My Cup of Tea

Previously on My Cup of Tea: Ian punches a man in the face... Sara lost her first kiss to Kyle, the lead singer of the Flaming Llamas, Jenna's heart is not as golden as Sara thinks, and Lisa is on the verge of becoming Sara's enemy...

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"Wow you look stupid." Sara narrowed her eyes until they became slits and delivered two swift punches to Taylor's arm.

"You are stupid," she retorted.

"Weak comeback Big-Hips. Weak." Taylor shook his head and made tsk-tsk noises with his tongue.

Sara bared her unpearly whites at her cousin who towered over her by at least a foot. What was up with all these tall guys in her life anyway? Wasn't tallness a recessive gene? Tall people are freaks of nature, not in a derogatory sense—mostly nature favored shortness in humans or something like that. Sara was no science genius— she had just barely passed physics! Sometimes her knowledge of trivia was pretty impressive, but that only made her fluffy like a whipped pancake...

"I'm so exhausted. Is Gina home yet?"

"Didn't see her since yesterday." Taylor shrugged his boyish shoulders. Just a few years back, Sara remembered how he sounded just like a girl. Now he had a low toned voice and in the mornings, he had to shave—well he pretended to shave. He even had a few strands of auburn hair on his chest. With eyes green like a forest and short cropped auburn hair, Taylor looked one hundred percent... stupid to Sara.

"For someone who is mooching off of us, you are entirely useless. Useless I say!" Sara flung a cushion pillow at Taylor's head. Taylor caught it—no big surprise, he played baseball—and smacked it squarely on Sara's forehead.

"Ow! I was just hit here earlier!" With a flying cork from a bottle. Imagine that! What if she was taller and the cork had hit her squarely in the eye? Then she'd be a pirate with a patch over her eye—thank nature for providing her with more horizontal growth than vertical... sometimes. Her hips... Oh how Sara hated her childbearing hips! Why did all the good genes have to go to Gina? She could eat like a heifer and not gain an ounce!

Gina... was she still out? At least she could afford to give her caring family a call. Well, Sara could call her too— they all had their cellphones.

But since when were younger sisters supposed to be so naggy and concerned with the whereabouts and welfare of their older sisters? This wasn't Sara's duty as the youngest of the three Affen sisters to worry about the older ones—in fact, Sara should be very angry at the moment because neither Lenra nor Gina were home to receive Sara's spewing of words and to ease the confusion in her chaotic heart. She had so much she needed to spill into an open ear... But the only available ear at the moment belonged to Taylor and Sara made an ugly face at that thought. Taylor would just laugh at her troubles, her boy troubles.

"Good night Taylor. Bad dreams and I hope you roll off the bed and crack your thick head." "Same to you, evil witch of the land of Big Hips."

"I'll poison you." Sara shook a fist.

"Not before you poison yourself. Ha I make myself laugh." And he laughed—like a stupid hyena on drugs.

"That's because you're retarded." Sara stormed upstairs, took care of her sweaty clothes and teeth that were in need of much brushing, and plopped on her bed face first. "Oof." Two fingers traveled slowly to her chin and then her lips. She swept her fingers over her lips softly and the touch felt nothing like a kiss. But even Kyle's kiss felt... strange. She had not expected a kiss to be so spontaneous, so callous, so... lacking in fireworks and heartbeats. She found herself feeling more anger than embarrassment from Kyle's invasion of her lips.

Think nothing of it. He didn't steal my first kiss. It was more like a peck on the lips, that's right. Stupid Kyle. He used to be so fat. Now when did I become so superficial? He is kind of cute now but he's not Ian. Ian... Good night Ian.

She wondered what it would be like to fall asleep with another's beating heart by her ear. She wondered if she would still need a blanket with another's arms around her at night. She wondered what it would be like to wake up to the smiling face of the one she loved... She often woke up to see Gina's face (but that was different!)—Gina looked like a ghost in her sleep but at the very moment she would wake up, she looked gorgeous again—unlike Sara who looked like a zombie for a whole good third of her waking and sleeping moments. Sara curled into a ball and fell asleep, only to scream awake in the middle of the night from having a nightmare. Kyle's gigantic lips had chased after her and drowned her in spit.

She sat up in bed and in the dark, she could see Gina sleeping on her bed. Gina always woke up at the slightest of sounds but for some reason, Sara's scream did nothing to disturb her sleep.

She must be exhausted... from what though? Sara's eyelids drooped. Sleep, good sleep... no more nightmares please!

