Kapittel 22.2

Vanessa

"What do you mean?" I asked, baffled by her statement.

"Girl, we've been friends for what? Almost a month, and I've been learning so many things about you like unravels from a pandora's box," she remarked, waving her hand around her temple and making a wooshing sound as if she was mindblown. "And each one is more surprising."

"Okay, wait. Where did you learn that Friso and I are childhood friends?" I asked, then later regretted it. It was stupid. Of course, everyone would know. I practically announced to the people at the party that I was childhood friends with the evil incarnate.

"Have you been living under a rock? Everyone's been talking about it the day after Friso's party!" she asked, more baffled than I was earlier. It seemed that she missed hearing the part about me being the source of the news.

"If living under a rock means having only 2 friends in this school and being DND because I was busy studying, then yes," I retorted with a small chortle before having another bite.

"But you've got 3 friends in this school." A familiar voice declared and someone's arm wrapped around mine. I almost choked on my food when I realized who it was.

"Hello, childhood friend." Friso greeted me with an unusually wide smile on his face while lifting a thumb to my face, his arm moving from my shoulder to my waist. I got frozen in the spot, like a deer in headlights.

I instinctively closed my eyes when his face drew closer. I felt his thumb run over gently on the side of my mouth, that was when I realized it. I slowly opened my eyes which got wide upon watching him put his thumb in his mouth. He just sucked the sauce from my face!

"Mhm, tastes good," he commented, his smile remained on his face. My face heated up.

"Get off me!" I pushed him away, obviously flustered. Gosh, he truly was a devil. It was not only his personality but also his face.

"Hello, Georgia," he turned his face to my friend who had been staring at us all along. She was even blushing harder than me.

"Hi!" she greeted cheerfully before going to my side, nudging me with her elbow. "He knows my name!" Was this girl even my friend?!

"Why didn't you tell them we're ex—" I turned and covered his mouth immediately, a small slap resonating. I had never reacted so fast since I ran with my friends when we got chased by dogs back in Washington.

"Shut it," I warned with a low growl, glaring daggers at him. He stared back at me. His eyes suddenly curved like a crescent moon, then something wet and warm ran over my palm. I gasped. He licked my palm!

"Ew!" I staggered back, at a rate faster than I did earlier. I looked at my hand momentarily

"Aw, don't you two make a lovely–"

"Shut it!" "We are." We both cut off Georgia from saying what she was about to say. I turned to glare at him once again upon hearing what he said, only to see that he was looking at me as well. His stormy orbs were twinkling. It was a paradox because there was no way stars would shine in a storm.

It had been almost a week since I'd seen him. We were randomly distributed to different schedules and classrooms during exams so I'd hardly seen him. I had only the same exam schedules as Georgia and Madison. Gosh, I couldn't believe that our first time meeting again since the party would end up giving me hypertension. But this was Friso, what did I expect?

"Attention, Knights!" Our heated staring was cut off when I looked at the blaring speaker. "We call the attention of aspiring interior designers and design enthusiasts! It's your time to show off your creative prowess in transforming spaces with Crafting Comfort: Interior Design Contest!

"This thrilling contest invites Knights from all levels to design a room that best describes yourself in your most comfortable state. You have the freedom to design anything, a techy neon room, a calming reading nook, a minimalistic bedroom, a stylish office, anything! With this competition, Trinity Knight helps you unleash your inner potential and bring out what fits best to your personality and interests!

"Here is how you participate: The theme is designing a space that best describes your calmest or most comfortable self. Everyone is invited to join, especially the seniors who are aspiring to get into art, architecture, interior design, interior decorating, civil engineering, home staging, and other fields that involve the passion for building spaces and design. The submission includes building an online layout and printed layout of the following: a main image of a high-resolution rendering or wide shot that showcases the interior space with good lighting with a dimension of 3600 x 3600 pixels; a second image of a high-resolution rendering or shot that showcases a bird's eye view of the room from the top with a dimension of 1800 x 1800 pixels; a third image of a high-resolution rendering or shot that showcases a detailed view of the room with good lighting with a dimension of 1800 x 1800 pixels; documentation that explains the layout, technical aspects, plan, presentation, and notes of the design in an A4-sized paper. This must only have a maximum of 30 pages; a video file of that shows the features the room. You can have it in any form of your liking, either a 3D rotation or exploration view, a short feature, a conceptual video, or an advertisement; and last but not the least, a diorama of the design. These requirements should be submitted on or before May 10th, 20XX.

"The participants will be presenting their designs in a 7-minute presentation with a minimum of 10 slides on the day of the contest, May 20th, 20XX in front of a jury consisting of Andrew Byrne Lee who is an associate of Lee & Carpenter Interiors, Hannah Faiyaz who is COO of Luminaire Atelier & Co., and our very own alumnus, Crye Ericson who is famously known for designing the Verdant Maze. The winners of the contest will be rewarded with the following: the champion will be given software packages, a VIP membership for Luminaire Atelier & Co., a full scholarship from Lee & Carpenter Interiors at whichever university of their choice, an internship, and an available position in the company; the first runner-up will receive software packages, a membership to for Luminaire Atelier & Co., a half scholarship from the same company and an internship opportunity; and those who do not win will each be receiving software packages, gift certificates for Luminaire Atelier & Co., designing materials, and more!

