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Jennifer

When I was young I always wanted to go on family vacations but that never happened. Vacations were a far-fetched thought, we didn't even visit our own city together. Walter and I used to hang out together most of the time with bodyguards hot on our heels but that way at least someone was there to capture a lot of pictures of Walter and I together.

I turned around to spot Mr. Reynolds standing outside the car, he got a call from someone named RH so he got out of the car saying, 'Just two minutes, it's urgent'. I was trying to come up with a name for RH when my phone vibrated, indicating a message.

Kathy:
Where are you?

I can't just reply with-Hey, sorry I didn't tell you earlier but I'm with our mathematics professor. We are on our way to the amusement park where we will dress up as vampires and have fun all day long.

I resorted to lying which I don't do with my best friends but in this situation I had to for now. So I replied with, 'I'm at the bookstore.'

Kathy:
Can I join you? Monica had plans with her parents for lunch.

This is why you should never lie to your best friends. I can't tell her. Not now, on a freaking text message. If I tell her, she will immediately call me. I might reveal this during our 'spill the tea' session next month. But right now, I need to come up with something believable. I quickly texted Axel that if anyone asks I'm with him.

Me:
I'm with Axel.

I turned when the car door opened, Mr. Reynolds threw his phone on the back seat and started to drive again. Looks like this RH person said something annoying.

Kathy:
Oops! Enjoy your date. *wink*
I need all the details ASAP when you return!!!

I felt bad for lying to Kathy but if anyone gets a whiff that I'm with my professor outside of college premises without any kind of serious college work involved then it would have a negative impact on his image as well as mine. I put my phone back in my pocket and noticed Mr. Reynolds stealing a glance at me.

"Is everything okay?" I looked at him confused. "You looked conflicted about something." He said, nudging his head towards my phone. "You can tell me if something's bothering you."

"Nothing, just a few assignments that are lined up for next week." I lied and hoped he would believe it.

Sometime later, I realised I forgot to tell him to stop at the store. I'm going to dress up as Mavis from Hotel Transylvania so I ordered the stockings with black and red strips which need to be picked up.

"Look, I'm sorry but we had to take a right at the crossroad we just crossed." I said while still looking at the screen to see if there's a shorter way to get back on track than the one which is preferred by the maps.

"It's alright." He said simply and focussed back on the road.

"What? Aren't you going to say some bad words like cab drivers do when I don't tell them the correct route." I asked in disbelief. Everytime I have given someone wrong directions I end up getting scolded or sworn on.

"I'm not your cab driver and they say bad words to you? Report them if they do it next time." He raised an eyebrow at me which made me nod.

"I'll take your word for it." I said and punched in the location in the GPS.

We reached the destination after ten minutes and I picked up my stockings.

"Wouldn't all black look better than this?" He asked as he eyed the stockings.

"Oh, no. This is a specific character look. Wait, I'll show you." I googled and showed him the picture.

"So it's a cartoon character then and who's this weird guy with her?"

"That's Johnny. He's so cool. You should watch the four movies in the franchise, it's called Hotel Transylvania."

"Alright, if you say so."

We talked about the Annual Fest details that he wanted. I assured him that the final guest list for the panel will be finalised by the end of the week.

I still remember the looks I got from the members of the planning committee when I told them that Mr. Reynolds wanted me to brief him about the details. If looks could kill then I would have died a very slow and painful death. Everyone wants a one-on-one with him. Like he's a god or something.

But look who's talking, who made sure every detail is mentioned working late at night for the report that I just handed to him.

"Now, can we talk about something else." I said, sighing. I thought he was kidding when he said he wanted to discuss budget details and panel selection for the speaker session. But boy he was serious. I narrowed my eyes at him with indignation.

"Sure, go ahead. Ask me anything." He said after putting the car to a halt and I noticed we were at a red light.

"Anything?" I smiled mischievously.

He opened his arms and put his hands in the air on either side of him, "Anything." He seemed at ease. After that phone call, I thought he might sulk all day.

"Would you ever marry someone for their money?" I turned sideways and settled in a comfortable position by putting my right hand below my head.

"Do you think I don't have money?" He counter questioned me all the while smiling.

"That's not an answer." I shook my head.

"I have money. I don't need anyone else's. Satisfied?" He flashed me his pearly white teeth and started the car as the light turned green.

"Right."

"What?" He asked quizzically.

"We needed to take a right turn. I ordered pizza beforehand." I lied to check if he'll scold me this time. It's an efficient technique to check if someone's a hypocrite.

"It's alright there's a U-turn." He doesn't look mad nor his hands tightened on the steering wheel so I guess he was telling the truth. He was about to take a U-turn when I held his arm to stop him.

"Just kidding. I never make the same mistake twice in a row." My hand looks small in comparison to his. The way his veins look while he is holding on to the steering wheel, I couldn't look away.

Closing my eyes, I reprimanded myself for thinking that way. I opened my eyes only to notice him looking at my hand so I let go of his arm. It felt awkward after that so I dive back to the conversation we were having earlier.

"Many people get married to accumulate more wealth than they already do." I said rubbing my arms as I started to feel cold. He noticed my actions and immediately turned up the temperature.

"Then I'm not one of them. What about you?" I knew he would redirect this question to me.

