Chapter 24: Midday Events

"Oh… I never imagine Naz to have so many siblings…" Emily remarked as she looked around the living room, observing some of Natalie's siblings who were playing and some were sitting on the sofa, watching the television. The volume of the television was low enough that Naz was still sleeping on the sofa. Emily couldn't help but cringe slightly and sweat-dropped just from watching everyone inside.

"Ehehe… well, Mom and Dad kinda want the family to be lively, so they adopted all of us while we were younger…" Courtney said and Emily slowly turned to her. Then, Courtney quickly ran up next to Naz and started to shake her arm, trying to wake her up. "Hey, big sis, wake up! We have a visitor!"

"Huh?" Naz slowly opened her eyes and turned to the direction where Courtney was standing. She looked at her groggily and yawned. Then, she started rubbing her eyes until she was fully awake and glanced at the person behind Courtney. "Ah… Emily… how did you know my house?"

"Well, I wasn't really expecting you to live here at first, but then I realized something…" Emily said and laughed nervously. "Anyway, when your mother comes back, my parents would really like to talk with her."

"Oh? What for?" Naz asked as she stood up and slowly approached Emily.

"Ah, my parents are organizing a fashion show and while some magazine photographers are going to be there, they also wanted their own photographer," Emily explained. Then, she took out something from her pocket. "Well, since your mother isn't around, I'll just leave this for you to give to her."

"Hmm…" Naz took the card that Emily gave to her and read it. It was the Haywards' event management business card. "I'll give it to Mom when she comes back… you should also keep my Mom’s card too just in case."

"It's okay, I already have it," Emily replied and grinned. Then, she looked around and noticed how some of Naz's siblings were getting too active and started running around the room. "Anyway, you seem really busy today watching over your siblings… are you sure you'll be fine?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine… Courtney's here to help out anyway," Naz replied and smiled weakly. Then, she slowly turned to her little sister, staring at her sternly. "Right?"

"Of course, big sis!" Courtney replied happily.

.-.-.-.-.-

At the Stewarts' residence, Amelia was having a hard time concentrating on preparing lunch due to the fact that her mother was visiting. She tried to calm herself but nothing seemed to work. She decided to turn on the television to keep the atmosphere of the kitchen somehow lively. While she was chopping the vegetables, and the meat was simmering in the pot, the doorbell rang. Amelia quickly lowered the heat of the stove. Then, she ran out of the kitchen and quickly approached the front door. She turned the knob and opened it.

"Mom!" Amelia exclaimed and looked around frantically.

"Are you all right, dear? You look a bit tense today," Mrs. Collins remarked and looked worried.

"Yes, I'm fine Mom… I was just cooking lunch…" Amelia muttered as she stepped back and Mrs. Collins entered the house. After that, Amelia closed the door and both of them went inside the kitchen.

As Mrs. Collins entered the kitchen, she looked around and noticed that there was a small television by the kitchen counter. It was turned on and tuned to a game show program. Then, the aroma of the simmering meat reached their noses. Amelia, on the other hand, started putting the vegetables into the pot and stirred them together with a wooden spoon.

"It's so quiet here… Where's everyone, Amelia?" Mrs. Collins asked as she pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Ah… well… Mom… Avegaille's with Jake now… and Jane's busy doing her project with her classmate," Amelia muttered as she looked away from her mother and focused on her cooking.

"Amelia… is there something… that you're not telling me?" Mrs. Collins asked as she folded her arms across her chest and stared at Amelia suspiciously.

Amelia quickly became stiff and lost grip of the spoon she was holding that it dropped into the pot. The wooden spoon floated along with the meat and vegetables on the pot. Then, Amelia lowered the heat of the stove and slowly turned to her mother.

"Well… Mom… it's just that…" Amelia started muttering but she was so nervous that she wasn't making any sense.

"Hmm?" Mrs. Collins looked confused, trying to understand her daughter’s words. She knew something was up, but she wanted to hear it from Amelia herself.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Wow… this place is really big…" Avegaille remarked as she looked around the living room.

