Thirty Ice-cream Dates

4. Her Choco-Chip Ice-Cream

TYLER'S POV

"Kayden D. Junior!" I slammed my hands on the table, making the ice-cream tubs rattle, and everyone else wince with my high pitched squeal. The others stared back at me with a bored expression, stuffing the dessert into their mouth and waiting for me to shut up and join them on the binging spree. Not yet. With a long, dramatic and exasperated sigh, I said, "You guys don't know who he is?"

Silence (feat. ice-cream eating sounds) greeted my question. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Rebecca stealthily move her hand towards my ice-cream, her eyes focused. I cleared my throat, making her jump and catching her right in the middle of the theft. She looked up with a sheepish smile and those puppy dog eyes, but I glared at her. Repeat offenders, huh. With a gulp, and a pout, she retreated back to her seat across me. Liam, Seth and Leo, on the other hand, didn't pay a dime of attention to our (or was it only me?) conversation. Three minutes had passed since they had reached the ice-cream parlor for the treat and they were already stuffing their face like there was no tomorrow. Still pigs after the spring break.

Bea hadn't turned up, probably because everyone else here was a senior, and I was actually missing her presence. At least, she would know who he is.

Brandon shifted in the chair beside me and I turned to him. His ice-cream was untouched, and he was unusually quiet, listening to music through his earphones. He closed his eyes without giving me a glance, bobbing his head up and down to the beat, and tapping his fingers on the table. I sighed. Rebecca was eyeing Brandon's ice-cream now, and I waved my hand in front of her to let her know it was off-limits. Him and the ice-cream both, that is.

She gave up and asked me, "So, who the hell is this Junior?"

I smiled. That was the correct question, my best friend. For a second, I was reminded of my childhood, eight years ago when my mother had given up on dissuading me to bake. Television had been my best friend then. Cooking shows my jam. People stalked celebrities. Copied their styles, impersonated them. Well, me? I stalked...chefs. It was a phase I was proud of. It cultivated my talent, after all. Confident of my snooping skills and how much information I had retained through all these years, I leaned forward on the table. Rebecca frowned, but followed along, curious by my exaggerated actions. I chuckled, cracking my knuckles. "Kayden Jr. Son of three Michelin star restaurant owner in New York. He used to be a popular kid chef way back. YouTube is filled with his videos."

"Now?"

I grinned. "He runs the restaurant."

"And?" Rebecca narrowed her eyes after a giggle escaped my lips. She tapped her fingers on the table, the sound loud enough that others paused and looked at us. For a second. She didn't relent though, catching on that I was withholding something, and giving me (could be my ice-cream too) full attention.

"And..." I trailed off, teasing her.

She rolled her eyes. "Come on."

"We met in a competition a few years ago but I didn't really mingle with them." I shrugged, and Rebecca nodded as if it was to be expected. She waited as I took my time to uncover the last part. "He still remembers me."

Rebecca whistled, beginning to clap, but then stopped short with a glance towards Brandon. She cleared her throat and lowered her voice as she tried to tell me something. I scratched my head, not getting what the problem was. Her voice was barely audible as she mouthed something, and her eyes kept flitting back and forth between Brandon and me. Frustrated with her act, I frowned and looked at Brandon. There was a flash of movement, but as soon as I saw him, Brandon closed his eyes, coughed twice and turned his head away. Huh.

I glared at Rebecca. "What is it?"

She shook her head, shrugged, and resumed her normal voice. Giving a last glance towards Brandon, she continued our conversation. "Why is he here though?"

"School. For a couple of months."

"That's it?"

"I think so. The principal asked me to mentor him. Show him around and stuff." I shrugged. "Kayden liked the idea too."

"You said yes?"

I laughed at the silly question. "He's giving me unlimited access to the school pantry and kitchen. Do you remember how difficult it was to even run the cooking class? Of course, I said yes!"

"Liam?" A chirpy voice from across the room cut me off, and I looked for the distraction. "What a surprise!"

The door closed behind her and a tall girl walked in. Liam swallowed the ice-cream in his mouth, pushed the tub towards Brandon sitting next to him, and stood up. He wiped his hands at the back of his jeans and smiled. "Kiara."

Kiara. Have I heard that name before? I scratched my head, curious about this new girl and whether I had met her before or not. She looked vaguely familiar. Someone from school? Seth noticed my expression and filled me in. "Joined school last year. Liam chased her for two months. She finally said yes yesterday." He added with a wink in the end.

Two months... So, Liam was crushing on someone else while I crushed on him this break? I scoffed inside. Who would have thought? Even the Mr. Popular chased after girls for two months. Looking at Kiara, I could guess the appeal he went for. She had a unique beauty with her raven hair and dark skin, quite a contrast from me, I thought wistfully.

"Tyler, this is Kiara, and that's Rebecca." Liam introduced us with a shy smile. "We became acquainted over the spring break. She was in a competition with him."

All of us looked at Brandon as Liam pointed him out. Brandon remained aloof.

Kiara smiled. "I know! I watched every episode. Congratulations!"

Taken aback by this new development, I nodded and smiled as well. "Thank you."

The sound of the metal chair scraping the floor cut our talk. All of us winced, earning some annoyed looks from other customers as the sound continued for some seconds more. Besides me, Brandon shuffled, noisily. I twisted to catch a glimpse of his face and was surprised to find that it was expressionless and unmoving. Even his ice-cream on the table sat untouched as he stood up from his chair. I tried to see his face again, confused and curious about what he was up to, but he kept looking the other way. Sneaking a glance at Rebecca who was wildly gesturing me to go after him, I hesitantly stood up from my seat. This was my winning treat after all.

"Brandon?" I called out his name, loud enough for him to hear but not call everyone's attention towards us. He didn't turn. I tried calling him once more, not sure if I was supposed to stay or go after him. He could just be going to the washroom for all I knew.

He must have not heard me because of the earphones, I thought, with a sigh, I'll just wait for him to come back. That's what I told myself before I saw it.

The end of his earphones dangling out from under his shirt.

They hadn't been connected at all.