Mteay = Mother
Aupok = Father
Pou = Uncle

==============

As I pick up a piece of beef from the floor, a drip of red curry sauce drips from the edge of the table onto my forehead, making Greta giggle. Danique arrives with more napkins and two wet cloths, and the three of us continue to clean up the worst accident I've ever done in my entire life. 

My hands are going to smell like curry for the next decade. God, how can my parents fit so much inside our serving bowl?

My face falls as I stand up and see that chunks of rice have been impacted on the carpet. Grimacing, I get on my hands and knees, and pick away at the smushed white grains, flicking it into a nearby bin. 

"Okay, not to look at a silver lining or anything, but did either of you see the look on the guy's face when the curry hit him?" Greta says, beginning to cackle, before turning to Danique, "Did you?"

She rolls her eyes at Greta. "I didn't. Look, can we just focus on cleaning? Don't think Rith's in the mood to be cheered up at the moment."

Greta looks at me, and her face falls. She quickly gets back to wiping the floor. Danique sighs, looking at the girl with a tinge of regret, before cleaning up the final bits of spillage on the table. 

Honestly, I could have used a bit of humour. God knows I'm in for it the moment my parents step out of the kitchen.  

"Thank you guys, for helping me," I say, looking at the both of them. Greta's frown turns into a tiny smile, and Danique nods, quirking the corner of her lip up. "I appreciate you both."

"What are best friends for, Rith?" Danique says. 

Greta's eyes twinkle. "We're always here for you, like how you're here for us."

I nod, smiling to myself. Despite everything that's happened today, I'm grateful to be friends with these two. 

Pou, who's standing at the bar, clicks his tongue and says my name, snapping my attention. He nods towards the doorway, where the final group of patrons are leaving the bar. I look around, and it's desolate in here; quiet, calm, and peaceful. Pou flicks over the closed sign on the glass door, and we both breathe a huge breath of relief. 

Another day, done.

As Pou walks back to the bar, the kitchen door opens, and I see mum talking to him. He looks at me, and judging from his panicked glances towards me, I know that I'm in for some major shit. 

The kitchen door closes once more, and Pou makes his way towards me. Danique's just stood up, having finished the table, and Greta's finished absorbing the curry into a towel from the carpet. They both eye each other, then me, as Pou reaches us. 

"Mteay and aupok want to see you," he said, lowering his voice, "and, they're not happy at all."

I hear Greta whisper to Danique, asking what my uncle just told me. Sighing, I spy the kitchen door, Mum and Dad most likely waiting behind it with crossed arms and at least one kitchen utensil for smacking. 

"Let's get this over with," I say, rolling my shoulders in a feeble attempt to shrug off the anxiety that is building. As I reach the double-swinging doors, I see Pou help Greta and Danique gather the towels for disposal. I sigh and push them open. 

Aupok's sitting at the table near the entrance, his reading glasses on as he tallies up the money from the register and the EFTPOS machines. Mteay is slicing up chicken and beef breasts for tomorrow. She eyes me as the doors behind me fall still. 

"Y-you wanted to see me?" I say to either, fiddling with my fingers. Aupok waves dismissively to me, Mteay gesturing me to come closer. 

The knife she's wielding looks even more menacing as she starts to speak. 

"Work's done for the day, you're free to go. The incident that happened outside is not going unnoticed, so we are going to take it out of your pay. No arguing, please," She looks up at me for the first time, pointing the knife towards the door, "leave, I'm still angry at you."

Something in my gut fires up. I stare at her in disbelief, watching her slice the beef like nothing just happened. I shake my head, and my mouth opens. 

"It was an accident though! The drunk guy behind me bumped into me! This is not fair!"

Mteay starts slicing more aggressively, looking up at me with the smallest pinch of skin between her eyebrows. I feel my chest sink. "It doesn't matter if it's fair or not. You spilled it. What do you want me to do, eh? Go after the drunk idiot and demand that he pay for the curry and rice? Huh? Is that what you want?"

I stay silent. 