Avegaille could see the displays of expensive decorations, some inside the cabinets and others on top of small cabinets. One side of the wall was decorated with a huge family portrait of the Rustford family. Aside from the sofas and the huge LCD television in front of the portrait, there was a piano near the huge window door, in which the window door led to the balcony. Both Avegaille and Elizabeth sat down on the sofa and were waiting for Nicole May. Apparently, Nicole May was called in by her mother and she had to be with her for a while.

"It's kinda quiet here… and this place is really big…" Elizabeth muttered. "Doesn't this place make you feel really nervous?"

"Well… it sort of does… well, I hope Nicole May gets back here soon…" Avegaille said as she leaned her back against the sofa.

The two of them kept quiet and stared at the screen of the television. After a while, they heard footsteps getting louder. They quickly stood up and turned to the direction where the noise was coming from. Both of them saw Nicole May and Mrs. Rustford coming in, and Nicole May was wearing something different from her usual outfit. She was wearing a rather fit hooded pink sports jacket and gray skirt with sneakers. She looked slightly irritated when she approached Avegaille and Elizabeth while her mother followed her from behind. Mrs. Rustford was wearing an elegant gown, quite different from the first time Avegaille saw her.

"Oh? So these are your friends? I know I've met Avegaille," Mrs. Rustford remarked, carefully looking at Avegaille and Elizabeth some more. "But anyway, what do you guys think of Nikki's outfit? Doesn't she look nice?"

"Mom!" Nicole May exclaimed as she quickly turned to her and pouted. "I can't believe I even agreed to this…"

"Haha, come on now dear, the sponsor wanted you to wear that at least once," Mrs. Rustford said and giggled. "Anyway, I have to leave right now or else that annoying manager of mine will give me another set of lectures for being late… and I even wonder why."

Nicole May folded her arms across her chest while Avegaille and Elizabeth waved their hands and smiled nervously. After Mrs. Rustford left, Nicole May sighed and turned to Avegaille and Elizabeth. Avegaille and Elizabeth both looked nervous and smiled weakly at Nicole May.

"What?" Nicole May stared at them exasperatedly. "Is this about what I'm wearing?"

"Ah, no, it's not that… I think it looks good on you," Avegaille replied nervously, placing her hand behind her head.

"You don't look too pleased… why is that?" Elizabeth asked as she placed her hands on the pockets of her jacket.

"I'm just not fond of the color pink… that's all," Nicole May muttered irritably. She placed her hands on her hips and sighed. "Whatever, I promised I'll show the two of you around… come on, follow me."

.-.-.-.-.-

"Mom! Where are you?" a voice could be heard from outside the kitchen. Amelia quickly turned to the direction where the voice was coming from and saw Jane and her friend Madeline entering the kitchen. Mrs. Collins turned to the two girls and smiled at them.

"Huh, I know I've seen her somewhere," Madeline muttered as she began to think. Jane, on the other hand, just stared at her exasperatedly and sighed. "Oh, I know, you're Mrs. Collins, the school superintendent!"

"Ahaha, you kids sure know your higher ups," Mrs. Collins remarked and giggled a bit. "Anyway, she's a friend of yours, Jennifer?"

"Yeah… but grandma, I already told you that you should just call me Jane," Jane said as she went closer to her. Then, Jane felt something from behind and quickly turned to Madeline. She saw how speechless and shocked Madeline was and sighed at her.

"Jane, I never knew you were related to people with so much authority…" Madeline remarked, shivering from her spot. Mrs. Collins noticed her reaction and laughed nervously.

"It's not really something you should make a big deal out of…" Jane said, staring at Madeline exasperatedly. Then, she turned to her mother, who was standing near the stove. "Mom, you've been quiet for a while… are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Jane," Amelia replied as she smiled weakly. "I've already finished cooking lunch, but you guys go on and eat first. Your grandmother and I have something to discuss…"

"Oh okay…" Jane said as she shrugged. She watched her mother and grandma leave the kitchen. "Hmm, I wonder what they're talking about now… Mom looks really nervous…"

"Was your mother nervous since your grandma is here?" Madeline asked as she folded her arms across her chest, slightly cocking her head to the side.

"Well… I guess… I mean, if Mom just told grandma the truth, she wouldn't be this nervous," Jane replied and sighed. Then, she turned to the stove, where the food was. All she had to do was serve it. "Come on, we shouldn't waste this…"

.-.-.-.-.-

"Amelia, I don't think you should be hiding things…" Mrs. Collins said flatly as she sat down on the sofa.

