Chapter 10
Serena
“I’m home!” I slip inside my home. I hear chatter in the dining room and the savory aromas of my aunt’s cooking.
Must be another wedding or birthday party. My aunt’s catering business has been picking up lately. Alli texted me earlier that she came over due to my aunt needing reinforcements for egg roll duty. She even brought Grant and Priya over for extra hands.
The dining room comes into view and I catch my friends focused on rolling egg rolls, scooping up the mixture, laying it in the middle of the wrapper, and neatly rolling it. Over and over again. Ralph is towering over the counter, mincing pounds of beef to make what I’m assuming is beef lahb. Aunt Lina is standing next to him as she’s packing sticky rice into sandwich bags.
Gently placing the bag of boba drinks on the counter by my friends, “What’s cooking here? ”
“Five large trays of egg rolls and three large trays of beef lahb with sticky rice,” Ralph explains over his shoulders, his eyes never leaving the cutting board.
He’s become so immersed in helping my aunt with prepping her orders. Ralph has never been a bad cook. When they met at Tanya’s dinner party years ago, he fell in love with Aunt Lina’s cooking and soon enough, her.
“That’s the last of the egg rolls.” Grant shouts, wiping his hands clean with a towel. “I can’t wait to try some. Alli says they’re the best.”
“They are the best, everyone’s been placing orders for almost every fancy occasion.” Aunt Lina explains, sauntering over to where I’m standing. “Hi sweetie,” She kisses the top of my head. “How was work?”
I replay the moments in my head like her question is a remote control hitting rewind at double speed. Busy day with customers ordering slushies, milk teas, a kid threw up in the bathroom, and then Tyler. I enjoyed our little icebreaker game. It was cute and made me forget the things running in my head like my upcoming practice back into cheer.
“Work was great.” I grab my drink from the carrier and stick a straw on the top to take a quick sip of my Thai green tea .
Aunt Lina cracks a smile, a sign of relief. “Good, good. I’ve been so busy running around two different Asian stores. You know the last party I did for the Vangs?”
I nod, somewhat remembering the name in previous invoices that are stacked in Ralph’s office.
“They’ve been referring their friends to my website and orders have been coming in faster than our home kitchen can keep up with. Tanya is cooking up the rest of the sticky rice in her kitchen now.”
Oh, wow, business really is booming .
I smile to myself and feel my heart warm. There was a point where my aunt stopped accepting orders after my dad passed away, and naturally, she worried that her clients would forget about her and go elsewhere.
All the worries washed away after the break ended, her loyal customers and friends were waiting for her comeback. Her catering business has always kept her steady to the point where she didn’t need to work a 9–5 like Ralph. It brought in decent income to take care of the both of us before our family grew into four and soon enough, six when the twins come.
“Anyways,” Aunt Lina looks towards my friends, who are finishing cleaning up their mess before our movie night. “Your friends are wonderful people. I’ll bring out some egg rolls in a bit for your movie snack. ”
“Thank you, Ms. Lina.” Priya chimes in next to me. “Serena is a great friend. She’s becoming my bestie, close to ranking number second on my top ten list.”
Alli joins us shortly, with Grant following behind her in seconds, boba in hand. “Ready?”
I beam in agreement and gesture a finger toward the laundry room, which leads out to the back door. “Lead the way.”
Four of us saunter into my backyard, giving a small tour of the family photos along the way. Grant laughs at my cheer photos from when I was six years old, loving my bowl haircut.
“For your information, the bowl haircut is a right of passage,” I explain. Then we learn how Grant got a bowl haircut when he was younger after his childhood barber misunderstood directions.
“It’s so cute on you, but I was a troll, an actual troll.”
Just as I’m about to turn towards the door, Priya’s voice catches my attention. “Who’s this?”
I follow her gaze and feel a lump form in my throat as I see the image she’s pointing at. It’s a photo of my dad and me from years ago, back when everything was different. The memory hits me like a wave, and for a moment, I’m lost in the past .
My first cheer competition. We won against all the local cheer clubs. My dad has me wrapped in his arms, squatting down beside me as I clutch the pink roses he bought me.
“That’s my dad,” I manage to say, my voice trembling with emotion as I recall the memory.