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The minutes ticked away and before long, it was 3:24 AM and Ian's eyes were wide open. Mina...

Ian rubbed the picture in the frame he held in his hand. This year, if she were still alive, she'd be sixteen years old and squealing about her sweet-sixteen party like every privileged teen girl ought to. She'd be able to see the model houses he had built for her... the Mina Gardens, Mina's spa-room... Only Mina encouraged Ian when his dreams of becoming an architect were still nascent. Only Mina knew of his dreams and she played her part as his little sister well—he made her feel like a hero.

Their father had died too soon, but Ian still wanted to follow a dead man's footsteps—a dead man like Matthew Collins was far greater than a man alive like Jack Bolster. Bastard. Sick bastard. Chills ran down Ian's spine and anger coursed through his veins in the form of blood nearly boiled.

His stormy blue eyes stared at Mina's face in the picture. Thoughts of Sara suddenly invaded his head. With a smile and a few rare tears escaping from his eyes, Ian curled up into a fetal position in bed while hugging Mina's picture close to his heart.

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"So, you think you can set me up on a date with Lisa?" asked Taylor before he gulped down a whole glass of OJ. "For the millionth time... NO!" "Why not?"

Sara rubbed her temples.Lisa probably hates me right now and stupid Taylor wants me to set them up on a date? Stupid Taylor—thank goodness stupidity doesn't run in the family!

Silly Sara, you ain't much of a genius yourself. Ain't isn't a word? Shut up.

"Because you're not her type. You're too... young. And your pimples scare her."

"But I only have one! And we're practically the same age!" Taylor pointed to the little pink bump under the tip of his nose, a bump one could barely see unless he/she was right in front of Taylor's face.

"Too bad. I have to go to work."

"Will you two keep it down a little?" Gina came downstairs and muttered a few ear burning words. She had panda eyes and her hair was a mess—still she managed to look ethereal.

"Well good morning to you too." Taylor narrowed his eyes at Gina. "Where did you go partying with what's his name?"

"Jerry? We broke up."

Sara's eyes widened.

"I spent a day with him as he was crying like a baby and claiming he'd kill himself if I leave him."

"My god... what happened then?"

"I slapped him, hugged him, and spent hours talking to him. Sometimes I wonder why I even start relationships when I know I'd be the one to end them."

So Sara was wrong. This was surprising. "I thought you guys were having a blast together." Though Sara felt bad for Jerry, she was secretly glad Gina broke off their relationship—he was going nowhere and Gina was reaching high for the stars and beyond.

"Alright guys, I have to get to work. I'll see you tonight."

"Bye."

Sara stood up and gave Gina a last glance before she left the table. For some reason, Gina's expression seemed odd. Her face belonged to someone troubled and to someone who had just lied. No silly. Gina never lied. And she had no reason to. Sara shrugged off her thought and ran out of the house for work.

----------------------------------------------- Like a child, she skipped into the creamery and expected Ian to come in at least a few minutes after her arrival, on his bike as usual. Since he had given her a rose yesterday, she wondered if she needed to give him a gift in return. What would Ian like? Girly ribbons for his bike so other girls would know he's taken? Matching rings? Matching tattoos? Sara frowned at that thought—Mama would smack her to oblivion if she got a tattoo. She had to beg so hard when she was thirteen just to get a second hole in each earlobe. Sara bit her bottom lip in thought and looked like an idiot when she used too much brainpower, a cute idiot. A jar of stars! Sara clapped her hands together and smiled as her heart giggled—Ian wouldn't be able to do anything but look at the jar of stars (made from colorful and luminescent origami paper strips). She had begged Jackie Li to teach her how to make the stars last year and had never had a chance to make a full jar. Each star, Jackie told her, represented a wish. Every time one wanted a wish to come true, all one had to do was unfold the star and write a wish on the paper strip, bury it beneath the moon and voila... Sara doubted it would work but the notion was sweet and even romantic. Yes, she would make a jar for Ian then.

Half a dozen of sticky customers and three hours later, Ian had not shown up for work. Every time the door opened, Sara perked her head to see if it was Ian who had just entered. Sara sighed and failed to greet the next person who came into the creamery.

"You're alone here today?" The Boss! Sara cringed and her mouth felt frozen.

