★ Three ★

The morning sun kissed the facade of St. Peter's school, casting a golden glow over its majestic red-bricked structure. As Raven parked the car in the parents' parking lot, just a short walk from the school's main gate, and stepped out, the school revealed itself like a timeless fortress. The red bricks, neatly aligned, seemed to whisper the stories of generations of students who had walked through its halls. Stepping through the open gate, there at the heart of the courtyard stood a white-stone statue of Mother Mary holding Baby Jesus on her arm, seemingly welcoming the children as if she was quite ready to grab adopt each one them.

Around her, schoolchildren strolled through the main gate, calling one another and chatting up after the long summer break. Fresh streams of morning sunlight painted patterns on the polished windows, and they gleamed and sparkled like thousand flashes of camera. For some, this place was a second home, filled with familiarity and comfort. Yet, for others, it represented a place they wished to avoid at all costs. Kindergartners, in particular, squirmed in their parents' arms, their cries echoing the universal reluctance 'No! No!'.

While Gaius and his sisters remained in the car, Raven hurried inside to buy a new uniform for her son. Returning, she found a group of eighth-grade girls surrounding the car, giggling and chatting with Reishel. They greeted her warmly, and even had a few things to gush over.

"We saw your Maldives vacation picture on Reishel's WhatApp statuses. You and uncle were so romantic!" they bubbled, words flowing with the excitement of youth.

"It's like you guys are still dating..."

"Seems like you really went and had some fun..."

Raven joined in their laughter, enjoying their teasing camaraderie.

"Well, what can I say? I'm not so romantic but your uncle... I just have no words," Raven gave a dramatic sigh, seamlessly blending into their group. The girls squealed and laughed and hit each other. Raven wasn't just a friend's mother to them; she was like one of them. They loved her cool, teasing approaches.

Raven ushered the twins out of the car to give Gaius his privacy as he changed inside.

"Mummy, isn't Mocha coming to school?" Parmoi asked as she slid out of the backseat.

"Mocha is coming. He needs to wear his uniform now."

"But why didn't he wear it at home?"

"The one at home doesn't fit him anymore."

"Did Mocha grow bigger again?" Warmoi asked, wide-eyed.

"Yes. He did."

"Why is he always growing bigger?"

"Because he eats a lot of healthy food."

As she automatically fielded their questions, a skill honed by years of mothering inquisitive twins, Raven glanced up the nearby street where students who lived in hostels and those who rode the school bus were making their way to the school. And, as usual, she couldn't help but observe teenage girls blushing as they glanced at their car, their eyes filled with curiosity about whether their crush, Gaius, was inside. It always amused her, especially considering how bashful her son could become in response to such attention. Fortunately, the SUV's tinted windows shielded them from the sight of Gaius changing.

Another SUV came and parked one car down the street. Raven watched the driver emerge and open the backseat door. Out came Hringni Daryal, daughter of a rich Contractor, dream-girl of both junior and senior boys, Gaius included.

A brief introduction of Hringni Daryal -
Rich popular girl at school and the subject of Gaius's secret admiration. While Gaius had yet to take the plunge and ask her out, Hringni appeared to savor the attention, all the while skillfully concealing any signs of being affected by it. Renowned as the "beauty-with-brains" amongst the students, she effortlessly ruled the academic domain and found herself in an eternal rivalry with Gaius for the elusive top position. With her charm, intellect, and effortless grace, she was a force to be reckoned with.

Gaius, his heart skipping a beat, changed quickly, as she came into his view. He tucked his shirt in, zipped up his trousers, buckled his belt, thrust his feet in his shoes, grabbed his blazer, and hopped out of the car.

"Hey!" He said coolly, hiding his flattered heart beneath his calm, collected voice, but Hringni knew what she does to him. So did his mother who looked at him squarely on his face, eyebrows raised.

"Hey. How was your summer?" Hringni returned, curling her lips slightly.

"Good. How was yours?"

"Good. Nothing really exciting though. Not like your Maldives vacation." She smirked at him, teasing by.

Gaius groaned and rolled his eyes, embarrassed by the mention of Maldives. Everybody seemed to be talking about it. Aware of the effect she had on him, she let her confident eyes linger on him for a brief moment. It completely threw him off and he fully blushed in front of his mother, who made a face and laughed it off, noting to tease him later at home.

"We're nearly late," Reishel stated, checking the peach-colored, slender watch on her wrist.

"Well, you better get inside now," Raven said as she picked Parmoi up in her arms.

Gaius slung his backpack over his shoulder and gently lifted the other twin, Warmoi, in his arms. The family, along with Hringni, strolled toward the main entrance. Engaged in conversation with his crush, Gaius found himself captivated by the way her wavy black hair curled at the ends, bouncing behind her head in a ponytail.

Gaius knew Hringni liked him too in secret. He could tell it in the way she'd linger about him after every school hour, in the way she'd strike up conversations whenever opportunity arose, in the way she enjoyed his attention. In short, she loved being the object of his pursuit. It made her sit at the top of the school's desirability hierarchy.

The fact that Gaius' parents were generous donors supporting the school, orphanages, and providing scholarships for underprivileged students, coupled with his father's distinguished role as a Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel, who was also somewhat  known for being quite a romantic husband, easily made them the most popular family in the school, if not their district. A vast majority of the girls would kill to be the young Prince's girl. Hringni had that opportunity. But she loved playing her game of being hard-to-get even by the young heartthrob.

Hringni and Reishel headed for their classrooms while Gaius accompanied his mother to the elementary block to drop his twin sisters off.

Coming back out to the courtyard and standing near the pedestal of Mother Mary, Raven said, "Check on the little ones whenever possible. See if they've had lunch."

"Yup."

"Okay. I'm going now."

"Okay."

"I'm going now," she asserted, staring up into the eyes of her tall boy.

Gaius' teeth sank into his bottom lip and he tried to avoid his mother's gaze. "Okay, Nu."

"Gaius!"

"Oh, Nu!" He huffed and gave a small defeated groan under his breath. "People are watching." His embarrassed eyes rove about him.

"So what? You don't love your Nu when people stare at you? I don't care. Gimme a kiss. I'm running out of time."

Gaius hesitated, blushing and scratching the back of his head. While girls awed and swooned every morning, some of his close male friends had taken to teasing him 'Mama's boy' because he kissed his Nu goodbye every morning.

"Nu. . ."

"Quick!"

"Ah!!" He dropped his face in his hand and quickly pecked his mother on her cheek, his face flushed with mild embarrassment. Defeated. Warding off his mother's demands was a battle he had yet to win.

Raven laughed and patted at his hot, crimson cheek. "Have a great day, my big boy. I love you."

"I love you too."

🌻🌻🌻

⚠

️ Not all the pictures in this book are Ai generated. I'm using some from Pinterest just for fun.

Well... Hope you enjoyed the read.
Don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feelings. I'm waiting for them with open arms, ready to take them all in 😇

Love, Hermyne

Reach me on Instagram at HermyneKhaling ❤

Also I have a new page dedicated to basics of Psychology on Instagram, where I post fun stuff on a daily basis. You can give it a follow if you're curious about Psychological facts and phenomenon. I'm incorporating characters, scenes and stories in my posts to make them more interesting. This is the page, you can check it out and maybe follow it too 🙃