Orion pushed the whiteboard into the lounge-room, its wheels squeaking along the floor. The other three sat sprawled across the sofas, eagerly awaiting for their friend to pull himself together-operation Gobble (kudos to Saffron for the stupid-as name) wouldn't get underway on its own.

"Hello, class. My name is Orion Zhou, but you can call me Mr. Zhou," Orion announced, hands on his hips. He looked like an overly-earnest substitute teacher, new to the system and naïve about the upcoming hell his teenage students would make him endure. He just needed to tuck his shirt into his jeans, snag a pair of oversized reading glasses, and change his Nikes into moccasins and he'd be perfect for the role.

Crickets chirped in the background, and a tumbleweed rolled across the room.

Orion's neck shrunk away into his oversized t-shirt like a turtle. "Wow, looks like a couple of somebodies are a lil grumpy today," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Do we really have to do this?" Saffron sat up, phone in hand as if it was an extension of his arm. He always had his damn phone on him nowadays; Zara was extremely tempted to just steal it when his back was turned and go through his messages...she blinked incredulously, biting the inside of her cheek. Was she jealous? Hell no she wasn't. They were friends, just friends. She forced herself to look away from him before he caught her staring. "Can't we just have a normal Thanksgiving?"

Orion chuckled dryly, turning his back to Saffron so he could momentarily rest his forehead against the whiteboard. "Do we seem 'normal' to you?" He said when he turned back around, then raised his fingers in the air, imitating quotation marks. Saffron swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"'Course not. But my parents want me to go see the floats with them this year-"

"You can join us, or get out Saffron," Zara snapped. She didn't want to hear about his parents or anybody's parents for that matter! She didn't get to pick, and neither did he. It was selfish of her to think that way, but she didn't care. If he was going to be difficult with her, then so was she. So was she!

The muscle in Saffron's jaw tensed at her words, but he didn't look at her, instead ducking his head and resting his elbows on his knees. Orion looked first at Saffron then at Zara. He even shot a look at Aurora, who shrugged with one shoulder, "She's right, dude."

Zara raised an eyebrow-had she heard that right or...? Saffron shook his head and stood up, grabbing his belongings. "Since not even you are going to back me up, I'm leaving," Saffron said, pulling his jacket on and glaring at Orion. "I'm not going to sit here and get gang-banged. I'm spending Thanksgiving on my terms, and that's that."

Zara just watched him, confused.

Nobody is arguing with you?

"No one's stopping you," Zara said, pulling her hair into one hand and bringing it over a shoulder, "we can easily do this on our own. We always do anyway. You're too much of a wuss to ever join in."

"Ooooooooooh," Orion hooted, covering his face with his hands. Aurora's eyes widened and she bit her lower lip, tucking her feet underneath her. Saffron's red hair started to shimmer, morphing into flames which danced around the crown of his head; even his eyes seemed ablaze, his brow twitching with anger. He looked like he was about to have an embolism, for how far the vein in his neck protruded outwards.

"That's because I-" His mouth stayed open, as if he was about to say something earth-shatteringly denigrating but had then thought better of it. It opened and closed, like a nutcracker.

"Are you going to take that? Are you going to take that?" Orion taunted, his teenage-side coming out more arduously than ever. Saffron snarled at him and sat back down, crossing his arms and pouting like a toddler.

Zara slowly nodded, the side of her lip curling into a small smile. She had won this round. "Alright, since that's settled, I think we should-"

"Let's make a bet." He interrupted. The fire on his head kept dancing, but this time it was with maliciousness, rather than anger. Zara raised that eyebrow again, giving Orion an is-this-guy-serious look.

"What bet?" She asked, without missing a beat. Saffron made eye-contact with her, his eyes twinkling.

"A bet." He leaned back against the back of the sofa, that charming smile on his face. There was the Saffron Zara knew-the playful, childlike one, not the moping, snappish one. She inched forwards, intrigued.

"We're listening," Orion said.

The smile on Saffron's face grew impossibly larger; the bastard was enjoying himself. "I bet that I'm better in action than you are, a better thief."

Zara sucked a sharp breath in, but then she burst into laughter. Was he serious? Was he completely nuts? "Yeah, ok Saffron. You're literally digging your own grave and shovelling dirt over yourself."

"No no no, listen," He said slowly, shaking his head and standing up again. He walked over to Zara and crouched down in front of her, his nose just inches away from hers. She could feel his hot minty breath against her face, and it was mildly disturbing her, but she maintained her stance. She could feel Orion and Aurora's eyes on her, holding their breaths. "I bet-" Saffron began, and Zara could see flecks of black in his eyes for how close he was to her, "that I can pickpocket more stuff than you at the parade."

