Bread Knife
Jay-jay's POV
When I first met Freya, I hated her so much. Why? Simple… She could match my bitchiness. If only we talked properly, maybe we could've had a shot at being friends.
I would've accepted her even if she looked like a coloring book and had a record of being a total bitch. But since neither of us likes backing down, there's no way we'd ever get along.
I thought Freya was the worst person in existence, but oh, I was wrong. So, so wrong. Especially when I met this girl!
I feel like Yuri's parents are messing with me—wait, no! Let's remove the word feel like because they're obviously doing this on purpose. Share the table? For real?!
They had their own celebration and now they want to join ours. Is that a joke?! Well, her face looks more like a joke! That girl clinging to Keifer's arm like her life depended on it. Dressed so formally, too.
Probably one of Freya's friends. She also looks like a damn coloring book. And what's even weirder is, she looks familiar. I just can't remember from what hellhole she crawled out of.
DEMON!
I looked at Yuri's mom who was staring at me. She smiled when she noticed I saw her. Oh, right. She saw me and Keifer together before. Maybe that's why she invited them too. What does she want to happen?
"Dear…" Yuri's dad called that leech girl clinging to Keifer. "Where did you meet Keifer?"
The girl smiled. "That's a great question." She slightly shook Keifer's arm. "Would you like to tell them how?"
Oh damn. Seriously?!
The bastard king of all snakes cleared his throat. "I met her at a Halloween party last year..."
Halloween?! Holy cow, water buffalo! The slutty bunny girl who danced with him! Now I remember! No wonder she pissed me off from the moment I saw her.
He went on with his story. He only recently found out she was Mr. Ryder's niece. And to make it worse, her name is... Honey Bee Ryder.
Nice. But why is she here?!
There's so much food in front of us, but none of it appeals to me. I totally lost my appetite because of that woman's face. And what really gets on my nerves? Keifer hasn't even looked at me once, that asshole. And Yuri and his mom? Clearly observing me.
What the hell do they want?
"Maki... Open your mouth," that girl said while trying to feed the bastard.
Excuse me, what?! Maki?! MAKI?! Where the hell did that come from?
"Maki?!" I said out loud, making everyone look at me.
Honey—yes, Bee—raised an eyebrow at me. "Keifer's nickname. I gave it to him. Is there a problem with that?" she asked in that annoying sweet voice.
I looked at Keifer, but he didn't react. Just stared at me. What the hell? Aren't you going to say anything?
"N-no." I answered and grabbed the bread knife from the utensils nearby.
Would this slice a neck? Or maybe if I threw it, would it pierce skin?
Maybe… Try it on Honey who looks like a Bee!
I looked back at my plate when someone suddenly put potatoes on it. I turned and saw it was Yuri.
"Why'd you—"
"It's your favorite, right?" he cut me off.
He still remembered. That one time we had dinner with Grandma, I asked for his potatoes.
"Thank you…" I said and forced a smile.
The heaviness from our earlier talk still lingered, but my irritation with those two was stronger.
He smiled back at me.
"How are you two related?" Honey suddenly asked us.
I was caught off guard by her question. I didn't know what to say. Worse, Keifer's brother and Yuri's parents all looked at me, waiting for my answer.
Wait! Why me?!
Even Keigan and his girlfriend looked at us.
"U-uh… We—" Suddenly, Yuri held my hand. I looked at him and he smiled meaningfully.
"We're more than friends but less than lovers," he said with a smile directed at Keifer and that girl. His parents and Keigan chuckled a bit, but Keifer and his brother? Their faces turned serious.
"What's that supposed to mean? No official relationship?" Honey asked again.
Yuri laughed. What the heck was that? More than friends but less than lovers? This is the first time I've heard of that kind of relationship.
"I understand. Some people just don't like official labels. Like Maki, he still refuses to make things official with me," she said while caressing the snake king's shoulder.
My ears rang at what she said. Doesn't want anything official with her? What the actual hell! You don't even look like someone to take seriously, and you expect something official? LMAO. I should shave your head bald.
A male waiter approached with a cake. Keigan stood up to take it and placed it in front of Elixera. We started singing "Happy Birthday" and clapping.
While everyone was singing, I took the chance to look at Keifer. Thankfully, he was also looking at me.
I glared at him. I wanted to scream and curse him out loud. He's lucky there were so many people around. He seemed to get what I meant since he scratched his head and gave me a forced smile that looked more like a grimace.
