The Hottie and the Fatty

by Segunda L.

  Samara was motionless with shock for a moment. Then her shoulder slumped and I could tell that it was a sign of surrender. The gravity of the situation must be finally sinking in by now. "Fine." She said and headed for their house.

  Well, she took it better than I thought. I was expecting more argument, which she would lose of course. She probably realized that there was no point in fighting a lost cause. We both headed to the kitchen to wash our hands. Thomas was still there where we left him, holding the same newspaper. Just how many pages did it have?

  "Oh, you guys are back. Good, I was just about to leave.” Thomas rose from his chair. "So how was the first day, Sam?"

  Samara made a show of almost collapsing when she reached a chair. Thomas and I were quick to get to her side.

  "Are you alright, sweetie?" Thomas was full of concern for his daughter.

  "D-dad, I'm so tired. I need..." With eyes fluttering, she trailed off.

  "What do you need, Sam? Tell me. Daddy will give you anything you want."

  "B-bacon... I need bacon." She finished and rested her head on the table.

  I rolled my eyes. So that was how she was gonna play it.

  "Daddy will give you the finest bacon in the world, anything for my daughter." Thomas eagerly called for one of the maids and requested for the chef. He was shouting orders here and there.

  "Thomas," I started, "calm down. Your daughter's fine." I had to choose my words carefully when talking to this man. I whispered to him, "We should stick to the original plan, oats and fruits for breakfast. It's for Samara's own good. You gotta be tough in these situations. "

  Thomas stood straighter and told the maids to cancel his request. Samara raised her head from the table.

  "I'm sorry, Sam. But I can't give you bacon after all." Thomas couldn't look at his daughter in the eyes. "It's for your own good." He repeated what I said. In a rush, he left the both of us, saying a quick goodbye. He must be feeling very guilty right now.

  "Nice try." I said aloud to Samara who was still in disbelief of her father's rejection. Pulling a chair beside her, I sat down and at the same time, their maid came in with a bowl of oats and assorted fruits on another plate.

  Samara laughed and shook her head before facing me. "Man, I thought I did a pretty good acting there."

  "Maybe you can fool your dad but not me." I snorted. "Your acting needs more practice."

  She “hmphed” and was about to say something but was interrupted by a male’s growling. "Damn, it took him forever to leave." Heavy footsteps entered the kitchen. Samara and I both knew whose voice it was. I had been waiting for him to finally show up. It was time to put my plans in motion.

  "Morning, Sammy―." Clearly, TJ wasn't expecting my presence, unlike me who had been waiting for him to come over. He stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he saw me eating breakfast in the Reyn's table. "What is he doing here?" TJ pointed to me with a scowl.

  Was everyone in this neighborhood not a morning person? "Morning to you too, TJ." I answered, acting all civil, even after what he did to me yesterday.

  "We're working on the project together and he's my new jogging partner." Samara’s attention was on her oats.

  "J-jogging? But you don't like jogging." TJ said.

  I chose a banana from the tray and watched him get more and more confused by the minute.

  "Yeah, jogging sucks." She agreed. "I'll be doing it every day from now on though." Samara said, picking up her spoon.

  "If it's a jogging partner, I'd do it, Sammy. Stop hanging around with this guy." TJ walked towards the table and pulled a chair beside Samara. "And you're eating oats? I thought you hated oats?"

  "I still do." Samara forced herself to eat a spoonful of oats.

  "That's a good girl." I congratulated her for her effort before munching on the banana.

  TJ whipped his head to me, then returned his eyes to Samara. "Did Jared blackmail you into this? I know how much you hate oats, you can't stand the sight of it, let alone eat a bowl of it. You don't need to be scared of him, I'm here now."

  If he weren't talking about me in such a degrading tone, I would have laughed my heart out. It was just oats for god's sake. "I didn't blackmail her." I leaned on my chair and scratched my chin.

  "I wasn't talking to you." TJ said without taking his eyes off Samara.

  Oblivious to the growing irritation of TJ, Samara was too downtrodden to ease the tension between the two alpha males beside her. "It's for my own good." She said. These words were beginning to become some sort of mantra.

