Raven

Chapter 5

Raven's POV

"Where are you headed off to so early?" Lilibeth asked the moment I went downstairs. "You usually go out in the afternoon." She looked at me from head to foot, face full of criticism, so I looked at the big mirror across the living room and was lowkey satisfied by my fashion taste. A pink checkered polo and a white ripped jeans, nice.

"It's not that bad. Why you giving me a face like that?" I said while puffing my cheeks. She always critics my outfits everytime I decided to go outside.

"I didn't say anything." She chuckled. "Yet."

I just rolled my eyes at her. "Some friends invited me for lunch," I said while looking for my shoes inside the shoe closet. "Remember Lala and Mattie?"

"You have friends?" She asked, faking a shocked expression.

Of course she knows I have friends, but I still felt an imaginary punch to my gut from her words. "Wow. That hurts. A lot."

"I'm just kidding." She grabbed her wallet and took out a black card. She threw it at me, luckily I caught it.

Now it's my turn to look at her with a shocked face, it's a real reaction though. "When did you become so rich? Whose black card did you stole this time?"

She grimaced at me before patting my head with a grin. "No more questions, just get out here and impress them." She pushed me towards the door, hugged me before kicking me out.

Yes, she literally kicked me!

She just laughed at me before shutting the door behind me.

"Thanks though!" I said while waving the card.

I was waiting for a cab when Mrs. Hilda, our next-door neighbor, got off from one. Her head almost hit the car roof, good thing they stopped in front of me and I was able to help her from getting out. She's already old and living with her grandkids. I wonder where's Tati? She's usually with Mrs. Hilda when the old lady goes out.

I told the driver to wait for me and assisted her to their front porch.

"Thank you, dear. Where are you headed to? Haven't seen you coming out of the house. Whenever I ask Lilibeth, she always told me that you're at the library or running some errands." She said.

I let out a soft laugh. "Some friends invited me out today. I've been busy lately, trying to distract myself from boredom."

The old lady flashed me a smile and patted my head. "Be careful. Say hi to Lilibeth for me, okay? Thank you again."

"Glad to help, Mrs. Hilda." I waved goodbye at the old lady and ran back to the cab.

"Where to, miss?" The driver asked when I got in.

"To Oakridge Park, please."

On a normal day, a ride to Oakridge Park would only took 10 minutes, but the driver took a wrong turn and we got stuck on a minor traffic. The driver apologized at me for making a wrong turn. I didn't mind it though, and instead, gave him an extra.

When I arrived at Oakridge, I almost forgot what restaurant we decided where to meet. Glad I took a screenshot of Lala's chat a few weeks ago. I saw the two of them already sitting at a three-seater table inside. The moment I got closer to the table, I heard them arguing about what foods to order.

"I want that Carbonara and Soft Roll!" Lala hissed.

"I thought you're on a diet?" Mathilde retorted.

"It's cheat day!"

"Cheat day my ass!"

Online or real life, their dog and cat relationship doesn't change. It's always like this. Oh my poor ears.

I interrupted their mini fight by faking a cough. "Uh, I'm here."

Lala let out an excited squeal when she saw me. "Rae!"

"What's up, little lady?" Mathilde said while giving me a hug.

"I'm not little, Mattie. You're just tall. That's all." I said.

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The lunch with Lala and Mathilde went well. As usual, they threw jokes at me for being a shut-in. I didn't care though, it has always been like this, and it's the truth.

Since Lilibeth let me borrowed her card, I paid for today's meal, which surprised the other two. I gave the black card to the waiter before the two could even look at the bill that I took from the waiter.

They started kissing my ass when I decided to grab a coffee and went inside Starbucks. They're like bees buzzing in my ear, yapping with their orders. Lala with her frappe, and Mathilde with her espresso.

The two of them already had jobs. Lala's already 21 years old, while Mathilde's 20. I'm turning 16 next month, still a minor.

Don't be fooled though, they can get more childish than an actual kid with a tantrum.

Lala's an Information Security Analyst in Arcane Linker but she has been pretty busy with the training for her players of an e-sports league. It's the Season Championship and she's the tactical advisor of their team. She even invited us to visit their base and play a match with her players.

When she's at work, she always wear glasses. When outside, she wears graded contact lenses. With her medium-length auburn hair, you won't guess what her job is.

Mathilde, on the other hand, has been traveling from different places and only had the time lately to bond with us, her "idiotic" friends. I don't know what her job is but I remembered she mentioned that she collects stuff from different places. Lala even joked she's a loan shark from an infamous syndicate in G Country.

Her ash blonde hair was always in a messy bun. And you'll hesitate to look straight at her bitchy face.

Among the three of us, I could be considered as the passive type compared to the other two who always exude a lot of aggressiveness. I can be very talkative and mischievous sometimes but lately, my emotions were in haywire due to the recurring dream of my parents' death.

"Hello? Earth to Raven? Hey!" Mathilde said as she snapped her fingers, getting my attention.

"Uh, what are we talking about again?" I asked awkwardly as they both stared at me.

"I was asking for your plan next month. It's your birthday, right?" Mathilde said as she sipped from her espresso. I saw Lala's face scrunched as she looked at Mathilde happily sipping that bitter coffee.

"I dunno. Probably just gonna sleep for the whole day. Or spend it at the public library." I said while playing with my straw.

The two of them became quiet.

They're not pitying me, they're just thinking of what to say next after I rejected their offer of throwing me a party. I already rejected them twice. Today's the third time.

Lala was about to talk so I interrupted her before she could even start. "Don't sweat it guys. You know I hate celebrations." I smiled weakly at the two of them.

Lala pursed her lips while Mathilde rolled her eyes at me. I gave them a half-smile before finishing up my coffee. I looked at the time on my phone and showed it to them. "I better go. I have to go pick up some books at the library before it closes."

Lala stood up and hugged me tightly. Mathilde patted my head as she fixed the scarf around my neck. "See you soon." She said.

I left the two at the coffee shop. and quickly hailed a taxi. Burying my head in the scarf, I managed to tell the driver my home address before a little sniffle escaped.

Lilibeth asked why's my face all red when I came home. I couldn't help but hugged her suddenly when she held my forehead. She was surprised but didn't complained and just let me be. When I got all embarrassed for what I did, I excused myself and went to my room to rest.

Mathilde called me later that day. She and Lala apologized to me. Although one sounded mean and the other sounded joking, I knew they were sincere. They just wanted to cheer me up and that alone made me happy.

So to celebrate my birthday in advance, instead of throwing me a party, they invited me to go out next week, whether I like it or not. They asked me what gift I wanted. I only answered them with a laugh before hanging up.

The smile on my face instantly wore off the moment the call ended. I laid down on my bed and stared at my ceiling.

Celebrating my birthday has never been my thing. Some other occasions, yes, but my own birthday? Hard pass.

Tell me, how could I celebrate it when it was the day that my parents died?