"For more information about Crafting Comfort, you may send inquiries to the Arts Department through their email address, stop by the office and find Mrs. Davies, or visit the school's website. Unleash your inner creativity, Knights! We look forward to your submissions!"

My mouth went wide agape upon hearing about the announcement. I felt my blood rushing to every place of my body, an electrifying shock running along with it. I was a fizzy soda that shook like crazy and I wanted to jump and punch my fists in the air. I was hyped. An interior designing contest judged by America's finest! The prizes too. If I win that contest, I could have my life set without any major problems!

A familiar ring brought me out of my daze. I fished out my phone and realized it was a text from Mom.

From: Mom

I'm outside the gate. See you, baby.

My excitement just multiplied two-fold. "I need to go," I said before hastily turning to Georgia. "Bye, G," I bid goodbye before kissing her cheek hastily and running off, throwing the empty wrap on a nearby garbage can.

"No goodbye kisses for me?!" Friso shouted shamelessly and I ran faster, ignoring him and everything else. I just hope the others weren't and wouldn't think that question was directed at me.

"Hey, baby." Mom greeted me as soon as I slid inside the car, putting my bag on my lap. I almost sighed in ecstasy when the floral yet zesty scent of lemon and bergamot invaded my nose. Gosh, that smells so good. I should stop by the scent shop and buy a diffuser with the same scent later.

"Hi, Mom," I greeted back with a small smile and leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. Noticing a presence on the backseat and expecting it to be Zach, I looked behind me to greet her. "Oh." I gasped when I realized it wasn't him.

A woman was staring at us excitedly. She looked exceedingly familiar with her glaring red hair glistening against the sun that resembled the hue of cinnabar tied into a neat, low bun, bright eyes that looked like fine-cut Colombian emeralds, and rosy cheeks that matched her marble skin and lips smeared with bright scarlet. She was so fine and classy with her wrap top that draped around her shoulders, square pants, and leather tote that all had the same dark hue. Her gold jewelry sparkled like how her eyes gleamed as she watched us having a heart mother-daughter greeting. It felt weird being stared that way, like an animal in a zoo.

"You remember your Auntie Vanessa?" Mom said, glancing at her with a wide smile on her face as well before hitting the gas.

"Yes..." I trailed off. How could I forget? This was Friso's mother. The woman who took care of me aside from Mom and Auntie Rebecca. "Yes, I do."

"Hi, Auntie," I greeted Auntie Vanessa with a wide, accommodating smile as well. I missed her, but her son was the evil incarnate. So, seeing her also reminded me of the devil incarnate– not that she and her husband were devils.

"Hi, dear." She widened her smile and leaned in with her lips puckered. In instinct, I also leaned in to receive her kiss. "You've grown so much!" she said, her eyes morphing the shape of a crescent moon. Thanks, but not as much as how your son grew into a jerk. I widened my smile to keep my thoughts from being printed by my mouth.

"Why'd you make me sit here?" I whispered to Mom after pulling back. She should be sitting here on the shotgun!

"She insisted on sitting there," she whispered back. I looked at the side view mirror to watch the beautiful redhead elegantly glancing outside the window. She looked so dazzling that I could see sparkles on her clothes even though she didn't have any rhinestones on, except for her jewelry.

"So uh... how did you two catch each other?" I didn't let awkward silence take over the ride and decided to ask, glancing at them both.

"I was strolling around Madison Avenue to find a spot for a new boutique. You know so that we can be more accessible. Then I saw your mom and I thought I couldn't pass up the opportunity to say hi and do some catching up!" she said, softly clasping her palms excitedly.

"We had a little date after, then I remembered that I had somewhere else to go to. She asked to tag along," Mom added, lifting her shoulders. "You know I can't say no. Especially when she looks at you in a certain way."

Auntie Vanessa laughed. Gosh, even her laugh was classy. "Oh, just proof that my magic works," she said while flittering her fingers like she was dusting off pixie dust. "Anyways, we're heading to the supermarket, right? I recommend Agata & Valentina. Their ingredients are exotic and the freshest," she recommended. Mom and I glance at each other with the same thoughts in our heads: that's too expensive.

"Uh... we were thinking about going to Walmart." Mom glanced at her in the sideview mirror, her smile turned awkward.

"That's fine too! I'm going to call Richard and Lancelot to come over and assist us," she retorted and fished out her phone, typing on it.

"Oh, you don't have to," Mom tried to protest.

"It's okay. I insist," she replied, waving her hand before going back to typing.

"Auntie, you really don't have to do–"

"Oh not you too, dear," Auntie Vanessa put her phone on her ear, looking at me with pleading eyes. She looked away and began speaking on the phone, "Hello, Richard? Yes..."

I reclined on my seat, giving up with an unexpressed sigh. From the corner of my eye, I could see my mother doing it as well. Gosh, sometimes I forgot that she was very generous to the point of being... overzealous. I even had a thought once that she, her husband, and her son had one thing in common: they're good at being pushy.

"That's great, bye!" she said adieu, in a tone more excited than earlier. "Good news, Friso's coming with us!"

Oh fuck no.