But before Priya can respond, Alli bursts in, “Hey, guys! What’s going on?” Her eyes quickly scan my face, reading my emotions too well. “Movie’s ready.”
I catch Alli’s knowing look, a silent understanding passing between us. She’s always been intuitive, sensing when things need a change of pace. Thank God .
I open up the trampoline entrance, gesturing for my friends to hop in first.
We plop ourselves against the numerous pillows and Squishmallows that Alli set up earlier. We settle in, getting ready to unwind and relax until my Jared pops his head inside.
“What?” I ask point blankly, wondering why he’s here. I know he’s supposed to be going to a party tonight. After all, it’s a Saturday night. Jared is well-known around campus, so he’s always going to parties… almost every weekend.
He rolls his eyes at me and reveals the small tray of egg rolls that was hiding behind his back. “Ma said to bring these out for you. ”
My eyes light up, and when I glance at my friends, their eyes are basically heart-shaped. I waddle out of the trampoline and grab the tray from him. “Thanks.”
I hand off the tray to Grant’s grabby-ass hands, who is a little too excited at the moment. “Are you heading to Beckham’s party?” I ask.
Jared grins and smoothes out his shirt quickly like he’s about to head out. “Yeah, I was going to ask if you wanted to come along with me. I know it’s on your list to make some friends.”
“I have friends.” I take a quick peek behind my shoulders to see my friends chowing down on eggrolls and slurping their boba like cavemen.
“I know, I just wanted you to meet some people.” He explains, making me raise a brow (my way of asking what he meant by that). “Ma has been bugging me to bring you around so you could meet someone .”
I’m either choking on air or laughing uncontrollably, making my friends turn their heads at us. “I don’t need a blind date. I’m perfectly capable of meeting people on my terms.” I start picking at my sweatshirt like there’s lint on my sleeves. “Besides, I’m living my life. I’ll meet someone along the way at some point.”
“You’re going to be thirty by the time it happens.”
Now, I’m feeling slightly offended .
“Look, I want you to meet some good people. I-”
“Jared, she’s not going. We have a movie to watch.” Alli interrupts, her head poking out with annoyance painted all over her face.
Jared shoots a glare at Alli. He rubs the back of his neck and huffs out a sigh. “Suit yourself. But if you’re going to live your life– your words, not mine –maybe you should start by making new Saturday plans and get out there.” He leaves it and heads out towards the gate, then the driveway.
I regroup with my friends and chew on an egg roll angrily, then realize the movie hasn’t started yet. I look at Alli, only to see two other prying sets of eyes. “What?”
“Jared? Ma?” Grant questions, brows furrowed, eyes darting to me and the space where Jared was. “He’s your brother?”
Oh shit , I haven’t planned on explaining our family ties. It’s kind of confusing to explain it. Alli’s known me since we were kids, so it was simple to transition into.
“We’re step-siblings.” I set my eggroll down in the tray, wiping my hands clean together. “Sorry, it’s a confusing story to tell.”
I don’t tend to share my family’s life story. I don’t like the pity. Try being a kid with a dead father and a mother who didn’t want anything to do with her. It’s hard to cope with the taunting from children who didn’t understand, who thought it was fun to tease the girl who had no one in her circle. I didn’t want the uncalled-for whispers and pointing. I didn’t want the fucking stares that they think I can’t see.
Do I really want to show this side of myself? What if they think I’m weak or too emotional? What if they turn on me ? High school can be ruthless, and I don’t want to give anyone more ammunition to use against me. It’s safer to keep my guard up.
But then again, maybe sharing my past will bring us closer together. Maybe it’s time to stop sheltering myself from people. Maybe they’ll see me as me and not just a girl with issues.
And so, despite the fear, I spill everything. I pour out my story so quickly that I’m left breathless. I search their faces for any sign of rejection, knowing I trauma dumped so much on them.
Alli and Jared have been the only ones who understand. Partly because they were the only ones who grew to learn what happened. To add more people into the mix is emotionally tiring. But I’ve grown close to Grant and Priya in a short time. So, here’s to God, that they don’t react or treat me differently.
A moment passes so I break the overwhelming silence. “I’m not looking for your pity,” I tuck my hair behind my ear. “I’ve accepted and come to terms with everything. I understand if you want to leave.” I gaze at my friends, examining their expressions for any signs of their pending actions .
