Slice of Life: Friends

5. Tarts

"It's not that I consider myself perfect," Maya said as she put the last batch of strawberry tarts in the oven. "Because, of course, no one is perfect. I just think that I am exactly how I'm supposed to be. That doesn't leave much room for change, you know." She shrugged as if it should be a well-known fact about her.

"Don't you tire of self-praise?" Sarosh said, only half-joking.

"When did I praise myself?" Maya asked, shock written on her face. In her mind, that was never what she did. She considered it stating the obvious. If she said she was good at something, and she was, then was it praising herself or telling it as it was?

"You just said you are perfect," Sarosh said, smiling, "and used way too many words if you ask me."

"I'm just pointing out that I'm who I am..." she said lamely. "That sounded bad, right? I didn't mean to sound vain." On second thought, she realized Sarosh might have a point. Most people would consider her a snob if she kept saying all these nice things about herself, even if they were the truth.

"It's all right," Sarah said, as the three of them group hugged. "We are used to your tartness. To be honest, Frida's comments were unprecedented. You may be many things, but you are never unkind."

Frida said some things about Maya that led to her tirade. She considered nothing wrong with being who she was, but their nemesis had a problem with everything they did or said. She was especially rude to Maya, for some reason. The girls had yet to figure out what Frida's problem was. Usually, they ignore her and mind their own business. The three of them were enough for each other.

"Anyway," Sarosh smiled at her friends, changing the subject. "Soon, you two will be savoring the berry tarts, so what am I supposed to be doing?" She pouted, feigning displeasure when, in fact, she was having fun watching them work in the kitchen.

"Watching us savor them, of course," they chorused, bursting into laughter.