Chapter 4: Chapter 4

"How do I look?" Nes asks, barging into my room. I'm not surprised; it happens all the time. She's wearing a short yellow dress, stopping just above her knees with flats.

"Someone's bubbly again." I smile.

"And someone's looking hot," she comments, eyeing my outfit. I'm wearing a mint green chiffon top and black tights.

We hold gazes for a few seconds then I say, "okay, I'm changing."

"To what?" she asks with a knowing look on her face.

"W-well, um, the―my..." she watches with pleasure as I fumble for what to say. "Fine. I don't know! It's just that you're making me feel like I'm overdressed for a normal family dinner. I don't want to pass a wrong message to anyone," I admit.

"Girls! Get down here, it's not a ball we're attending," mum calls from downstairs. Me and Nes laugh briefly and hurry out of my room, into the hallway.

I watch Nes as she meets mum downstairs and starts to crack a joke. I want to talk to her about what happened earlier but I don't want to upset her... More like I don't know what to say. I can’t go asking what happened because I was there. Ugh! I hate worrying.

"Earth to Bee!" I'm yanked out of my worry bubble by Nes' high pitched voice.

"Okay, that was fantastic, Agnes," mum mumbles, rubbing her ears.

"Thanks, mum"

"Um, that wasn't a compliment. She meant cut the crap," I say, earning a scowl from her.

"Killjoy."

We are now standing at the Lawrence's doorstep and dad rings the doorbell.

"Gee, sometimes I wish those crazy boys were here," I blurt, shuffling on one spot. Nes raises an eyebrow and snickers.

"Someone's nervous," she whispers to herself, but somehow, I know she wants me to hear it. I look at her and she snickers again. "Right or wrong?"

The door gently opens before I can defend myself and standing behind it is a little girl, probably Jasper's little sister. There is a slight resemblance between them but she looks so much like Mr. Lawrence.

"Hi, I'm Mary. Come in," she says in her small voice.

Gee, this girl's nothing like Jasper. So calm.

As we step in, I look around. Everything is in order. It's beautiful, in fact. The foyer is large with a fancy staircase at the end. Three framed paintings of natural scenery line the white wall above the console table. I smile unconsciously. On the opposite wall are two framed pencil drawings. I move closer to get a better look. The one closer to the door is of a dragon, spitting fire.

"You like it?" a voice comes from behind me. I turn and the first things I see are grey eyes. I look at him with slightly furrowed brows and realise he's a little bigger. And probably older.

"Hi, I'm Luke." He stretches his arm with the hint of a smile playing on his lips.

"Hi. Um, I-Isabella." I-Isabella? Really?

"Great. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, same." I reply. "Pardon me, I'm just a little surprised at your resemblance to Jasper. You drew this?" I point at the frame, diverting the attention immediately.

"Yeah, you like it?"

"Are you kidding me? I love it!" I blurt.

"Thanks." He smiles fully and just like with Jasper, his eyes are highlighted.

"And this one too?" I ask, pointing at the other one.

"Nope. That's Jasper's," he replies, walking towards it. I follow him, wide eyed. He draws?

"What?" he asks, eyeing my expression.

"N-no. It's nothing. He just didn't seem like an artist." He chuckles and I smile.

How would I even know that when I just met him! Geez.

The drawing is of a guy in a hood, wearing a face mask. On the mask is written 'masked'. Okay, this guys are good.

"Dave painted those ones over there." He points at the paintings on the opposite wall and immediately, I feel like crying. Yup, that's how much art affects me. If only I actually understand it.

"Dave's your..."

"Oldest sibling. Just before me," he finishes.

"Oh. I bet if you and Jasper were of the same size, I wouldn't make friends with you," I say, making small talk. He raises an eyebrow.

"Uh, you guys coming?" We are interrupted by Mary and we realise we almost forgot about the dinner.

"Yeah," Luke replies, still staring at me. Mary narrows her eyes at him before skipping off. "Shall we?" he says, gesturing for me to go first.

"Of course."

"So, why did you say you wouldn't make friends with us?" he asks as we walk towards the sitting room.

"Because I wouldn't know who is who and I don't like to be confused," I reply with a shrug. He laughs and I chuckle.

***

"You need any help?" I ask Mrs. Lawrence as she places water glasses on the table.

"No, honey, thanks," she says with a smile and that's when I see it. Her sons are just male versions of her. They have her grey eyes, jet black hair, in fact they have more of the white genes. Only Mary turned out to be a patriotic Nigerian, with brown eyes, like her dad, and kinky hair.

"Where's Jasper?" Mr. Lawrence asks, looking around.

"He's coming," Mary replies and starts chewing on her lower lip. Mr. Lawrence arches a brow and I notice his jaw clenching for a split second.

"From?" Mrs. Lawrence asks, having overheard the conversation from the kitchen.

"W-well, he went out. BUT he said he'll be back before dinner," she blurts, the words coming out a little louder than necessary.

"Isn't it time for dinner yet? Let me―" Mr. Lawrence glances at his wife and she signals him to stop. He obliges. Awkward.

"Let's eat. I'm sure he'll be back soon," Mrs. Lawrence assures everyone, including herself. For some stupid reason, I'm disappointed that he's not here. We say the grace before meal and begin to eat in silence. A slightly uncomfortable silence.

Halfway into the meal, mum and Mrs. Lawrence start to discuss random stuff. Gradually, dad and Mr. Lawrence join in. They try to involve us but with the straight answers they get, they give up. Luke keeps staring at me longer than he should and some-crazy-how, I'm fine with it. How absurd. I avoid looking towards Nes, who's beside Luke because I don't want to see her expression.

Fifteen minutes later.