  "Are you sure about this?"

  She gulped. "Y-yeah."

  "Samara, you make me proud." I grinned at her as I took another bite out of the banana.

  Another set of footsteps entered the room. When it reached the kitchen, a girl with a short black hair entered. She wore skinny jeans and a black tank top. Her body had the right curves to it, which was highlighted by the tight jeans she had on. She sighed in relief as she saw us. "I thought you guys already started working. Here," she placed her rucksack on the chair nearest to her, "all the stuff we collected are inside this bag."

  I eyed this mysterious chick from head to toe, spending a longer time on her chest before landing on her face. Her brow was raised. She didn't miss a beat with my gawking.

  "Hi, Trix." Samara greeted without any enthusiasm, too focused on the oats in front of her.

  The banana I was chewing got stuck in my throat. "T-Trix?" I mouthed, unable to believe that the emo chick from yesterday was replaced by some bombshell.

  "Problem, Kippling?" The way she said my name seemed as if she just spit out poison.

  I swallowed hard before talking. "Wh-where's the thick eyeliner and net stockings?"

  TJ still insisted that I was blackmailing Samara. The both of them were busy with their own talk.

  "I was in a rush, I didn't bother putting make-up on." She replied as she turned her attention to Samara. "Is that oats you're eating, Sam?"

  "Trix, get a load of this. Your friend is eating oats. Can you believe that? I'm telling you, Jared put her through this. That sick bastard is enjoying this. He's putting her through some form of torture." TJ answered for Samara who was forcing another spoonful of oats in her mouth.

  This whole thing was... comical. I watched in amusement as they talked about me in third person.

  "Kippling is not smart enough to think of something like blackmail." She grabbed a chair and sat next to me. "What's the big deal anyway? Oats are healthy. Keep it up, Sam." She gave a thumbs up to Samara's direction.

  Since Trix was helping my side, I let her insult slide this time. Just this time. I'd be keeping a tab though starting now. The three of them seemed at ease at each other's presence. I ignored their closeness and placed the banana peeling on the table. Then I folded my arms to my chest. About time to put an end to this. "I get why you're here," I nodded at Trix's, "but why is he here again?” I tipped my head at TJ direction as I voiced out my complain, “He's not even our classmate."

  TJ turned to me, prematurely cutting his discussion with Samara. "I've been coming in and out of this house since I was in diapers. I don't see why I need a reason now."

  "Oh really? Is that why you waited for Thomas to leave before you let yourself in?" Jared Kippling douche bag mode activated.

  "That's none of your business, Jared." TJ weakly defended.

  Standing up, I stepped towards Samara and Trix, enclosing them in a semi-hug by putting my hands on their shoulders. "We three are classmates, while you," I pointed to TJ," are nothing but an outsider." The two girls whipped their necks to my direction, Trix looked puzzled while Samara was not sure how to react judging by the way she kept blinking.

  "Whatever, I'm staying." The stubborn TJ announced, exactly how I expected him to.

  ~*~*~

  After taking a quick shower in one of the Reyn's guest bedroom, I changed into my high school hoodie and black shorts. Thomas saw to it that I was at home in their house and prepared a
guest room for me in advance, I could tell by the smell of the new bed sheets and pillowcases. I was totally kicking off a good start with him.

  The Reyn's residence was a fancy house, more so than Carrie's place. There was rich and there was ridiculously rich. The Reyn's belonged to the latter. My family had some dough too, but dad saw to it that we were not being extravagant. He was practical. He was stingy. Our appliances and furniture were built to last a lifetime. We didn't have any of the high-tech edge appliances that the Reyn's had such as the TV right on their vanity mirror. I mean what the fuck? Who puts a TV in mirrors? I was watching my (handsome face) reflection on the mirror when all of a sudden, I see Miley Cyrus performing on stage, making me jump in surprise. There should be a limit to how techy a house should be.

