“57, 58, 59, now.” Maria Coker counted the seconds leading to 3:00 p.m. as the school’s alarm system struck to indicate closing time. She smiled when barely one second later, the double doors flew open and the elementary schoolers ran out in troops eagerly to go home. To avoid colliding with the excited kids, Maria waited until the rush was over. When the number of teenagers heading out turned fewer, she found her way into the school premises.She had a meeting with the head teacher regarding her resumption of teaching activities. Maria had missed the classroom and her hips were fully recovered now. “Miss Coker!”, A tiny voice shrieked making Maria’s heart jump in her chest. She turned in time to see Avery, her grade three class president run over to her and throw her arms around her, to her surprise. The little girl was always quiet and only spoke up when necessary. “Oh, Avery!.” Maria said as she returned the little girl’s hug which was quick and over in time. “How have you bee

The staff at Infinity Jewels had the most entertaining week ever. They were not only given a hot topic to discuss but were also served proof of their gossip every morning for ten straight days. Their CEO, Noah Sanchez had always been a popular topic of their gossip. Be it the rumors surrounding his sexuality, the possibility of him being gay, or the many beautiful women that had tried to get past his secretary only to get banished from being 100 meters close to Infinity Jewels forever, or was it the tiny rumors that whispered possibilities of the assumptions about Mr. Tyler Harris, the only man who was so close to the CEO to be their boss's secret gay lover.Cough!.Tyler Harris sneezed as he walked through the staff offices on the second floor after personally receiving the never-ending offering of sweet-smelling red roses, a new proposal ring, and a note from security. All meant for the CEO.* * *Noah's face reddened in displeasure as he watched Tyler walk into his office with the

It was almost evening time and the sound of the sea waves could barely be heard over the volume of the loud music blaring from the speaker. It was noisy as different activities were going on at the same time. The party was in full swing. A group of ladies in two-piece bikinis walked past a shade with cocktail pitchers in their hands. Bianca Sanders laughed as two of the men in their group stood up to go after them at once. Her phone started vibrating at the same time. "A minute please," Bianca said as she excused herself from the rest of her friends."Hi Mom." she greeted as she picked up the call.Unlike her daughter, Charlotte Sanders was in no mood for pleasantries. "You were supposed to be home an hour ago Bianca. Where the hell are you?." she asked angrily."Mom about that... I wish to stay back a bit longer. Why do you need me back home anyway?." Bianca asked complaining as she removed the phone from her ear, holding it away at an arm's length to guard her eardrum from the fami

It was already past 5 p.m. and Ava watched with a content smile on her face as the extended members of the Sanchez family started to arrive one after the other. As the mistress of the house, she was dressed in the finest outfit and adorned with the most befitting accessories. With her thirty-year-old appearance, it was hard to believe that Ava Sanchez was a woman in her mid-fifties. “There you are Ava, It’s so nice to see you again after so long!.” Aunt Lucy, Grandfather Sanchez’s younger sister exclaimed as she sighted Ava. Peter, her husband was right behind her and he also gave Ava a quick hug after his wife.“It’s also nice seeing you, Aunt Lucy. You keep looking younger by the years.” Ava teased making the old lady blush uncontrollably. “You would never stop teasing me,” she complained making Ava and Uncle Peter laugh. “No I won’t Aunt, I’m glad you guys could make it over with such short notice,” Ava said as she signaled for Mrs. Dorothy to lead the old couple inside. Soon, th

Exiting the garden, Lola walked beside Noah towards the dining area. “Here they come.” Grandfather Sanchez who was sitting at the head of the table said as he gestured for Lola to come and sit at his right-hand side and so Noah had to follow suit as well. Since they were now married, they had to sit beside each other.Ava, who had followed behind them bitterly from the garden wished to retire back to her room but she dared not to or she would receive an earful of scolding from the old patriarch for abandoning her guests and her duties. Grandfather Sanchez led everyone to toast to the couple and to give them their blessings.Because he was overjoyed, Grandfather Sanchez ordered for his specially preserved wine to be served and then, he tripled the salary of the household staff for the month.The servants who were already earning a good amount of money from working in a large family such as the Sanchez’s were more than excited and grateful and wished for such celebrations to happen ev