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The best part of winter was having hotpot. Or rather, the fact that the weather was perfect for something hot, leaving Rumi feeling cozy and warm afterwards. Case in point: right now, sitting with Mira and Zoey in the restaurant near their university. Outside, the window was frosted, but inside, the steam kept them toasty.
“You think so too, right?” Rumi asked with a smug grin as she faced Zoey across the table, all but daring her to contradict her. “There’s nothing better than this.”
Seated next to her, Mira shrugged as she leaned against the window. “I guess,” she agreed noncommittally. “The best part about winter is when it ends.”
Rumi winced. “That’s kinda pessimistic.”
“Is it?” Mira asked, arching a perfectly groomed brow. “Or are you thinking it too?”
“I…” Rumi sighed, hanging her head. She couldn’t deny it—the only thing better than the creature comforts of winter was not having to experience it at all. “You’re right.”
“Come onnn!!” Zoey grumbled, all but bouncing in her seat. There was a reason that Mira and Rumi had implicitly agreed not to sit next to her tonight—an energetic Zoey was the cutest and best Zoey, but she was also a dangerous ticking timebomb to eat next to. Especially with boiling liquids. “How can you say that?”
“Easily,” Mira replied tartly, though Rumi knew she was just trying to get a rise out of her.
“That’s just ‘cause you haven’t realized how amazing winter is.” Zoey clenched her fists in front of her, vibrating as she argued. Maybe Rumi shouldn’t have started this topic in the first place; she had a sinking feeling this was going to be a long discussion. “There’s just so many things to do: skiing, snow angels, snow men, snowball fights. Hot chocolate. Snowboarding. Skiing. Hotpot. Sweaters! Sweater weather! The moment when you see the snow on the tree branches. Or when you see snow on the rooftops. Cute decorations. San—”
“Are you just making this up now?” Rumi asked, interrupting her before the list grew any longer.
Unfortunately, Mira didn’t get the message and instead pretended to check out her nails as she drawled, “Getting cold, getting cold, getting cold, getting colder—yeah, I think I can pass on most of those things. Especially all that outdoor stuff. Hotpot, though, I can get behind.”
Affronted, Zoey clutched her chest. “Even the sweaters?”
“Well…” Mira pretended to think about it for a moment. “I guess those can stay too.”
Sensing an opening, Rumi pointed out, “Which comes back to hotpot. The best part of winter. Say I’m wrong.”
“Yeah, fine.” Mira leaned against the table and rested her jaw on her hand. “Part of winter. Sure.”
“Why do you agree with her so easily?” Zoey pouted, crossing her arms.
Sensing a brewing argument, Rumi gently tapped Zoey’s foot with her own. “I didn’t say there wasn’t anything else good about winter. Just that hotpot’s the best.”
“I said that,” Mira clarified before groaning when Rumi elbowed her.
“Ok, but you still have to do everything else,” Zoey ordered, giving them both a dirty look. Fortunately, she hadn’t heard Mira’s last comment. “They’re all fun! You’ll like it!”
Rumi blanched. Do everything on her list? That’d take a lifetime. “There’s no way that’s possible.”
Zoey frowned. “It is.”
“No, it isn’t.” Rumi gestured at their forgotten bags, all snug against the wall and overbrimming with papers and books. Now that they didn’t have to fight demons or do yet another tour, they’d agreed it was the perfect time to actually finish getting their degrees.
Well, to be exact, Rumi had agreed and just convinced the other two to do so.
Mira scowled. “Ugh, do we have to? We’re already set for life.”
Zoey nodded quickly as she shuddered. “There’s just so many words. Too many.”
This wasn’t the first time they’d complained. Used to their whining, Rumi rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Learning’s a life-long thing, remember? This’ll be good for you..”
Puffing her cheeks, Zoey looked like a hamster as she pouted. “Says who?”
“Says Celine—” and her adoptive mother’s name caught in her throat, like a rice-cake that hadn’t fully gone down. Rumi gripped the table’s edge as she bit her cheek. Even now, she still wasn’t sure how she felt about Celine, if she wanted to talk to her, what she wanted to say. Only, that Celine had been wrong about some things and right about others.
Only, sometimes she really wanted her advice—what future should she prepare for? What happens after a pop star, like a firefly, reaches the end of her popularity? No matter how big HUNTR/X got, no matter how famous they were or how many hits they made, it would all come to an end one day. Whether it was a crash or the end of a trend, that was the fate of every diva.
Only, she missed their calls and their talks just as much as she was glad to be free from any conversation that had involved her marks.
But Rumi didn’t want to think of that right now and she definitely didn’t want to cry into her meal in front of her girlfriends. Swallowing down her pain, Rumi finished lamely, “A degree would just be helpful. You know.”
However, both girls saw right through her and refused to let her retreat. Mira covered her hand with her own and asked gently, “Have you talked to her since…?”
“Not really.” Rumi chuckled ruefully, turning her hand over and squeezing Mira’s. Her warmth helped ground her. “I’m not sure what to say. Or…what I want her to say. She’s tried contacting me but…I don’t know. I want to talk to her. I also just…don’t.”
“That’s fine, you don’t have to talk to her until you’re ready,” Mira replied. “God knows when I’ll talk to my sperm donor.”
“Ew.” Zoey grimaced as she reached across and squeezed Rumi’s other hand. “Do you have to put it that way?”
“What?” Mira scoffed. “It’s true.”
“Still!” Zoey rolled her eyes and clucked her tongue, muttering under her breath about being delicate. “You know, I haven’t talked to her either. But…I have imagined yelling at her. A little.”
“A little?” Mira asked, raising a brow.
“Okayyyy, a lot,” Zoey admitted reluctantly, sitting back as she pulled out a notebook from her bag. “Like, I might have a few books worth of rants.”
Rumi snorted. Hurriedly, she covered her mouth, but it was too late, the laughter bubbled its way out and she couldn’t stop. “Seriously?”
“I take my rants very seriously,” Zoey stressed, delighted by her reaction. She slipped out of her side of the booth and instead squished in next to Rumi, effectively sandwiching her. “You haven’t talked to her either, right Mira?”
When Zoey gave her a look, Mira shot one back. “What? It’s not like we were that close in the first place. I rebel against all parental authority.”
“I’m not close to her either!” Zoey retorted, puffing her cheeks like an angry squirrel now.
“Sure,” Mira taunted, “But you worm your way into anyone’s heart.”
Zoey blushed and blew her a kiss. “Awww, that’s so sweet!”
“That wasn’t a compliment,” Mira replied dryly, rolling her eyes.
Throughout it all, Rumi couldn’t stop laughing, her shoulders shaking as her two girlfriends teased and bantered. She could feel their arms around her, feel the warmth radiating from them as they made sure she was comfortable. Maybe she was squished, feeling the rough edges of Mira’s bony frame and Zoey was pressed against her a little too much in an attempt to not fall off the edge, but she couldn’t complain. Not really.
Not even as Zoey tried and failed to not splatter the broth.
Not even as Mira complained about the spice levels and tried to sneak some more in.
“Anyways, after exams, we’re doing everything on my list,” Zoey ordered.
Mira sighed. “I don’t think that’s physically possible.”
“We can try!” Zoey huffed. “You never know.”
No, you didn’t. Rumi had been wrong; the best part about winter was being with these two.