Briar is interesting.

That's not the right word. I don't know if there's just one word that can describe her. But whatever the right words are, I just know I want to get to know her more. I thought for sure she wouldn't want to talk to me anymore after interacting with Roman, but he didn't scare her away. In fact, I think she wants to stick around even more. Wants to make sure I'm okay.

It's all I can think about whenever we hang out. And we pretty much hang out all the time now. She's not even scheduled to work today, but she hangs around the counter with me and Marlowe while her mom plays the piano in the corner of the room. Everett doesn't tell her to go away since we're all pretty conscientious of any customers who need anything. So he gives us amused looks every time he walks in and out of the back room.

Briar stops talking mid-rant about how she thinks Lanh definitely could've stepped in more whenever Hien's parents were berating her when the bell above the door goes off. She steps off to the side, so whoever it is can step up to the counter, but she pauses when she sees my and Marlowe's expressions. She furrows her eyebrows, following our gazes to my parents.

Nanay and Tatay work at different offices, but sometimes they like to have lunch at the same time. Usually, if they want to drop by during my shift, they'd send me a text or something. And sure enough, it looks like Nanay sent me a text about an hour ago saying they'd be here. I guess I was too caught up in Briar to notice.

My eyes dart to her. She's studying my parents, her expression unreadable. Maybe Roman's weird demeanor didn't scare her away, but what if my parents' demeanors do? The possibility of it shuts down my brain, and I don't say anything even when my parents are right in front of me. They have expectant looks on their faces, waiting for me to greet them first.

I don't because my mouth dries up with all my thoughts. But I function enough to know I should be grateful when Marlowe steps in.

She clears her throat, a polite smile on her face. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Laxamana. How are you? I don't think we've talked since Roman tutored me a few years ago."

Nanay nods, returning the polite smile. "Marlowe, right?" Marlowe nods. "We're fine. Thanks for asking. We just thought we'd stop by to say hi to Idris during our lunch breaks." Both my parents turn to me expectantly again. I manage to offer them a smile, but I still can't get myself to talk. Not when I feel Briar's eyes on me. Nanay barely stops herself from frowning. She inhales, doubling down on her smile as she turns to Marlowe. "How are you doing, Marlowe?"

Marlowe chatters about her college experience so far and how she's set on going into graphic design after she graduates. In between her rambling, she gets my parents' orders, and I busy myself making them their coffee and sandwiches. After I slide over their orders and they pay, I expect them to sit at a table or—better yet—be on their way. Instead, they turn to me.

"Why don't you take a break, too, Idris?" Tatay asks, nodding towards an empty table.

I blink. My rising heart rate jolts my mind back into working, but now it's in overdrive. "Oh. Well... I don't know if I should just randomly take a break—"

"Have you taken one yet?" Nanay interrupts. I hesitate, deciding it's better not to lie, so I shake my head. "Then, take one now."

Well, I guess I can't say no. I turn to Marlowe. "You don't mind...?"

She glances between me and my parents, her jaw tense. A part of me hopes Marlowe will say that she does mind, but I think we both know she can't. My parents will talk about how awful she is—and I know she'll insist she doesn't care and mean it, too—but they'll eventually get around to how I probably did something to make her say that, so I wouldn't have to sit with them. Which is true, but they don't have to know that.

"No," Marlowe says slowly like she's trying to take up as much time as possible. "I don't mind." With one last smile, my parents turn and walk across the room. The moment their backs are to us, Marlowe gives me a sympathetic look. "Have fun..."

I grimace but nod. My eyes flicker to Briar. She's already looking back, a frown on her face. I'm sure she has a lot of questions, but she doesn't ask. If anything, it feels like she's waiting to see if I want to say anything to her first. I don't know if explaining will make things seem even more weird than they do, though, so I just smile before slipping out from behind the counter and joining my parents. I don't have to look back to know both Marlowe and Briar are watching me. I know that it's Briar's gaze sending tingles down my spine, too. I can't tell if it's more uncomfortable to have her see into the nuances of my family or if it's almost reassuring that she sees it at all.