Zara giggled, resting her elbow on her knee and her cheek on her hand. She tilted her head, her eyes scouring every single pore and imperfection on Saffron's face. "Are you willing to put money on it?" Zara asked, and her eyelashes fluttered innocently.

"Not exactly," he said, and he swivelled to look at Orion, who was staring at the two with wide eyes.

Orion licked his lips, attempting to decipher the look his crouched friend was giving him. After a while, the hidden message finally registered on Orion's face, and his almond eyes narrowed as he grinned maniacally. "I know where this is going, bro, you devil," he chuckled.

Zara looked at the two of them confusedly, and even at Aurora, who was oddly quiet for the situation. Usually she'd be right next to her, tugging at Saffron's collar to make him spill the beans, but she seemed a little distant. Her facial expression seemed dead, devoid of any emotion.

"Something even better," Saffron said enigmatically, "but I'll only tell you after you tell me first. What's your prize if you win?"

Zara sunk back into cushions and away from Saffron's sickly-sweet scent, mulling over her choices.

The world was but a canvas for her imagination.

Make him her personal slave for a whole month? The cinnamon challenge? The ice bucket challenge?

Too many choices. She pursed her lips together and looked at Aurora, hoping that she would have an idea, "What do you think I should do?"

Aurora didn't reply-she was lost in her own little world.

"Aurora!" Zara called out, and Aurora jolted in place.

"What?" Her face was a shade unnaturally darker than her neck and arms, meaning that she had gone overboard with the foundation. Zara couldn't help but scrutinise her face with her eyes; it was unnatural for Aurora to use a foundation that didn't match her pale skin tone.

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Ideas for what?"

"Damn girl. Where were you this whole time, Mars?" Orion complained, exasperated. He was sitting on the floor now, his legs in front of him.

"I'm sorry-I..."

"Saffron bet that he could steal more stuff than me at the Thanksgiving parade next week. I don't know what my reward should be, since I already know that I'm going to win," Zara smirked, and Saffron slapped her shin.

A shadow seemed to pass over Aurora as she became lost in thought, but after a moment she nodded slowly and looked at Zara, "If you win, Saffron has to punch Sebastian in the face."

"No fucking way!" Orion and Saffron exclaimed simultaneously. Falling back against the floor, Saffron banged his head against the coffee table and cursed in pain; he rolled onto his side and curled into a ball, laughing and whimpering at the same time. Zara guffawed and even Aurora's eyes lit up in amusement. The suggestion wasn't bad, Zara decided, it would have to make do for now.

"Okay, well I guess the bet is-"

"I'll do it, if and only if you win. Which I'll make sure you won't because I don't want to get my ass kicked," Saffron sat up, rubbing the growing lump on his head and wincing.

"Whatever. What's your prize?" Zara was getting a little antsy now, she really wanted to know what he would make her do if she lost. She wasn't going to, but it would still serve as a good laugh. Zara didn't expect anything too fancy and embarrassing, as Saffron was still amiable and didn't revel in the suffering of others.

Saffron cleared his throat and crawled back up to Zara, his face serious again.

"If I win...you have to kiss me. On the mouth," he pointed to his lips.

"Oh...I...Uhm," Zara was at a loss of words, blushing like she had never blushed before. She covered her face with both hands and lifted her feet onto the couch, blocking him out. Was he serious? He couldn't be! But of course he was...if he was joking he would've already told her by now. Oh God, she wanted to die of embarrassment! Also Aurora seemed to be shocked, but Orion just sat there with a stupid grin on his face.

"You were onboard with this all along weren't you?" Zara squealed, pointing an accusatory finger at Orion. Her eyes darted back down to Saffron, who was staring at her with that smile on his face, and Zara turned an impossibly deeper shade of red. A huge lump formed in her throat and she wished she could sink away into the couch and out of their sight.

Saffron stood up, seemingly satisfied, and went back to his own spot, "Then it's settled. If I win you have to kiss me but if you win...then I'll probably have to get a name change and move to Mexico."


"No! I won't do it!" Zara rocked back and forth, biting her lip. Why was she so afraid? Saffron could never outdo her in pickpocketing, neither in this lifetime nor in a million. She just...wow even she didn't know how she felt. Why was she being so shy? She squeezed her eyes shut, her heart drumming frenetically in her chest.

She had made it blindingly clear that her intentions were different from his. He was so damn stubborn!