"I don't want to get married. So this question makes no sense." I pulled out a pack of chips from my bag to distract my attention from his scrutinizing face.

"Why would you say that?" He raised an eyebrow and gave me a quick glance before starting the car again as the lights turned green.

"When you have watched a marriage fall apart first-hand with constant disagreements and fights, you lose hope." I said it out loud for the first time. Why did I say it? No idea.

"I'm sorry. But every marriage doesn't end up like that." He said sincerely and decided not to talk about it more. I can't believe some people say that my parents' marriage was out of love.

"Would you go back in time if you were given a chance?" I asked him as I opened a pack of chips and held out the pack for him. He nodded but as he's driving I took some chips and he opened his mouth while I shoved a lot of chips at once. The funny look he gave me made me laugh at his expense.

"Let's see, go back in time. I guess not even if I want to because it would change the course of whatever's happening right now." I didn't ask him to elaborate.

"Your turn."

"What is the last book that you've read?"

"'How to Reject Someone Nicely 101', but only the first chapter." I answered truthfully. When I met Axel this morning, he made me read the first chapter and damn it was so funny. We laughed multiple times in a single chapter and I can't wait to read more.

"What? Why would you read that?" There was suddenly an edge in his voice and he quickly gathered himself before I could figure out the emotion behind it.

"Just because my friend was reading it this morning." I looked back at my pack of chips which by the way is empty now. I put the wrapper of chips back in my bag. And noticed that I bought makeup. I considered asking him if he would like me to put on some makeup to actually look like a vampire but I decided against it. It would be totally weird asking such a question until we reach our destination I guess cause I would be able to point at people who are there with more than just makeup to persuade him.

"Oh." He seemed to be in deep thought and then he said, "So what is your favourite song?"

"Hey! It was my turn but at this moment it has to be 'Dusk Till Dawn'. I heard it on loop before going to sleep." Zayn and Sia had magical voices. I just can't get enough of them.

"So are you a vegetarian?" He chuckled at my question. It's not a funny question for me.

"I'm not." He said simply after putting on 'Dusk till Dawn'. I couldn't help the smile and at the same time felt like committing a crime behind my finacé's back. Well I haven't seen him yet and I need to put an end to that arrangement.

I'm not sure if this crush on Mr. Reynolds would end anytime soon if he continues to make these simple gestures making me feel lightweight. I shook my head to get rid of these thoughts.

"Would you like to hear the story of me becoming a vegetarian?" The corners of his mouth twitched up and he nodded saying, "A story? Sure, go on. We have all the time."

"Well when I was about six, I went to this barbeque place with my Mom in the countryside where there was a window which showcased the chickens hanging around in the farm. So I was like, 'Mom look, they are so cute.' And she was like, 'they taste cute as well'. My eyes went so wide when I realised what she meant. So that day was the day a vegetarian was born." I still remember bugging my mother for about a month to take me to a farm because I saw it on a TV channel. And they said, it is a good bonding place between family members. If only I knew the thing back then I know now.

He laughed really hard, the kind of laugh where all of his teeth are on full display, laughing wholeheartedly without a care in the world. He shook his head to shake off the laugh but when he looked at my face he laughed even harder making me laugh as well. I didn't think it was funny because for me it was a tragic day. Yet somehow, today I found it funny as well.

"That's not all, on our way home when she noticed that I looked sick. She decided it's the best time to tell me where our pet animal, which need not be named, went."

"It's safe to say, I should stay away from your mother."

"I couldn't agree more."

"Let's see." He rubbed his chin as he thought, "What gross thing can a person do that bothers you?"

"Putting shoes on the furniture." It's a no for me. I mean you wore those shoes everywhere.

"My turn, tell me something about your family that many people don't know."

His eyes twinkled at the mention of his family. "My grandfather used to go on dates set up by my great-grandmother. On one of the dates, he met my grandmother who acted really strange all night long. From drinking wine in a bowl to using a knife to eat the dessert. My grandmother was hell bent on not marrying my father because she was forced to go on a date with my grandfather. My grandfather found her enchanting and told his parents that he wants to marry her." He looked so happy talking about them. His whole face is lit up with probably remembering the time he got to know about their love story.

I would love to meet his grandparents someday, "And?"

"My grandmother ran away on her wedding day leaving my grandfather standing at the altar."

"Oh my god. It must have been a scandal back then."

"Yeah," He laughed, "My grandfather was hell bent on finding her even if he had to go to Antarctica for that. In the meantime my grandmother started working for-" he stopped abruptly.

"Huh? What happened? Where did she start working?" I bombarded him with questions.

"He eventually found her and they worked for the same organization so love blossomed in grandmother's heart as well. Long story short, they have been happily married for more than four decades now." He didn't answer my question about where she started working but it's not like I have told him anything that personal about my family.

"Wow." That's all I could say after hearing his family history.

"Wow. That's all?" He laughed.

"I mean so cool. I would love to meet them one day." Stupid move, Jennifer. Now what would he think about that? Why would he want to make me meet his family? It's not like I am his girlfriend or something. Before he could say anything I added, "Your turn to ask a question."

A/N: I'll post the next part super soon!!

Have you watched Hotel Transylvania?

I mentioned my pinterest on my profile so you might wanna check it out.

I hope you're all doing good.

Love,
Shizbliss