Chapter 7

"That's fine," Kelly said, "no hard feelings here. I have to admit that he was on the wrong by getting in the way of your lectures. That was a spur-of-the-moment action." She reassuringly smiled.

Gianna knew so well that Kelly was compassionate and even to a fault sometimes. To think that the girl had kept an imperturbable visage during the narration had her wondering if she was mindfully aware that her brother and indirectly the rest of them were abused.

Perhaps she was amplifying the matter way too much, Gianna consoled herself. Or did Kelly suppose it was a business strictly concerned with her—Gianna and her brother. Conceivably that was what Sean called her aside to talk about.

"I know my brother hasn't been the best with you at school lately," Gianna wanted to rectify that he's never been or shown a fraction of good to her since she moved from New York. "And I absolutely think he deserves to be put back in his place no matter the way taken."

"What went wrong?"

Kelly looked at Gianna for what seemed to be half a minute more before diverting her attention back to her laptop screen. "You mean about Sean's sudden taunts?" Without waiting for her friend's retort she went on, "I don't know. I've asked him a thousand times but he won't say a word. I've begged him to let you be, persuaded him that he might get into big trouble if he continued that way, he wouldn't listen. I guess Sean's just so headstrong and an adherent of determination. I'm sorry, Gianna."

"You don't need to be." If anything, she was sorry for herself. "Where are the designs let's work on them."

After a good hour or so, the duo succeeded in agreeing to one design and hoped the rest of the group did same. 

"This sucked me up," Kelly said. "Will get them printed tomorrow. Oh look at that," she referred to the time on her laptop screen. "It's a few minutes to dinner time. My dad must be home by now. Come on, let's head downstairs."

"I'll be leaving my goodbyes." Gianna hopped in her canvas shoes. 

"It's barely six-thirty," Kelly complained.

"I know. Venisa and Petra must be anxiously waiting for me. I don't want to keep them that way for too long," She lied. "Tsk! We didn't even get to watch that movie."

"I guess it implies a next time," she looked sad as it wasn't every day that she had someone to spend quality time with. 

"An immediate next time."

She hugged Kelly, descended to wave the family, who were already seated around the small rectangular table, goodbye. All but Sean wasn't there, which made her wonder when he made it home. Mme. Lene was a little persistent on her to stay a little longer but Gianna's constant smiley face of no-thank-you and a stringent look from her husband made her stop. 

"Take care, dear." Were her last words as Gianna disappeared the same way she appeared through the vineyard into her home.

"Whoops! My gain," Venisa welcomed as she withdrew unrecognizable burnt food from the microwave. "Perfect. Okay, girl, go call your sister, dinner is ready."

"You're not seriously serving us that for dinner, are you? It's burnt for crying out loud. What is that supposed to be in the first place?"

Venisa plucked out the glove on her right hand. "I scanned the fridge and fell on this lucky piece of lasagna and no dear, it's not burnt...well, maybe just a little but it ends on the surface. Enough talk, call your sister, she should be in the playroom or whatever."

"I'll order a pizza first."

"No," she blatantly said.

Petra walked in immediately with a scrunched nose. "Something's burning."

"Speaking of the devil," Venisa toothy grinned.

"You took too long to study, Gigi. And why did you have to lock your room?" She sauntered to a kitchen stool next to Venisa. 

"I didn't need you distracting me, duh."

"Why are you all dressed up?" She took a fork and tapped on the blackish-brown encrusted surface of the said Lasagna.

Gianna eyed Venisa. "I went for a walk. I needed fresh air after stuffing my brain with so much gibberish."

"I'm telling on you," she referred to her sister. "I'm not eating that for dinner." She cited Venisa. "Let's order a pizza."

"No." 

Gianna looked baffled and addressed her sister, "Why?"

"You weren't in your room else you would've cursed me for disturbing your peace with my awful violin moves plus, I saw you hike past the vineyard back home from daddy's sturdy," Petra analyzed head high like she's just cracked a code.

"Ha! I'll tell on you too. Did dad not warn us to not permeate his office?"

Petra's triumph didn't falter a bit. She gladly announced to her sister, "except permitted. He called. When Venisa lied that you were studying, he sent me to take photos of a document." 

Gianna eyed Venisa with a help-me-out, your-job-is-at-stake-here-too look.

"Petra dear, who you saw wasn't Gianna. I assure you she was in her room." No further convincing effort. Just wonderful. She took the fork off Petra's hand. "This doesn't look as bad as y'all make it look."

