“Is everything okay back there, Avery?” Terasia asked curiously as the bus swayed over a bump in the road.
“Hang on, just give me a bit more time to finish this up,” I murmured, carefully gathering her midnight-black locks at the sides and twisting them into two long voluminous braids. Then, taking care not to tug on her hair too hard, I carefully weaved the braids into a headband and pinned them with bobby pins right above her ears.
“And…voilà, there we go~”
I eagerly snapped a picture of the elegant ‘crown’ that I had tied together and showed it to Terasia. “See, I told you that this hairstyle will look great on you!”
“Woah, you can definitely become a hairstylist in the future,” she remarked, admiring her new look in the photograph.
“Oh, please.” I chuckled at her praising comment. “It’s really nothing much, I just learned it from seeing hair styling tutorials on Insta.”
“Hmm?”
I opened up the app and tapped on my ‘Following’ list. “For example, I follow this account which posts a lot of K-pop inspired hairstyles.”
“K-pop?” She tilted her head to the side with a bemused look. “You mean something like Gangnam Style?”
“You’re quite out of touch, aren’t you?” I laughed. “Never mind, look, this is Rosé from Blackpink…”
An announcement rang from the bus speaker as we were in the middle of a heated discussion on whether Rosé’s braids or Jennie’s side-swept hair looked better.
“The next stop is Sembawang Park. Alighting passengers, please press the bell in advance.”
“Alright, that’s our stop.” I checked the time on my phone as I pressed the bus stopping bell. “Liam said that he will be waiting for us at the barbecue pit…oh, Xian Jing just texted that she has arrived too!”
“Looks like we have made it just in time then,” Terasia said with an expression of anticipation.
“Arriving at, Sembawang Park.”
The bus hissed to a stop along the two-lane road and the doors folded open. Picking up our heavy bags of groceries in our hands, we quickly made our way through the tranquil park to the barbecue pits along the beach, where a familiar figure was already busy preparing the grill.
“Liam, how are things going?”
“Eyy, all the members of our gang are finally here!”
Waving the makeshift newspaper fan in his hand, Liam beckoned for us to join him at the grill.
“Man, you guys came at the right time,” he said, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his charcoal-stained shirt. “Avery, do you think you can help start the fire?”
I looked at the mound of charcoal blocks haphazardly piled up beneath the stainless steel grate. “What’s wrong with it?”
He lifted his shoulders in a shrug of defeat. “I think the charcoal in the bag got wet or something—they just won’t ignite much no matter how many fire starters I use.”
“Oh…why don’t you let me give it a try?” Terasia chimed in, taking the newspaper fan from Liam’s hand.
“Uhh, good luck with that then!”
He passed a fire starter and lighter to her, and after placing the starter in the centre of the charcoal pile, she ignited it and began fanning the fire.
“I told you that won’t work.” Liam sighed as he watched the charcoal remain black despite the burning flames. “I guess we’ll have to go to the supermarket to buy another bag…”
“Don’t worry, I got this,” she said confidently, then in a low murmur, she chanted an incantation that only I managed to catch.
“Eɾɛs iɲis, flɑmmɑs tuɑs jubɛɔ viɾɛs dɑɾɛ.”
My ears perked up at the familiar chant.
‘Isn’t this the same one that she used to conjure those columns of fire last time? Why is she using that here to…’
With a sudden whoosh of air, the fire roared and the charcoal swiftly heated to a bright redness.
“?!” Liam opened his mouth wide like a stunned goldfish. “W-wow, Terasia, you actually got the fire started! That’s amazing!”
If I had to be honest, the more impressive part was her ability to control such a powerful spell to produce a mere small fire—but there was no way I was going to feed her already massive ego, so I kept the praise to myself.
“Nah, this is nothing to me,” she gloated, belting out a haughty laugh as I had anticipated. “See, I can even adjust the heat by using the fan…”
“By the way, Liam, where is Xian Jing?” I asked, unable to bear to watch Terasia’s boasting continue. “I thought that she arrived earlier than us.”
“She said that she was going to the restrooms just now,” he replied, glancing around at the park. “Oh, I see her over there! Hey Xian Jing, Avery and Terasia are here too!”
Lugging a trolley cooler behind her, Xian Jing panted as she ran towards us.
“H-hello, Avery, Terasia,” she mumbled, trying to catch her breath.
“Yo, good to see you again.”
“You’re here!”
Terasia pointed at one of the bags that we brought along. “We got drinks for everybody, shall I put them inside the cooler?”
“Mm sure, I have already added the ice into the box.”
Xian Jing lifted the lid open, and the three bottles of beverages slid into the ice bath with a satisfying thud.
“The drinks should become cold enough in fifteen minutes or so,” she said, closing the lid back. “B-by the way, Terasia, your hairstyle is so pretty…”
“Oh my, thank you.” Terasia touched her hair braid and smiled. “I think that your outfit today looks cute on you too.”
“Really? I was thinking that a JK sailor dress would suit the beach nicely, so I decided to wear this out today!”
