“Have you talked to him if he will come?” Althea asked
“I need to call him now to remind and confirm. I will allow you to go out tomorrow in the afternoon as long as Allyson is done since I need someone to cook for him.” Nana said while looking at Althea
“Let me send a message to Allyson and ask him then,” Althea said
“I will leave you two because I need to pack some of my things,” Nana said before leaving
“How about dinner tomorrow? I won’t be available for lunch since I have to stay with Allyson,” she said breaking the silence
“So only the two of you will be here tomorrow?” I asked
“Yep. Nana needs to go to the city for some business,” she said
“Shall we schedule it for next time?”
“Can we do that?”
“Let us talk about it again next time then. I don’t want to bother you tomorrow since you might be too tired.” I responded
I thought that we could set another date after that but we got so busy after that since we will be having a vacation.
I was on my way home after the graduation ceremony when I saw Daniel and Althea talking together. Daniel was smiling widely while staring at Althea who was laughing while holding a camera in her hand. I guess they are now on good terms since they were standing close to each other and Althea was even laughing.
“Thank you for waiting.” Ace said
“Congratulations once again sweety,” Althea said before kissing Ace on the cheeks
I frowned at what I saw and I also noticed Daniel’s face darken. Daniel’s facial expression made me confused. Why does he seem affected? Are they back together and are they in a secret relationship?
“Congrats.” Daniel smiled when Ace faced him
“Thanks, man. I appreciate you coming to congratulate me.” Ace said
“Vladimir, I have been looking everywhere for you. Mom asked me to look for you since you might drop by our house again.” my cousin said while pulling me as we walked towards the place where Althea was standing.
“Shall we take a photo?” I heard Ace say to Daniel
“Of course. It might be the last photo that we will have since you will be going to college.” Daniel said
“Smile,” Althea said after counting to three.
“Come with us and have lunch at our home.” Ace said to Daniel after they are done taking a picture.
“Sure, no problem with me. Do you want to take a photo with Althea” Daniel said
“Oh. I almost forgot to take a photo with our photographer.” Ace pulled Athena and hugged her from behind
Daniel’s face darken again and I could notice how his jaws moved before he smiled and took a photo. Ace and Althea started whispering to each other so I cannot hear what they were saying.
“Ace!” my cousin shouted
“Hey! I thought you went home already. I was planning on dropping by your house later.” Ace said
Althea and Daniel also looked back at us. I forgot that Ace and my cousin were friends.
“Can you take a photo of us?” Ace asked Althea
“Are you on good terms now?” I asked Daniel when he came near me
“What?” he asked back
“Stop pretending that you don’t understand what I said. I was asking about you and Althea.” I whispered
“What about us?” he whispered back
I was about the answer him when I noticed Althea taking pictures of us. I acted as if I did not notice what she is doing even if I can see her smiling as she snapped some stolen shots.
“We will come by your house later since we need to go now or you can also drop by ours,” Ace said to my cousin.
Althea and Daniel waved goodbye to me and I watched them walked away before my cousin pulled me. I got busy attending to my cousin’s visitors that I did not notice the time. I got to relax when it was past four in the afternoon. I went out of the gate and sat down under a tree to get enjoy fresh when someone handed me ice cream.
“It’s hot, isn’t it. I also wanted to enjoy fresh air when I saw you here.” Althea said
“Thanks. Do you want to come inside the house and eat?” I asked as I accepted the ice cream.
“I’m still full and there is also a lot of food inside,” she said
“Are you going to spend the night in here?” I asked her
“No, I will go home because they have a lot of visitors. We are also not sure if some of their batchmates will spend the night with them,” she answered
“I heard that they will be having bonfires and barbecue tonight. They are neighbors anyway so all of us might be having dinner together.” I said
“Really? That would be nice since it’s cold at night. I’m excited.” she exclaimed
“Where’s Daniel?”
“He went home after we were done with lunch. He said that he has some important matters to do which I doubt. He is too shy and more introverted than me so I am sure that he doesn’t want to hang out here.” she explained
“Are you on good terms now?” I asked
“What do you mean by that question?” she was frowning
“He was your ex-lover. I don’t know what happened between you two in the past because not one of you wanted to tell the story.” I was hoping that she would tell the story
“Why are you so interested in that story? I was nothing and I don’t even think it was a serious relationship. Maybe it was just puppy love.” she said shrugging
“He is still considered your ex even if it was a puppy love because you had been in a relationship before,”
“Maybe but can you stop teasing and mentioning him as my ex. We are already friends which is a good thing. We talked about the past and decided to forget everything so we can start anew.” she said
We were still busy talking when everything started getting chaotic. People started getting busy since the sun already set and we should start preparing for dinner. We both stood up to do some chores. I was in charge of setting up the bonfire and charcoals for the barbecue while Althea helped in setting the tables and preparing the food.
“Have you seen Althea? I can’t find her anywhere. We are going to have dinner soon.” Ace asked me while I was busy tending to the bonfire.
“No, I thought she was busy inside and she hasn’t approached me.” I shook my head
“Let me go and check again inside. Maybe she was in the comfort room,” he said leaving me.
“Vladimir, come here now and let us start eating dinner.” my aunt called me
Everyone started gathering around the table and getting food before finding a seat. I looked around but I can’t see Althea anywhere. Did she go home? But Ace wouldn't have looked for her because I am sure that she would have said goodbye.
“Are you looking for someone? I was afraid that you might break your neck from turning around so much.” my cousin asked me
“Haha no. I was just checking if everyone got their food already.” I chuckled
“It’s that Althea girl isn’t it? You’re looking for her,” he said teasing
“What?! No, I’m not. Why would I look for her?” I answered defensively
“If you say so but I think you like her.” my cousin said before raising an eyebrow
I glared at him because of what he said and he left me laughing. Is he being sarcastic or is he mocking me? I sat down at the table and was thinking of what to eat when I heard some laughter. Someone was coming but I cannot see them properly yet because of the darkness.
“Why are you feeling shy when you already know Ace? You have been training together since we were still in primary school. Don’t worry because I’m here and I will explain to them that you have to leave after dinner.” Althea’s voice said
She was linking arms with Daniel as they walked toward us. Why does Althea look so happy as she stared at Daniel? I am feeling jealous that she was so cheerful. She smiled and waved when she saw me so I shook my head to get that out of my head.
“Daniel, here you are. You left when lunch was over so I asked Althea to call you over again for dinner.” Nana said when she saw Daniel
“I was feeling sorry but I had some things to do at home that’s why I left in a hurry and I wasn’t able to say goodbye since you were busy,” Daniel explained before hugging Nana and kissing her on the cheeks.