The Boss was a middle-aged man with enough spunk to fill the souls of fifty teenage girls. He spiked his dark hair and wore shades even on days when clouds hid the sun, and yes even at night and even when he entered buildings—hospitals, churches, he'd didn't care. He was short by Ian, Taylor, and Kyle standards and thin like a branch. Sara had a feeling he snorted something up his nose—it was always pink and he always had the sniffles.

He wore a white dress suit and looked like Winter Willy Wonka of ice cream land.

"Where's Ian?" "He's... He just stepped out."

The Boss narrowed his eyes. "For what reason?"

"He..." Lies, Sara was terrible at telling them.

"I don't care what his excuse is. You have to work for my money. The next time this happens, he's fired." The Boss stepped over to the counter and eyed the ice cream vats.

Sara frowned slightly. With one month of summer left, she didn't know how to face the creamery alone if Ian were fired.

"I... I underrrsstand..." "Good." The Boss smirked his oily lips and ran fingers that got stuck in his gel-overkilled hair. Sara tried hard not to laugh. The Boss frowned and left the creamery like the diva he was.

Ian... He probably spent the night on his applications to where... Scotland, right.

Sara sighed and with the Boss gone, Sara resumed her duties as the ice cream clerk and taste-tester... Mmm, rocky road.

-------------------------------------------------- Jenna woke up with a headache at 4 PM in the afternoon, or near dusk rather had it been fall instead of summer. She could hear her brother and his friends practicing their moves as a makeshift band downstairs in the garage. She could hear the wailing of her cousin's kids—their babysitter was Jenna's somewhat pedophilic mother. Jenna smirked and smelled smoke laced with the odors of her body—sweat and something else. She yawned and rolled in her bed and her temples throbbed. Outside, the dreaded sun was having its fun, giving beach goers cancer.

Jenna rubbed her eyes and specks of black eyeliner and mascara makeup covered her fingers. She stretched her arms over her head and looked down.

On the floor next to her bed was a half-naked Kyle Sharp.

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Ian watched the waves from the beach roll in and wash over the sands. One month ago, he found himself amused by the sight of Sara in a granny's one-piece underneath the cover of a big watermelon umbrella. She made him forget his reality, forget his troubles... She brought back his laughter and his smiles. He made a turn on his bike. Sara's shift—well his if he were working at the moment—would soon be over. --------------------------------------------------- Sara stood idle outside the creamery. If only a knight in shining armor upon a white horse could come by and whisk her away to a land of fantasy and magic. Or just Ian, on his bike, to give her a ride home. Hey, she wasn't just lazy— she loved their bike rides... Well they had only had one so far but still. "Where is he?"

Down the street was Lisa in a pink halter-top, walking toward her with a very peeved look on her lovely face.

"I... don't know. I'm sorry Lisa." Sara sent her eyes toward her shoes and she swallowed. "I really like him."

"I don't care."

Sara needed more toes and fingers to count the number of boys Lisa had taken hearts from. A few of them, Sara even had crushes on, but they never noticed her. Shadows were easily ignored. Every Valentine's Day, as the roses and chocolates piled like mountains in front of Lisa's door, Sara was alone and wishing she had a secret admirer, wishing someone would care about her enough to give her a gift on such a special day. Jenna always said Valentine's was just a commercial and marketing ploy of major businesses, but even she received a vial of blood from a secret admirer... and Sara knew it made her feel good.

Though the rose Ian had given her was already wilting, she hung it upside down in the boiler room at home and waited for it to dry so she could keep it forever. Her first rose, a single long-stemmed was more special to her than a million bouquets.

"I love you Lisa. But sometimes, I have to love myself too."

Lisa narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth. "You know what? You're selfish. You knew I liked him from the moment I saw him."

But he rejected you... Did people like the chase? Did Lisa like Ian even more after he was hard to get?

"I told you you're not my cup of tea."

Ian! "Hop on Sara."

"If you dare, our friendship is over," Lisa hissed.

Sara felt as though her heart had shattered into a million pieces. Her eyes passed from Ian's face to Lisa's.

"If you can't accept this, you don't deserve Sara's friendship."

"Ian..." Sara found his smile irresistible. She had known Lisa for years. But Lisa didn't even know what her favorite color was. Or ever comfort her when she was sad. Or stand up for her in school when she was bullied for stuttering when nervous. Or care for her feelings...

"Goodbye Lisa."

Sara took her seat behind Ian on the bike and he pedaled off, toward where, Sara didn't care. She buried her face on Ian's back and closed her eyes to prevent tears from escaping down to her cheeks and chin.