Re-education of Manners

At 6:03, Theia finally arrived at the restaurant. The traffic was worse than she had originally thought it would be, but it was less time she had to spend there, so it was definitely a plus. The driver opened the door and helped her out of the car before driving away. She checked her phone and noticed that Alex hadn't replied yet. She felt a bit conflicted as to whether she should try him again, but she knew she was already late. She set her phone to silent and walked toward the restaurant. She would call him afterward. She decided that if he didn't answer at that point, she'd go directly to him.

The hostess greeted her and took her to the room her parents had reserved. She knocked lightly on the door before entering. 

Her father's voice came to her, "You are late again, Theia Lexington."

"My apologies. The car arrived at 5:30, but it was not early enough as the traffic was horrendous, "she threw back. Let her take the blame? Ha! Wishful thinking.

"It's poor manners to give an excuse when you're being corrected, Theia," said her stepmother. 

"And it is poor manners to send a car for a specific time without taking into consideration the traffic situation and expecting it to still arrive on time. It's also poor manners to pass your fault onto others rather than accept the responsibility. Courtesy dictates that you should explain the reason for your lateness, which I did," she said, walking toward her seat. "It seems as though there needs to be a re-education of what manners and courtesy are." She sat smiling politely at them. Say something now. I dare you, she thought. 

She saw her father's eyebrow twitch and gave him a genuine smile at that moment. Oh, how she loved to see that expression on the bastard's face. It made her heart warm. 

"Well, I apologize for my discourteousness. Now, shall we change the subject? " Her step-mother said. "How is school, Theia? Are you still wreaking havoc as usual? "

"All day, everyday, Mother. Oh, before I forget to mention, for the next semester I will be attending Cambridge as part of the exchange program they have in progress with Yale. At the end of it, I will receive certification from them stating that I studied with them for a period of time."

She looked at Theia leisurely, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? Is that so? Then I'll cancel any events we had planned for you to attend, Thee."

Just like that? She was allowed to go with no conditions? Her jerk of a father wasn't even going to cut in? She knew he wanted to say something, but she saw that when her step-mother glanced at him, he swallowed his words. That truly surprised her. To think Theodore Lexington would swallow his words. She smiled, bemused. It seemed she got two surprises for the price of one in such a short time. 

"Thank you, Mother. I appreciate it very much. " Inwardly, Theia was fist pumping in glee. She struggled to control her expression, trying not to give it away. But when she saw her step-mother smirking at her, she realized that she had been seen through. She wasn't embarrassed, though. Anyone would be happy if they were in her position. No exceptions. 

Her step-mother, Nathalia, reached into her clutch and pulled out a credit card. She handed it over to her, saying, "Use this for whatever you need to prepare for your trip and for when you go over there. I had already added your name to it, so it should be fine for you to use it in England. "

One more surprise. What was going on today? Was Mercury in retrograde? Was it something in the water? She eyed the water on the table warily. Maybe it was drugged? 

Theodore looked at his daughter's face, and he could practically read her thoughts. It instantly annoyed him, even more than his wife had just now. She knew what their plans were, so why would she agree to her going away? This woman would be the death of him. Her bullsh*t could ruin their carefully laid plans. She knew that everything was starting today. Everything had to go according to plan. He wanted to get his hands on that, and he would do whatever it took to get it.

Knock! Knock! 

The waiters entered the room serving the food that was, as usual, ordered without asking her what she wanted. Theia sighed. She stared at the kale salad with chicken breasts on her plate with all the enthusiasm of someone being told to jump off a cliff. Why do they constantly order this rabbit food for her? Was it another way to torture her? Because there were much easier ways to do it if they wanted to. She sighed again, thinking about the sweet and sour pork and noodles she could have been eating all now. It was indeed exhausting to be her sometimes.