As they had planned, they went straight to the mall after the mass to buy their school supplies. They were busy picking out what they thought they needed when her phone rang.
“Cuz where are you? Done with school stuff?” It was Kellen.
“Almost. Why?”
“Can you drop by the ice cream place? I’m with my BFF.”
“Sure. See you!” When the call ended, Lemon turned to Kale, “Kellen called. She’s asking us to drop by the ice cream house,” she informed him.
“Sure, are you done yet? Mine’s complete,” he responded as he showed his basket to her.
“Yeah, I’m good. I’ll just come back if I need to buy anything else,” Lemon replied, then they headed for the cashier to check out their items.
When they went out of the store, they looked around to find the ice cream house Kellen was referring to. It wasn’t far from the entrance of the mall so they immediately spotted them.
“Cuz!” she yelled, frantically waving at them. She was sitting at one of the tables with an umbrella, along with a girl Lemon was not familiar with.
“You look very pretty today, I bet you got enough rest,” Kale praised as soon as they were close to the girls.
“I did!” Kellen exclaimed. “It’s the first day of school tomorrow, so preparations need to start early you know,” she responded before turning to the girl next to her. “This is Audrey, by the way. She’s my BFF and our classmate too. “Aud, this is my cousin Leslie Monica and her friend Mikale,” she introduced.
“Hi!” Audrey chirped as she offered her hand. She looks rather cute with her curved eyes and thin lips. Just like Kellen, she has fair skin too, and a slender body.
“You can just call me Lemon,” she told her, smiling, as she returned the handshake.
Kale stood up to give her a cheek to cheek, “Mika or Kale will do. Anything but Mikale!” she reminded her.
“Do you guys want to check on Kip? He’s at the billiard hall,” Kellen informed them.
“Who is he with? I bet there are tons of boys there~” Kale asked excitedly.
“He’s with his bandmates,” Kellen’s smile widened when she said that and Kale was quick to notice.
“And you like one of his bandmates, am I correct? Your eyes sparkled when you mentioned it!” he told her and she was quick to nod.
“You’re quick to pick up!” she even commented. “Actually, I do like Homme but I never told anyone, especially Kip, because I’m sure he won’t stop teasing me. If that happens, I won’t be able to watch their practice or they won’t practice in our house, at all,” she explained.
“No worries, your secret’s safe with us!” he replied as he gave her a thumbs up. “Let’s go?” Kellen then nodded and hooked her arm on Kale’s while Audrey and Lemon followed.
“You seem quiet or are you naturally shy?” Audrey asked as they trailed behind the two.
“I’m a bit shy, sorry,” Lemon responded, smiling timidly. Audrey shook her head at Lemon as she hooked her arm to hers.
“I’m a bit shy too. I don’t even know how I became friends with Kellen. She’s Miss Congeniality, so I still can’t believe that we became best friends,” she narrated.
“We’re the same. Kale’s like that too,” and both girls laughed in unison.
It only took them 10 minutes to reach the billiard hall where Kip was hanging out with his bandmates. “Kip!” Kellen called to her twin and Audrey’s grip on Lemon’s arm tightened.
“Why?” she asked in confusion.
“Uhmm… don’t say anything, okay? I’m a bit shy when Kip’s around,” Audrey even blushed after saying that, and Lemon couldn’t help but smile.
“You like him?” Lemon asked to confirm and Audrey lightly nodded. “Okay, we have our secret too,” she giggled. Then they headed over to Kip and his friends.
“Hi cuz,” he greeted her before kissing her on the cheek and turning to her companion. “Hi Aud!’ he said, smiling, but the girl just smiled back at him.
“Who are they, Kip?” asked the guy with slanted eyes. His skin made him look like he was extracted from milk, that even glutathione would be shamed. Heck, he looks more flawless than any of the girls.
“Oh, these are Homme, Drew, Roj, and Kevz by the way,” Kip introduced them one by one, with a broad smile on his face. “This is our cousin, Leslie Monica, fresh from France! But she’s now enrolled at SMU too. This is her BFF…” Kip trailed, unsure how he’d introduce Kale.
“You can just call me Mika or Kale,” he told them himself as she shook their hands one by one.
They moved their hands to Lemon after shaking hands with Kale, “Lemon,” she told them timidly as she returned their handshakes.
Lemon has no idea why her hands suddenly felt sweaty. Was it because they all look good as if they’re auditioning to become Hollywood stars?
She also felt like Kale wouldn’t be able to choose between all five of them, including her cousin. They’re all tall too, no wonder they’re all varsities.
Homme, aside from his milk-like skin and slanted eyes, also got two small dimples on each side of his lips. It makes him cuter when he smiles.
Roj, on the other hand, has a natural brown complexion that makes him look manly. The same goes for Drew, though he got a natural blush.
Kippler, Kevz, and Drew got darker skin compared to Roj and Drew, but all three look manly. Kip’s eyes are rounder and softer compared to Kevz and Drew’s. But Drew got a higher and slimmer nose compared to Kips and Kevz.
After the introduction, Kip pulled two chairs for Lemon and Audrey. At times, Lemon can see Audrey stealing glances at her cousin and the same goes for Kellen with Homme.
Lemon can’t help but giggle as she watches the two. These typical school girls are ashamed of their crushes, while the guys feign ignorance.
As she was busy watching Kellen and Audrey, she didn’t notice that someone was watching her too. She could feel his eyes on her and it was making the hair on the back of her neck raise, but when she looked up, she wasn’t able to see who it was.