We're done eating, table's been cleared and we're invited to the sitting room to watch TV. I check the time on my phone. 9:30pm.

It's still not dinner time for some strange-minded being. So...

He walks right in, interrupting my thoughts. All eyes turn to him, standing at the foot of the stairs.

Ooh, just in time. Table's set, wacko. I smile at my own thoughts.

"Well, well, well. Just in time to scrape the table for remaining chunks of food. Welcome, man." Luke laughs.

I feel he is trying to make light of the situation but Jasper just gives him a flat look and is about to run up the stairs when his dad comes out of the dining area, glaring daggers at him.

Gee, not even the decency of apologising to the guests for being so late.

He sighs tiredly and walks towards the sitting room.

"I'm sorry I missed dinner. Hello Mr. and Mrs. Smith," he greets my parents who respond with nods. Everyone is feeling the tension but seeing the way Mary is standing in one corner, staring at the scene, I can't help but feel that it's weighing her down more than anyone else. She tried her best to cover up for him, but he had to ruin it. This probably isn't the first time.

"You're sorry you missed dinner," his dad repeats.

"Yeah."

"Where were you?" At that question, Jasper glances at me for a second. I notice Luke and dad stare in my direction immediately.

Okay, I plead NOT GUILTY! I just met the guy.

"With some friends," he replies, showing indifference. This guy has got some nerves. His mum just stands there, clearly fed up.

His dad lowers his voice, "and you asked Mary to lie to us?"

"What? No! I―"

"Jasper, do not drag Mary into your..." he pauses. "Just not her." I don't know if anyone else can see this, but I see anger rising in both of them.

Looks like father and son have temper issues.

I'm nudged in the side and Nes whispers, "were they trying to whisper just now? `Cause that's a zero over ten."

My tummy tightens with rising laughter but I force it back down and pinch Nes, who lets out a low snort, coupled with an 'ow'.

Mum sends her a warning look and she bows her head. I look around and discover that Mary's gone. I relate myself to her. I can't help Agnes with her issues and she can't help her brother. By the time I regain myself, Jasper's gone and everyone is awkwardly staring at the TV.

"Um," mum starts, "we have to go now. Thanks for the dinner. We had a wonderful time." Pft, more like ‘dramaful’ time.

Before they have the time to protest, we are all on our feet and walking towards the door, saying our thank yous and good nights.

"It was great having you here. And I'm sorry for the little scene back there. Jasper's just going through a phase," Mrs. Lawrence says, stopping at the edge of the porch stairs.

"Oh, it happens when they are growing. Kids," mum replies with a grin that screams forced.

I hope she knows how weird she looks right now.

"That was weird. I thought you tagged Jasper a troublemaker? He wasn't smiling back there. Even when he looked at you," Nes observes, as we enter our house.

I throw her a flat look and she raises her hands in mock surrender, saying, "what? I had to say it. You weren't the only detective there, you know? Everyone noticed it, so get ready to explain to dad why the insolent kid was staring at you."

Fudge, she's right. Dad's gonna ask. Why, Jasper, why? I don't even know you!

"Well, I'll say I had nothing to do with it. I truly had no clue what happened back there," I say, with a contorted expression on my face.

Have I even met Jasper? The real Jasper Lawrence?

"I don't think so, babe. You just met him today," Nes whispers, making me jump. My face drops.

"I did not just say that aloud."

"You did not say it aloud, you said it out loud," she replies in an I'm-so-smart expression. I frown in confusion.

"I don't get it. What's the difference?"

"Nothing," she replies with a shrug and walks off, smiling to herself. I stand there, staring after her for about five seconds before turning and running up the stairs so that dad won't see me and remember to ask me about the scene.

***

After fifteen minutes of texting in my room, I shower, dress up for the night, jump into bed and close my eyes. Aha! Time to get a good night's...

My door flings open and I don't need to open my eyes to know who it is.

...noise.

Before I can yell at Nes to fly out of my room, the edge of the bed sinks and I hear noisy munching close to my ear.

"Geez, take that mouth away from me," I complain. She just grins widely and scoops another spoonful of beans into her mouth. I wince slightly at the sight of a long slice of onion hanging down from the spoon. I can't stand onions; especially in beans porridge. Nes, on the other hand, loves it. My face drops, showing disinterest as I see the happy look on her face.

"What do you want?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"Vat do vou vant?" she mimics my expression with her tongue stuck out. I roll my eyes.

"That look really suits you," I mock.

"And the mess you're going to end up in anytime soon, will suit you," she states, crossing her legs. I shift my gaze from place to place, conveying my confusion. She simply puts on a smug expression and eyes me up and down.

She's only doing this because there's only a year's gap between us. If not, I'll spank her. But she’ll fight me and probably win.

"What mess are you talking about?" I ask, finally conceding to her wish. A mischievous smile breaks out on her face and she stands up. My eyes widen.

She's not going to leave me hanging! "Nes?!"

"What?" she turns around once she's at the door, feigning innocence. "You already know the answer."

"No, I don't," I retort.

"Oh really? Cause I'm not the one who's crushing on Lukey dukey." She air-quotes Lukey dukey.

"What's a Lukey duke―ooh, wait. No!" I exclaim as the true meaning of her statement dawns on me.

"Yup." She winks and runs out of my room. She did not just see through me―I mean, she did not just try to insinuate some-―ugh! I sit there, staring at the door.

"Nope, it's because we just met," I assure myself and land back on the bed. A few beeps come from my phone but I ignore all of them. At last, I get the much needed space; only with a new thought added to my thought list.

Gosh, Nes can be annoyingly blunt. I doze off, shortly after, still thinking of what she said. That night, I have the stupidest dream ever. The kind of dream I'm never uttering a word to anyone about.

It's my secret. My stupid secret.