Learning to Be Human (FREE READ)

Chapter 8: Bestest Friend

The next morning, I awoke to the usual buzzing of the city's routine. I did not smell the fresh and delicious breakfasts that I somewhat depended on from Jay. But he was still snoozing away. I am assuming that all those days he couldn't sleep had finally caught up to him, and I was not going to take that away from him.

But I was not on duty today, so I figured I would visit the mall. For ol' times sales ya know?

I propped the stand on my moped and allowed it to warm up. I recalled when I was the best doordasher in LA. It was once again because of Jay. A lot of these recent experiences were all thanks to him.

But it still baffled me.

How or when, did he get the ability to fall asleep?

I began to drive along my normal routes and headed to my destination, thinking...

Was it when he was hospitalized?

Oh gosh! I do not want to remember that! But peanuts. NO PEANUTS!

Or was it when he went on that date with Ms. Juvia? Where he actually started feeling emotions?

I felt like I was missing something, but I had arrived shortly to the mall. I enjoyed leisurely strolling in the Westfield Century City mall. It was one of those outdoorsy types of malls. Don't get me wrong, I love aircon! But something about getting that vitamin D from the sun made it feel more valuable.

Even if the sun is scorching hot and trying to bake me alive!

Now, finding parking in LA was never easy, but that is one of the reasons why I owned a moped, because it can fit practically anywhere. Yes, I probably pissed off some people who thought there was a free parking space only to see it utilized by a small and slow two wheeler.

I entered the bakery that I visited occasionally.

"Katie!" my favorite cashier called out, "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Oh, hey Hiram!" I waved as I instinctively grabbed a chicken salad.

I walked over to him and gave a gentle hug as he then propped along the counter of the register.

"So how have things been with you? Any new tea to brew?" he chuckled.

Hiram was a gay hispanic man. He did not care for pronouns, just respect for his choice of sexuality. We knew each other from work, until he switched jobs to be a cashier at the bakery. Now, my job did pay a bit more, but he preferred the peace of mind about being a cashier.

Yes, retail sucked. There will always be those customers no matter the establishment. But Hiram used to be the floater of the departments before I came into the picture. Despite arguing about what job description he was being paid for, they often ridiculed him and pulled out his sexuality card. It was totally unfair to him, so I understood why he had left. Some of the harsh things I've heard other coworkers tell him were: Why are you complaining this much? Only women complain like this! Or... Man up and stop being such a f*g!

"Not really," I shrugged, "you?"

"Oh girl..." he rolled his eyes, "I just seen Cici pass by not too long ago and let me tell you something..." he leaned in a bit closer and whispered, "She said she goes to the gym, but she lacks them squats. Who goes to the gym without wanting to pump up their asses?"

"A straight man, I guess?" I joked.

"With her progress she will soon look like one," he chuckled.

Now, this was all banter and venting. He is the nicest person I have come to meet, there are just some humor that others do not get with him. Okay, it sounds like he was body-shaming, but this girl was horrible to me and him before we graduated.

Back in school she would intentionally trip me in the cafeteria line calling me a swine, and that it didn't matter, because I would eat food off the floor. She had a few cliques that would oink at me and intentionally spill food on my clothes. I was already having a hard time trying to blend in and make friends, so I was too embarrassed to do anything about it.

But then Hiram... he came in and scooped up that slop and b***h slapped the f**k out of her, chanting, "Gender equality b***h!"

Since then, Hiram and I had been the closest thing to being a best friend. I did not know we attended the same school, and it was a bonding moment whenever we went to work.

"Oh, speak of the devil here she comes now," Hiram rolled his eyes.

Cici was catwalking on over with a girl I've never seen her with before. She made an exagerrated shocked expression at me.

"Oh. My. God!" she lowered her Chanel shades, "Katie? Is that you?"

"Hello, Cici," I shrugged.

"Oh no hunny," she retracted her bottom lip, "You call me Cicilia, only important people call me Cici."

I was scratching my head in my thoughts, this is going to escalate real quick.

Cici then continued, "So I heard you're still at that loser job of yours? Did piggie get a five cent raise yet?"

I did not say anything. I have been there for years, but did not get any raises at all! This made me feel like there was something lodged in my throat.

"Ewww," she scoffed at my chicken salad, "Do you know that too much mayonnaise is bad for you? Whatever, if they milked you the company would have an unlimited supply from your fat," she furrowed her eyebrows in disgust.

Hiram was no longer relaxed, but I was not going to have her be the reason he get fired, "Now if only your ass was as big as your nose," I said dully.

"Please piggy, you don't need to worry about anything in the world, except your next meal," she and her friend began to laugh in sync.

"Ya'll not just gonna tag team on my girl like that," I heard Hiram caution.

