“Oh, this is wonderful!” Jaime gushed. Her light blue eyes shined against the bright day, “It’s livelier than Freccia Preparatory.”
The fields of Woodlands Academy bustled with activity. More booths opened up and offered different products. The Baking and Cooking Club set up a long table. It almost resembled a buffet. Instead of main courses, they offered snacks and lined them up from savory to dessert.
A few sponsors had decided to set up more stalls—especially on food.
“I smell something delicious!” Angie exclaimed. She sniffed the air and followed her nose.
Lilly laughed next to her, “What are you? A dog?”
Angie gave her the side-eye, “Who doesn’t follow the smell of good food?”
“Not me!” Jaime interjected, her legs already moving, “Come on! I think it’s this way!”
The Stitz Diner had taken up a large space near the school’s kitchens. Other than the open cafeteria, only they shared the equipment. Anything that didn’t need to be freshly made had been brought from the diner. Sister Aina supervised the dishes and the orders. Her long legs kept her from being too winded.
Hana had taken a break from their branch at the theme park. Since the demand was high, they had put up several tables on the grass. The smol girl walked around and took orders, black ponytail swaying behind her. Her cute smile melted the hearts of customers. They couldn’t refuse her and waited patiently for their food.
“Hana! We have dishes to serve!”
At the sound of her name, she headed for the stall.
Each order had its own tray or two. Hana went to the farthest one and checked the items. She picked up the piece of paper, matching it with the dishes. She counted a total of five. Her skinny arms attempted to lift the tray.
It almost toppled over.
“Woah! Watch out, kiddo!” A tall and handsome man with leafy green eyes and pale blonde hair came over. His beige hand caught the tray from under it. He balanced it and carried it above his shoulder, “Come on, I’ll help. Where should this go?”
“Thank you, Brother Cesar” Hana bowed her head.
She led the way to the farthest table. Cesar identified the dishes one by one and set them down at the appropriate customer. Once down, they headed back to the main table of the stall. They had split it into two, leaving the other half for more customers to use.
Catching her breath, Hana said, “Sister Aina, when is my break?”
The head chef narrowed her gaze, “So you can sneak in and drink strawberry milk again?”
Cesar chuckled beside her, chopping a stalk of spring onion, “Well, she still needs to grow. Vertically, of course.”
“…” Hana couldn’t help but pout. Sister Aina already towered over. Cesar’s appearance only made it worse. She was convinced that he was a giant. They didn’t need to bully her like this!
Jaime, Angie and Lilly arrived at the scene. Their eyes swept around, looking for an empty table. They had been packed in order not to occupy too much space. The customers ate to their hearts’ content while chatting among themselves.
Then, Jaime dashed in between narrow spaces. She had spotted a round table with three empty chairs—just the right amount for her and her companions. Angie and Lilly followed behind her. They noticed where they were headed when they were a few feet away.
Familiar faces occupied half of the table.
“Ah, Ethan!” Jaime called out as she jogged to her destination.
He stood up immediately. His eyes widened in alarm, “Mother! Don’t exert yourself too much!”
“This is nothing, dear” she snorted, waving his words off with her hand, “Anyway, do you mind if us, ladies, join you for meal time?”
Jaime looked at the other occupants of the table for the first time. There were a total of three, excluding his son. She recognized one of the males as the twins’s father. He had the same blue eyes as Jae. Next to him, a woman with dirty blonde hair sipped from her glass of lemonade. Her hazel eyes crinkled at the three ladies.
“Of course,” Ethan sighed, knowing he didn’t have a choice. He cleared his throat and addressed his own companions, “This is my mother, Jaime. Next to her is my wife, Angie, and my sister, Lilly.”
He turned to Jaime, gesturing a hand at each occupied seat, “This is Tim. She is Steve Parker’s fiance. Over there is James Peyton. He is the school lawyer.”
“Please sit down with us,” Steve offered politely.
They didn’t need to be told twice.
Angie snapped her fingers, folding her arms over the table, “James Peyton? The lawyer who helped Lilly with the trial?”