  Putting the bathroom incident at the back of my mind, I headed downstairs to meet up with my classmates, Samara and Trix. I smirked, recalling how I brushed off TJ earlier. Hah! It was his turn to feel out of place this time. I was sure I was going to enjoy the rest of the day with my classmates. I like the sound of it. My classmates. Not his. But mine. The two girls were already setting up, placing all the plants and whatever else they gathered on the long table. Samara emptied her collection, the one which she gathered before we got lost.

  Because I was a lazy student, there was no denying of that fact, I had a huge collection of bugs which I placed inside the tiny vials that were handed out to us during the trip. Bugs were small, and therefore lighter to carry. It was good thinking on my part. The bottles clinked inside my bag as I walked towards them.

  "Kippling, hurry up. We'll divide the work load." Trix said with a bossy tone, she was carefully placing down another branch on the table.

  "I’m on it." Acting all helpful, I ran to her side.

  "Sam and I we'll be in charge of naming, Sam gets the animals, I'll handle the plants."

  I watched the two who were used to working together, Samara nodded at Trix's decision, and I nodded along. Whatever, I wasn’t too keen on that work anyway. They could have that. Meant less work for me.

  "Don't think you're getting the easy way out, Jared." Samara chimed in as if she could see through my mind, "You'll be in charge of preserving the specimen. Did you bring your laptop? You have to google the proper way to do it.”

  “Yup,” I raised my bag for her to see, “all in here. Including my collection.”

  "You heard them, now get to work." At the far end of the table, TJ ordered as if he was the boss of me, with his brows furrowed on an ipad which currently held all of his attention.

  "Why don't you help us instead?" Samara directed the question at TJ.

  "Sammy, I'd like to help you but I'm watching the latest episodes of Naruto," he lifted his head for a second then returned to his ipad, "I'll help when I'm finished here."

  I suspected that was bullshit. Of course he had no intention of helping, he was just here to make sure I wasn't giving the two ladies a hard time, particularly his childhood friend.

  ~*~*~

  "Careful with the wings," Samara was peering over my shoulder as she guided me on how to properly preserve the bugs which proved to be a painstaking job and harder than I previously thought. Filling each vial two thirds full with seventy percent isopropyl alcohol was easy but the other insects that I collected needed to be handled with delicate care else they end up with a few missing legs or a torn wing. With the plants, I had to be careful of the flowers, I somehow manage to cut off a branch with a flower hanging on it, Trix reminded me that the flowers were a vital part of the plant because of some reason that I already forgot by now.

  Six hours later, Samara and Trix finished naming everything we collected, checking and rechecking their books and the internet all the while. They eventually came to my aid, afterall, I was doing all the preservation of the specimens which will be later on divided equally into three. I liked their methods. It was quick and efficient. No complaints here.

  It turned out TJ wasn't lying when he said he was going to help, he put down the ipad quickly when he saw me being close to Samara. He claimed he was done watching all the latest episodes of Naruto. Trix immediately called him to cut tiny strips of paper for the pinning of the plants on the manila papers. His brooding self was back as he kept his eyes on my way.

  Ignoring the daggers he was shooting at me, I continued working with Samara, maintaining my soft hold on the forceps. "Is this good enough?" I was taking out a dead soft bodied insect into a dry napkin.

  "Yeah, that's it," Samara confirmed, "where did you find time to collect this anyway? You gathered quite a lot." Tiny vials were spread out on the table, numbering more than fifty.

  "Remember when you passed out?"

  She squirmed from the memory. "Yeah, why?"

  "I was looking for fruits and had to climb trees. You wouldn't believe the number of bugs that kept crawling on my arms," I explained, "these were just the ones that I actually caught."

  She chuckled, "I see."

  Her reaction caused TJ to stare even more. I took a quick glance at him, his expression changed from cautiousness to puzzlement. Judging by his stance, he would soon burst any minute now.

  "Jared, let's talk outside for a bit."

  It came sooner than I originally thought.

  I dropped the forceps on the table and turned to TJ. "What gives? Dude, last time you said something about talking you had your fist on my face," sighing, I added, "newsflash, I don't enjoy being a punching bag." My movie star face had been roughed up because of his punches. I still had bruises from last night and the other day when he beat me up.

