"Happy morning!" Alex exclaimed as soon as she entered the dining room, where her parents and brother were having breakfast.
"How is your work?" asked her dad as soon as she sat beside her mom and accepted the offer of a piece of bread.
"It's fun," she answered with a smile.
Her mother smiled as she rubbed her head. "You really like being an educator, hmmm?"
She nodded quickly. She couldn't answer because her mouth was full of bread.
"Wait, isn't today Adrian's birthday?" Ace looked at her, asking for approval.
She took a sip of her orange juice before saying, "Yes. And don't forget, auntie's dinner invitation. it's five o'clock in the afternoon."
Mrs. Sillivan chuckles. "I almost forgot about it." She then looked at her husband. "You don't have anything else to do tonight, do you?"
Mr. Sullivan shook his head. "It's just that this afternoon there is a fundraising event."
In which Ace replied, "Fundraising? Is that the one that you mentioned the other day?"
Mrs. Sullivan immediately glared at her son. "There's no reason for you not to come, Ace," she said firmly. "I am tired of hearing all your excuses."
The man grunted. "Why don't you guys bring Alex? She needs to be brought on the show once in a while."
Mrs. Sullivan glanced at her daughter, who was already glaring at her brother. "She's not a businesswoman; why bring her in?"
So, that afternoon, Alex spent her time cleaning her games and novel cabinets. However, her collection has always received the most attention. No matter what happened, she had to clean it every Sunday. Or at least once a week. After cleaning with a feather duster, she will remove the positions from their original places.
If she doesn't clean her collection, she will just roll around incoherently on the bed. Or maybe go out with Adrian. After all, she had never been to a charity event such as a fundraiser. Usually, she would only go to dinner parties as Ace's partner. Her brother had never brought other girls to dinner besides herself. The man is the type of person who doesn't want their personal problems to be discussed. It's a difficult thing to do because, for the past year, he has been appearing in business magazines a lot.
Alex had just plopped down on the bed when her cell phone rang loudly. She was very sure that it was Adrian who was calling, so when she saw Charles' name on the screen, she felt a little disappointed. Perhaps because she hadn't communicated with the man all day.
"Hello!"
"Hello... Teacher Alex!"
She frowned and kept the phone away from her ear, looking at the screen carefully. Indeed, Charles' name is written on the screen of her cellphone, but why does she hear a child's voice? She knows the owner of the voice... "Jewel?" she asked, unsure.
"Yes, it's me, teacher."
"Oh." She is still unsure about what to say. "Why?"
"Jewel wants to take you to see a movie this afternoon. Watching with uncle Charles is not fun at all. Is that okay with you?" said the girl excitedly.
"What?"
"Hello, Alex. It's me, Charles." The voice on the other line turned into the voice of an adult male who was none other than Charles. "I don't understand why Jewel asked you either. But don't worry about what she said. You know little kids, don't you? They love to say whatever comes to their mind."
She nodded, even though she knew that Charles didn't see her. "I don't mind at all."
"What?" the man asked, surprised.
"Jewel's invitation, I don't mind it," she answered. "So, what time is the movie playing?"
There was a faint sound for a few seconds, before Charles said, "Jewel said it's around three o'clock. Do you want to go together?"
"Thanks for your offer, but I'll bring my car," she refused gently.
"Okay, I'll send you the address of the cinema. We'll meet there, okay?"
*****
The movie he watched with Jiyool and Changmin ended just when the clock hit half past five in the afternoon. The movie they watch is fun. Jewel who sat in between her and Charles never stopped commenting on every scene in the film. Yeah, it's a children's movie.
"How about we eat before we go home?" the man offered when they were out of the cinema.
Alex looked at her watch and smiled apologetically at the two of them. "I'm sorry, but I have to go home."
"Come on, teacher Alex. Let's eat together, shall we?" With her adorable face, the little girl enticed.
She shook her head and rubbed the top of the little girl's head. "I really have to go home. I have a very important event to attend."
"Okay, no problem," said Charles. The man then looked at Jewel who was already showing a sad face. "Teacher Alex can't join us this time, Jewel, she has to come to her friend's event. If she doesn't come, her friend will be sad." he explained smoothly.
"Isn't it that if we make a promise we have to keep it?" Alex added.
Finally, with an unwilling face, the lottle girl nodded. "Okay. See you soon, teacher."
*****
As soon as she got out of the cinema parking lot and had mixed with other vehicles on the main street of Manila, Alex pressed the gas pedal hard. It was almost 4:45 pm and she couldn't be late. If she was late, the place she was going to would be closed, and she would die right then and there.
She almost slammed her car door closed when she arrived at the mall. She ran towards the elevator that would take her to the 5th floor and started stomping her feet impatiently as the elevator was moving towards its destination.
The mall that afternoon looked crowded. Most people flocked to the place to eat. Some teenagers were busy in the playground. And the children who came with their parents had fun running around. On the first floor, there is a band performance, and people who want to see it can stand on the guardrail on each floor.
"I want to take my order," she said when she arrived at the shop in question.
"Can I see the proof of payment, ma'am?" asked the black-haired female employee.
She quickly opened her wallet and handed over the evidence requested by the shop clerk.
"Oh, Miss Sullivan, it says here that you can pick up your order at exactly 5:30 pm."
Her eyes widen. "What?!"
The employee looked at her patiently. She then handed Kyuhyun the paper and pointed to the side. "You can pick up your order at 5:30 or later, ma'am. But not before that time."
Alex still frowned. "Don't you guys close at five?"
