More Than an Omelette

One day ago.

"Hiii, I'm Jean Francis! You can call me Jean or Jeanie!"

There was a young, energetic girl waving at Kayla before the mansion's front door. She walked over to shake hands while reciprocating the introduction.

"Hi, I'm Kayla Thompson," she said graciously. "Nice to— Oh!"

Jean pounced onto her for a quick hug, cutting her off. "Nice to meet you, Kayla!"

Caught off guard, Kayla froze for a second. Just as she moved to embrace the other girl, she had already bounced back, leaving her arms hanging awkwardly in the air.

Kayla lowered them and followed Jean as she knocked on the main doors peppily. Not long after, a middle-aged man wearing a red aloha shirt opened it.

"Welcome!" he exclaimed, studying their faces for a second. "You must be... Francis and Thompson?"

"Yep! I'm Jean Francis!"

"And I'm Kayla Thompson. Nice meeting you."

"I'm the director, Lawrence Sullivan. Call me Larry," the blonde man said, ushering them indoors. "You're the first ones here, so we have time for a tour. Come on in."

Jean flitted in after him like a newborn bird. Kayla trailed after her, admiring the architecture of this million dollar masterpiece. The archways they passed under were as sleek as the mansion's exterior and framed by geometrically shaped sconces, adhering to its modern concept. On the other hand, the light gray ceramic tiles beneath their feet were so polished Kayla could almost see her reflection in them.

The main corridor opened up into a formal living room which was tastefully decorated with expensive pieces of furniture and abstract artworks. Jean's incessant small talk with Larry floated in one ear and out the other as Kayla looked around in amazement, enraptured by the first taste of what it was like to be in a millionaire's shoes.

'If only I could settle down in a house like this,' she mused.

They were instructed to leave their luggages by the walls for spot checking. Then, Larry led them up three flights of circular stairs and pointed at six open rooms.

"Since you're the earliest, take your pick," he declared.

And Jean was off, darting in and out of the rooms on the left like she was on a time crunch. Kayla explored the rooms on the opposite side slowly and found one she liked: A room with a pale yellow colour scheme that popped in the midst of harsh whites and greys, carpeted by soft cream fur and decorated with floral organza curtains. It even had an attached bathroom and a balcony with a view of the garden. Kayla imagined standing there in the evenings, a breeze blowing her hair as she admired the scenery below.

'This is perfect.'

Kayla went back to the corridor, ready to tell Larry her choice. "I'll go with th—"

Suddenly, Jean ran past her into the room and spun around with her arms out, drowning out her voice with rambunctious laughter that most wouldn't expect from one her size.

"Wow, this room is so dreamy! I call dibs!" she giggled, kicking off her shoes and jumping onto the bed like a child.

"What about you, Kayla?" Larry asked, raising a brow.

A strange feeling took hold in Kayla's chest, like she had swallowed a throat lozenge and it was stuck there, unable to either dissolve nor be spat out.

Jean sat up and called her, "Have you picked a room yet? I saw one with a pink theme just now! It's a bit smaller than this one though. Want me to show you?"

Kayla forced herself to swallow the proverbial lozenge. "Actually... I was going to choose this one."

"Oh!" Jean's small hands flew to her face. "Sorry!"

'At least look apologetic when you say that,' Kayla thought.

"Well?" Larry prompted.

Kayla stood by the doorframe and bit her tongue. Jean was still awaiting her response, with an innocent expression on her harmless, doll-like face. She was hugging a throw pillow now, but still hadn't budged like some territorial gopher.

Kayla wondered how long she could maintain that pose.

However, the cameras and Larry were beside her, ready to capture every miniscule expression; she couldn't simmer here forever.

Thus, Kayla could only bury her true opinions and plaster on the professional smile she was accustomed to.

"No worries. It's just a room."

***

Present.

"I'm sorry about your bacon," Kayla apologised for the third time.

"It's okay. I was the one who distracted you," Iris said.

They walked towards the dining table where everyone had gathered and sat down together. There was a jug of milk in the middle of the rectangular table near them, so Kayla poured a glass for Iris to make up for the burnt bacon. But in fact, it was just charred on the edges and still edible.

Jean, who was sitting beside Kayla, pushed a plate in front of her. "Here... Your omelette," she said quietly. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"What happened earlier?" Across from them, Tops perked up.

Jean sheepishly tucked her hair behind her ear. "It's nothing... I just accidentally ate Kayla's omelette."

Tops snorted. "'Accidentally'? How?"

"It was right there on the counter!" Jean defended herself. "I didn't know it was hers!"

[Yeah, because I ALWAYS assume all the food is for me]

[Hey anyone could've made that mistake]

[Nobody claimed that omelette]

Kayla traced the rim of her plate, losing her appetite when she noticed the spoon mark Jean had left on the omelette after taking a bite. She pushed it towards Jean.

"Never mind. You can have it."

Jean stopped reasoning with Tops and gasped, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Kayla bit out. "I whipped up something else for myself."

"If you say so..." Jean lowered her head and reluctantly accepted the plate of omelette.

If anyone didn't know what had transpired in the kitchen, they might have assumed Kayla was at fault—which was exactly what some ignorant viewers did.

[Jean looks so sad]

[Who did this to our cutie pie?!]

[That dark woman duh]

[Racist]

[WHAT? Idk her name]

[Her name is Kayla, and she was being mean to Jean]

[How is giving her the omelette mean?]

[She could've rejected Jean's sincerity more politely]

[Uh, excuse YOU, that "sincerity" belonged to Kayla in the first place]

[And how was she rude?? If you ask me Jean is the rude one]

[Ikr she was the one who ate Kayla's omelette without asking]

[And returned it with her saliva]

[Eww]

[Ugh if you can't be pretty at least be hygienic]

[This is the second time Jean pulled something like this]

[When's the first?]

[Yesterday]

[Spill]

[They arrived here at the same time. Kayla was gonna pick the nice, big yellow room but Jean barged in and claimed it]

[^You forgot the part where she rudely cut Kayla off]

[^And when she oh-so helpfully offered to show Kayla to a smaller room :)]

[^And when she said sorry but planted herself on the bed like Kayla was gonna steal it from her]

[Maaaybe Jean should've let her have the room]

[Why? She got it fair and square]

[If Kayla hadn't claimed the room, why couldn't Jean?]

[She was literally in the middle of claiming it]

[So? There was no sign on the room saying "only claimable by Kayla"]

[...fair point]

[It's not yours if there's no label on it—]

[It would have been hers if Jean had just stayed away for ONE MORE SECOND. Did you idiots even watch the stream yesterday???]

[As a matter of fact, yes]

[TOUGH LUCK, ***** NOT JEAN'S FAULT KAYLA SPOKE TOO SLOW]

{User90033450 has been silenced for 2 hours}