Jade's POV
"When did you become such an intrusive brat?" My mom sneered at me and I could see she was controlling herself to not lay a hand on me.
She had approached me menacingly but I was unflinching.
I rolled my eyes at her question and scoffed.
"Mom, When you know that is what you would be doing, why did you bring me along with you into this house?" I asked her.
"Whatever I do is none of your business. I am your mother and you should go with me to wherever I go to." She slammed at me.
I made the tut tut sound of disapproval, at her submission.
"No, mom. You really need to leave me out of this because I won't be a part of it. I don't want to be a part of your bad schemes." I told her, firmly.
She narrowed her eyes on her like she had no idea of what I was talking about, but I could see through her pretense. She was my mother, after all. I knew her more than anybody else.
"Bad schemes? Who says I am up to something bad?" She asked me, pretentiously.
"I know you are planning something bad and I don't want to be part of it, at all. If you are bent on doing it, kindly allow me to leave this house. I am not as brazen as you are!" I requested angrily.
The word 'brazen' seemed to get on her nerves and she hissed but instead of reacting on it, her lips curled up in a small smile and she furrowed her eyebrows.
"Well, my darling daughter, I don't know about any bad schemes that you are talking about. All I know is that, I have a party to plan and you are going to be part of it." She told me, firmly.
The announcement was a surprise to me.
"What party?" I inquired.
"Andrew's twentieth birthday party tomorrow!" She informed me. My eyes softened at the mention of his name and my ears perked up to hear more.
"Oh, that is true. His birthday!" I muttered. Of course, I knew when his birthday was.
Every year for the past three years that I had been crushing on him, I would always package a birthday gift anonymously and drop it in his locker, discreetly.
I was a loyal and devoted crush of his!
I smiled sheepishly at the memory.
"And you are going to help me with the preparation. He is your step brother, after all." She told me.
I groaned at the reminder of our sudden forced relationship and huffed.
"By the way, this brazen woman is doing everything she is doing for your sake, so don't be an ingrate." She added and walked out of the room before I could ask her what she meant.
"What the heck is she doing for my sake?" I wondered.
~
Later that afternoon;
"We are going to be late! Meet me down stairs, now!" My mom yelled at me as she walked away.
I grunted in discomfort.
"I will talk to you later, Juanita. We are throwing a surprise party for Andrew tomorrow, so my mom needs me to follow her to the store to get some essentials." I told my friend who I had been talking with on phone, before my mom barged into my room to inform me of the outing.
"Alright, take care." Juanita told me from the other end and I ended the call.
"Let's go and do this for Andrew!" I told myself and quickly changed my clothes and hurried downstairs, to meet my mom.
Few minutes later, I was trailing behind my mother, as they entered the upscale party supply store.
The extravagant decorations and elaborate themes on display made my eyes widened in awe.
"Mom, isn't this too much?" I asked tugging on her mom's arm.
"Andrew's birthday party doesn't need to be this grand." I added.
My mom flashed a bright smile at the store assistant before turning to face me.
"We are celebrating Andrew's entry into adulthood. It is a milestone worthy of celebration. A grand celebration at that!" She maintained firmly.
As we browsed the aisles, I noticed my mother's fascination with the most expensive and extravagant items, that she would never eye on a normal day, as the normal her.
I couldn't say whether my mother was angling for Raymond's wealth or she was just trying to fit in, in the wealthy atmosphere. Both of the options made my stomach turn.
At the checkout counter, my mother insisted on buying unnecessary items, and I finally realized what she was doing.
"Mom, I must say, you are ..." I wanted to protest but she cut me short immediately.
"Don't dare say whatever it is that you want to say. I am certain I won't like it, don't, just keep your mouth shut." My mom said to me and eyed me scornfully.
I tightened my jaw in anger and I had a scowl on my face.
"Is everything alright?" The store assistant inquired, she had definitely noticed the tension between my mom and I.
My mom exhaled sharply before she regained her composure and turned to reply the store assistant.
"Yes, of course everything is fine. My daughter just needs to learn to appreciate the finer things in life." I heard her say to the store assistant and the latter chuckled.
I felt a surge of embarrassment and anger but remained silent, knowing my mother's temper.
We finally let the store when my mother decided she had gotten everything she needed.
"Huh, finally!" I grunted as we walked out of the store.
However we got to the parking lot and my mom got a phone call.
She looked at caller ID and I noticed that her face changed immediately. Like she wasn't expecting the call, at that moment but it was an important call.
I couldn't say whether she was happy or sad, but I knew she had a very serious look on her face.
"Hello!" I heard her say as she reluctantly accepted the call. She kept looking at me from the corner of her eye, and I wondered why.
"Yeah ... Definitely. (Pause) okay. Yeah. Bye." She stated and ended the call, sharply. She had done more of listening to the call conversation than actually responding.
"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked her, as I notice the shift in her demeanor.
My mother hesitated before responding.
"It's just Raymond. He is ... delaying his return from work. Something unexpected came up." She told me.
My instincts told me that my mother was hiding something. And I decided to press for more information.
"But that shouldn't change your mood like this. You look, erm ... too serious?" I pressed further.
"So, I am supposed to look unserious, instead?" My mom retorted.
"Drop it, okay! Nothing is wrong." She quickly brushed it off, maintaining that she needed to focus on the party.
My doubts grew.
Was my mother using the party as a distraction or a cover-up?
"I need to find out. My instincts are never wrong and I know my mom very well."
That was what was on my mind, as we went home, not knowing that a more shocking surprise awaited me at home.
An unpleasant surprise!
"Is she even supposed to be here?"