See You Around

| Chapter 13 |

He gave a sardonic smile. "You're hilarious."

Rolling my eyes, I picked up the necklace he wanted and headed to the front of the store. I purchased it and gauged Christopher's reaction— which was a mix of confusion and bewilderment. "You actually bought it?" he wondered.

I nodded. "Uh-huh. You're my friend, and I respect your opinions."

Christopher simply arched an eyebrow in response. "How many times do I have to repeat that we're not friends? We're—," I cut him off.

"We're merely people who live under the same roof. I know," I interjected in a monotonous tone. I looked back over my shoulder. "Come on, we have to go." With the jewellery box tucked in my pocket, I approached my family and began walking through the busy streets, occasionally snapping pictures of the view around us.

"Let's visit the Chinese Garden of Friendship," Lauren suggested with a smile playing at the corner of her lips. Agreeing, we accompanied her until we reached the said garden, which was teeming with many people. I gazed around at the statues and at the Chinese architecture. It is truly breathtaking and exquisite.

"I took so many pictures," I informed Christopher after we strolled through the garden. Jostling through the people, I hurried to catch up with my family.

"Do I have 'I give a shit' written on my forehead? I don't think so," he snapped. Ignoring his tart response, I clutched my camera tighter and checked the time.

"How about we have lunch? I'm starving," I complained, catching eye of a Chinese restaurants.

"Of course," Christopher muttered from beside me. "The first thing that she thinks about is food." I almost jabbed my elbows into his ribs but decided against it at the last second. I'm fairly certain he'd chop my hand off if I ever dared to do that.

Our parents agreed, and so, we entered a Chinese restaurant and chose to sit in a booth. Holding up the menu, my eyes roamed around the orders.

"Ooh, dumplings," I mumbled, elated. Christopher, in the booth behind us, scoffed aloud. I'm guessing he must of heard me.

Folding my menu, I set it back in its place and turned to glance over my shoulder. "What are you going to get?" I asked Christopher, whose back was facing me. He didn't bother turning to face me in order to reply back.

"None of your business," he replied.

Glaring at his muscular back, I turned back around as my family began piling our orders to a waitress. She jotted our orders down and then walked away. A sigh escaped my lips as I looked around the restaurant. It was bustling with tourists, some of them being families.

Soon, our waitress arrived back with our orders and handed me my plate of dumplings with some dipping sauce along with it. Grinning, I began tucking in quite fervently, ignoring my mother who was ordering me to slow down.

+ + +

"I feel underdressed," I muttered to myself, tugging at my sweater. I whirled around and waited for our families to join us. Once they did, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. They were all decked out in expensive clothing, most likely wanting to leave an impression.

"Come on," my mother chirped, ushering us outside.

"Mom, did you forget about the fact that I get seasick often?" I hastened to catch up with her fast steps.