Chapter Three : The Meeting of Not the Same Feather
The morning sunlight shone intensely into Jasmine’s ever-bright room. The owner of said room had already long prepared for the day. She was wearing a pink Nicoletta Pintuck t-shirt from GUESS matched with a pair of black ice waist-drop skinny Levi’s. As for her long tresses, they had been braided into two low braids. Before exiting her room, Jasmine took one last glance of herself at the mirror, making sure that everything was neat and perfect. Once she was satisfied, she exited her room…
…but reentered seconds later when she realized that she forgot to grab her cell phone on the desk.
Jasmine pa.s.sed the living room and headed straight for the front door where the shoe racks were near. She then, began searching for a pair of shoes to wear. Jasmine knew not to wear sandals or heels though. Her objective today was to help her mother at the shop. So, she needed a pair of shoes that were suitable for an active lifestyle hence, why she chose a pair of Nike ‘Sport Culture Sprint Sister Leather Mtr’ shoes in the end.
Jasmine exited her home feeling fresh and vibrant. Her mother had left for the shop an hour ago. As Jasmine was about to reach the lifts, she remembered something important; locking the place! Alarmed, she rushed back to do so.
Meanwhile, a young man exited from the condominium unit in front of Jasmine’s. There was a three meter distance between the two units. He was a neighbor that Jasmine had never met before since moving to the condo three months ago.
The young man was well dressed in a Sidewinder GUESS t-shirt that was paired with a pair of Dark Tint Washed Calvin Klein’s. He sported a pair of Slip On Harness Engineer Hybrid Boots from Xelement while the black leather bag slung over his shoulder was a Louis Vuitton Taiga Saratov GM. It was clear that he was man who knew how to be stylish and exclusive.
Jasmine hurried out from her condo unit after retrieving her keys. The young man from before was in the middle of locking his front door when he noticed Jasmine. The girl was busy locking her own front door until she didn’t even notice him. There were three keys dangling on her key ring; one for the front door, one for the grille door that followed afterwards and the final one for the sliding grille door about two feet away from the front door and the grille door.
The young man was already done locking his grille door and was standing directly behind Jasmine who was still in the middle locking hers. He didn’t know why but he felt the need to wait there until he could greet her. However, his presence remained unnoticed until Jasmine turned around and screamed.
“AHHHHHHH!”
“Woah, woah! I’m your neighbor, the one that lives in front of you!” the young man waved his hands in front of him, startled.
Jasmine was dumbfounded. Neighbor? The neighbor that lived in front of her is a man? Well, he was definitely a stylish one; like a metros.e.xual but still with a few shortcomings. His sense of style was quite youthful—more suitable for teenagers—as well.
“My name is Ginn Celes. I’m your neighbor. Did you just move here?” the young man, Ginn, extended his hand for a shake.
“Yes, I—we just moved here three months ago. I have not seen you before, though. Have you just recently moved here as well?” Jasmine replied with a smile but did not accept his handshake.
Ginn retracted his hand, feeling a little embarra.s.sed. He couldn’t help but felt a bit hurt by Jasmine’s actions. Still, he tried to remain friendly.
“Oh, no, I have already lived here for a year. It’s just that I’ve been really busy these past three months. Well, I have to leave for work now,” Without waiting for a reply, Ginn headed towards the direction of the lifts, leaving Jasmine dumbfounded for another time. For a moment, she stood there unable to say or think anything about Ginn’s actions. She decided to leave the matter alone and made her way towards the lifts as well.
As they waited for the lift, both remained silent. They have lost the friendly atmosphere.
Jasmine inspected her shoes and then, glanced at Ginn’s before her eyes trailed up to his jeans and the shirt he wore. Just by the sight of his shirt, she knew what brand it belonged to.
“GUESS…” Jasmine whispered.
Ginn turned to look at her when he heard her whisper. The girl smiled and was about to say something when the sound of the lift arriving interrupted her.
Ting!
The doors of the lift opened, revealing two other people inside. Before Jasmine could step into the lift, Ginn preceded her. This surprised Jasmine. ‘What a rude guy!’ she thought unhappily but remained patient and followed him into the lift. The both of them did not bother with each other anymore. Then, the lift doors closed.
When the lift doors opened upon reaching the Ground Floor, a heated argument could be heard. Those not involved with the quarrel left in a hurry, unable to stand the loud angry voices anymore. They believed that the two who were locked in said argument were having housing problems.
Jasmine stomped out of the lift, leaving Ginn behind. She turned around a few stomps later, though. “This is my perfume! You have no rights to say that it doesn’t suit me!” she shouted.
The lift doors were about to close but Ginn held them. “Well lady, that perfume is too strong for a girl. Take my advice, no guy would ever want you with that att.i.tude of yours!” he scoffed.
Jasmine’s face flushed in embarra.s.sment when she heard those words. She recomposed herself and was about to retort back when the doors of the lift began to shut. She managed to catch a glimpse of Ginn’s smirk while he bade her au revoir. Jasmine felt even more hurt by that. She let out an angry huff and patted her chest repeatedly, trying to calm herself down. There was nothing else she could do since that rude man had already gone town to the bas.e.m.e.nt parking.
“You better watch out! Your misfortune is living just right in front of you. How dare you even try to make trouble!” Jasmine muttered to herself while exiting the condominium grounds, towards her mother’s florist shop that was not far away.
As she trudged on with anger still burning in her heart, the sound of a car’s horn startled her.
PINNN!
A Fiat Bravo 2007 came into view. Jasmine could make out the ident.i.ty of the driver as he drove past, waving at her, before disappearing from her view.
Ginn!
“No manners!” Jasmine shouted, releasing her pent-up anger in process. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. But, she didn’t want to cry because of that idiot so she put up a strong front and ran the rest of the way to Maria’s Bouquet.