"...Happy Birthday to you!" we finished the song and waited for Elixera to blow the candle.
Everyone clapped loudly. They returned to chatting. Me? I returned to staring daggers at those two.
I was so pissed off. I grabbed my phone. I almost cracked the screen with how hard I typed my message—but I ended up deleting it and just sent an angry emoji instead.
I waited for him to check his phone. I didn't have to wait long—he picked it up and looked at me before replying.
From: King Snake
Message: I love you..
Does he think I'll be thrilled with that message? I replied instantly.
To: King Snake
Message: Asshole!
His eyebrows furrowed when he read my reply. Not even a second passed before I got his response.
From: King Snake
Message: Profanity!
Oh wow. He has the nerve to complain?!
To: King Snake
Message: Your face is profanity!
He kept looking at me then at his phone. While typing a reply, Honey suddenly grabbed his phone and turned it off.
She set it down on the table and this bastard didn't even protest! Honey the Annoying turned to him, touched his chin with a finger, and said—
"I want your full attention on me. Only me," as she leaned her face close to his.
Bitch please. The bread knife is ready!
Keifer touched her chin too. This disgusting snake even traced a finger from her cheek to her shoulder. They were feeling it. Both of them. Disgusting.
Enough! What the hell are you doing, Keifer?!
The heaviness in my chest made me feel like crying out of frustration.
Suddenly, someone held my hand.
I flinched a bit but calmed down when I saw it was Yuri. Still, I felt a bit awkward.
He leaned a little closer and whispered, "Jealous?"
I quickly shook my head. "I'm just annoyed by their faces."
"That's still part of jealousy." He looked at Keifer and Honey. "...Wouldn't it be nice to get back at them?"
I don't know, but his words were tempting. It's true… It would feel amazing to get revenge and make them both crawl away bleeding.
I slowly nodded. He leaned even closer to my ear.
"Giggle," he whispered.
Huh?!
"What? Goggle?" I asked, and he suddenly burst out laughing. That caught Keifer and Keigan's attention.
"Is that Mr. Billiones?" Yuri's dad suddenly said, looking at a group of business-looking men. "...Come on, Angelo. Let's introduce you."
My brother and Yuri's parents stood and walked over to the businessmen. The six of us were left at the table, and Keifer was now staring at me.
Now you look at me like that?
"You're Jay-jay, right?" Honey asked. I just nodded. "You look very familiar."
Crap!
What if she remembers I was with that other one at the Halloween party? She can't remember! I know she saw that— That there was no answer to why you're important...
"Impossible! This face is unique. Hard to find," I said with a laugh.
Her eyebrow lifted. "Really? Where do you find people like you? At the wet market?"
My eyes narrowed. Wet market?! And what exactly is she trying to say?
"Excuse me?!"
"You're excused," she said with a sarcastic smile.
Oh, she's asking for it. Wait, I'll just sharpen the bread knife.
Bitch Mode: ON!
"You? Where do you find people like you?" I asked back.
I could see Yuri sipping water in the corner of my eye. Keifer loosened his necktie, and Elixera and Keigan exchanged looks.
The bitch flipped her hair before answering. "People like me are rare. I'm one of a kind."
I slowly nodded. "Ahh… Isn't that in a gay bar?"
Her brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"You just kinda look gay."
Everyone else laughed—except for me and Honey. Her face showed she wasn't backing down.
She gave a fake laugh to blend in. "Ha. Ha. Ha. You're so funny."
I mimicked her tone. "Ha. Ha. Ha. You're so fugly."
Her brows knitted even more. Any second now, she could explode. She might suddenly yank my hair. I better have the bread knife ready.
"...Oops, I mean funny," I corrected.
"You know what?" She crossed her arms, making her chest pop out. "...I don't like your tone. In fact, I don't like you at all."
I crossed my arms too—minus the cleavage, mine's hidden.
"That's okay... I don't like you either. The feeling is mutual," I replied with a smug smile.
She shook her head. "This makes no sense."
"You make no sense."
She was starting to flush from anger. Her glares were deadly.
"Relax… Please… Let's not make a scene here," Keigan said.
Looks like Honey snapped out of it. She sighed and stood up.
"I'm going to the restroom," she said and turned to Keifer. "…Wanna join me?"
Join?! JOIN?!
