Hey, guys! I'm back! Sorry I didn't update yesterday, I had a lot of schoolwork to finish and I was going to update early for today but I didn't have the chance because I was out and I hadn't edit the chapter yet. On the bright side: it's Lunar New Year! So to all my fellow asians, Happy New Year!
I wish all my Asian folks some good ass food and lucky ass reds envelope! 🧧
DE LOS LOSER 🎈
(IRIS 🌹, INSTA-GRAHAM 📱)
6:54PM
Iris:
How you feeling?
Graham:
Great
Thanks for asking
Iris:
DUMBO I'M NOT ASKING YOU
Francena:
😂 yeah I'm okay
Iris:
Any problems with your dad or grams?
Francena:
my dad saw that I came home drunk and told me Im not allowed to go to anymore parties
Iris:
ouch
Francena:
it's better than my back-in-the-olden-days punishments
Iris:
Yikes, spankings.
Graham:
😏 kinky
Francena:
dude wtf I hate you
Graham:
You love me ❤️
Francena:
not
Graham:
💔
Iris:
It's like I'm witnessing a sad romantic tv show through the classics of our phones
Francena:
its like watching youtube on these types of screens
Iris:
Right, horrible 🙄
Graham:
What are you guys talking about? My phone is perfectly amazing when watching YouTube on it ... and other things
Iris:
UGHHH GET A LIFE
Graham:
You'll be happy to now that I have more of one than the both of you combined
Graham:
***know
Iris:
Francena:
😂😂😂
Graham:
Francena, why you laughing, I saved you yeserday
Graham:
***yesterdy
Francena:
yes i know that, thank you, so let me return the favour and teach you some grammar
Francena:
yesterday is spelt Y-E-S-T-E-R-D-A-Y
Francena:
debt repaid
Iris:
😂😂
Graham:
Why am I friends with you guys again
Iris:
I mean you can leave, no one is stopping you
Iris:
The door is right there
Graham:
Francena:
*whispering* is he gone yet?
Iris:
*whispering back* yeah I think the coast is clear
Francena:
*out of whispering mode* good, i thought he'll never leave
Iris:
*out of whispering mode* me too, me too girl
Francena:
great now let's get down to good shit w/o him
Graham:
I completely utterly hate all of you
***for each and everyone of you
Francena:
we've been caught! ABORT MISSION! ABORT MISSION! I REPEAT, ABORT MISSION!
Iris:
That caused me to snap back into reality, throwing my head back in laughter at the image. My fingers hovers over the white keyboard as I about to type in my next message, a loud voice shriek came and disrupt my train of thought.
"DAD! REI IS TEXTING HER BOYFRIEND!" My head shot up, snapping towards the direction of the sound to see my brother standing in the middle of my doorway. I groan, knowing after the incident of last night, my father was going to beat up my ass about my appearance. Not to mention, I can't believe my dad put my little brother as a spy.
"Snitch," I stand from my bed, which caused Kenji to widen his eyes at my sudden movement and begin to run out of the room. I'm quick on his tail. Kenji jumps down the stairs with a few steps left, running, and making a turn at the end of the stairs for the kitchen.
I followed his lead, jumped around the architect of the house before slamming into a strong built. Hands gripped my shoulder, catching me from falling and I look up to meet the similar dark brown eyes of my father, through the frames of his glasses.
"Hey, daddy," I said in a high-pitched tone, which caused my father to raise a brow.
"What did I hear about a boyfriend?" My father releases his grip, and behind him, I notice my brother peaking out of the swinging door of the kitchen. I squinted my eyes challenging to his direction. "Reileen!"
"What?" I snapped back, confusion splattered on my expression. My father didn't sported on a charmed look, and looks at me intently.
"We just talked about boyfriends the other day; do you have one already? Is it the same boy we talk about the other day? The hafu?" My father begins to interrogate and I found myself groaning as I made a mental note to kill my little brother later on.
"First off," I held out a finger, "he's not my boyfriend," my stomach twists, "and second of, he likes someone else."
My father shot me a look through my words, "if he's not your boyfriend, why would you care?"
