A Close Second

Seventy-Sixth

Greggory Elijah Lorenzo

Pagkatapos ng mga nangyari kahapon, I wasn't really sure what I was expecting when I come down at 7 in the morning but Beatrice and Jake having a cook off was definitely not on the list.

"One spoon of sugar, B." Jake's exhasperated voice fills the hall. "This... is a fucking serving spoon."

"How am I supposed to know what you meant by spoon?" Beatrice fires back, holding the ladle like she's genuinely offended.

"Why would you put one serving spoonful of sugar in—" He stops mid-sentence, staring in silent horror at the pot. He blinks. "Wait... what are you even making?"

"Oatmeal," Keith answers from the counter, sipping his coffee like this was the morning news.

Tinignan lang ni Jake yung pinaglalagyan ni Beatrice. "That's not even oatmeal anymore! Are you making cookies? It's too sticky! Hindi ko na nga alam kung anong laman niyan!"

"I put some bananas, and raisins, and it said to sweeten to taste in the pack, so I sweetened it!"

Hindi maipinta yung mukha ni Jake habang nakatingin kay Beatrice, who continued stirring her pot of madness as if it will make everything better.

I joined Thea and Keith who were stationed at the island counter with mugs of coffee at hand, watching their significant others become a low budget sitcom infront of them.

"What's going on?"

Napalingon yung dalawa sa akin, while Jake and Beatrice just ignores me. Thea kisses my cheek with a small good morning.

"We woke up early." Keith shakes his head. "And my girlfriend decided she wanted to help Jake cook breakfast for everyone."

The chaos was surprising, knowing how Jacob was particular when he's doing breakfast. Though seeing as Beatrice was here, it was just all pretty self-explanatory.

"Alam ko matalino ka, B." Halos maiyak na sabi ni Jake. "How—how can you solve complex equations in minutes but not know how to measure sugar!"

"Because YOU didn't specify which spoon!"

"I meant a tablespoon."

"Then SAY tablespoon!"

"It's COMMON SENSE!"

"Well I don't have that!"

There's a beat.

Everyone goes quiet.

Beatrice blinks. "I mean— in the kitchen! I don't have common sense in the kitchen. Don't look at me like that."

Jake looks at her like he's rethinking all his life choices. "Too late. Damage done."

Thea hides her laugh behind her mug. Keith just snorts into his coffee, gently taking the bowl of oatmeal from Beatrice and then putting it on the sink. Jake just sighs, grabbing a pan and a carton of eggs instead.

"Fine," Jake mutters, "I'll just make eggs. Easy. Simple. Foolproof. Do you think you can help me with that instead?

Beatrice immediately moves beside him. "Okay. I want a poached one."

"I'm doing it over easy first." Jake says, turning the stove on.

Thea whispers to Keith, "Why does she look like she's about to assist in open-heart surgery?"

"Because she is," Keith whispers back.

Jake cracks an egg one-handed, perfectly. The sizzle sounds promising — the first normal sound I've heard all morning.