  "What's the matter? You scared to be alone with me now?" He stood up and grinned. The asshole was taunting me in front of Samara and Trix.

  "Fuck no," I growled and before I lose my temper, I decided to turn the tables on him, "what's the matter? You itching for some bromance?"

  The guy was too thick for the insult, instead of getting mad as I wanted him to, he just shrugged and replied, "Yeah, I'm missing the bromance. Can we go outside?"

  Samara and Trix watched the exchange, the former with a worried expression and the latter with a curious face.

  "Take it outside, boys. Try not to kill yourselves on the way." Trix ordered.

  "Are you guys gonna fight again? Oh my god, I'm sick of all this macho mumbo." Samara put her hand on the side of her waist then pointed outside. "Okay, go outside, the two of you. If you break any of the specimens in this room, I'd personally hit you both with a frying pan."

  "Sammy, we're not going to fi―," TJ began to explain but was cut off short.

  "Save it, you said that last time too. Just go outside and get rid of all that testosterone."

  TJ flinched from Samara's harsh interruption then he turned to me and his eyes instantly darkened. He tilted his head motioning for me to follow. The last thing I heard was Trix saying "men" with a tone that was meant to be insulting and Samara raising her eyebrows as if to agree with her.

  When we were far enough to be out of earshot, TJ paused. He scanned the place, there were no maids in this area. His back was on me, I readied myself for his attack. This time, I won't go down without a fight.

  His shoulders stiffened as he turned around and faced me. "I'm gonna ask you this, Jared. For old times sake. Give me an honest answer. It's about Samara. Do you really not plan on hurting her? Or making fun of her? Or any of that childish stuff." His dark eyes focused on mine, it didn't help that he had a naturally brooding exterior, this made him look even more threatening.

  "I'm not childish."

  "I didn't say you were. Just answer the goddamn question."

  "No, I'm not planning on doing any of the things you just said."

  These words had a calming effect on TJ, his tensed muscles relaxed and so did mine. "Are you sure?"

  “Yeah, I swear on my Lebron signed basketball.” TJ and I both owned a Lebron signed basketball. Two years ago, we enrolled on the same basketball camp. The people from the camp pulled some strings
and asked Lebron to give us a visit.

  TJ laughed and punched me playfully on my shoulder. "Alright, I’ll hold you to that. And thanks by the way, for taking care of her during the trip." My surprise was too obvious because he straight off told me, "I saw how you were treating her the whole day, I can believe now what she told me."

  "Yeah, well, maybe you should have believed that sooner and I could have saved myself from being your punching bag.

  The insensitive bastard just laughed at my comment.

  "I'm overprotective of Samara." He admitted.

  "No shit, you're even more protective than her dad. I'm wondering what you'd do if she starts getting close with other guys." I knew exactly what I was doing, I was lighting a match, a small flicker that will soon enough grow into a forest fire.

  "What are you talking about? She only hangs out with Trix and me," he stopped then turned my way, as if he was coming to a realization. I took that as a good sign. The door bell rang, and we both whipped our heads to the direction of the sound. TJ didn't move after what I told him. A maid opened the gate revealing a pizza delivery guy standing outside.

  “Here’s our pizza.” I said, breaking TJ out of his reverie.

  ~*~*~

  "Ladies, ladies." I marched back to our working area. Samara and Trix were working hand in hand with a branch of some plant, carefully pressing the whole thing with a book.

  "Oh, you're alive," Trix said as she saw me, "thought you died." She didn't even bother trying to hide her disappointment.

  "Trix, just for that, you're not getting any pizza." The two boxes of pizza were balanced on my hand.

  "Thank heavens you're back, Kippling. We wouldn't know what to do without you." She cried out, each word was filled with sarcasm.

  I rolled my eyes at her and placed the boxes on the table. "Samara, I ordered vegetarian pizza for you. You can have a slice."

  "Cruel." Samara reacted as if I just kicked her.

  TJ soon came into the room, unlike earlier when he was emitting an air of hostility, this time his expression was unreadable.

  "I’m not cruel. In fact, I’ll let you slice the pizza in half so you feel like you're eating two slices." I sat back on my chair.