Both of them went inside the living room. They didn’t want Jane and her friend overhearing their conversation. Earlier, they were discussing something very serious and Mrs. Collins already figured things out when Jane interrupted them. Amelia was still very nervous. She sat down and looked down on the floor. After a while, Mrs. Collins placed her hand on Amelia's shoulder, which made Amelia turn to her.

"I do have something to tell you also, you know," Mrs. Collins said and smiled at her. Amelia looked surprised and confused at the same time from what she just heard.

"Eh… what… what is it, Mom?" Amelia asked.

"Well, let's just say… you really don't need to hide anything, because… I already know…" Mrs. Collins said as she folded her arms across her chest and turned to the television screen in front of them. She giggled a bit, which made Amelia even more confused.

"Come on Mom… tell me already…" Amelia groaned, looking a bit exasperated.

"Okay, the truth is, I was sort of pretending that I didn't know… about your divorce…" Mrs. Collins admitted and laughed nervously. "I just wanted to see how you would react if I were to come visit you and see if you really were divorced…"

Amelia kept quiet for a while as she stared at her mother. She was shocked at what she just heard, but at the same time, she somehow felt a bit relieved… that her mother wasn't mad at her or anything. She always knew that her mother was quite strange, the same way that her daughters saw her. Then, Amelia started laughing and slowly shook her head. After that, she turned back to her mother.

"How did you even know I was divorced? I mean… only a couple of people do…" Amelia asked.

"Your brother told me… well, it was a couple of weeks ago before you even became the principal," Mrs. Collins replied. "Well, I was a bit surprised at first, but then, thinking back when you asked me for help because of what happened to Avegaille. Somehow, it all made sense… You really should open up to me if you have problems… I mean, I am your mother after all."

"I know Mom… but I just don't want to depend on you too much," Amelia murmured as she slowly turned away from Mrs. Collins. "Besides… I really don't want them to see me when I'm at my worst… they might be disappointed in me…"

"Try not to overdo it dear. Besides, they're your daughters, they'll understand," Mrs. Collins said and quickly hugged Amelia. Then, she released her and giggled. "Anyway, speaking of Avegaille… where is she now, really?"

"Ah… she told me she would be at Nicole May's place for the whole day until tomorrow," Amelia replied, pressing her cheek with her pointer finger. "You know the Rustfords, right? They just moved in here, I think last month or something…"

"Oh, them… well, if Avegaille's friends with their daughter, they must be a nice family," Mrs. Collins remarked and smiled. "Well, for now, maybe we should join Jennifer and her friend for lunch."

"Yeah… it must be quiet over there…" Amelia added and giggled.

.-.-.-.-.-

Nicole May was showing Avegaille and Elizabeth around the mansion. The mansion was really big, and impossible to see all of the rooms in just a couple of hours, so she just led them to the rooms that might interest them. One of those rooms was the entertainment room, where there was a huge LCD television and some gaming consoles placed inside a glass cabinet. There was also a bowling alley in another room, then, a very large study room with all sorts of books. Afterwards, they all went outside by the garden and saw a large swimming pool and a tennis court nearby.

The three of them sat down on a bench near to the entrance of the mansion after all the touring. Avegaille could feel the breeze coming towards her and closed her eyes. Nicole May, on the other hand, was sitting in between and stared at the garden. Elizabeth looked around the area a bit more and noticed someone approaching them hurriedly. She was one of the maids and she looked worried and tired at the same time.

"Ah, Miss Rustford… we've been looking everywhere for you," the maid said as she tried to catch her breath. "Everyone else has already gathered in the dining room and of course, waiting for the three of you."

"Oh… sorry about that, I was showing my friends around…" Nicole May muttered as she stood up from her seat, in which Avegaille and Elizabeth also stood up, but both of them looked confused from what they just heard.

"Hey, Nicole May… what does she mean by everyone?" Avegaille asked as she scratched her head.

"Huh… oh… everyone in this mansion always gathers at the dining room whenever we have breakfast, lunch or dinner… I requested it to be that way, since the dining room is so big and yet only two to three people use it. So yeah, it makes the dining room more lively," Nicole May explained.

