by Joni Bing
****
“I've got b-fast today!” I smiled as I burst from my room an hour earlier than usual.
I caught them all by surprise and that was my plan. That was the plan for the whole day. To be full of surprises.
“Wow, look at you, Bleu. Finally doing your job,” Mar laughed.
The boys laughed with him and I noticed Lary wasn't there. As for Mar, I ignored his comment with a playful roll of my eyes. I knew he was only kidding. Mar and I were cool for two nights now. There weren't many options to choose from in the fridge, just runny eggs and crummy bread, but I did find a nice can of dry oatmeal and four strips of fairly fresh bacon. I hadn't eaten bacon in months. I wondered where Lary had gotten it and if he could get more soon.
“You know what, bros,” Reno started. “Lary's been awful chill lately.”
“Hm, true,” Z said.
“You think...Lary's got a girl?” Mar asked.
“Ta! No way, man,” Z exclaimed. “You know Lary doesn't believe in that crap.”
I put the frying pan on the counter. “Love isn't crap, it exists.”
“Yeah, of course you say that. You're a girl!”
“You'll see! It'll happen one of you, I bet.”
“Bleu, get over yourself! These days, people don't live past thirty let alone find “The One”. No one has time for that crap anymore.”
“Yeah, people are too busy trying to survive,” Mar said matter-of-factly.
“Literally,” Reno said lowly.
I placed the pan on the stove and turned the dial to raise the white-blue tipped fire in the iron cage of the burner. “Well, I don't know about you bros, but I got all the time in the world.”
“Have!”
“Whatever!”
For the rest of the time before b-fast, the boys talked in low voices to each other and every time I looked over, they were watching me. I just smiled. Let Operation Handgun commence.