"Oh? Speaking of fat," she looked at Hiram, "What happened to your abs? Did they gain FL in front of them over the years?"

My eyes widened as Hiram tapped his feet in frustration.

He then cracked his neck and started to put his hair in a ponytail. I got in between them and whispered to him that he didn't need to get fired over these two.

"I can always find another job," he dismissed me, "But I don't know when I will have an opportunity to slap a two-faced b***h twice."

"You hit women?" the girl asked disgustedly.

"And I have two hands, so you can stand in line," he grooved his attention over to her.

The girl did not want the smoke. But, Cici was not intimidated, "Oh please... you're just gay because no girl liked you back in high school. So you had no choice but to like men. Newsflash buddy, not even men like you!"

Hiram steamed over and so did Cici. Before I could try to stop them Cici threw the first punch.

But an arm intervened!

The party stopped and looked to see who it was.

"Jay," I exclaimed!

Jay was not pleased with the situation I was in, and his eyes told me I would be scolded another time. I looked at Cici who was surprised. I looked over at Hiram who was just as surprised... but in a different way.

"You left without me," Jay spoke to me, "Are these humans a threat to you?"

"N-no," I waved both my palms.

"Please call me human again," begged Hiram.

I looked over at him with disbelief, he was about to get sucker punched by our high school bully! But, he was purely focused on Javon now?

Jay seemed agitated and shrugged away Cici's hand. He then reached for my arm and began to pull me away.

Cici was not letting it go, "Oh? Is this your boyfriend? I guess you had to go black because none of the others could get past your fatass!"

He's not my boyfriend!

I wanted to scream at her, but the grip on Jay's hand ensured me that it was not worth it. Instead he glared at Cici and her friend, "Next time I won't stop him from providing you free cosmetic surgery."

Hiram's mouth was wide opened as he realized he was on his side. The two girls scoffed and walked off pouting.

"That. Was awesome," Hiram circled his index vertically, "And you sir, are so fine!"

"Name's Javon, you can call me Jay," he replied, "I see you were trying to protect Katie."

Jay then looked at me, "Are you hurt?"

"N-no," I replied.

"Good," he huffed, "I'll eliminate anyone else who tries to hurt you."

"Ooooo," Hiram cooed, "You got yourself a protective one!"

"He's not my boyfriend," I sighed.

"Girl," he communicated to me with his eyes, "Why not?"

"We are just friends," I answered, "I'm just showing him around."

Hiram continued his flirtatious voice, "Well tell him I am LA's most valuable landmark," he winked.

I couldn't help but giggle at that. Hiram always knew how to make me feel better. Even if it meant saying something embarrassing on his part. Hiram didn't mind.

"Well," he looked at his watch, "I better get to work. Are you going to pay for that?" He gestured at my chicken salad.

"I don't know? Might have too much mayo," I half heartedly joked.

I tried to reach for my wallet, but Jay dished out some bills. A little too much for what the chicken salad costed!

"Oh daddy," he twirled at the $100 bill, "My night shift starts at 11."

I cringed, but soon laughed it off. Jay was still so subtle and calm. I don't think he knew that Hiram was intentionally hitting on him!

"Have a good day, sir," he received his change back.

"Next time give me your number instead," Hiram smirked.

We walked away and when we were out of earshot Jay got right down to business.

"Who were those people?" he scolded, "And why were they displaying hostile actions around you?"

"Cici was my high school bully. Some things never change with people. Hiram was my best friend back in the day. Still is actually," I confessed.

"So am I no longer your best friend?" he asked.

Ouch. That somehow hurt me more than the words Cici spat at me earlier.

"No, you are my best friend. You can have multiple," I nervously laughed.

"There's good, better, and best..." he narrowed his eyes, "You can have multiple good and better friends, but there can only be one best friend."

Where did he get this idea from? Then I remembered that he had flashed through the dictionary and learned the different levels of words.

But was Hiram my best friend? Or was it now Jay?

And why does that seem to agitate Jay anyway?

"Wait!" I just realized, "How did you even know where I was at?"

"I followed your scent," he replied, "My smell has regained its optimum capability since this morning."

What?

"Did you know that you cannot taste if you can't smell?" he added, "It's a very interesting anatomical fact of the human body."

"Was this part of your powers?" I quietly asked.

"Oh that? That's nothing special. I did, however, hyper focus on you and recreated my being here," he described teleportation.

"You can teleport now?" I was intrigued.

"I can't do it as often..." he shrugged, "It's drained a lot more than it used to, but I felt like you were in danger, so I risked it."

He still risked it for me? Not knowing about the consequences that would've come from over exerting his energy like that? As we headed to explore more of the mall, I couldn't help but smile.

Jay, you are my bestest friend!