"The usual?" she asked briskly as she scanned her eyes over the brightly-lit menus.
"Yup. And upsize the fries and Coke for me, will yah?" I said.
She turned and raised her eyebrow at me. "Hungry, are we?" she said teasingly.
"You of all people should know that I don't eat in the mornings", I said testily. "I just woke up about two hours ago!".
"Tut, tut, Kels, you won't grow any taller", said Jel in an attempt to sound motherly, but failing miserably.
"Oh just order our food already. My tummy's already compalining!" I said as I laughed.
Jel just shook her head and made her way to the counter.
I looked out the window and watched the people walk by. I seem do be doing that a lot; you know, looking at people. I don't know, maybe it's because I get sick and tired of the people I hang around with all the time. Or maybe because I just like looking at others and try to guess what their really thinking.
I caught a guy leaning against a pillar like I did before we came here, and I noticed that he was eyeing a group of girls in the distance; and one of them happened to be looking back at him. The rest of the girl's friends, apparently, were teasing her. I could already imagine what thoughts were running through their heads.
Boy: Hell, that girl's hot.
Girl: Damn, that boy's fine.
Boy: Should I go talk to her? She's practically surrounded!
Girl: I think I should go talk to him. But I would seem too--hasty? I guess I'd better wait for him instead.
Boy: Okay, I'll wait a little longer. If her friends don't leave her then I'll approach her.
Girl: What's taking him so long? Come here already!
Boy: I knew I should have worn that white shirt. This blue one doesn't look very nice for first impressions. And my hair! I knew I should have gelled it or something. Stupid!
Girl: What if he's gay? No, that's silly. He wouldn't be checking me out if he were gay, right?
Boy: I'm nervous. Wait, why am I nervous? It's just a girl! Oh, yeah, maybe that's it..
And to my surprise, he really did approach her, while keeping his eyes locked on hers. The girl's friends stopped and watched him come closer, and slowly, they left her. The guy had his back turned to me but I can imagine the look of pure joy on his face as soon as she was alone. He stumbled a bit and I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
I felt Jel slide onto the seat across me so I had no choice but to tear myself away from the couple and focus on her; and of course, the food.
"What were you laughing at?" she asked as I grabbed my Chicken Nuggets, large fries and large Coke from the tray.
I looked out and I saw guy and girl laughing together. With a smile, I recounted everything to Jel. She was laughing by the time I was done.
"You and your imagination, Kels. And to think, I've known for almost all our lives and I'm still not used to it!"
"Shame on you, then!" I said, but I laughed with her.
"How much can I bet that they'll be couple before they even leave this place?" asked Jel, as she munched on her burger.
"Bet all you want, but I wouldn't be so hasty in saying such things, if I were you", I said cautiously.
"Well, your not me so I can say whatever I want", replied my friend rather snobbishly.
I pouted at her and she rolled her eyes at me before we started laughing again.
"You know, I still wonder how on earth we ever got along in the first place!" she said in between giggles.
"Maybe we're simply meant to be", I said dramatically, as I placed my hand on my forehead for more effect.
"What a load of crap!" she cried.
"Hey, watch your mouth, I'm eating over here!" I said indignantly. "And that's my word", I added.
That only made her laugh harder but she stopped when she saw the look on my face. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Let's finish this off first before we can talk"--she raised her fingers and did the air-quote thingy--"dirty". I was only too happy to oblige.
We were done in just a few minutes since we stopped talking. I don't know if she's noticed that I was deliberately trying to take longer than I should. If truth be told, I'm dreading the time when I would tell her everything that I failed to mention during our daily message-exchanging when school was still on. I never keep secrets from her, but lately I've only been telling her just the overview, never the details. I bet she's just itching to squeeze some information out of me.
Jel has always been like a sister to me. We were inseparable by the time were in high school; the "Terrible Twosome" they would call us, as I fondly recalled. She always made sure that I was always smiling, always happy, always content; she did everything.
There was this one time when I got so depressed over my then-boyfriend that she threw a huge party for me with our other friends to cheer me up. She even hosted this funny game called "Pin The Tail On The Bastard"; basically all we had to do was throw darts and tomatoes at a cardboard cut-out of my ex, which they taped to the wall. Extra points were given to the person who could nail him at his "family jewels". And all night long, they reminded me that they were always there to help out and to offer their bashing services if I wanted them to knock the living daylights out of him. I remember breaking down in front of them, out of sheer gratitude, and Jel was the first one to hug me before everybody else joined in.
She was always protective of me. Probably because she's the only child of one of the richest men in the city so she's always wanted to have someone to take care of; but she's not spoiled or anything; she's actually the opposite. When she saved a lot of money, she donated them all to the local charity and even though most of her clothes are new, she freely gave them to those who need them more.
Whenever I needed help, whether it was a family concern or a friend problem, she was always ready to listen. I'd cry, I'd shout myself hoarse just to let off some steam before I totally lost it, I'd mutter every profanity that man has known, and she lets me be. And only when I'm too weak to say anything that she comforts me and tells me that everything will be alright.
Yeah, she's always been there for me. And now is no exception.
But as soon as she pushed away what was left of her food, she looked at me in the eye, and I felt my heart drop to the floor.
"So, Kels, what happened?"