"It's not fair, but your Aupok and I can't afford the slip-ups. The cost of the meal is coming out of your pay, no questions asked."

"But-"

"Silence!" Mteay says, slamming the knife down onto the meat, making me jump where I stand. "Hong, do you wanna weigh into this?"

Aupok turns his head slightly behind him, looking at me and Mteay. "Listen to your mother, boy, before I have to start yelling too."

I stare at both parents, both anger and frustration twisting inside me. This is bullshit! I didn't mean to do it on purpose! It's one measly bowl of fucking curry and some rice; why did they have to charge me for it?

I huff, before turning on my heel, shoving the doors open. Danique and Greta are back at the barstools they were at, and Pou's drying the last few glasses in the dishwasher. Greta's got a hand over her mouth, and Danique's looking at me, an eyebrow quirked. 

"What happened?"

With a sigh, I shake my head, grabbing my backpack from underneath the counter. "I'll tell you later, let's just go."

Pou's eyebrows furrow. "I thought I was taking you home?"

Danique shakes her head. "I think it's best if Greta and I do."

Greta rubs my arm as she approaches me, Danique closely behind. "Come on, let's go."

#

"Welcome to McDonvers, what can I get you?"

Danique looks at us, before speaking. "It's me, Chris. The usual, please."

There's a fumble on the speaker. "Danique? Hey, I was wondering if you'd swing by today. Sure thing, I got you covered."

"Thanks."

Danique rolls deeper into the drive-through. I stare forlornly out of the window, watching as my clear view of the oceanside get blocked off by McDonvers promotional art, followed by hedges and grass work. Greta strokes my shoulder through the middle console, trying to console me. 

God, can today get any worse?

"Here you go; three burgers, a huge thing of nuggets, and chips. That'll be thirty dollars, with my discount." Chris says, winking at Danique. She rolls her eyes with a smile, before pulling out her card. 

"I'll pay, can you three transfer me ten dollars each? Cheers." 

Greta instantly pipes up, flicking Danique the money with a few taps of her fingers. I pull out my phone and open my bank app. 

I should have some money left. 

My bank account statement tells me otherwise. I shoot Danique a panicked look. "Sorry, D, I don't have enough to chip in."

She blinks for a second. "It's fine, I'll just pay the rest. You owe me a drink at the bar, then."

With a grin and a wink, she turns away from me, handing Chris her debit card. She pays, and soon we have the food. A lump of guilt fills my chest; I know Danique struggles with money just as much as I do, so her doing that was really sweet. 

"The usual spot, gang?" Danique says, earning a nod and a hum from Greta and I. Danique drives along the coast, the three of us absorbing ourselves in the music blaring from the radio, as we watch the edges of the ocean crash on the sand. Soon, the sand turns into a rocky outcrop, and Danique turns into a backstreet, driving us toward our secret spot. 

"I swear, this road is getting more and more dangerous," I say as we drive over pebbly dirt. Danique nods in agreement. 

After a few more minutes, we come to a clearing on a clifftop, the pebbly road smoothing out into dirt. She rolls the car to a stop and turns off the engine, the food of the car at the edge of the cliff, overlooking the slope. Greta stretches in the backseat, before opening the paper bag of fast food. Danique flicks through her phone's music library, pressing the shuffle button on her 'chill vibes' playlist. 

"Alright, it's zen mode time," she says as Greta passes her a burger. She sets the bag onto the central console, tipping the chips and nuggets into the paper bag, before taking a huge bite out of her chicken burger. I absentmindedly pick at a few chips as my gaze settles on the horizon, the twinkly stars gleaming on the ocean's surface. 

Embarrassing incident aside, I still can't believe I did that to Wes. He and Hugo clearly went to our restaurant to have a good time and some nice Cambodian food; I ruined that for them. Wes probably was feeling shit from the breakup Hugo was talking about, so my mishap probably ruined his entire night; no, his week, probably. 

I feel something nudge my shoulder. Glancing over, it's Danique's fingertips. "Hey, get out of your head. Your burger's going to get cold." 