"I don't care," something in the pit of my stomach churns, "I'm just stating some fact. I'm just reminding you how he's not my boyfriend. Second of, I don't have a boyfriend. I continuously tell you that it's not going to happen and if it did, I would tell you."
I shifted my glance to the floor, not meeting my father's eyes. He sighs, and I see him shuffle his feet slightly.
"Do you like him, Reileen?"
Do I?
"Umm—" Ping. I took attention towards the phone in my hand, seeing a message from Julian.
BOOTY CALLER PERSONA 🍑
7:05PM
Julian:
can you come over?
MI
"Who's that?" My father leans over to take a peek at the name, which I quickly shove back and cover the phone. I knew if my father looks at the name, especially the name, it makes it seem sexual. The name was a generous idea I came to the conclusion to, but now, deciding it might be best without it.
"It's Graham." I lied, "he's asking me to come over. I think he needs help with homework."
He sighs, "is Iris going to be there?"
"Always," I answered, typing back a reply with the quickness of my fingers before shoving my phone back into my pocket.
"Alright then," he sighs, brushing his hand through his hair, "but no drinking, Reileen. A beer or two is fine, but when you're out and coming home drunk like yesterday—"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'm sorry, I learnt my mistake," I explained, pressing my hand against my skull. "Plus, you know Graham, he wouldn't dare let me near another bottle again."
He nods in confirmation, probably able to picture the same about my best friend. While my father doesn't directly say he likes the boy, he does trust him. Especially seeing all Graham did for his daughter.
"I'm leaving in a few, so, pre-I love yous," I jump to my feet and kiss my father in the cheek. He chuckles, "love you, dad."
"Love you too, sweetheart."
With that, I headed upstairs and change out of my old tee. I changed into a hoodie and joggers. I didn't want to wear anything restricting today, knowing the problem of having to put on skinny jeans.
I head out of the door, and down the stairs, grabbing the keys. "As much as I hate you right now," I grumble under my breath, "love you, Kenji! Love you sobo!"
I hear my grandma replying back in Japanese, before the strain voice of my brother. I smile, and exit out the front door, heading towards the car.
I hop in, turning on the engine when it begins to spit sounds for a couple of seconds. My brows furrowed together, another attempt being made before it completely runs down. I frown, taking the keys out of the ignition before replacing them back in; doing the same steps only for the same results.
Fuck.
I exit out of the car, slamming the door closed. I sigh, a hand place on my hips as I thought of possible solutions for this. "Come on," I grumbled, eyes shut close, "why?"
I knew that while I needed to have a solution, I had to tell Julian of my imperative problem.
BOOTY CALLER PERSONA 🍑
7:22PM
Francena:
i can't go anymore
Julian:
what do you mean?
Francena:
my car broke down
and I don't want to ask my dad for his cause he doesn't know i'm coming over to yours
Julian:
why?
Francena:
...
let's just say my father believes you're more than just a friend
and it will more than confirm if he knows i'm coming to your house
+ then he won't let me
Julian:
😂😂😂😂
i'll be there in a few
Read 7:25PM
I sigh, leaning against the old vehicle as I debated on what to do on my next step. I knew I had to get it fix, but I didn't want a new one. The risks on the road greatens on the installment and plus, this is my baby. I think when I'll come home, I'll just call Triple A or something.
A black Mustang soon arrives, and the driver's window pulled down to reveal Julian. A smile formed on his lips, half but decent. I notice the bags under his eyes seem less noticeable and his eyes seems less dull. That's good.
"How much?" Julian queries, causing me to laugh. I shake my head as I begin to walk over to the other side, opening up the passenger.
Upon opening the door, I noticed a grey sweater spread out against the leather seat. "Oh, sorry," he picks up the sweater and throws it in the back, "that was Erin. She forgot it."
I slightly frown, before quickly wiping it off my face and nod. I get into the car, closing the door behind me. Julian begins to drive out of the roadway and down the direction of his house.
"So, how was your swim meet?" He asks, a hand on the steering wheel while he drove. A quick glance spare in my direction, awaiting my answer.
"Great," I answer, "I won first in my 300m. The team scored well overall, so we're going into regionals. We went to a party."