"Ooh, so we get to meet everyone in the whole mansion too…" Elizabeth added as she nodded slowly. "Sounds fun~"

"Ah… but it's a bit too much Miss Rustford," the maid said and laughed nervously. "Anyway… we should get inside…"

"Yeah… come on… you guys should meet some of the other people here," Nicole May added. All of them walked towards the steps until they got to the door and entered inside.

.-.-.-.-.-

After lunch with everyone inside the mansion, the maid and butlers all went back to their respective places. After a few more hours of touring around, Elizabeth eventually had to leave. Nicole May asked her driver to take her home and Elizabeth would give out the directions on which way to go.

After Elizabeth left, Nicole May wanted to show Avegaille to her room, and they went there next. Her room was also where they would do their homework, seeing as the library was too big for them to use and Nicole May knew that Avegaille might get bored easily. As they got inside, Avegaille looked around and saw how cozy and elegant the room was. Nicole May, on the other hand, sat down on her bed and watched Avegaille curiously poke around the room. Avegaille placed down her bag on the floor near Nicole May's bed and then approached the desktop computer that was next to the study table.

"Ah, you're so lucky… you have your own computer…" Avegaille remarked, staring blissfully at the blank screen of the monitor.

"I don't really use it much since I already have a laptop…" Nicole May muttered and stared at Avegaille helplessly. "If you want to use it… we can do that after we're done with your homework…"

"Oh… yeah… damn…" Avegaille muttered as she quickly turned to Nicole May and sighed. "Well, I asked my Mom that I can stay here for the night in case we can't finish all of it tonight…"

"Yeah… it's fine with me…" Nicole May said. She slowly turned to the digital alarm clock that was on top of a small cabinet. "Of course, you might get a rude awakening at three in the morning… since that's the time I take my medication…"

"Eh… really? I only take mine before breakfast…" Avegaille said as she sweat-dropped. Then, she went closer to the bed and took her bag from the floor. After that, she sat down next to Nicole May. "Anyway… I don't have much homework like last time… but annoying math equations are still annoying… plus history essays…"

"An essay, huh? I'm already done with mine, so just ask me where you're stuck at," Nicole May muttered while Avegaille took out her notebook from her bag. Then, Avegaille handed over to her the notebook. Nicole May quickly flipped through the pages, ignoring some of Avegaille's messy handwriting and finally got to the end of her notes. "You're not really too keen in taking down lecture notes, are you?"

"Well… it kinda gets boring, so I can't help it…" Avegaille replied and groaned. She took out a book from her bag and flipped through the pages. Apparently, some of the pages were bookmarked with slips of paper. "Hmm, putting these bookmarks somehow helps but still, there are some instances where I just don't even remember why I bookmarked that page…"

"You'll get used to it…" Nicole May said and smiled at her. Then, she turned back to the notebook she was holding in her hand. "Why don't you write a draft first of the essay and after that, I'll check it for you… and then, you can use that computer to type it out."

“Yeah, that definitely sounds like a plan," Avegaille remarked and giggled a bit. Then, she looked around the room a bit more and then, stared at the window, which led to the balcony. "Hey, Nicole May… is there a reason why you guys moved here?"

"Huh… what do you mean?" Nicole May asked as she stared at Avegaille blankly.

"Oh, not that I don't want you here of course… but I'm just curious to why… I mean… don't you guys have some sort of mansion also while you're all still in New York?" Avegaille asked as she turned back to Nicole May and laughed nervously.

"No… we just lived in a rather spacious condominium unit," Nicole May replied as she sweat-dropped. Then, she turned to the direction where Avegaille was looking at and sighed. "Well, we still had some maids helping us out… at least, Mom and Dad… but I prefer doing things on my own… Anyway, when Dad earned a lot from his job, he thought it'd be best if we moved to a bigger house and a much more relaxed town… but I didn't expect it to be this big… At least, Mom and Dad haven't changed much… even though this house is so big. I heard most children who live in mansions this big aren't that close with their parents, since they're always busy."

"Ah… you must be lucky then…" Avegaille remarked and giggled.

"Not really…" Nicole May muttered as she slowly turned away from Avegaille. "To be honest… I'd give up all of this so I could be with my biological parents…"

"Huh? Biological… parents?" Avegaille asked, surprised at what she just heard.