"How has your day been?" Nanay asks when I sit across the table from her and Tatay.

I shrug, the monotone easily slipping into my voice. "It's been fine. How have your days been?"

I try to stay present during the conversation, but my ears keep pricking up every time I hear Briar. I can't make out her words, but it's always so easy to hear the tone of her voice. Whenever she speaks, it's like a melody. Like hearing her sing. I can never stop my head from turning to her even when my parents are directly addressing me. Sometimes Briar will catch me watching, and she'll pout in question, tilting her head to the side. It's probably the most endearing thing I've ever seen.

"Anak," Tatay calls, his voice a little too sharp for that term of endearment. But all the same, he pulls my attention back to him. I sit up a little straighter when I realize both my parents are glaring at me. "Have you been listening at all?" Before I can respond, Tatay shakes his head. "I never did understand how you could turn out so disrespectful."

"Roman was never like this," Nanay adds, sitting back and crossing her arms over her chest.

I blink, not entirely sure how the conversation even got here. But I know there's only one right response: "I'm sorry."

Except my parents don't accept the apology.

They take turns making comparisons between me and Roman. How he always pays attention when they talk to him. How he's always been more polite and attentive than I've ever been. The more they talk, the more I feel like my lungs are caving in on me. I try to take deep breaths anyway, but it's hard to do that while I'm fighting the burning feeling at the back of my eyes, too.

"Really, Anak," Nanay sighs, "how can you be so insensitive?"

They look at me expectantly like they're waiting for me to respond to them. I shift, trying to maintain eye contact. I take a deep breath and begin. "I'm sorry—"

"—that you're the worst mother in the world."

I freeze. I know I didn't say that, but the disgusted looks on my parents' faces make me second-guess myself. But once the fear fades, all that's left is confusion because I don't have to look to know who said that. Despite—or maybe because of—the anger, her voice is still so melodic. I just don't believe that Briar of all people would say something like that to her mom. But when I follow my parents' gazes, there's no doubt that it's Briar.

Her mom's back is to us, but nothing is hiding Briar or the scowl on her face from view. Her arms are crossed over her chest, and her chin is lifted in defiance. There's no way Briar can't feel all eyes on her—Everett even comes out from the back room, concern etched on his face—but if she does, she doesn't bother keeping her voice down. If anything, I have a feeling she's projecting it.

Briar rolls her eyes. "You always act like I have no idea what I'm doing." Thera says something, but her voice is too quiet for me to hear it. But whatever she says, it makes Briar roll her eyes again. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. I can't wait to get the hell away from home once I graduate. At least then I don't have to deal with you and Dad."

When I turn back to my parents, they exchange revolted looks. Tatay shakes his head. "At least Idris didn't turn out like her."

Nanay nods. "I can't believe a child like that exists..."

I can't either, especially if that child is Briar. I look back at her. Like she feels my gaze, Briar's eyes flicker to me. The annoyance is gone in an instant and she winks at me. Thera follows Briar's gaze, an amused smile on her face. They turn back to each other, and Briar's eyebrows immediately furrow. She sneers, telling her mom that she's fed up with her like there wasn't a break in their argument.

Is she doing this for me? It seems so excessive, but at the same time, I'm not surprised. This feels like something Lanh would do. Like something Briar would do.

She keeps up the act for almost five minutes. I'm pretty sure my parents leave right after she huffs and walks back to the counter because they don't want to risk witnessing another scene.

"You don't know her personally, do you?" Nanay asks as we stand from the table. She narrows her eyes. "You were talking to her when we came in, weren't you?"

I hesitate but nod in the end. Probably better not to lie. "Yeah. She works here."

Tatay grimaces. "Well..." He shoots Briar a disdainful look. "Try not to spend time with her if you don't have to. She seems like a bad influence."

