𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄; ₘ. ₙₑᵢₜₒ

21

"I'll take a latte, please. Ooh, and one of these-" Inoshi looked back at her menu, squinting. "-cream brulies?"

I snorted. "She means crème brûlée," I corrected, looking over at my menu. "And I'll have a black coffee, with a croissant on the side."

She grinned apologetically. "Sorry, I never can remember how to say it."

"Don't worry, Miss," the waiter said kindly, writing down our order and walking away.

Inoshi turned to me, a murderous look on her face. "You ass," she hissed, making me cackle loudly.

"I can't believe you fell for it-" I paused, taking a deep breath, only to break out laughing once more. "again!"

She rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms with an unamused look on her face. "Shut up."

"I mean, it's the second time you said 'cream brulie'. You didn't even remember from last time?"

"No, because when you say it's pronounced 'cream brulie', I have no choice but to trust you, do I?"

"You could've just written it down, you know?"

"No," she said, a finality in her tone.

I shrugged, taking a small pack of sugar in between my fingers and playing with a corner of the pink package. "Any news from Meinu?"

"Nah. Couldn't care less anyways. I'm so fucking glad she finally dropped me."

I raised a brow. "I'll never understand why you could've have just dropped her in the first place, instead of waiting for three months for her to drop you."

"Because I'm not the bad guy in this situation. She is," she flashed me a wide grin which faded soon after. "I need to learn how to keep friends."

"Yeah, you do," I agreed, pulling out my phone.

"Neito!" she exclaimed indignantly.

"What?"

"Comfort me."

"Pssht, no," I looked back down.

"Asshole. Regardless, I'm talking and you're listening. So like, she was a bitch, ya know? All she ever did was tell me about herself and whoever she thought was the ugliest, which was like, super rude of her. I want to talk about myself too, you know?"

Without raising my eyes from my screen, I cut her off, "aren't you going to make a comment about the ugly people?"

Even from my peripheral vision, I could tell she was staring at me judgmentally. "No? She was right anyways."

I looked up. "That's strange of you to say. I thought that you were all for respecting peo-"

"She was talking about you."

"Ah," I returned to my phone. "Makes sense."

"Yeah, anyways, it got super draining to be with her, and I obviously deserve better, so it was just a matter of dropping subtle hints and making myself less and less likable so that she'd get the message over time and then make it seem like her idea to drop me. Easy peasy."

"Right. Aren't you worried that soon, there won't be anyone left for you to be with?" I asked, nodding to our waiter, who brought our coffees and pastries. He deposited two off-white cups in front of us, mine having a little chip on the rim. The warm smell of the pastry and crème brûlée made my mouth water. The waiter handed a comically small spoon to Inoshi, taking care to get her attention. "Thanks."

Inoshi's bitter air disappeared in a second, replaced by a cheeriness that wasn't there before. "Thank you so much!"

The waiter smiled back at her, a light blush appearing on his pale skin. "It's no trouble. Enjoy your drinks!"