Page 90 of Angel of Thursdays

* * *

Tuesday morning found May back in Chinatown, backpack slung over his shoulder as he hopped off the bus and walked up toward Stockton, saluting the colorful Buddha mural near the stop. The rain had halted mid-ride, seemingly just for him. Tori was singing in his ears as he passed by restaurants and hair shops and restaurants and hair shops and clinics and hair shops, and overhead the red lanterns from Saturday’s parade still hung over the street, paper a little weather-beaten now—the city’s CNY celebration come and gone while he’d been eating pasta in Dogpatch.

May sent the text to Cassiel even though there was almost no chance Cassiel had been within five miles of Chinatown:

May

Stockton looks like firecracker carnage. You dodged it, “Chinatown Guy”

The response came just as he was shoving his phone back into his pocket:

OPPA

By design.

– Koreatown Guy

May shook his head.

* * *

On Tuesday evening, May was sitting on the couch with his green notebook open, doodling circles. Green for personal. Green for family. He sighed and picked up his phone, only to find a text from Lauren front and center.

Lauren

Friendship test. Tell Cass he’s wrong.

May didn’t want to fail the test, so he obediently opened to the text thread for OPPA :

May

Cass, you’re wrong.

The reply came quite rapidly:

OPPA

Don’t speak for Lauren.

Do you want to call me Cass?

May

Uh!!!! Do you want me to call you Cass?

OPPA

hm.

No.

Wednesday, May sent a photo of the rain through Lau Kee’s kitchen window, the glass fogged, the neon of the BBQ sign bleeding red through the condensation, because it was pretty. Cassiel sent back a photo of the pocket watch, fully assembled, and a thumbs up.

Later that night, May tried out three versions of the jacket question before landing on:

May

Soooo do you want this jacket back?