Priya extends a comforting hand, resting it gently on my thigh, while Grant pulls me close in a reassuring side hug. The warmth of their support wraps around me, and for a moment, we remain in a wordless embrace.
Priya breaks the silence, her hands resting on my shoulders, her deep brown eyes locking onto mine. “Don’t ever think for a second that we’re pitying you,” she asserts. “You’re incredibly strong, and you’ve got us. You’ll never be alone.”
Grant joins in, “Even though we’ve only just met. We’ve got your back, no matter what.”
Alli says, “We’re here for you, Serena.”
“You could call me at 3 a.m., and I’d pick up,” Grant jokes, lightening the mood.
“I live in the same neighborhood. If you ever need anything, just say the word, and I’ll be at your doorstep with all the junk food from 7-Eleven,” Priya assures me, her words leaving a lasting imprint on my heart. “You name the time, and we’re there for you.”
It takes everything in me to not cry or shed a tear. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. “Thanks, it means a lot. I don’t normally like to dump this on people, so if you guys could… keep it on the low? I would rather not have the entire school find out.”
“Of course.” Grant answers as well and Priya follows suit. “Now that we just bonded, can we just talk about how fucking amazing these egg rolls and brown sugar milk tea are together? It’s liquid gold.”
I snort at Grant’s interesting way of words. “Thanks, yours truly made it.”
Grant bites off his egg roll, “I’ll come every day for this golden drink.”
I burst into light chuckles, “I already have regulars, so you won’t be the first one to come in every day.”
“Oh, does the charming Serena Inthavong have a secret admirer?” Grant wiggles his brows. “Do tell.”
Dumb move, Serena . I take a sip of my drink, trying to ignore them. But when silence ensues and three pairs of questioning eyes stare at me, I realize they are actually curious.
“Oh, you wanted an answer to that?”
Priya lightly slaps my leg, “I heard from a little bird that Tyler Westman has been visiting you.”
How would she even know that?
“He’s my neighbor.” She explains simply. “Anyway,” she shakes her head, “I overheard him in his driveway, gushing about a girl he met at Boba Republic. I thought he was talking about a random customer who popped in and out. But I fully believe it’s you. ”
“What makes you think that?”
I barely know the guy. Other than that, he won a baking contest when he was a kid.
Priya shrugs like it’s no big deal. “I just have a really good feeling about it.”
“You and your mind reading skills.” Grant huffs out. “Ignore her, she thinks she can see into the future. All because she knew Alli and Jared would hook up last summer.”
“Okay, and you gassed me up that I know everything because of my big head.” Priya babbles. “Look, Tyler is a great guy. If the door ever opened for him, you better barge right in.”
“Isn’t he just like every other guy on campus?” I say casually.
Priya shakes her head. “I’ve seen how Tyler acts with others, how he carries himself. He’s super nice and so helpful. We’ve been neighbors for years and he’s helped my dad carry in garden soil every weekend. And his sister? He’s there for her day in and day out, taking care of her needs without hesitation. Honestly, it’s pretty impressive how he juggles everything. And trust all of us when I say, he’s someone worth getting to know.”
“Isn’t he still with Cassie?” Grant questions.
“Were they actually dating, though? I thought they were just hooking up. No strings attached.” Alli questions, grabbing another egg roll .
“I don’t think so?” Priya adds on. “I’ve heard different things to be honest. He thought they were dating and she wasn’t ready.”
“Wait, I thought that it was the other way around?” Grant chimes in.
As the conversation dances around Tyler’s relationship status, I find myself uncertain… jealous ? I mean, his relationship status shouldn’t matter, right? I don’t know Tyler. I don’t know Cassie. I don’t know their story. It’s not for me to know or gossip about.
Then again… why aren’t they together? Is it because of something Tyler did, or maybe Cassie?
Serena, stop .
Would Tyler be willing to talk about it if I asked him? Or maybe I should bring it up with my friends, but then that means being interrogated for hours. It’s like there’s this itch I can’t scratch, this need to know what’s going on. Especially if there’s any chance of things getting complicated. I shouldn’t even be thinking about him, entertaining this. Whatever this is .
But there’s a piece of me that still wants to know.