Grrr, Grrr, Grrr.

I fumbled for my phone on the littered bed till I switched the blaring sound off. 6.15am. Before that, I heard Helene mildly grumble in her sleep. She hated being woken up earlier than seven am.

I stumbled into the bathroom, quickly brushing my teeth and freshening up before going back into the room. By the time I came back out, everyone was awake. In different states. Somehow, Helene and Eleanor had ended up on the same bed makeup sprawled all over Helene, while Daisy and Camille struggled to rub the sleep out.

"Girls, it's time to get moving. We need to prepare before departure time." I said, encouraging them with my hand gestures.

Helene scoffed, as she pulled a face wipe off the pack. "You sound like its a plane trip. Relax, we'll all be ready before time."

I shrugged in response as I moved to the now empty wardrobe to put on my regular travelling outfit: A black sweater over a white tank top and blue skinny jeans along with black loafers.

Surprisingly, by the time I was done curling the tips of my hair, Camille and Daisy were almost done as well with Eleanor still in the bathroom and Helene waiting.

"I was really looking forward to spending more time here." Helene said suddenly, possibly because of the unusual silence in the room.

It was obvious we had all been waiting for someone to start up conversation because the next thing was unquiet sighs and groans, along with long strings of reasons on why we should be allowed to stay more.

After a while, I decided to input my thought. "Ultimately, its not anyone's fault. If we don't leave today, we'll be stuck here because of the blocked roads and curfew."

Helene turned to look at me as she wrapped her towel. "We know, Amelia. It's just that it's crazy because we were just beginning to have fun."

Eleanor chipped in. "And just before the show last night, I had planned to sleep in until this happened."

Everyone simply sighed in annoyance before going back to their preparations. Sincerely, we still had days to stay before going back and because of the impromptu second wave, we had to move back home. That meant continuing our online lectures with more intensity.

I still didn't know the connection Lucy and the principal had, and now it was worse. With everyone at home, how was I supposed to figure it out?

*****

Two hours later, and I was back in the apartment complex safely tucked into my room. Luckily, the room was still fairly clean due to the short time. A bit of dusting and cleaning would do it, but before that...

I logged into Zoom and rang my dad. Like I expected, he picked the call almost immediately.

"Hello dear, how are you doing?" My dad said through the screen.

I replied enthusiastically. "I'm not so fine, Dad. We were just shipped home today."

"Oh, but why is that? You were meant to stay for two or three more days."

I groaned. "I know right. Anyway how's work and everything else over there?"

It took a while for my dad to reply and when he did, he kept glancing back towards the corner of his room often.

"Dad, is everything alright there? You sound distracted."

"Oh...nothing Honey. Everything is fine here." And just as he said that, a familiar woman passed behind him walking towards the door. Wearing a nightie.

I found myself annoyed. "Dad, who's that?"

"It's Lorraine. The woman I told you about. I wanted to..."

I didn't let him finish. "Dad, she's already spending nights. I thought you said you were taking it slow. Soon she'll have a room in the house or will she be sharing your bed?"

It was a rhetorical question as well as disrespectful, and we both knew it but I didn't care.

"Lia, now you're overreacting. It was just a night."

I visibly scoffed "Overreacting? Alright then. Goodnight dad." I logged off and turned off my data immediately, I knew he would try calling back for a while before giving up.

I glanced around the room, looking for something to do. Anything to get my mind over thinking about that woman in my dad's room. I saw gathering dust on the book shelves above my bed and set to work. As I cleaned, I thought it over.

Was it the first time? Most likely not. Was I disrespectful? Most likely yes. Why didn't she acknowledge me at least instead of strutting around? But there was a constantly nagging thought. Would she try to replace my mom in our lives? Somehow, I slept off in the middle of cleaning and thinking.

I woke up mid noon to the sound of music from outside my door. It too me a moment to register what was happening before I smiled and walked towards the door.

"Hey, you." I smiled at the familiar dark haired boy standing outside with a speaker.

"Hey you too." He replied, giving me a big smile. "Can I come in?"

"Sure."

"So how are you? How was the trip back? And why do you look tired and angry?"

I sighed and shook my head, not willing to speak about it.

"Nothing is wrong. I'm just a bit tired from unpacking and cleaning."

Jason didn't look convinced. "Your box is still unpacked in that corner where I'm sure it's been since you got back." He paused to point at the bag before continuing. "So tell me what's really wrong?"

At his incessant probing, I snapped. "I don't want to talk about the other woman my dad has, the other woman that is trying so hard to replace my mom. The other woman that was wearing my mom's favourite nightie." By this time, hot tears were flowing down freely.

"Is forgetting my mom so easy for him? He seems so willing to allow some stranger into our lives. I don't want her. At all." I said, falling into his waiting arms.

Jason stood and held me till the tears stopped. "I'm sorry." I said,  pointing to his wet shirt. "I didn't mean for it to get wet and ruined."

"Lia, what do you mean? I won't pretend to understand but I know is totally okay to cry. Besides I'm here for you whenever you need me, and it's just wet not ruined."

I attempted at a joke to lighten the mood. "I know my clothes remember?"

"Yeah. Yeah. The Fashionista herself."

I smiled, and sat down. "Do you think I should let my dad be free and not overdo all this?"

He looked at me for a while as he twirled a loose strand of hair. "It's normal to feel the way you're feeling and I think that's your decision to make. At the end, you'll have to decide if it will make you and your dad happy."

I nodded and lay my head on his shoulder for comfort. The silence that followed suit was comfortable and I could tell he was thinking about something too. After a while, he raised my head by my chin and looked me in the eyes.

"I'll always be here for you." He said, before kissing me squarely. On the lips.

*****

And there you have it people! Their first kiss. What do you think about Lia and Jason.. Let me know your thoughts.

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