Chapter 2
1209 Words
I leave Starbucks shortly after him and head back home.
Once at home, I turn on Netflix and sit on my couch, then a picture of my parents and I catches my attention.
After placing my cup on the coffee table, I grab the framed picture from my TV stand and stare at my parents’ smiling faces, and I smile at them in return.
“I don’t know if you made Kyo come into my path to deliver your birthday wishes to me or if it was a pure coincidence, but if it was you, thank you, and I love and miss you so much.” After kissing the picture, I place it back on the TV stand. I then decide to lie down and watch a random Netflix show.
Hours later, I’m startled awake by a text alert:
*****Working sucks group text*****
Amber- “Hey, Kora, what are you up to?”
Me- “Nothing, you just woke me up.”
Penelope- “Why are you all alone sleeping at 6 pm on your birthday?”
Me- “You know why smh.”
Penelope- “s**t, I’m sorry…just ignore me.”
Amber- “Seriously, Penelope smh.”
Penelope- “I know I f****d up with that question, I did apologize though.”
Me- It’s fine, just leave it alone…why did you text? What’s up?
———Penelope left the conversation———
Amber- “thank god she left, I can’t believe she would ask you that knowing about your parents and about that asshole cheating.”
Me- “Amber, it’s whatever, I’m not going to stress it…people make mistakes, even insensitive ones… she left this group chat on her own, and if she doesn’t come back, then that is her choice. I have enough things to worry about. I don’t need added stress.”
Amber- “You’re right, so you wanna do something?”
Leroy- “Hey boo, what did I miss?…wait, let me scroll up.”
Me- “Hey Leroy lol”
Amber- “Just Penelope being Penelope.”
Leroy- “Good riddance…you were too nice in my opinion, but you have a good heart, so I don’t expect anything else from you…and yes to doing something tonight….let’s get some dinner and maybe go dancing?”
Amber- “That sounds fun.”
Me- “I don’t know, guys…I don’t feel up to being in a crowded club…if my parents were still here, we would have gone to our favorite restaurant and then laughed while dad tried to dance…it was like our birthday tradition 3 times a year.”
Leroy- “Okay, so if you feel up to it, we can do that and laugh at Amber trying to dance.”
Amber- “Hey! I know how to dance smh…but yeah, I agree, you can still keep up with the tradition on your birthday with a little twist.”
Me- “Really, guys?…you would do that for me?”
Leroy- “Of course, sweetie.”
Amber- “Yeah, we’re here for you, girl.”
Me- “Okay… I’ll get ready now. We can meet at the Happy Stirfry restaurant that’s by our job in about an hour.”
They both react to my text with a thumbs up.
*****End of group text*****
An hour later, we’re sliding into my favorite booth towards the back of the restaurant, it’s the perfect distance from the entrance, the bar, and the dance floor. The place isn’t big like a club, and it has a more intimate atmosphere. During the daytime, it’s perfect for families with young kids. The afternoons are great for teens, and the evenings are perfect for the 21 and up crowds to unwind without dealing with big crowds.
My parents and I discovered this little gem years ago and have been loyal customers ever since.
The booths are upholstered in red material trimmed with gold. The tables are a light bamboo color that matches the bar top. The barstools match the booths. The dance floor is an open space with different colored lights shining from above it, and some speakers are attached to the top of the plain white walls.
“What are you getting?” Asks Amber while looking through the menu.
“I’m going to get my usual, chicken stir fry with vegetables and a vanilla Coke to drink.”
“Hmm, that does look good. I’ll get the same, but I’ll have water to drink,” she replies.
“Yeah, I’ll have that too, but I want a strawberry soju to drink,” replies Leroy.
“Aren’t you driving? If you are, you need to stay away from the alcohol.”
“No worries, babes, we came here together, so Amber will drop me off at Jonah’s house later,” Leroy replies while handing the menus to the waitress.
“Why didn’t Jonah come?”
“He’s at his Martial arts class. He has a tournament coming up, so he’s practicing as much as he can…. both of you should come with me…maybe one of the sexy ninjas would catch your eye.”
“When is it?”
“It’s next weekend.”
“Sure, I’ll go with you…now that I’m single, my calendar is open on the weekends. How about you, Amber?”
“I can’t, I have to babysit my niece that weekend, but I would have gone if I was free.”
Once the food is served, our table is filled with comfortable silence until Leroy coughs after his first sip of his soju, and his exaggerated expression causes us to laugh.
“So, Kora, you never told us what happened when you went to catch that asshole Tom with his slut” states Amber between bites of food.
“He never came out of the hotel, so I left a box with his stuff on the hood of his car. I wrote a note on the box telling him to never talk to me again.”
“Damn, he even ruined your chance to tell him off to his face…that sucks,” she replies, and I shake my head in agreement, but then I smile to myself.
“Why are you smiling? That’s not the expression I was expecting after talking about that jerk,” states Leroy.
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s definitely nothing, spill it now,” they demand at the same time.
“You guys know it’s creepy when you say the same exact thing at the same time, right?”
“Stop trying to change the subject and tell us already,” demands Amber.
“Fine, I met this guy at Starbucks, and it was…. Interesting. He seemed so nice, and he didn’t want to leave me there without making sure I would be okay first…it was sweet, and you don’t come across people who would do that without wanting something in return….he seemed very genuine…and the fact that he was hot was a bonus.”
“Rewind and start from the moment you entered Starbucks and don’t leave out any details,” they demand.
“I’ll never get used to you two talking at the same time,” I state with a laugh. I then proceed to explain everything to them in full detail.
- Writer