“Oh, did he now?” Jaime blinked. She glanced at the seat beside her daughter’s, “I don’t think I had a chance to thank you for the help.”
Silky black hair and violet eyes, James set down his cup of coffee. He smiled with his mouth closed, “I can only apologize that we couldn’t do any better with the results.”
Angie exhaled sharply. She knew fully well which part he meant, “That was to be expected. Alex still broke the law from wiretapping the conversation. She had done it, aware of its risks. If she was to evade imprisonment, the Conarys wouldn’t accept that without their side being lessened as well.”
“Rest assured, Lilly and I will monitor Skye’s part of the compromise closely,” James vowed.
“That’s wonderful of you, Atty. Peyton” Jaime replied with utmost gratitude. Then, she softened her gaze, “I hope your lover doesn’t mind the added work. I’m sure Woodlands Academy is already a handful.”
James coughed out a laugh, “There’s no need to worry about anything like that. Other than my nephew, I don’t have anyone that requires my attention.”
Lilly shut her eyes, scowling. She had heard this trick before. It had happened too many times for her to count. Not bothering to listen to more, she raised a finger to the main table. She hoped to catch the eye of a server and order some food.
“Max, right?” Tim joined the conversation, “How much trouble is he causing these days?”
“He comes home either late in the night or early hours before sunrise” Atty. Peyton shook his head at the table, “The only good news is I don’t smell any alcohol on him whenever it happens. I think I liked it better when he was hung up with video games. As a kid, he always came home with scratches. He’d leave them untreated and go back to playing outside.”
Jaime’s ears perked up, “Did you raise him?”
“His parents were rarely home back then.”
“Huh,” she gasped. She cupped her cheek and tilted her head to one side, “So you have experience with kids?”
James chuckled, “If looking after him, Jae, Logan and Colin counts during play time counts then, I would agree.”
“Play time?” Steve raised an eyebrow, “I seem to recall Jae complaining about how they did homework instead of playing. Only Logan and Colin got to play games. When I asked, Logan told me that they were jigsaw puzzles and chess.”
“Well, I had to stay at the office. I couldn’t watch over them from outside.”
Jaime bursted into laughter, “That sounds like Lilly whenever she babysits Alex and Emily.”
Hana served a pitcher of lemonade and three empty glasses. Lilly almost dropped the glasses as she helped to distribute them. Before, it had been subtle, Now, her mother had become shameless. She didn’t even try to hide her intentions.
“She would take them to the bookstore so they could find something to read” Jaime continued, “Then, the girls would each take a couch for them to lie on. They’d change positions as they read. All three would be engrossed in what they’re doing they’d forget to eat.”
Angie noticed the look on her sister-in-law’s face. Her ears had burned into a light shade of pink. She smirked. Then, she checked on the lawyer at the table. He had been among the audience when the trial went on. Only Lilly and Ethan took the bench.
What she remembered distinctly was how James sat directly behind Lilly.
He was always ready in case she needed the support.
James leaned forward. His lips curled up in the corners. His gaze flickered his left, “Was she like that as a child too? Was she letting them learn her habits?”
Before her mother could reply, Lilly slammed a hand on the table.
Everyone around it glanced in her direction. Panic rose in her chest. She realized her mistake. She merely wanted to stop the subject… but what now? Her frantic gray eyes darted across from her side of the table. Waiting faces stared back at her.
A window of opportunity parted for her. It had located itself in between her brother and Tim. Apparently, a small stage had been set up nearby. The podium and curtains seemed to be intended for a theater play. A large group of students loitered around it.
A light bulb appeared over her head.
An exaggerated gasp escaped her lips as she pointed a finger at the stage, “Wow! What’s that? Is this a food and a show? This festival has really outdone itself. I don’t think I saw anything like it during my high school years.”
“Really?” James asked with speculation. Her objective hadn’t escaped his notice, “You never been on stage before for a play at your school?”
Lilly immediately shook her head, “No.”
“Such a shame” he remarked, clicking his tongue, “You would have been a beautiful female lead.”
