𝑀𝐴𝐺𝑀𝐴 | 𝐉𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒

𝟏𝟒 | 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐋

・𝐉𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄・

"𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 say are your greatest strengths?"

"Um . . ."

Milagro grabbed one of Nana's celebrity gossip magazines that was on the dining table and smacked his arm with it. "Jaime, no interviewer will take you seriously if you take that long! No wonder you don't have a job yet."

"Shut up," he grumbled as he rubbed his arm. He straightened up in his chair and cleared his throat. "My ability to perform well under pressure is my greatest strength. I've discovered innovative strategies for remaining calm when working under pressure, such as making better use of my workspace and completing the most critical tasks when I'm at my most productive."

"Damn. I wasn't expecting you to say all that."

He rolled his eyes in amusement. "Next question."

"What's your biggest weakness?"

A laugh drew him away from thinking of an answer. His eyes drifted to Reina, who was at the stove with his mom. Tonight, she was teaching his mom how to make one of her favourite dishes—a kimchi stew, he was pretty sure.

The corners of his lips lifted as he watched Reina slice some green onion. When they had been in school, one of his favourite things was how cute she looked while studying. Now, he got to see how cute she was while cooking. Her hair was tied back, though a few strands had gotten loose; her cheeks were rosy from the heat; and she wore a floral apron that focused his attention on her waist.

"Never mind." Milagro scoffed. "I know what your weakness is."

He looked back at her, his eyebrows furrowed. "Huh?"

Milagro nodded toward Reina, and Jaime's cheeks immediately heated up. He was being pretty obvious.

Still, he tried to brush it off. "I don't know what you're talking 'bout, Mili."

"Oh, come on," Milagro sighed, switching to Spanish. "You've been staring at her half of this time. When are you finally gonna man up and ask her out?"

"Wha—Milagro, shut up!" he hissed, slapping her knee. "She's right there!"

Milagro laughed. "Jaime, she doesn't even know Spanish. Come on, can you just hurry up and do it? I love her. She brings me cookies."

"Enough," he said firmly, though he knew his stern expression wasn't very effective. "Even if I did, she doesn't like me like that."

He looked back at Reina, who was now busy with stirring the stew. If there was one thing he was positive about, it was that he wouldn't ask her out unless he knew one hundred percent that she felt the same way—and he was pretty sure that chances were slim to none. Even if it meant him dying alone and sad, he would much rather not lose the one friendship that meant more than anything to him.

Milagro's face told him that she didn't like what he said. "You're so dumb."

"I'm not!"

"Whatever. I'll let you handle it. But just know that you're an idiot and I cannot wait to say 'I told you so.'"

"Can we just get back to prepping?" he pleaded, returning to English. "The interview's tomorrow!"

"Sure, man." Milagro crossed one leg over the other and sighed. "Uh . . . So? Biggest weakness?"

"I have high standards for myself and may be very critical of myself when I don't achieve them. I've developed the skill of calming my critical voice within by reflecting frequently on my accomplishments and seeing failures as a chance to improve. I've also started to learn when to take my own critique seriously and when to set it aside."