I Hate You

-I Hate You-

“Hmm ... B7,” Yang guesses,

“Miss,” Ruby responds, earning a grunt in return, “ ... E... 2?”

“Dammit!”

“Hahaha! I told you, Ms. Doubtfire! You! Can’t! Beat me! I’m the best! I am the very powerful! Witness the true greatness shining upon you!”

The two sisters share a laugh after the display of dumbassery from the young girl.

“Oh, calm down, Ms. Braggart,” Yang replies, cleaning up the game, “You won a couple of board games. So what? Any joe schmoe could get lucky twice.”

“Uh huh. Keep finding different ways of coping with the fact that you’re getting your butt kicked by your little sister.”

“Alright, big shot. Gloves are off now. Which game’s next?”

Ruby takes a moment to think of her options, but she’s soon interrupted as her father suddenly swoops her up in the air, causing her to squeal in joy as he turns her about before setting her down on her feet and kneeling down to her level.

“I’ve got a game for ya,” he says, looking her in the eyes and poking her nose, “It’s single player, though. So Yang can’t join in, unfortunately. It’s called ‘brush your teeth and head on up to bed’. Patent pending.”

“Awww.”

“I know, I know. But you’ve already been up half an hour past your bedtime. You’ve gotta go to bed at some point, Rubes.”

“5 more minutes?”

“In another lifetime maybe.”

“Pleeease?”

“Ruby.”

Yang chuckles at the back and forth before deciding to go with ol’ reliable.

“Don’t worry, Ruby. Tomorrow’s gonna be much better anyways. We’ll get to play more with more time in our arsonal?”

“Yaaay!” Ruby rejoices with Tai turning to her with a feigned look of disapproval of the plan,

“And how do you plan to make good on that promise, young lady?”

“Come on, she’s a kid,” Yang replies, “She’s gotta have some fun.”

“You’re half right. She’s still a kid. So she needs to be in bed at the appropriate time or everything falls out of whack.”

“Ok, ok, how’s about this: we play three quarters past her bedtime.”

“ ... Ten minutes.”

“Two and a half quarters.”

“Twelve minutes and you only do half the dishes from now on.”

“Two quarters and I take care of dinner every visit.”

“ ... Alright, deal.”

Ruby rejoices from the compromise, not knowing that that’s practically the same deal that they’ve had for the past few months.

“Ok, but that’s tomorrow. This is tonight.”

“Ok, ok.”

Ruby then latches onto Yang’s waist, embracing her in a warm hug, which Yang reciprocates. She then ruffles her little sister’s hair before poking her sides, earning cute giggles in response.

“Alright, see ya tomorrow, sis. Don’t destroy the place while I’m gone.”

“No promises,” Ruby replies with a grin,

“Guess that’s all I’m gonna get. Whatever. Shoo, ya little rascal.”

Yang scoots the girl away with her giggling in response before heading upstairs to her bathroom, leaving Tai and Yang to their own conversation.

“Ok, serious time,” Tai says, turning to his daughter and folding his arms, “Are you ok?”

“I’m good. Honest. This stopped meaning as much as it did after the first visit. Her smile does a lot, y’know?”

“Yeah. I know what you mean there. But I just wanna make sure. If ... she’s making you uncomfortable in any way-...”

“Dad, I’m fine. I swear. Just a matter of getting her off my ass at times.”

“Yuuup. And speaking of which-...”

He pulls out his phone, looking at the time. He then recoils as he receives his answer.

“9:38. That’s gonna be a fun conversation at this time of night. Want me to chaufer?”

“Nah. Not like she’ll have the balls to do anything to me. Or even care enough to really make a big deal out of it. Plus, you’ve still got a rowdy little monster to tend to.”

“Yeah, guess you’re right. Ok, stay safe, sweetheart. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

They embrace each other in a hug with Tai kissing the top of Yang’s head before they separate and Yang heads out the front door. As she rides home on her bike, Yang, just so happens to spot her favorite Mexican restaurant. And just as suspiciously, she suddenly develops a craving for a meal of some sort.

‘Well, if I’m gonna be late, might as well be hella late,’ she thinks to herself as she stops at the restaurant.

After parking her bike, she places her keys in her pocket before heading inside the building, taking in the wonderous scent of the Mexican environment. She then steps forward to the hostess, who’s already ready for her.

“Hi, there, Yang,” she greets with a beaming smile,

“Hey, Beth,” Yang greets back,

“A bit late to go out of your way to come here, isn’t it?”

“I’m just coming from my dad’s, actually. Then I saw that this place was still open, so ... y’know ... what the hell? Can never go wrong with Mexican, right?”

“You just wanna piss your mom off, don’t you?”

“Heh. No getting past you, Bethine.”

“Yeah, I figured. Well, you’re gonna have to wait a little bit. About ... five ... ten minutes?”

“Oh, please, take your time. I am in no rush at all.”

They share a chuckle before Yang takes a seat in the waiting area, pulling out her phone and scrolling away. And after half an hour of waiting, Yang’s finally met with Beth’s presence, garnering her attention.

“Oh, hey, there,” she greets after removing an earbud,

“Hey. Just wanted to let you know that a table’s finally ready.”

“Really? Wow. That was quick. You’ve got a fat tip in your future, young lady.”

“Wow. That’s a first.”

“Don’t get used to it. It isn’t exactly my treat tonight.”

She reaches into her purse and pulls out a wallet before opening it, revealing her mother’s picture. Beth brings a hand to her mouth, gasping and chuckling at the absurdity at hand. Yang then brings a finger to her lips, shushing her as she takes a hundred dollar bill from the wallet and pushes it into Beth’s pocket in her jeans. Beth, not objecting to the gift, zips her lips before leading Yang to her table.

“Alright, what’ll ya have?” Beth questions as she prepared to jot down the order,

“Hmm,” Yang replies, looking at the menu and browsing, “I’ll just have the supreme nachos, the grand chimichanga dinner, and ... let’s go with a fajita plate to really seal the deal.”

“Sprites?”

“Sprites.”

“Alright, we’ll have that out for ya in a jiff.”

“Awesome. Take your time. No rush.”

Beth closes her notepad and heads off, leaving Yang to her own endeavors again. And aside from the constant dispensing of her beverage, Yang doesn’t see much of the hostess. That is until nearly an hour later when she finally receives her food.

“Ok, here’s your fajitas, your chimichanga dinner, your cheesy supreme nachos, and just for good measure another Sprite for ya.”

“Oh, you spoil me, Beth.”

“Only the best for our guests. And if you’re wondering about the time, I took the liberty of telling the cooks to really make the order special by not having it that high on their priorities. Such an order takes precise measurements, y’know?”

“You are just a delight.”

“I do what I can. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to yell.”