“Ugh, Aunt Lilly, if you heard all of that already, don’t make me go through the tortute again” Alex groaned. She laid down on her back, placing her arm over her eyes.
Maybe if she couldn’t see anything then, she wouldn’t hear anything either.
Lilly chuckled, “Alright. Then, can I know how your English presentation went? Isn’t that the reason Logan found out in the first place?”
Alex shrugged, staying in the same position, “It went well.”
They got a good grade, didn’t they? That said it all. They didn’t need to go into details.
“Oh, I have photos” Lauren said, taking out her phone and scrolling through her gallery. She could finally share the sneaky photos she took. She giggled. They could all fawn over them together.
Alex had disappeared. The nerves in her body perceived nothing. Her lungs couldn’t tell she needed air. Maybe it was nowhere to be found.
A marble statue had been left in her place. It merely looked like her.
Then, in the next second, Alex had reincarnated. Her senses heightened with awareness, she bolted up and searched for Lauren.
Time slowed down.
Emily took a step forward and left Lilly’s side the moment Alex sat up. She immediately grabbed for the phone while Alex tackled Lauren to the ground. With the phone in hand, she stepped sideways and avoided the impact.
She stood a few feet away and checked the opened photos.
Lauren yelped from the sudden attack. Her back hit the floor. She pulled her head up before it could follow her back’s fate. A weight trapped her in place.
“Oh my gods” Emily exclaimed.
Alex pushed herself off Lauren and aimed for Emily. Her feet had never moved faster.
When she closed in on her cousin, Emily squealed and turned around, running away. Alex room hardly had any space left. If Emily kept taking the direction she took, Alex would have her cornered.
She switched towards her right and stepped on the bed. In three long strides, she successfully passed over.
Alex sighed exasperatedly. Instead of following Emily’s example, she walked around the foot of the bed and intercepted her there.
She stretched her arms to block Emily’s path. Emily only had a step lead before Alex locked her in her embrace. Alex hugged Emily from behind, preventing her from escaping.
“Lauren, I have been caught. If I don’t make it out alive, please send the photos to me” Emily wailed. She held out the phone towards Lauren in between her fingers. With Alex’s hold on her torso, Alex couldn’t possibly reach the phone without letting her go.
Lauren got up and took the phone. Before Alex could change her target, Emily held her arms in place.
“Oh, no, you’re not going anywhere” she smirked.
Lauren sat back down and immediately backed up her data. While she did so, Lilly peeked in from behind.
“Wow, Logan actually looks good in makeup” Lilly commented.
Lauren jumped in her seat. She had been so focused on her goal that she didn’t notice the sneak attack. Then, she raised up the phone so both of them could look through the photos together.
“Alex looks really handsome in this one don’t you think?” Lauren asked, amused.
Lilly nodded in approval, “I didn’t know this had been a serious project. They really went above and beyond. Is your school planning to showcase a play soon?”
“They’d make great leads, wouldn’t they?”
“I know I’d pay to see it” Lilly chuckled.
===
Emily found a tree in the middle of the parking lot. She leaned against its trunk and rested under its shade.
She sighed to herself, “Man, the lengths I have to go through because of my scheming cousin. If she could find a way, I bet I’d never meet Louis. Auntie Angie really made the right decision by sending me here.”
Yesterday’s event proved that much.
After Lauren gave her the signal that the photos had been backed up, she released Alex’s arms and collapsed on the floor. Then, she promised her cousin that they’d talk about it when Alex wasn’t around.
Defeated, Alex slumped on the floor. Lauren and Emily did their best to cheer her up for the rest of the night while Lilly had gone back downstairs to her home office.
Lilly did bring them some ice cream as compensation. It turned out to be the winning ticket to brighten Alex’s mood.
At present, Woodlands Academy still had about five minutes left of school. Soon, its doors would open and students would come flooding out.
Emily should be able to recognize Logan even if he didn’t have makeup on right?
She shrugged off her backpack and took out a pair of binoculars. She needed to keep a good distance away so Alex wouldn’t be able to spot her easily.
Looking through the lenses, everything seemed to be clear. The shop owner hadn’t exaggerated about the binoculars’ prowess.
Why did five minutes feel like a long time?
“What’s up, pretty lady?” Emily heard from her right. She kept her eyes at the entrance of the school. With a pair of binoculars shielding her face, how could the person be talking about her?
“Well, you sure seem polite” the voice continued to say.
The fallen leaves ruffled under the stranger’s feet. He had walked over to Emily’s side. He tilted his head and followed the direction her binoculars aimed at.
“Are you a fan of someone or something? What’s with this stealth mode?” He asked.
Emily pressed her lips together and sighed through her nose. Why did guys like to be persistent at the wrong time? Heck, why did they persist at all?
“Aw, you wound my heart, m’lady. At least, let me hear your voice.”
…
…
…
“Is it because you don’t know my name? Don’t talk to strangers and all that?”
“No, it’s because I think you’re a waste of breath” Emily snapped. The guy seriously started to piss her off. Both of her temples throbbed from irritation.
“Ouch, salt on the wound. Can I get a kiss to heal it?”
Emily swung the binoculars towards the annoying voice. It hit the stranger’s jaw.
“There. My binoculars kissed you” she said, rolling her eyes.
“If that’s what it takes to hear your lovely voice, I’d take it.”
Emily made a face and turned to finally look at the stranger. She placed her free hand on her hip and let the other fall to her side.
Somehow it didn’t surprise that he had blue eyes and blonde hair. It had been the features she associated with his voice.
He held his jaw with one hand, rubbing his thumb on the sore spot. Yet, his face didn’t show any sign of pain.
“Are you always this pretentious?” She raised an eyebrow.
Jae Parker grinned, “I’d say not really but I doubt you’d believe. The only way to find out is if we hang out more and see for yourself.”
