Emojis and Food

Chapter 5: Samosas

Shaun &

Katy 💖

shaun

shauuuuuuuun

YES

where are you

I'm getting out right now

You said that like, 10 minutes ago.

yeah shaun

We're still in the car waiting for you!

YEAH SHAUN

Ok I'm sorry

But I'm literally walking out right now

i dont see you though?

•••

Shaun pushed himself off the window of the car, opening the back door while cackling. "Well, that was fun," he said with an innocent smile.

"No, it was not!" Katy said, dramatically clutching her heart. Shaun had pressed his face against the window for a whole minute before the girls had noticed, making Katy yelp and Xialing stop herself from opening the door and beating the creep up.

"Well..." he began, turning his attention to his phone. "I guess I'm sorry," Katy took a napkin from the glovebox and threw it at his face, landing it perfectly on the glowing white screen in his hand before it fell onto the seat.

"Can you get off your phone?" she asked while tying her hair up with a green scrunchie. "I feel like an uber driver."

"Are you okay with me sitting in the front?" Xialing asked.

"You're here picking up Shaun, right?" Shaun joined in with his sister.

"We're going to Perfect Punjab." Katy glared at them with a smirk beneath her seething eyes.

"I'd give you both zero stars."

•••

"I can't believe it was closed!" Xialing said as she leaned against the side of the white paint chipped wall. The night air was perfect, not too cold, just windy enough for a light jacket.

"Uh... I can!" Katy said as she opened her can of orange soda. "Someone took forever to get out of work!" She turned to Shaun, who had gotten out of the restaurant just in time to hear their conversation.

"Can you give me an exact date for when I will hear the end of this?" he asked.

"Never." she deadpanned as took one of the takeout bags from him, the plastic yellow of the smiling face swinging in her hand. She stopped just under the streetlight and sat on the curb of the parking lot. Xialing sat to the left of her while Shaun dropped himself to her right. The containers soon sat between them and opened, releasing the scented steam of scrumptious chicken samosas and pleasantly flavored pakoras.

The chatter bounced between the three like a bumblebee flew between daisies, happily and naturally. It wasn't until Katy attempted to open the small container of green chutney sauce that the flow was interrupted.

"Do you need help?" Xialing asked raising a perfect eyebrow at her. Katy gave a small shook of her head.

"No I go-" the lid violently peeled off, erupting the sauce in the air. Shaun leaned back and looked at his white shirt, now stained green along with Katy's hand. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Man..." Shaun commented, annoyed. Katy winced while Xialing smirked.

"...sorry..." she hissed out. Xialing touched her shoulder.

"No, no," she smiled. "Don't apologize." Shaun grimaces at the girls.

"Can I get the keys, please?" he asked. "You have napkins in your car. Right?"

"Yeah, here," she dug into her jacket's pocket and handed him the key, the light purple puff ball swinging from its silver chain. "Can you get me some too?" she asked as he stood up.

"I'll see how I feel about it," he said with a small smile playing on his lips. Shaun walked off and left the girls sitting at the curb. Xialing's shoulder's bounced before her lips broke, revealing her paper white teeth. Katy began to lightly hit her as she laughed.

"It's-" Smack. "-not-!" Smack. "-funny!" Smack, smack, smack. Xialing's laughter sighed out and she leaned forward against her bent knees.

"Sorry- I'm sorry- I just-" she smiled. "What just happened?" she grinned at Katy.

"I don't know!" she replied. "The lid was stuck and then it just popped off!" She crossed her legs and slumped forward. "And now my hand smells like cilantro..."

"Well it could be worse," Xialing said.

"Really?" Katy asked as she turned towards Xialing, revealing a few drops of green on her light cheek.

"Hang on, you got-" Xialing hadn't even realized what she had done. It was as if her hand grew a mind of its own. The tips of her right fingers grazed the curve of her face under her ear, while the thumb had flicked up and wiped the sauce from her cheek. They were both too stunned at the act. Her hand lingered for a moment too long as Xialing's pale cheeks turned into a crepe shaded pink.

"Holy shit," Shaun said, folded napkins in hand. Xialing pulled her hand towards her chest and slammed it a bit too hard down to the concrete floor. She admired the bruise at the top knuckle on her pinky as Shaun continued. "I just saw this old man with, like- 8 dogs, I'm not even joking!"

"Are you serious!?" Katy asked, completely infatuated with the canines. Xialing remained a statue, staring down at her hand. Only one word ran marathons through her mind. Shit shit shit shiT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT-