The Puppet Girl

Cabbage!

Rain's stomach growled as he shuffled through his edited versions of music. He was working on the beats of a song that was rumoured to be the next big thing in clubs. Unlike his late brother and father, his ambition in life was to be a notable Dj, but his aunt had other plans.

He encountered Summer at the diningroom but was distracted by the odd and limited spread of Spanish cuisine. Something was different that afternoon, It wasn't the typical la comida (lunch) known in Spain as the largest meal of the day compromising of multiple courses. There were no roasted lambs, rabbit stew, fresh fish and fried potatoes, instead, there were vegetables and oh ya! vegetables again. Novia served the bowl of vegetable stew to Rain and chuckled when Rain complained.

"I asked Novio to prepare some traditional Irish dishes for lunch, hope you like it," Mrs Guerrero informed Summer and gave a stern look at Rain. Rolling his eyes, he helped himself with the other dishes until he noticed that his worst enemy had invaded every dish. Right from the stew to the main course to the salads and the traditional Hunter's pie, they all were prepared with cabbages.

"Mierda! One of my worst nightmares have finally come true," Rain puked and lost his appetite while the rest helped themselves and appreciated the change in the menu.

"Miss puppet is being pampered a bit too much!" he grumbled and noticed how everyone made an effort to please her.

"Did you plan to kill me with cabbages or you ended up buying the entire farm?" Rain interrupted and caught everyone's attention.

"There's no harm in trying out something new, if you don't like it you are free to leave," His aunt snapped and pursed her lips.

Insulted, he stormed out in his car and drove over to Pancho Café, where he and his friends frequented every weekend. Barging in with a sour look, he failed to respond to the waitress who greeted him with a warm smile and head straight to his favourite table at the corner. As he slouched on the seat, the waitress came over and leaned over the table. "So shall I get the regular one?" she squeezed her assets between her arms and smiled flirtatiously.

Rain clenched his fist and gave her a nasty look. "Why do you bother asking me when you already know it?" he vented out his frustration on her.

As he sat there with his palm pressed to his face,  his best friend Alicia came over and surprised him. "Rainerio, why didn't you call? I have got so much to tell you," She sat beside him and ran both her hands down her pin-straight black hair. She went on blabbering while he just stared at the television screen airing the repeat telecast of the football match between Spain and Ireland.

"...and then he suggested to go in for this, doesn't my hair look much glossier now?" she said and found him glued to the screen. 

"Rainerio, are you even listening to what I've been saying?" Alicia reached for his hand and gasped seeing his scar. "Rainerio! What happened to your face?" she held his face and leaned forward to have a closer look.  "Hola! are you guys making out? Since when have you been dating each other?" Max commented as he and Adrian walked in.

" Shut up! We weren't making out, look at his face! Rainerio hurt," she turned red in embarrassment and withdrew her hands.

"Wow that's awesome amigo, looks like you got into a brawl or something," Adrian leaned forward and felt amused on seeing the scar. "Eh that's ridiculous! Rainerio is not the kind to get gets into a fight," she puckered her nose and had all eyes for him.

"It's nothing serious, I just ran into some hooligans," he explained.

"You just ran into some hooligans...Ha-ha now what would you say to that Alicia?" Max sniggered 

"You what?" she pulled Rain's face towards hers and took a dramatic pause.

"I said it was nothing, I was just rescuing her," 

"Rescuing her?" Alicia's eyes widened. 

"Hmm... Rescuing a senorita I see, was she petty?" Max smirked while Adrian grinned.

"Calm your balls, it was that Irish parcel..." Rain frowned as Max lit a cigarette.

"Irish parcel? Whom are you talking about?" Alicia looked puzzled.

"Oh Meirda! You mean that Irish chic! Now, what was her name you said?" Max held the cigarette with his teeth and cracked his knuckles. 

 "You know this woman he is talking about?" Adrian widened his eyes in astonishment and stared at Max.

"Will, someone tell me who she is?" Alicia grinded her teeth and pulled Rain's arm for attention.

"It's Summer!"  Rain blurted.

"Summer! Ha-ha and I thought only you had a weird name...Rain. It's like two different seasons," Adrian smiled slyly revealing his bucktooth while Max mocked him for smoking.

"Can we change the topic I have had enough of her already? It was nothing...just forget it." he dogged the question.