"We close at ten pm, Miss."
She felt all the blood in her body rising up on her cheeks, so she was sure her cheeks were very red. Good grief! Where did she get the information that she was so sure this shop would close at five? And earlier, the clerk said, "I can only pick up my order at 5:30?"
The employee nodded. "That's right, ma'am."
She sighed exasperatedly. She looked at her watch and wanted to groan right then and there when it was still 5:05. "Okay. I'll go back later."
She finally headed for the guardrail in the middle of the mall so she could watch the band's performance below. Even though she couldn't really see who was singing, at least she could still hear what song was being sung.
She felt her cellphone in her backpack vibrate. Reluctantly, she took out her cell phone and wasn't surprised when the person calling her was her mother. It's ten minutes past five, and it's clear that she's late for Adrian's birthday celebration. Being late was nothing new to her, and her mother shouldn't have to worry. Adrian will definitely burn his company if she can come on time.
"I'm still on the road, mom. I'm stuck in traffic," she quickly said, before her mom started her tirade.
"Stuck in traffic? You won't be stuck in traffic if you leave the house early. Whichever route you take, you won't get stuck in traffic at all."
Alex scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. Her life is over. Indeed, there is no way that she will be stuck in traffic jams. If she's from home, the problem now was that he wasn't home at all. She's at the center of the traffic jam.
"The important thing is that I will come there. Mom does not need to worry," said Alex finally. She doesn't want to prolong the problem."
"If in ten minutes, you are not here, you will surrender your car and keys to me."
"But mom—"
And her mom cut off their conversation unilaterally.
She's dead.
*****
Alex could only give a resigned grin when she arrived at the grill and restaurant at 6:45 pm and everyone at the table stared at her. She is almost two hours late. And she should be grateful that everyone hasn't gone home at all.
"Sorry, I'm really late. I have some business to do, so I'm stuck in traffic. I'm sorry."
"You know, it would be better if you didn't come," her mother snapped, annoyed.
Mrs. Herrera waved her hand with a warm smile. "No problem. Everyone has their own business to attend to."
She hugs Adrian's parents as a sign of respect and greeting, as well as Alice. And then she shook hands briefly with Alice's husband, Jason. She briefly kissed Sayn's cheek, before finally taking a seat next to her brother. But she frowned when she realized that there was no Adrian at the table.
"Where's Adrian?" she asked, after swallowing a piece of cake she took from Ace's plate.
"He's in the washroom," Alice replied. "Your boyfriend is grumpy because you didn't come on time."
Alex rounded her mouth in an O shape. "I'll follow him. He must be very upset." She also rose from her seat, before returning to say, "And by the way, he is not my lover. Okay?"
She waited impatiently in front of the male toilet door. Several men who had just come out of the room looked at her with various expressions. Some were surprised, even to the point of teasing. And she glared back at the young man who was looking at her with that seductive gaze. She was sure that the boy's age was not even 17 years old.
She was just about to decide to go into the toilet, when Adrian came out of the room and didn't show any expression when he saw her. Luckily, the guy came out right away, because if he didn't, she would definitely go crazy for going into the boys' toilet.
"Hey, you didn't see me?" she asked when the man just walked away.
They stopped at the end of the hall, which would lead them back to the dining room of the restaurant.
Adrian looked at his watch, then turned to her with a flat look. "It would be better if you sent me a message saying you couldn't come."
"Why? At least I tried to come, even though I was almost two hours late." she showed her grin, hoping that the man's cold face would fade away.
But Adrian shook his head, unable to think about the woman's mindset in front of him. He was just about to take a step when Alex grabbed his wrist.
"Are you really mad?" she asked worriedly. "I lost track of time and you should have tried calling me so I could have come earlier."
Adrian pulled his hand roughly, and snorted loudly. "Why should I call you? You should have come to your senses and arrived on time. You're not a five-year-old, are you?" he sneered sarcastically. "And you forgot the time you said? Ah, you must have really enjoyed the movie you watched with Charles, right? Did you guys go to dinner after that? And when you looked at the clock, you just remembered that you had to go to my birthday celebration?"
Alex cannot move. "How-"
"How would I know? Well, it just so happened that we were watching at the same place, and I saw you two." Adrian spoke again when he saw that Alex was about to open her mouth. "Why didn't I call you and take you out with me? Like I said, you're not a five-year-old kid who has to be reminded of everything you have to do."
After saying all these things, the man immediately left her. It really surprised her because Adrian had never been that angry with her. She hastily chased after him, who would definitely go to their table. But to her surprise again, she didn't find Adrian there.
"Where's he?" she asked in panic.
"He's going home. He said that he was going to celebrate his birthday with his friends," Mrs. Herrera answered her.
"Did you two have a fight? He had such a scary face." Jason spoke up.
"It would be best if you guys made up soon. His bad mood could last for a few days." Alice added.
Without saying goodbye, she immediately ran out. And the goddess of luck is on her side, because the man is still waiting for his car in front of the lobby. Because if the guy is gone, he guarantees, Adrian won't pick up the phone from her.
"Adrian, I'm sorry," she said, while catching her breath.
The man raised an eyebrow. "Where's my present?"
She smirked. "It-"
Adrian's face grew darker. "Remember what I said the other day? If you don't bring a present, I won't be talking to you for a couple of months."
"W-what?"
The man got into his car as soon as the valet opened the car door for him. "By the way, I'll pack all your stuff into my apartment. At least, in the next three days you'll have it."
"WAIT... WHAT?!"
*****