"I'm not a kid, you can't fool me. I'm not blind either, I know what I saw and I'm telling on you two."

"Huh? Spare me. I didn't know she was out." Venisa promptly denied as Peter did Jesus. 

Gianna's eyes widened in shock. "Liar. You took my money and let me out."

"Hmph! Prove it."

Gianna couldn't believe the traitor. "What do I have to do to shut you up?"

"I want to go with you next time you leave home," her face glistened with hopes of adventurous days ahead.

"Uh-uh, no, no, no. That'll get me into more trouble than I am now. No one will leave this house henceforth. No visits whatsoever and wheresoever, do I make myself clear?" Venisa dove a fork full of black mass in her mouth.

The two heads nodded. "But you're not telling on me, right?"

"Unless you clean Noah's kennel for me for the next month."

"Ptui!" Venisa spat in the plate, her face hunkered detestably. "Tell me it's not too late to order that pizza."

"Ewww!" Petra cried in disgust.

*

The book donation project was the talk of the school on Friday morning. Everyone had flyers in had whether interested or not. As Gianna made it to her locker, Mimie came jubilating before she could open it.

"Y-you need to see this. The flyers are awe-awesome. I guess this alone will attract more people to join the club," she turned the flyer she was holding to Gianna. "Look at this. Is-isn't it awesome? Kelly is indeed talented."

Gianna tore the piece of paper off Mimie's hand as a frown etched her brows. That wasn't it. It wasn't what they had both agreed on. If Gianna wasn't mistaken, the design was rejected by Kelly in person when she—Gianna—deemed it perfect. Plus, she designed it. Where was the 'it looks a little childish with all the confetti'?, 'The text is too shady'?, 'There aren't enough books to prove the point.'? 

"She told you she did this herself?"

"Yeah. That it t-took her all Wednesday night but it was worth it."

Gianna balled the paper with burning anger enough to set the school ablaze. "Where is she?"

"Probably in her class by now. W-wait, what's wrong?"

Mimie's words receded as Gianna clobbered amidst the suffocating crowd in the corridor, took a right turn, and madly barged into the class next to hers. Only half a dozen other heads were present besides Kelly's. They cut their conversations to give Gianna full-blown attention. 

"Kelly!" Gianna spitefully called the blondey who innocently lifted her head from a book she was reading. With the paper hurriedly unfolded and spread on the open book, Gianna asked, "what is this?"

"Good morning, Gianna. That's the flyer we came up with. Why is it twisted?"

"We, yes, but why did you tell Mimie that 'you' did it, that it took 'you' all fucking Wednesday night? And what happened to what we agreed on?"

Kelly sucked in air through her teeth. "I'm sorry, she must have gotten me all wrong. I said the designs I did weren't conceivable and reachable except this one. She didn't even let me finish what I wanted to say. And concerning the one we agreed on, I couldn't find it anymore. I presume Bianca did something with my laptop, you know how she can be. Out of all the flyers we made that was the only reachable one."

Gianna's outrage began to cool down. "You should've at least let me know yesterday."

"Yeah, my bad. I'm sorry." 

"It's okay," she lied.

"Oh, we already have a drop box installed in the reading room. You can start donating." She shrugged.

Another thing Mimie didn't inform her. She was beginning to rethink their friendship. "I'll be heading to my class," she unhappily muttered.

After the first two lectures were over, the bell chimed causing the whole class to brusquely fight out of the doorway. She bet they never even unpacked their books since the first lesson. Mimie gladly ran to her friend as they waited for the doorway to dry out of the hysteric students. 

It was totally understandable why they rejoiced so much. Robin, the class prankster, once said: Learning without partying made Robin a dull boy. That explained why he didn't even make it to school that morning.

He was probably rounding up his feast on Mackhie's free sumptuous breakfast.

"Look at them all f-fighting to Mackhie's before breakfast hours are over."

Gianna didn't say a word. She didn't want to talk to Mimie, at least not at that moment. 

"Diths and I p-planned on meeting at R&R's lunch square at one. It-it's usually less crowded and their chicken curry is awesomely tasty. Do you care to join?"

Once again she's an afterpart of a plan. "I'll pass," She said sternly while arranging her books in her backpack. "My family and I already made plans for the day. See you tonight. Maybe."

"Wait, what is it y-you wanted to see Kelly for? Is there something ab-about the flyer you don't like?"

Gianna faked a smile. "Not at all. The flyer couldn't be more perfect. I have to go."