I glared at Keifer so hard I could've thrown my eyeballs at him. "Try getting up from that seat. I swear! That'll be the last time you ever stand up!" I warned.
I saw his Adam's apple go up and down. I guess he got the message because he stayed put. Honey, that stupid girl, stormed off toward the restroom.
I don't know… but I'm not satisfied. I still feel like that exchange wasn't enough.
I stood up and excused myself to go to the restroom. No one stopped me, even if Yuri clearly wanted to. He probably got scared when I shot him a deadly glare.
I walked straight to the restroom. Just like I expected, she was there, facing the mirror, retouching her makeup. She looked like she was waiting for me.
I stared at her reflection. She did the same. She paused, and it seemed like the other girls inside the restroom sensed something too. They left on their own, and those who were about to enter backed out.
We waited for everyone to leave before she finally spoke.
"I remember you now," she said, turning to face me. "…You're the girl with Keifer during the Halloween party. You're also the one he kissed that night."
I crossed my arms. "So what?"
She smirked. "You've got something going on with the guy next to you earlier too, right? And now there's Keifer. Wow, you really get around."
"Oh! Just like you."
She looked me up and down, raising an eyebrow when she saw my shoes. I knew it—dress and sneakers. I probably looked ridiculous.
"You're not that pretty, but when you flirt… it's like you're running out of men," she said, and that really made my eyebrows knit.
I hated the way she said that. It triggered something in me—words people used to throw at my mom flashed in my mind.
"Why aren't you answering?" she taunted, like she thought she had already won. "...Because it's true, isn't it? I'm right—Argh!"
My vision darkened. I was so angry at what she said that my body moved on its own—and I punched her right in the face.
"What the fuck!" she screamed, holding her now-bleeding nose.
I really didn't want to resort to violence. But this girl… she pushed me too far. For the first time ever… I lost the battle of bitchiness. Just because she used the same words people once hurled at my mom.
Running out of men.
Honey's hands were shaking as she tried to wash the blood from her nose in the sink.
I left the restroom, my chest tight with rage and frustration. I was in the hallway when I saw Keifer.
He looked at me and immediately walked over. He grabbed my arm and pinned me against the wall. He was smiling as he slowly placed both hands on the wall, boxing me in.
"How was your conversation with Honey?" he asked, and it made me even more irritated. Why does the name Honey sound like it's dripping from his mouth?
"None of your business!" I snapped.
He chuckled slightly. "Are you jealous?"
ME?! JEALOUS?! WHY WOULD I BE?!
"No," I answered calmly.
"You're jealous."
"I said no."
"You're jealous," he repeated.
I shoved him hard. He stumbled at first but quickly regained his balance.
"Damn it! I said no! Don't you understand?!" I snapped.
Because seriously—he doesn't!
He raised two fingers. At first I thought he was making a peace sign, but then I noticed his annoying grin.
"Two profanity words… Actually, that's three including yesterday."
I smacked his hand. "Your face is profanity! You already kissed me yesterday! And you were smoking, I could taste it!" I moved closer and sniffed. "You smell like cigarettes now!"
He sniffed himself too. "I didn't smoke! That was Honey. The smell just rubbed off on me."
I squinted at him.
"Liar! Go kiss your HONEY instead!" I shouted and stormed off.
"She says she's not jealous," I heard him mutter.
I'm not! Seriously!
How pathetic. I don't even have a reason to be jealous. Why would I be? Just because I love him and he supposedly loves me too? Pfft… No way!
When I got back to our table, my brother and Yuri's parents were already there. They looked at me for a moment then went back to chatting. Looks like they hit it off with whoever they introduced to Kuya Angelo.
"Did you make it to the restroom okay?" Yuri asked me.
If only you knew.
I just nodded in response. While I was listening to the conversation, I saw Keifer walking Honey back to our table.
"Oh my… What happened?" Yuri's mom asked Honey in concern.
I punched her.
Honey couldn't answer. She was having a hard time speaking. I must've really nailed her.
"Sorry, Auntie and Uncle, but we have to go now. I need to bring Honey to the hospital," Keifer said and kissed them on the cheek.
"Good idea. Who knows what could happen to her," they replied.
He spoke to Keigan too, and it looked like they were all leaving. They said goodbye to me and finally left the restaurant.
Before they completely disappeared from view, I saw Honey smirk at me and cling tightly to Keifer's arm again.
You better be ready, Keifer.