Liam exchanged a befuddled glance with me as the two girls continued their animated conversation.
“What are they talking about?”
“Who knows?”
I shrugged as I opened up a pack of sausages and tossed a bunch onto the grill. “Let’s just get the cooking over and done with, I’m famished.”
-
Dusk was already turning into night by the time we got the barbecue going. To my pleasant surprise, Liam and I worked together better than I had expected to cook and serve plates of delicious sizzling food onto the table where the girls sat.
“What, you want to make an American cheeseburger for Terasia?”
“Shh!” I quickly motioned for Liam to lower his voice down. “It’s supposed to be a surprise, you idiot.”
“I’m not sure if we have all the ingredients that we need…” He made a “tsk-tsk” sound and smiled. “Lucky for you, I brought along some butter, salt and pepper that we can use.”
As if he was channelling Gordon Ramsay, Liam swiftly seasoned a patty and seared it to perfection, flipping it over as a tantalising aroma began to waft through the air. Meanwhile, I carefully toasted the buns and cheese on the edge of the grill.
“Alright, the patty’s done! Where are my buns and cheese?”
“Over here, chef!”
“Get the sauces ready!”
Without further ado, our mock Masterchef cook-off concluded with a respectable-looking cheeseburger that was only lacking in vegetables. Now, it was up to the “judges” to decide if the dish was as good as it looked.
“What in the world were you guys up to just now?” Terasia asked curiously as I brought the plate over to the table.
“You see…”
I presented the burger in front of the two girls, and Liam waved his hand over the plate.
“Ta-da!”
Xian Jing immediately let out a gasp at the masterpiece. “W-woah, this looks incredible for something you two made…”
“Just so that you’re aware, Avery only handled the simple stuff. I was the one who cooked the patty!”
I anxiously placed the plate down in front of Terasia. “So, uh, what do you think?”
“I haven’t even eaten it yet, but I’m dying to.”
Giggling, she took the cheeseburger in her hands and took a savouring bite. The delight in her eyes told me all I needed to know before she swallowed and opened her mouth.
“Oh my gosh, it’s super good!”
“Yes!” I immediately exchanged a high-five with Liam. “LET’S GOOO!!”
Xian Jing shyly put her hand up in the air. “C-can I have one too…?”
“No problem! Avery, it’s your turn to cook the patty!”
“E-eh?!”
-
Relishing the burger that we had artfully put together, Terasia gazed at the sunset and sighed.
“The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?”
I sipped at my cup of chilled cola as I took in the aureate scenery spread out across the seashore.
The slanted rays of the setting sun cast long shadows across the beach, bathing the sand in a warm and inviting glow.
The mirror-like sea, reflecting the rich mural of pastels that painted the sky, glittered like jewels in the fading light.
The air was filled with the sounds of seagulls calling to each other, the gentle lapping of waves against the shore, and the distant laughter of children playing in the surf.
“What moon?” I asked, puzzled by her remark.
She replied with a snort. “Never mind, I wasn’t expecting you to get it anyway.”
“Come on, what were you trying to say…”
Breathing in the salty scent of the ocean, I stole a glance at her while she continued to admire the view. Her gaze was fixed upon the horizon where the sun and ocean met, her sparkling aquamarine eyes mirroring the spectacle of light and colours—golden yellows, warm oranges, and the gentle purples that heralded the arrival of twilight.
Liam suddenly tapped on our shoulders, interrupting the serene moment.
“Hey, guys, I’ve got an idea,” he suggested in an excited voice. “Let’s take a group photo to commemorate this special party!”
“Sure, that sounds good,” I said. “Whose phone should we use to take the picture?”
Grinning gleefully, he gestured at his DSLR camera set up in the corner of the barbecue pit. “Don’t worry, I brought my own camera and tripod just for this occasion!”
After calling Xian Jing over, the three of us prepared our poses while Liam fiddled with the settings on his camera and looked through the viewfinder.
“Avery, stand closer a bit,” he said, gesturing at me to shift my position. “You’re blocking the sunset with your fat ass.”
“Shut up, you bastard,” I muttered as a giggling Terasia grabbed my arm and pulled me in closer.
“Alright, I’ve set the self-timer to ten seconds.” He pressed the shutter button and rushed to join us in front of the camera as the light blinked. “Strike a good pose!”
Squeezing my hand, Terasia whispered, “ready?”
I shot her a bemused glance. “Ready for what?”
The camera began to beep loudly as the timer counted down to zero.
“Three, two, one!” Liam shouted. “Happy school holidays everyone!”
“Yay…” Xian Jing awkwardly chimed in, holding up a peace sign.
“Chees—”
The flash went off, and I froze as I felt soft lips caress my cheek.
“Cheese!” Terasia exclaimed with a happy grin.
⌈End of Vol. B⌋
-Special announcement: Vol. C will be released tomorrow, 30 Mar-
Chapters 1 to 8 will be released daily~~
(Patreon supporters can now read up to 6 chapters of Vol. C in advance!)
Please stay tuned for the next chapter, C-1 [let me love you]