"But you have to...or are you a chicken?" Orion started to cluck like one, flapping his arms back and forth. Saffron joined in, until the two of them were both walking in circles and mocking her, looking idiotic.

"Alright! I'll do it!" Zara yelled, glaring at both of the boys who fist bumped in victory. Saffron trudged over to her and held out his hand.

"Then we have to shake on it."

Zara took his hand and shook it firmly without a second thought, determination in her eyes that matched his own. Neither of them wanted to lose. Zara sure as hell didn't, or she was the one that would have to get that name change and move to Mexico.

"Alrightio!" Orion jumped up to his feet and patted his pockets in search of a whiteboard marker, "Glad that you decided to hang with us man. I really need the money, I'm broke."

"Already?" Saffron settled down, crossing his arms, "It was like...900 bucks!"

"Yeah yeah, I know. But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do y'know? I got myself a new pair of kicks..."

What kicks? He's still wearing those nasty old sneakers.

Orion caught Zara's judgemental gaze, and grinned, "Not on me. Jesus, girl, stop hating. They're safe in the comfort of my shoe-rack back at home. I also bought a ton of ramen noodles and paid off a couple of debts here and there..." He finally found the marker on the whiteboard's ledge, and he popped the lid off with his thumb.

Zara had spent the majority of her money on the bills her grandfather had been unable to pay. Rent, electricity, water...there was barely anything left to spend on commodities. The hundred dollar bill which remained was safely tucked away in a shoebox underneath her bed. 

"O.K. Orion, as much as I love listening to your life story, note the sarcasm, let's get down and dirty with this plan, we don't have all night." Zara pulled out a notebook from her bag and opened it to the first page. For the first time in her life, she was actually going to take notes for a mission.

"Taking notes, are we?" Saffron chuckled, "She really wants to win this bet!"

Zara narrowed her eyes at him, unamused. She wrote the date on the top left-hand corner of the page, ignoring the ensuing laughter from the two man-children. This notebook wasn't going to be only for the stupid bet, but also for her own necessities. The other night, after much pondering, she had decided to record the most important parts of her day, so that in the event of a black-out, her memories would be down on paper and not completely gone.

She ripped out the page and crumpled it, throwing it at Saffron and hitting him square in the face.

He stopped laughing.

With a sigh, she started over again, this time with "Operation Gobble" written in the centre of the page as well as the date in a corner.

Orion flipped the whiteboard over onto its other side, revealing a huge map of the city. "Since party-pooper here wants to get started so bad, let's. The parade starts here, somewhere in between The American Museum of Natural History and the New York Historical Society," he drew a big circle around the area, "and it ends just about....here on 7th Avenue, 34 Street Penn Station." Another circle. He connected the two points with a red line in the shape of a misshapen thunderbolt, and then he droned about his plan.

An hour later, Zara had filled about four pages with notes with her hand cramping from the effort. You'd think that pickpocketing was a spur-of-the-moment thing, but they always took it to the next level. They had to know where the cops would be stationed, where the majority of the public would be standing, and other crucial details in order to prevent a repeat of last time.

Saffron yawned, lifting himself up and stretching. Popping sounds could be heard as all his joints shifted in their respective places. "I'm going home guys. Good stuff today, good stuff." He made his way towards the exit, Orion nipping at his heels.

"You girls staying here for a while?" Orion asked, a hand scratching his abdomen. Zara shook her head.

"Nah, we're going home. Aurora is going to stay over for a couple of nights." She only just noticed Aurora's Louis Vuitton luggage in the corner of the room. It looked sad and abandoned, just like its owner.

Zara frowned: it would be a miracle if the two didn't get mugged because of it.

"Girls' night?" Orion waggled his eyebrows, hinting at things which he shouldn't have been hinting at.

Zara looked at Aurora, who was already making her way towards her baggage.

Yeah, a girl's night. It wasn't going to be-Aurora's mood had changed too quickly and drastically over the course of a day, so something had to be wrong with her. Zara would make sure that she found out about it right away, before things could get worse.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Orion continued.

Zara had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she had forgotten about Orion's question. Whatever, he was being stupid anyway.

Saffron winked at her before heading out with Orion, making Zara blush; she now was unable to even think about him without feeling anxious. It was too late to turn back on that bet. She would be a coward to do so.

Aurora wheeled the valise behind her, a small smile on her face. "All ready to go?" Zara cooed, swinging an arm around Aurora's shoulders in a half-hug. The poor girl flinched at her touch.

Sigh.

-:-