"How was the party?"
"Okay, I guess," I shrug, "the food was really good, but I, umm, I can't really say I was hungry that day."
He chuckles, not knowing what really went down at the party. I drove the attention away from me, "so, what about you? How was your date?"
"It was good," his voice slightly taken off by my question. It was just a question, I hope I didn't offend him or something? "We went to a restaurant and ate and talked; Erin is pretty cool."
"That's great," my voice slightly lower than I posed, "find out anything about Miss Incomplete yet?"
He shakes his head, "it was the first date, I wanted to take it slow." I nod, understanding where he was coming from but slightly disappointed feeling there's going to be more than one date.
We reach his house and I was the first to exit out of the car. I headed towards the front porch, awaiting for Julian to come and unlock the door. He does, and we enter into the familiar atmosphere. I headed over to the family room, taking a familiar seat on the floor. There was no specific reason why I chose the floor, I just felt more comfortable down here.
"Do you want to eat anything?" I shook my head at his concern, despite the fact I was slightly hungry. I could hold it in though, this meeting was probably going to be short.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" I ask, as Julian comes around to the living room, seeing my figure on the floor.
"Why are you always on the floor?"
"I like the floor."
"There's a couch right there, you know you can sit there, right?"
"Yeah, but I like the floor."
"Fine." He comes and falls into the seat next to me. On the floor. "Alright," he sighs, clamming his hands together, "so, I haven't been able to find out anything much with Erin. I got some small information such as her favourite team: Manchester; she hates cats; she wants to go in professionally; she likes Chinese food and strangely does not like strawberry."
"Okay."
"So, let's go back into the notes—plus the new ones—to see if they can relate back to her."
"Okay, sure," I agree.
"Alright," he stands up, "I'll be right back then." With that said, he heads upstairs to his room to grab the notes. I sat still, admiring the coffee table in front of me. I trail my fingers over the glass, over the wooden structure, thinking about how it was created. There's probably a video online somewhere, but I'm just thinking too deep.
Julian returns, taking the same spot next to me. He holds out the notecards, and this time, a thicker version of the cards. I guess the copycat really did send out more. I could estimate about seventy to a hundred, but I didn't know exactly due to their finite amount and non-labels.
I shuffle through a bunch in the stacks before landing on the one, reading over the lines. "This is a lot of notecards," I declare, finding I caused a mess with the piles.
"Yeah, Miss Incomplete sends me one a day," Julian said, taking the one out of my hands before I can retaliate. "This means I know her, doesn't it?"
"You just figured it out?" I pluck the paper from his fingertips, examining the words. This one, out of many, became the simpler ones. It was easy and found to the point, I didn't have to go on full CSI analysist to understand.
"No," he take the paper back, setting it back on the coffee table, "I didn't read it when I receive one. I wanted to wait for you."
Somehow, that caused a smile on my face. I opened my mouth, wanting to say something in return when I hear the front door swinging open, slamming against the wall.
"—I don't know. Maybe we should cook some salmon, the kids need some protein in their bodies," the voice—a woman—bursts into the kitchen as she turns her back facing another — I'm guessing — figure. Her straight jet black hair swings once she turns around and a short petite figure walks in. She was Japanese, I could tell from much of her eyes and face structure. Julian has her eyes, "Joel, I think we should—" her voice suddenly cuts short when her brown eyes landed on me.
For a split second, she's frozen, then she hits something next to her, "ow!" The figure—a man—exclaims.
"Joel," she hits the figure again, causing another exclamation of pain to be heard, "Julian brought home a girl." Her eyes never leaving mine as she gushes over the fact that Julian brought home a girl.
The man then peaks inside. He was taller than the woman — who I suspect to be his wife — and had strong features like Julian; most prominent were the jawline and the nose. His beard, that I saw from the picture, grown out into a thick outline. "Are you sure it's not just Jaycee—oh, never mind," who I suspect to be Julian's father, declares. He looks to my figure, as I jolted up from the spot and my hands went together as I bowed.
"Kon'nichiwa, [hello,]" Wait, I turn to Julian who has since jumped to his feet, "do they know Japanese? Or should I just speak English?"
