Wrong Side Of The Bed

23 | the working plan and breakfast for snacks.

JANNAT'S P.O.V

"AM I LATE?" Neil questioned as he walked into the living room, his backpack slung against his left shoulder. 

"Oh yes," I nodded. "You're around thirty seven minutes late."

"Since when did you become so specific, especially regarding stuff like time?" Este questioned, taking a bite out of the matcha–chocolate chip cookie. Adri quietly took a sip of her coffee, sparing Neil a glance over the rim of her coffee cup, and then her gaze turned to me. The side of her lip curved up. I scowled.

"Oh Este," Adri said. "Jannat has become very punctual since she started hanging out with Christian, have you not noticed?"

"I have," Neil said, grabbing the last cookie left on the plate before Este could get her hands on it. She protested, frowning. I flagged down Cecily, asking her to bring another plate full of these cookies. Este blew me a kiss. Neil did too. I rolled my eyes.

"Et tu, Brute?" I said, directing my words towards Neil. "I thought you were on my side!"

"My God, hanging out with Christian has turned her into a nerd," Este exclaimed. "She is speaking Latin now!"

"I don't like you guys. At all," I deadpanned. "And I don't like Sinclair either, okay? We are just friends because we were on the same side for once and had accidentally seen each other's vulnerable parts and had willingly spent some time together. But that doesn't mean I like him. Have you seen the way he keeps rubbing his jaw when he is nervous? Annoying. I could never like him."

"Right," Neil said.

"Yeah, yeah, but point to be noted — we didn't even say anything about like." Adri murmured, and then, her smile widened as she dropped her gaze to the highlighter, pens and the open book on my lap. I instantly snapped the book shut, shoving it under the pillows of the sofa.

"What was that?" Neil inquired as Cecily came in, placing a plate full of fresh, hot cookies. 

"A book," I answered.

"Since when have you ever annotated a book?" Este asked, visible confusion swimming in her eyes.

"Once again, the answer to this is—" Adri said, pausing for dramatic effect. "—Christian."

"Ah, so you're annotating a book for him?" Neil nodded. "But why? Pretty sure he likes annotating and making notes himself. He gave his work to you? And you agreed to do it?"

"The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo is one of Jannat's favorites," Adri cut in. Este nodded in agreement, and I twisted around in shock, reaching around the pillow and patting the place, searching for the book. Este held it up in the air when she saw me searching for the book.

"Give it back!" I lunged at the two of them but Adri dodged swiftly, the book in her hands, and oh no, oh no, she was reading the annotations and highlights.

"You're giving this to Christian as a gift?" Adri exclaimed, her mouth hanging open. I finally snatched the book back from her. 
 
"Wow, you're down bad, huh?" Neil smirked from the sofa. I flipped him off.

"Well, I think it's romantic," Este offered her thoughts. "Annotating a favorite book to give it to one's lover? What's next? Handwritten letters? Ah. I want a romance like that."

"It's not a romance!" I shrieked, my face burning. Had I not applied sunscreen before stepping out to take a stroll in the garden?

"Oh, it is a romance," Neil commented, his mouth full. "Giving a gift to your significant other after a heated argument in the cafeteria? Romantic."