"Are you Esme Callahan's grandfather?" The teacher found herself ridiculous asking this question.
"Is that what she said?" Cillian forced a smile, pressing the urge to commit mass murder.
Estella, behind him, put her hand on her mouth to not let her giggle out.
"Umm..that's what Miss Melody Calahan also said," the teacher replied in hesitation.
"Actually, Miss Morris, Melody Callahan, is my niece," Cillian eased the situation. "In her absence, I look after her kids."
Now the teacher had a look of enlightenment.
"Mr Badeaux, Esme is weak in mathematics. She has a pretty good score in English but her score in maths…" She went on and on and on."Moreover, she is not able to mix up well with the classmates. Oftentimes, kids complain about getting bullied by her."
When the girls were feeling good about hearing the teacher berating Esme, the boys were staring at the pretty girl with the brown hair band standing beside Cillian silently.
Almost every classmate watched Esme's video and live streams secretly and they knew that Esme has a twin who didn't study in the same school as her and didn't come in front of the camera but oftentimes, they had heard Estella talk to her in live streams.
What they didn't expect was how pretty Estella was in real life. Esme's mom was every guy's crush and since Estella looked exactly like Miss Melody, the kids found themselves in a love kind situation.
Esme, who was studying everyone's expression, noted down everyone's name in the mental diary of her mind who was looking at her little sister with those googly eyes.
…
"Can I use your phone, Gramps?" Esme asked as soon as she sat at the back seat. She loved infuriating Cillian by calling him grandfather.
"Where do I look like your grams?" Cillian pouted. Call me Uncle Cillian like your mom does!"
"You are her uncle," She retorted fiercely. "Why should I call you uncle like her?!'
" I'm not giving you my phone. Your teacher said the influence of the internet is weakening your interest in studies!"
"Whatever!" Esme said and pursed her lips to look out of the window. Fine with her. Don't give her phone. Leave her alone then.
"Esmeralda" Estella called out her name softly and she looked in front. Esme could only tolerate getting called by her full name by her little sister. No one else could call her that. Not even her own mom. Estella passed her phone to Esme. "Mom left a voice message for you." She paused for a moment. "Why don't you transfer to my school?"
Esme snorted at the suggestion. "I will die there in a week. Your school's curriculum is set for smart kids like you. I can't fit there."
"You are smart too if you work hard," Estella insisted.
"I hate working hard," Esme answered. "When is mom coming back? Or did that wicked man force her to live there for a long time?"
"As much as I like everyone cursing Gideon Hawthorne, it still didn't change the fact that I will not tolerate you talking disrespecting the man who is your birth father!"
Tears pooled at the corner of her eyes but she forced them from not letting fall. She was strong like her mom. Strong people don't cry. "He is not my father! " She shouted at him. "He can't be my father!"
When the car stopped, she opened the car door, ran inside her room and shut the door. She hid inside her pink tent house and buried her head in her knees. "He is not my father! He took everything from my mama and now he is taking my mama from me and Stella. How can someone be so hateful?!"
Cillian, who was sitting on the couch sighing, felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. "Seems like I messed up big time, Mel," he said as soon as he picked the call.
Melody chuckled from the other side. "Let me guess, Esme is mad at you. And right now, she is refusing to eat or drink and is hiding inside her tent house? "
"Yeah," He agreed feeling guilty for scolding her. "I scolded her a little. Her result is really bad, Mel. Should I arrange for a tutor for her?"
"Uncle Cillian. Esme is a genius. She is smarter than children her age but she has learning difficulties. Like Estella or any other kid, she can't write letters orderly. She can tell you everything orally but she faces problems while writing."
"Is it why Louis Tomlinson is the current Prime minister of our country?" Cillian asked her.
Melody burst into laughter. "She said that? Oh God. She likes him. Says he looked funny. Her classmates call her stupid and so she is hell bent on proving herself stupid. It seems I have to talk to her."She sighed suddenly. "Can you check on Estella? She must be doing her homework. Since my star refused to eat or drink, Stella wouldn't have eaten anything either. Such worrying sisterly love they have."
"How do you deal with them, Mel? This is my day one and I am emotionally and mentally exhausted," Cillian said with a heavy sigh. He knew that Melody didn't have an easy life. Her daughters were handful. "One is too sensible and mature that it hurts my heart to see her trying to be an adult and the other one has guarded her heart with a fortress, refusing to allow anyone inside."
"Uncle Cillian, I seriously don't know," Melody's voice trails off as she recalls many experiences that made them who they were now. It wasn't just Gideon who shaped them to be so guarded but all those people who had betrayed and used them in these seven years. "We three have seen so much in these years that we don't know how to live like others. Without our guards up, without extra maturity and extra caution, we will get hurt again. And I don't think we can take another set back."
"I seriously hate that bastard…" Cillian said, completely forgetting why Esme was throwing a tantrum.
"Ah, we will curse him later," Melody quickly said. " First let me talk to my star. Can't let her brooding, can we?"