Julian shrugs, smiling at the interaction, "my mom knows Japanese, my dad knows a couple of words. You can say hello all you want, and they'll understand, but you can only have a conversation with my mom."
I nod, turning back to the pair of parents. They continue to stand at the doorway, with Julian's father carrying the groceries in his arms while his mother laid a gap at my appearance. "Hello, Mr and Mrs Dean, my name is Francena Nakamura."
"She's Japanese!" Julian's mother begins to gush further, rushing over to the living room and coming from behind the couch. She looks down at my appearance, scanning me from head to toe, "and she's very pretty too, Joel!"
Thank you, I know.
"Mom!" Julian stands next to his mother and I begin to see the drastic height difference between the two. While Julian stood at 5'11, his mother height is largely shorten compared to it his — probably at 5'2 at best. "Can you not?"
"Sorry! This is the first time you've brought home a girl, and can I just say, she looks absolutely beautiful."
"I know mom; can you not embarrass me in front of her?"
"Is she your—are you two— oh my goodness! Joel, I think she's his girlfriend!"
My eyes widen even more so, "wait, ma'am, I think you're—" Julian grabs my hand, squeezing it. I took a glance towards his direction and he forged a look that tells me to go along with it. His eyes pleading. I sigh, agreeing.
"Julian, this is your girlfriend?" Joel—Julian's father, walks in. He drops the groceries bags on the kitchen serving bar. He stands to Julian's height, or in my perspective, a smudge bit taller. He was built like Julian, but dull the muscles in mass. He had the tanned tone Julian owns to, a shade or two darker, and face structure. He holds out his hand for me to shake, "hello, I'm Julian's father, Joel."
"Hello," I bowed, not taking his hand. His father pulls back, wiping his hand to the back of his pants. "I'm Francena Nakamura, Julian's, umm, girl friend."
The pause between the two words didn't registered in his mother's mind, as she shot up, "oh, I knew it!" Mrs Dean gushes, smiling. She turns to me, "darling, would you like to stay for dinner?"
"Umm, I don't know, ma'am, I think I might go home—"
"Oh that's nonsense! You should stay! Have a family dinner with us!" Her eyes filled with joy as she pours the invite. I sigh, having the inability to say no and break her heart.
"Mrs Dean. As much as it's a wonderful invite, I think—" Julian squeezes my hand again and I know without the need of looking up to what he's trying to tell me. I gave in, sighing, "yes, okay, I'll have dinner."
"Fantastic!" Mrs Dean turns around to face her husband. "Honey, I have to go be occupied with making dinner, can you get the rest of the bags from the car?"
Mrs Dean rushes towards the kitchen as she begins to unpack the items laid out on the bar. Mr Dean turns to me, a smile on his features. His smile reminds me of Julian. "I'll be back, and when I'm back, I need to talk to you, Julian," his father said before leaving out of the door.
When we're left in the living room, I loosen my grip on his hand, dropping it by my side. "We need to talk," I turn around as his mother hums something under her breath and burns the gas. "In private."
He nods, beginning to drag me out of towards the backyard where Apollo stayed running. Once opening, Apollo jumps into the house as Julian closes the door behind him, we're left in peace.
"What was that?" I snapped, pointing back to the living room.
"What?" He replies innocently.
"Your girlfriend? I'm not your girlfriend, Julian. Why did you make me lie?"
"It was better than explaining why a random girl was at my house; what do you think that makes it look like? A random girl, whom my parents have never met before, in our living room?"
"Study partners? Friends?"
He scoffs, "there's a clear indication between friends and lovers, and I know once my mother landed her eyes on us, she would figure out which."
"What does that even mean?"
He scoffs, not answering as he begins to pull around and look out. I didn't know what he was doing but before I got further investigation, he turns back around. "Just–keep it for a night, please? For me?"
His pleading eyes cause me to sigh, "fine." I declare, and he did a small cheer, "but what did your mom mean when I was the first girl you brought home? Did she forgot about Tasha or something?"
He shakes his head, "no, she wasn't lying," he answers, honestly, "you are the first girl I brought home."