. He came at exactly the perfect time. At a moment when I was feeling overwhelmed by all my feelings, on the one hand, I liked Edward and on the other hand, I didn't want to betray my best friend. It was a lot. So maybe two good things came out of him blackmailing me. He and Jodie. Me and my… stupid feelings.
"That's the face of a defeated man," a familiar voice pierces through the silence and when I glance up into those familiar eyes, mine become as large as saucers.
"Kai?" I muse, hearing the disbelief in my tone. "What… What are you doing here?"
Still, in my shock, I stand up and blink to make sure that I'm not hallucinating. He steps forward again, smiling his usual, wide smile. The sides of his eyes crinkle when he performs the action and dimples appear in his cheeks. I find the sides of my lips arch up uncontrollably to mimic his expression. Do my eyes crinkle too?
"How are you?" he asks me.
"I'm… great. You?"
"Much better," he pauses with humour shining in his eyes thickly, "now that I've seen you."
"You're such a neek." I punch him in the shoulder softly and he chuckles. Folding my arms over my chest, the cold wind whisking through my body, I question him, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, it's my Christmas break so I had to come back home otherwise my mother would've throttled me if I avoided them. I think I left a day after you did." Then he nods slowly as if to confirm his statement. "Yeah."
"No, I meant like here. At this diner?" Was he also informed of my birthday and invited? He is Fleance's brother after all.
"Oh," he laughs a little at his misinterpretation of my question. "I've been working for a local delivery company this Christmas break, and I have to pick up a delivery here." He holds up a tablet to show me the address, which is here and when he stands back, he reveals the scooter he's using behind him and then I notice his green and black attire, the cap resting atop his head too. "Oh, and I also heard from Fleance that it's your birthday."
My brows furrow as I glance down when he reveals a bag from behind his back and I blink slowly, apprehensively looking back up at him. "Who's this for?"
He turns the tag attached to the bag around and shows me the name on it. "Seong Jin Lee."
Hesitantly, I reach for the bag, and apprehensively, I look inside it and pull out its contents. The hard substance has some gift wrapping around it and it feels heavy in my grasp. I'm reluctant to open it, but resolution and curiosity break the reluctance and I begin to rip the blue wrapping off. Once I get to the inside of the gift, I halt and my eyes widen in shock when I see what he got for me.
With a gasp in my throat, my eyes flutter up to meet his and with a wide smile stretching onto his lips, he nods in confirmation to my unasked question.
"Is this a Halina A1 Japanese Rolleicord Copy Classic Camera?" I muse, still reeling in my disbelief. There's no way in fucking hell he bought me this. My mouth still snapping open and closed, I glance up at him in astonishment when he bobs his head up and down, pride shining in his eyes. "This is a vintage camera. Where did you get this from? How much was it?"
"I ordered it online. It was the last one in stock apparently and… yeah, it was pretty expensive, so I hope you like it."
"Like it?" I exclaim loudly, struck dumb by his words. "I don't know if I can accept this."
"Well, I don't think I can actually return it to the seller," he says to me, almost like he was prepared for me to say that I can't accept this, but it's true. This is an expensive camera. I would know that. "Also, I know nothing about photography so…"
Peeling off the remainder of the wrapping, scrunching it up in my hand and dropping it inside the bag, my lips part and I still find it difficult to wipe the look of amazement from my expression as my heart seems to skip a beat.
"I don't know what to say. Thank you." Again, I look down at the camera in my hand and with a bright grin on my face, I vow to him, "I'll always carry it with me everywhere I go."
"Oh, you don't have to do all that."
"Shut up, yes I do."
"Okay," he mutters under his breath, amusement dancing around in his eyes as he holds his hands up in surrender from the playful manner in which I was narrowing my eyes at him.
"Oh, you're here to pick up an order too, right?" He bobs his head up and down at my question and I wave him into the diner with me. The majority of people have dispersed and the only ones remaining are my family members and the lone man who's awaiting his steak and chips. In the cooking area, I spot my father and I call for his attention, "Dad, there's a delivery order needed."
"What?" he yells, sticking his head out by the opening.
"Did you make the meal that needs to be delivered?"
"What's the meal? There are a lot of meals that need to be delivered, Seong Jin," he replies and that's when I notice how stressed he looks. "Also, can you please go and call Analys back? Her smoke break shouldn't take this long."
Courteously, I ask, "Do you need help?"
"Please," he sighs in relief, and I smile at him softly, before walking behind the till to manage it. Safely, I hide my birthday gift underneath the counter, and I slide the sleeves of my sweater up as Kai takes a seat on one of the stools adjacent to the till. "What's the order, young man?"
"Uh…" he looks down at the tablet and reads it out to my dad, "One double bacon and cheeseburger, a side of medium chips and a large cream soda."
"Okay, and how long ago did you need that?"
"Um… I still have about twenty minutes to deliver it," Kai answers as I make my way to the soda-making machine to quickly make said cream soda. The rest Franklin can take care of.
"I still need to make the burger. You don't mind waiting, do you?"
I glance over my shoulder just in time to see Kai shaking his head as I'm filling a cup with a nice amount of ice. Afterwards, I quickly fill said cup with a nice amount of cream soda, the machine creating a soft whirring sound. When my dad yells for me to take the steak and chips order to the lone guy in the diner, I quickly fix a lid onto the cup of soda and deliver the customer's food, leaving him with a polite, enjoy.
Once I've done my part, I return in front of the till, stretching my hands above my head. Kai smiles at me in humour.
"Have you eaten already?" I muse, resting my arms on the counter so that we're somewhat at eye level. Again, he shakes his head. "You want me to make you something real quick? Like a cheeseburger, that's the quickest thing to make."
"I'm not allowed to eat cheeseburgers."
"What do you mean, not allowed? As in you're forbidden?" I ask curiously and he nods. "Why?"
"Because I'm Jewish," he answers as if that's explanation enough and he must have noticed the look of bemusement on my face, because he explains, "Meat and dairy cannot be consumed together, because it's like… overkill. The Exodus says, "do not boil a kid in its mother's milk".
Before I enquire more about that, the bell rings, announcing a new customer and I glance over at the door. At the sight of Jodie, my eyes enlarge and awkwardly, I blink at her. She stands by the door for a while, her gaze firmly on me and she seems as perturbed to be here. Why is she here?
As if sensing that my attention isn't on him anymore, Kai spins around in his stool and looks over at the woman of the moment too and after shaking the snowflakes out of her hair, Jodie slowly approaches me.
"Hi," she says to me with a small smile tugging onto her lips and after overcoming my surprise, I nod at her and the grin I reciprocate unfortunately doesn't stay on my face for long. When she catches the guy sitting on the stool before her, she waves at him politely. Kai's smile seems to be the most natural out of the three of us.
What is she doing here?