VALENTINA➟OSCAR DIAZ.

three.

          The bright sun blinded me as i woke up, my head sore and hungover from last night. i sat up in a very comfortable bed that obviously wasn't my own. looking around the room with sore eyes, i noticed the walls were a pastel blue with coral stripes on one wall. the walk-in closet was full of clothes and shoes and from what i could tell, a cardboard cutout of amina. i squinched my eyes and began laughing at the sight. it must have been from her quinceañera. speaking of that, i didn't even recall knowing how old her and farrah were. i step off of the bed and tripped on a fuzzy pink rug, landing on a huge bright pink bean bag.

"shit!" i harshly mumbled through gritted teeth.

after jumping up from the bean bag, i made my way down the hall. i knew amina and farrah had to be someplace. the smell of pancakes and syrup hit me hard as i passed the threshold into the kitchen.

"good morning girlfriend," farrah called out as i sat on a stool at the marble top counter.

i lazily smile and prop my arms on the counter. "good morning."

"i know we don't know each other well, but," amina began as she sat beside me, "i figured that we should hang out, ya know? especially since i brought you to my house."

"it was a spur of the moment thing," farrah shrugged her shoulders and snickered. "but yeah, we're wanting to go to peking over on parks avenue."

"that little chinese restaurant down by that tattoo shop," i queried as farrah gave me a plastic plate with three stacks of pancakes. when i was younger, my mother would take me there to eat with my abuelita after school. when i arrived at freeridge, we passed the restaurant and the memories came flooding back.

farrah nodded her head and began eating her breakfast at the table. amina had a banana in her hand, eyeing my pancakes down like a hawk. i rose a brow and playfully asked her, "why're you looking at my food? get your own plate, chica!"

she snorted her nose and got up from the counter and grabbed a premade plate. amina giggled and raised a question at me, "why do you gotta be like that?"

i smile and take a big bite of pancakes. "i don't know, ask my mamá!" amina and farrah both cracked up as I sat at the counter with a mouthful of pancakes and syrup.

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We finally made it to peking, the three of us settling into a maroon cushioned booth with gold trimming. farrah sat beside me as amina sat in front of us, her eyes flicking back and forth from us to the window outside. we were waiting for a waiter to ask for drinks and as we did, we rated celebrities we thought were handsome. "johnny depp," amina moaned, "he could get it." i blushed hard and slid in my seat, wondering why i thought this was a good idea to hang out with these two when i hardly know them.

"i'm going for brad pitt, i'd lick him like a lollipop, bitch!" farrah cackled and winked as a waitress came to the table.

"welcome to peking," the tall, blond haired waitress smiled, "what would y'all like to drink?" you could tell she wasn't from california, her southern accent gave it away.

"uhm, a dr. pepper," amina replied.

farrah sighed and responded, "a cold iced tea, please."

the waitress wrote all of them down and looked at me with a small smile. "and you ma'am?"

"a sprite," i cleared my throat.

"awesome," she exclaimed in a fake happy tone. "i'll be back with your drinks and in the meantime, eat all you want!"

amina and farrah both looked at each other with huge smiles and raced to the buffet, and that's when i realized: they still act like children. i shook my head in disbelief and make my way towards the food, my stomach growling. scanning the aisle of food and deciding on what to eat, one of the girls came up to me and pinched my butt.

i jumped and gasped, "what the hell?"

farrah giggled past me and said, "what?"

my face went red and i took a deep breath in, grabbing the utensil to get some noodles. after, i piled the spicy chicken high on my plate and grabbed an egg roll. since i fortunately didn't have any hangovers, i could eat a lot and not feel sick. so, i grabbed another plate and covered it with an assortment of sushi.

sushi is in the top five of my favorite foods, along with pizza; some people hate the food, but i really enjoy eating it. especially the california rolls, even when they aren't actually from china. honestly, if i could make my own sushi from scratch, i'd probably accidentally poison myself somehow.

with two plates full of food, i walk back to the table and set the dishes down and sit. farrah was chowing down on some ramen noodles with pork as amina had chicken on a stick with some general tso stir fry on the side. as i began to eat my noodles, farrah looked at me like i was crazy, her manicured brow rose.

"you sure you can eat all that," she questioned as she bit in to a piece of naruto that hung from her fork.

i pick up my chopsticks and nod my head yes, "i am, why?"

"you have too much," she replied as she swallowed.

"so?" i shrugged my shoulders and picked a few noodles up with the chopsticks.

i learned how to use them when i was six because my aunt is married to an asian and he brought the technique to her household. i still have the black and gold chopsticks he gave me the first time i met him.

farrah didn't say much about and continued with her eating. i smirked and continued with my food, noticing how mouthy the girls can be. i debated on whether i wanted to be friends with them later on, but i decided to keep hanging with them. they seem cool and i could use the friends.

we finished eating and we left after paying, our bellies bloated—farrah looked like she was pregnant from all the egg rolls and ramen she consumed. amina and i laughed about it as we made our way to the car.

"quit making fun of me," farrah groaned as she sat down in the back seat. "i can't help i'm gorda! it runs in the family."

i laughed and rolled the window down, the wind blowing my hair in wild directions. "i think we got to go, i need to get my papa's car."

"that's right!" amina bumped her forehead with her hand as she started the car. "i knew we were forgetting something!"

"she's kind of slow, so forgive amina for any stupidness," farrah rolled her eyes and laid her head back, closing her eyes.

i shrug and smile as i glanced at a mad amina, "it's cool, chica. i'm slow sometimes, too."

she giggled and took me back to the neighborhood to get the car back. on the drive there, i learned their ages and how they became friends, which was a wild tale of them in the middle school bathrooms. i thought my old friends were wild, but these girls were the definition of loca.

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            i don't know how to feel about this chapter lmao. leave your thoughts and cc below in the comments!

           — h, @psychtown 🍒

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