Nodding, I pick it up and gingerly take a bite. "Sorry, just thinking."

"Still upset with what your parents said?" Danique says, frowning. Greta goes to speak, but something pings on her phone, making her attention waver from the conversation. 

"Yeah, but I'll be okay. Not much I can do, so no point worrying about it."

"Good idea," Danique says, popping a chip in her mouth. "Just focus on the fast food, the view, and the company."

I smile, and look forward towards the ocean again, letting Danique's playlist wash over me. Just as I go to take another bite, Greta squeals in the back seat, making Danique and I nearly throw our food in surprise. 

"AHH! What the hell, Greta? We talked about you squealing!!" I say, the words completely going over Greta's head. She taps a few buttons on her phone, before looking at D and I. 

"Sorry, sorry, it's just that I got us all invited to a party! The Spurnroses are hosting a masquerade party in a few days and I managed to score us some invites!"

She shows me the event information on her phone. I smile. 

"This party would be so good for you, Rith. Perfect chance to let loose and forget about your parents for a few blissful hours." Greta continues, taking out another bite from her burger. I look at Danique with a grin. 

"Masquerade, huh? Y'know, I've never gone to one before. Masquerade means we all get to dress up, right?"

Danique can see the glint in my eye, and judging by her wistful smirk, she's excited too. "Just think, Rith; I'll be wearing a sequinned black dress with an equally nice mask, Greta'll be in an eloquent blue dress with a mask on a stick, and you'll be in some flash button-up. We'll all look so good."

"So, we're all going?"

Danique and I nod. "Hell yeah," we say in unison. 

As I eat another nugget, Greta's phone starts vibrating wildly. She picks it up, and it's her dad. She looks at us, mouths an apology, before clicking open the car door, stepping out. She walks a few paces away, blocking her free ear with her hand, her face twisting with confusing as she talks to her father.

As I reach for another chip, I spy Danique glancing at our friend, her eyes trailing Greta's figure. Shaking my head, I throw the chip in my mouth, leaning back in my chair. 

"So, have you decided whether you're gonna come clean to Greta?"

Danique doesn't respond for a second, her eyes still focused on her. She blinks and looks at me, before shaking her head. "What? No, don't be silly. She's straight, and she makes it painfully obvious."

I nod. "Then, I guess your family's still a no-go."

She eats another chip, nodding. "Yep. This girl's staying a closet lesbian until she can get away from her traditional parents."

I shrug. "Look, we'll look for partners for both of us at the masquerade party, okay? I promise it'll be fun. There might be some other Swedish lesbian just vying for your attention there, and you'll be able to forget about your parents for a while as well."

Danique giggles, something she rarely does, and smiles, picking up her burger. Her eyes drift to Greta again, but she pulls away and looks at the food sitting in her lap. "Thanks, Rith. Even if we don't find someone at the party, we'll always have each other, yeah?"

"Yeah."

We share a smile, just as Greta hands up the phone. She talks into the car, slamming the door shut and crossing her arms. "Fuck, I hate my dad!"

"Join the club, sister," I say, smirking. "What did he want?"

"He says that I've got to be home, that I'm out way past my curfew. I didn't realise that the curfew was shortened. Sorry guys."

Danique swallows the final bite of her burger, twisting the key of her car. The engine roars awake with a hum, and Danique looks at Greta, a small smile on her face. 

"It's fine. Probably best we called it a night, anyway." 

==================================

A/N: Woo! 2225 words! I know i'm really really behind in NaNoWriMo but damn, this is the longest chapter yet! this total brings me just under 7500 total; almost 1/5 of my 50000 word goal achieved!

How are everyone else's NaNo projects going? For those not doing NaNo, are you enjoying the NaNo projects you've come across? 

Hopefully, this chapter gives more depth into Rith's personal life, as well as the lives of his two dearest friends. What do you all think of Danique and Greta? Do you think Danique and Greta would make a cute couple? Did any of you see Danique being a lesbian coming? 

Thanks for being so patient with me for this chapter. Hopefully, the next one will be out soon; but no promises.  

- J. S xx