Chapter Seven

James stared at Jade as if she had just told him that the sky was green and grass was pink. His eyebrows shot up so high they nearly left his forehead.

Jade, who had been expecting a much calmer reaction, frowned in confusion.

"What's with that expression? Why are you looking at me like that? My mom is my mom, obviously. So stop calling her Scarlett's mom like she's some random landlady you just met."

James blinked, still trying to process the information.

"So… you are their daughter?"

"Yes, Sherlock, that is exactly what I just said," Jade snapped, crossing her arms.

James took a deep breath and muttered under his breath, "Wow… how unfortunate."

Jade froze. "Excuse me?"

James looked her up and down like he was witnessing a tragedy unfold.

"I just feel bad for them," he said with a dramatic sigh. "Your parents are good people, kind, hardworking, well-respected teachers. And yet… somehow, the universe decided to punish them by giving them you."

Jade gasped. The audacity.

"WHAT did you just say?" she screeched, looking ready to yeet him across the marketplace.

James shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean, it just doesn't add up. You're lazy, entitled, and unnecessarily hostile for no reason. How do such wonderful people end up raising someone like you? I almost feel bad for them."

Jade was boiling. If she were Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender, this would be the moment blue flames erupted from her mouth.

"An irresponsible, nosy, uneducated street thug like you dares to insult me?!" she shot back. "Who do you think you are?! You!! YOU are nothing but a carpenter with the emotional maturity of a five-year-old."

James rubbed his temple, realizing that engaging in this argument was actively reducing his life expectancy.

"Okay, first of all," he began, "I am a very skilled carpenter. Secondly, I am not nosy—"

"OH PLEASE."

"...and thirdly, you're dodging the real question. If you're their daughter, then who is Scarlett?"

Jade smirked. "Why do you care so much?"

James crossed his arms. "If you must know, it's because your mother has never called her 'my daughter' only 'Scarlett.' And honestly? That's weird."

Jade clicked her tongue. "Nosy."

James smirked. "Smart."

Jade decided she was done with this conversation. She bent down and reached for her bag, which had been innocently minding its own business on the ground during their argument.

James saw an opportunity.

And did something truly reckless.

He snatched her bag.

Jade blinked.

Then slowly, so very slowly, turned her head to face him.

"You…" Her voice was dangerously calm. "You just took my bag?"

James held it up like a prized trophy. "Tell me what I want to know, and you can have it back."

Jade inhaled sharply. "On top of being irresponsible and nosy, you're also a petty little thief?"

"Not a thief. A negotiator," James corrected.

"You are a grown man, James. Why are you out here behaving like a malnourished toddler who just discovered blackmail?"

"Call it what you want," James said smugly, "but the fact remains... I have the bag. You have the answer. Let's trade."

Jade was fuming.

"It is really my bad luck to meet a stupid man like you in this hot weather," she muttered.

"I don't care. Just tell me what I want to know, and you can be on your way," James replied, ignoring her insults like a pro.

Just as Jade was about to commit an actual crime, a familiar voice interrupted them.

"WHAT is going on here?"

Both of them froze.

Jade turned like a child caught stealing meat from the pot. James turned with the guilty slowness of a man who had just been caught red-handed.

Standing before them, with an unimpressed expression, was Lovett Shawn.

Jade's mother.

Lovett had just been on her way to buy something from the general market when she saw her daughter and James fighting over a handbag. She could not believe her eyes.

Jade quickly hid behind James like he was some sort of human shield.

"Mom, he started it," she mumbled.

James stared at her, offended. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

Lovett folded her arms. "I don't care who started it. James, why are you holding Jade's bag?"

James, realizing he was outnumbered, sighed and quickly put the bag down. "It's not what it looks like."

"Oh? It looks like you two are out here embarrassing yourselves in front of half the market," Lovett said, looking around.

And that's when they noticed it.

Vendors, shoppers, and passersby were watching them.

James stiffened. Jade turned as red as a ripe tomato.

"Oh my God," she whispered, lifting her bag to cover her face.

Lovett sighed heavily.

"James," she said. "I thought you were a big man? Why are you arguing with a girl younger than you?"

"Thank you!" Jade interjected.

"And YOU," Lovett turned to Jade, "should know better than to talk disrespectfully to an older person."

Jade's mouth snapped shut.

"Now apologize to James," Lovett commanded.

Jade looked at the sky like it personally offended her. Then, with the enthusiasm of a prisoner reading out their sentence, she mumbled, "I'm sorry, James."

"Louder," Lovett said.

Jade internally screamed.

"I'm sorry, James!" she repeated with fake enthusiasm.

James, who was still processing what just happened, awkwardly scratched his head. "Uh… okay. I'm sorry too."

"Good." Lovett clapped her hands together. "Now, if I ever catch the two of you arguing in the middle of the street again, you will both be sorry. Look at how everyone's staring at you. Aren't you ashamed?"

James stole a glance at the crowd.

One of the vendors gave him a thumbs-up.

Another woman shook her head like a disappointed teacher.

A random kid whispered to his mother, "Mommy, are they fighting over a handbag?"

James wanted the earth to swallow him whole.

Jade was already hailing a taxi.

"This is his fault," she thought. "I'm never stepping foot in this market again."

James, on the other hand, was trying to regain his dignity when Lovett suddenly said, "Come for dinner tonight."

James blinked. "Huh?"

"I said," Lovett repeated, "come for dinner. You're always working; you should eat a good meal."

James panicked.

"Ah, um, I'll be busy—"

"Busy doing what?"

James floundered.

"Uh… carpentry stuff?"

Lovett gave him a look. "Alright. Just remember, our door is always open."

"Yes, ma," James replied, feeling deeply trapped.

Lovett nodded and walked away.

Jade sped off in her taxi.

And James?

He sat back down, rubbing his temple.

"How," he muttered to himself, "did I just get invited to dinner after all that?"

The universe was truly against him.