Catching up with friends. And a gift.

The girls booked a private room for our group at an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant. I was a bit relieved to know that everyone coming chipped in to do it, so it didn’t end up costing as much. They tried to stop me from contributing, but we all know by now how I feel about that, and I have the money for it.

It was a nice place with large, glass chandeliers on the roof, beige colored tiles and several tables pushed together to form a single long one with white tablecloths. We had to go get the food from the main dining room and bring it back to our room, but that was fine. I liked that we had the privacy to be loud and laugh without bothering anyone.

Diana was able to make it despite it being a work day. She used one of her vacation days and got Dylan to cover for her, which she told me he was happy to do as it meant another day of pay. And speaking of coworkers, Luke was there, too.

“As happy as I am to be invited, I do hope I’m not making anyone uncomfortable,” he told me as we said hello.

“Don’t worry. I’m glad to have you here, and actually… I’m more worried about you feeling uncomfortable?”

“Hm? Why’s that?”

“I… think my mother will want to ask you a few questions. You know, all things considered.”

“Ah. Yes, that makes sense.” He chuckled. “I suppose I owe her some explanations. I’d be glad to ease her worries about our partnership.”

“And just to make things clear… No funny business, okay?”

“What do you…? Ah. I see. Yes, of course, Oliver. I wouldn’t dream of it.”

So we were on the same page. Good.

The girls all looked amazing in their dresses. If we’d been alone, I definitely would’ve had my hands somewhere improper. Hell, at times it seemed like Alice and Grace were tempting me to do it, and though the Normality runes would’ve let us get away with it, it felt a little disrespectful to everyone else.

The food was really good, surprisingly. Like, incredibly good. Maybe I just had low expectations because it normally isn’t good at an all-you-can-eat, but here it was. Thomas, Kevin, Mark and I ate like it was our last meal, going for seconds, thirds and fourths trying to get our money’s worth and more. Poor Ben seemed frustrated because he was at the tail end of his weight control, so he could only eat some salads and drink water. We promised to make it up to him if he won, but we were going to do it even if he lost his fight. Maybe ESPECIALLY if he lost. Isabelle also tried to eat like it was her last meal, but she couldn’t even finish her second plate.

I sat down to talk with Lena and Amanda for a while, asking them how they’d been doing. That’s how I found out Amanda was moving away, going to university in another town. She said that she’d been considering it for a long time, but that after prom she made up her mind. Said she needed a bit of a reset. I could understand that.

And even though I’d been told in advance, I was still kind of surprised to see Fernanda. Surprised and glad. I sat down with her, Maria and Isabelle to talk about the coffee shop and how they’d been doing without me.

“So you haven’t gone under yet?” I asked them.

“Please, we don’t need you. Right girls?” Maria said confidently.

“We’re actually getting even more customers than before,” Isabelle said, smirking. “Enough that Fern and I both need to be there on Saturdays.”

“Seriously? More? Huh. Then it’s a good thing that I left.”

“Oh, stop it,” Maria said.

Fernanda chuckled. “Actually, some of the old regulars are still asking about how you’re doing. The old couple, for example.”

I smiled. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Isabelle said. “Though really, since you left, the demographic of the coffee shop has… changed.”

I raised an eyebrow. “As in…?”

“The girls are attracting more boys, just like you were attracting girls,” Maria said. “The only issue is that some of these boys are a little too… forward.”

“Some are creeps!” Isabelle said. “Last Saturday I… Um… Do you mind, Fern?” My sister looked to Fernanda for approval, which already raised some alarms.

Fernanda nodded. “Yes… It’s fine.”

“I caught a guy dropping a fork on purpose and trying to take a picture of Fern when she bent down to pick it up.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What the fuck? What did you do about it?”

“I told Maria and she gave him a look that she’d noticed.”

“Then I told him that if I ever caught him doing that again I’d call the police,” Maria said. “He got flustered and we haven’t seen him since, but we’re still on guard.”

I didn’t tell them, but hearing that made me plan a trip to the coffee shop for that next Saturday. “Sorry you had to go through that,” I told Fernanda.

The girl sighed. “I… I need to stand up for myself, I know that. I just didn’t want to be rude to a customer, so…”

“Girl, in those cases you do what you need to do. We have your back,” Maria told her.

Fernanda smiled. “Thank you. Still, it’s not like it happens all the time.”

“Yeah, it’s just a few idiots that stand out,” Isabelle said. “Oh, by the way, Fern… Give it to him.”

“Ah! Um…”

“Hm?”

“She brought you a gift,” Isabelle told me. “She gave me one, too. It’s amazing.”

“A gift? Please, you didn’t have to. You being here is enough,” I told her with a sheepish smile. “But… Still, thank you.”

“I’ll go get it.” Fernanda stood up and went to a corner of the room. Apparently she hid it behind an unused table and I didn’t see it.

What she brought back was a somewhat flat rectangle wrapped white paper. Large, about the length and width of my arm.

“If… If you don’t like it, you can do whatever you want with it. Don’t feel **** to show it off or anything…”

I raised an eyebrow. Show it off? Wait…

I tore the white paper and was greeted by a framed, colored drawing, one of me sitting on my bed, playing my guitar on my lap with Cake laying calmly beside me. My eyes went wide. It was so damn good. The colors, the shadows, the items in the room… It was stylized more than realistic, but the details! Even trying to scrutinize it and looking for weak spots like the hands or the face, or even Cake… It was perfect. Colors blending together seamlessly, the details in the black guitar….

I was grinning from ear to ear. “How did you make this?” I asked.

“I… asked Isabelle and Grace for reference pictures. Ah, I also asked for their permission and if it was a good idea. I’ve… watched your channel from the start and it helped me through some tough times, so… I wanted to pay you back. Pay both of you back.”

Isabelle grinned. “She drew me, too. I took mine to the van, but it’s one of me editing on my desk with Cake on my lap. She’s SO good!”

“...” I frowned as some memories started to come back to me.

“You… don’t like it?” Fernanda asked.

“Are you…? Is your username JustColors?” I asked her.

Fernanda’s face went absolutely red in the blink of an eye.

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