"You spoil your face for her and you say it's nothing?"  Alicia controlled her temper and tied her hair into a bun. Noticing how upset Rain sounded, Max decided to speak on behalf of him. When he ended Alicia calmed down and felt much relieved, "So basically you find her annoying, right?" she untied her hair and let the ends fall over her shoulder.

"Annoying? She is overrated in my house. She took away my tia', Amado and Amada and then she has the nerve to remain ungrateful after I rescued her," Rain clenched his teeth in frustration.

"Oh poor you, she is so horrible!" Alicia sympathised and rested her head against his arm.

"Dude! Mind explaining what exactly happened on the street?" Max enquired. "Yeah! How did it all happen?" Adrian pestered as well.

"Well...Tia told me to show her around the city, I took her to the museum that day when you suddenly called and then we left for the club and...." Rain narrated the whole incidence.

  "No wonder she's getting back at you now," Max quoted when rain finished.

"Knock it off Max, whose side are you anyways?" Alicia stared at Max angrily. "Don't listen to them Rainerio, I can understand what you're going through," 

"I can understand what you're going through!" Adrian pouted and imitated her voice.

Max and Rain burst out laughing after seeing  Adrian mimicking Alicia, Adrian was the joker who always made them laugh. "How dare you Adrian and Rainerio stop laughing I was the one supporting you a while ago, remember?" she fumed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Sorry but Adrian's expressions are epic," Rain smiled at Adrian.

"So what are you planning on doing now?" Max fixed his gaze at him.

"I'll tell you, send her back to Ireland!" Alicia interrupted and glared at Rain.

"Hmm...Send her back...That isn't possible," He traced a line on the table and frowned.

"Nothing is impossible when you have rogues, sorry friends like us," Max smiled wickedly while Adrian sniggered.

"Ya bring her along someday, I want to meet her personally," Alicia sounded excited.

"It's no use, she will never come out with me, leave alone introducing you guys to her," Rain rolled his eyes.

"Hmm...No problem, you can try it at home as well, we will give you ideas and you just apply them till she finally decides to migrate back to Ireland,"  Adrian commented and slapped the table.

"Sounds cool," Rain nodded his head and Imagined Summer catching the next flight back to Ireland.

The following days didn't go the way Summer had planned, especially on days when Rain planned on staying indoors. He made it a point to irritate her as much as possible especially when his aunt wasn't around to monitor his activities. He would call the twins out of nowhere if he found them enjoying with her. He would turn out the lights on the pretext of saving electricity if she was nearby. He even saw to it that Novio attended to his needs first and then Summer's. At first, Summer ignored him, but when things got unbearable,  she remembered Mrs Guerrero's advice and mustered the courage to finally confront Rain.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Amado sat with a grumpy face in the lawn.

"I don't know, whatever you like?" Rain balanced the soccer ball on his foot.

"I'd like to go back to where Summer and Amada are, it was so much fun there," Amado sulked in the scorching heat and raised his head to meet Rain's gaze.

"Eh fun? You're a boy, you don't play with girls and dolls," Rain remarked and continued playing with the soccer ball when suddenly Summer walked up to him. 

"Ca...Can we talk?" She chewed her nails and waited for his response. "Ranerio..." she called out to him again while Amado smiled in relief after seeing her. "It's not Ranerio, call me Rain..." he finally acknowledged her presence and continued playing with the ball.

"Sorry! But I think we should sort out our differences...Rain," she added.

"You think so...Hmm what makes you feel we have differences?" Rain kicked the ball away and shifted his gaze at Summer.

Summer appeared puzzled and wondered how to continue the conversation. "Look I know you don't like me, so I've decided..." 

"You're leaving? You're going back!" Rain's face lit up in utter relief. "I knew you were missing your home, you've taken the right call!" he stretched both his arms on the pretext of giving her a hug.

"Uh...No I didn't mean that!" she lowered her gaze and cringed when she saw his sturdy reaching for her.

"You didn't mean that? then what did you mean?" Rain paused his arms mid-air and stared endlessly. 

"I was thinking that maybe we can forget the past...and be friends?" She smiled nervously.

"Friends?" She raised her hand with all courage and waited for his reaction. Unprepared for the twist,  Rain dejectedly walked past her without saying a word.

Unfazed, she shoved her hands back in her pocket. It was for the first time that she had offered her hand in friendship to another person.  It didn't affect her much though, she knew very well that she wasn't good at making friends.