I bite my tongue, forcing myself to nod. Satisfied, they tell me they'll see me at home. Nanay wraps her arms around me. I push through my hesitation and hug her back, watching them sneer at Briar one last time as they leave. I wait for them to disappear from view before I join Briar, Thera, Marlowe, and Everett at the counter, catching some of their conversation.

"...not a big deal," Briar insists.

Marlowe laughs, leaning so far forward that she grips the other side of the countertop. "What do you mean? I knew it was fake, but it felt so real. Why'd you ever stop acting?"

Everett nods, turning to Thera. "Honestly, Thera, you and Gar—"

Briar catches sight of me, and her eyes widen. She straightens and turns to me, interrupting Everett. "Hey, are you okay?"

I nod. "Yeah. I'm okay."

She clasps her hands together, resting her chin on them as she studies me. "So did it help?"

I smile. "Yeah. It helped. My parents couldn't even keep up a conversation with me when you started making a scene."

Briar shuts her eyes, exhaling. "Good." She drops her hands and turns to her mom, holding her hands out in front of her. "I'm sorry for embarrassing you."

Thera laughs, reaching out to pull her daughter into a hug. "No worries, Con. I think having a theater kid as a daughter conditioned me for moments like this."

Marlowe arches an eyebrow. She stands up straight, locking her arms out on the counter. "So you're saying this has happened before? And it probably worked before?" Marlowe eyes Briar. "Explain to me again why you stopped acting?"

Briar steps back from her mom, waving Marlowe off. "Doesn't matter. All that matters is it helped Idris."

"And that you didn't mean any of it," Thera adds. She gives Briar a pointed look. "Right?"

Briar laughs. "Right."

Something flickers across Everett's face. Marlowe catches it, too, and she places a hand on his arm. That's how I know he's probably thinking about Gareth. I hope Gareth never said any of the things Briar did. I don't know the full story, but I'm sure Everett wouldn't have deserved any of that. There's no way he could've been as bad as my—Hien's—as bad as Hien's parents...

I smile at Briar, forcing the thoughts out of my head. "I didn't know you used to act." She stiffens, glancing away. I laugh. "And I didn't know you could blush either."

She glares at me, her face turning a shade darker. "Not as much as you." That's fair. Just having her acknowledge that makes my face warm. I don't think she notices, though, because she huffs and looks at a point across the room, cupping her elbows in her hands. "It's not something I mention a lot."

I arch an eyebrow. "Why? It seems like something you'd tell everyone if you can act on top of sing and being able to play three instruments."

Everett leans forward. "It really does. You should be proud that you're that talented, Briar."

Briar's eyebrows twitch together, and she tightens her grip on her elbows. An edge creeps into her voice. "Well, it's complicated. I just don't like to do any of it anymore." She pauses, straightening as she adds, "Not because anyone in my family was unsupportive or anything." I hold my breath, my eyes immediately darting to Everett. He blinks, his expression becoming unreadable. Briar has to feel the shift in the atmosphere, but she plows on like she doesn't. "But anyway, I'm glad your parents stopped lecturing you after listening to me."

"Good to know that you're not that disrespectful to your parents in reality," Marlowe says, her eyes boring into Briar. "Guess that means you're not that disrespectful to other family members, too."

Briar's jaw tenses, but all she does is shrug, staring across the room at the mural. That doesn't stop Marlowe from glaring at Briar, though. It feels like hours pass by before Everett finally breaks the silence.

He tries for a smile. "Whatever the case, I hope things are okay in all your families. But if not..." He looks directly at Briar who still isn't looking at anyone. "Let me know. I'll try to help in any way I can."

We all nod. Satisfied, Everett retreats into the back room. Thera and Marlowe give Briar pointed looks, but Briar's already changing the subject to The Quiet Nights series. She doesn't let up, so Marlowe and Thera eventually let go of their thoughts and go back to their own things.

I'm not stupid enough to not pick up on the fact that I'm missing something. But whatever Briar's family situation is, I can 100% say her parents raised her to be a good friend. And no matter what my parents may think about her now, I know she's a good person. And I don't think there's anyone I'd rather spend my time with.