Jasmine entered the shop with an obviously, p.i.s.sed-off face and rough movements. She walked towards the cashier counter and sat down on the chair behind without saying a word. She didn’t even greet her mother too. Jasmine’s expression was as sour as vinegar. Maria didn’t know what happened but she knew very well that something had made her only daughter angry. The worried mother left her halfway-done work of arranging flower bouquets for Datin Sharifah to talk to Jasmine.
“What’s wrong, Min?” she asked.
Jasmine was still breathing deeply. She bowed her head and took a long, deep breathe before saying in a very emotional voice, “The neighbor living in front of our house is very impolite!”
Maria was confused for a moment before she started laughing at her daughter’s att.i.tude. It’s been a long time since she seen Jasmine show such emotions. She had turned into a very patient daughter since her father left this word two years ago. Jasmine was always polite with her mother but today, she had turned into someone very ‘energetic’.
“Our neighbor? Do you mean, Ginn Seles?” her mother asked once she calmed down from her laughing.
Jasmine blinked her eyes in surprise when the jerk’s name was spoken. Immediately, she stood up and asked, “When did you meet him?!”
“Err…a month after I bought the condo unit. I was able to meet our neighbors, including him, before we moved in…he is such a sweet man, right?” Maria explained with a sweet smile.
“Sweet man you say?” Jasmine snorted before adding, “He hurt my feelings! He said my perfume is for men and that I’m not supposed to wear it! We’ve only just met and he already doesn’t know how to take care of other people’s feelings!”
Maria’s eyebrows rose. She got closer to her daughter and tried to sniff the smell of the perfume that was supposed to be there.
“Mom? What are you doing?” Jasmine asked, confused by her mother’s actions.
“Well dear, you deserve it,” Maria replied and then, returned to her work that she left to talk to Jasmine just now. as she arranged the roses, she continued to say, “Didn’t I tell you to not wear that perfume anymore? I know it’s the perfume both you and your father always wore before but…” Maria suddenly choked up.
Jasmine was taken by surprise. She knew why her mother’s voice suddenly choked up although her back was facing her. Jasmine hurried to her mother and hugged her while giving her a kiss on the cheek. In her mother’s eyes were tears filled with yearning—the yearning for her beloved husband.
“I’m sorry mom…I shouldn’t have touched that subject here. I’m really sorry. It never crossed my mind that wearing Allure Sport would make you miss dad,” Jasmine apologized with tears pooling in her eyes as well.
Hearing her daughter’s words, Maria cheered up. “I apologize too, but I guess that man is right you know. You’re a beautiful girl and a pretty girl like you should wear perfume that is feminine,” she coaxed.
Jasmine fell silent. She pulled away from her mother and sat on the counter beside the bouquet her mother was arranging. Maria merely watched her daughter for a moment before continuing her work.
“When will Datin Sharifah come to pick all the bouquets?” Jasmine asked a minute later.
Maria smiled while answering, “7 o’clock this evening. I’ve already finished three bouquets. If you help me, things will progress faster. Will you?”
Jasmine smiled in reply. Without any further delay, she got off of the counter and proceeded to help her mother. However, just as she was about to start…
Ting Tong!
The sound of the bell ringing from the door signaled the presence of customers. Seeing that her view was blocked by flowers decorating the front s.p.a.ce of the shop, Maria had to tiptoe to see who her customer was: a young man.
Maria recognized who he was. She rushed to the front and greeted the man. “Elle Cavier!” she called.
“Miss Maria!” Elle, the young man, replied with a wide smile.
Elle Cavier, a new fashion designer that’s very well-known. His style was a bit feminine but held the taste of high fashion. Today, he wore a white shirt with thin black stripes beneath a dark brown velvet jacket, both from Berry’C which meant that they were his own designs. As for his pants, he wore Levi’s 501 Shrink to Fit while his matching Dark Brown Nubuck Outlier Boat Venetian shoes were, like usual, from his favorite brand, Timberland.
Jasmine remained at her spot, focusing on arranging the bouquet in front of her by copying the style of the three others that her mother had finished. Still, she did try to steal a glance at the face of the young man that her mother called Elle Cavier. His name was the one she heard yesterday. He was a fashion designer that was favored among the upper social cla.s.s.
“Here’s the flower basket you’ve requested,” Maria said to Elle while handing him his request. It was a mix of aster, carnations and daisies in a stemmed wooden basket made of willow together with three mini fake b.u.t.terflies that looked realistic.
“It’s beautiful!” Elle exclaimed, making Maria beam in pride. Jasmine, who overheard the compliment, smiled along. She was proud of her mother’s hard work. The business in Maria’s Bouquet will be better. Still, it was sure that she could not see the face of the fashion designer. The flowers around her were blocking her view just like how they did to her mother. She was lazy to move in front to see him eye-to-eye though. So, she merely just continued on to make bouquets of three types of fresh roses; red, white and yellow.
Looking at the bouquets her mother completed, she made sure hers were of the same style. Placed in the thin cylinder gla.s.s vase with the width of ten centimeters and that stood eight inches tall, were three roses—that still had their leaves—from those three colors arranged with eucalyptus stalks. A unique arrangement it was!
“Thank you so much, Miss Maria,” Elle’s voice could be heard before he left the shop.
“You’re welcome. Do come again!”
Before the sound of the bell above the door sounded, Elle replied, “Of course! Your flowers are the best in this area.” The bell then, sounded and the door closed. Elle was gone.
Maria returned to where her daughter was hard at work at finished her first bouquet. Seeing her arrangement, Maria complimented, “Wow! You’re really good at this, Min.” Jasmine glowed at that. Then, Maria added, “Don’t forget, we have eight more to finish.”
The girl groaned in response.