Chapter 18: Misunderstanding

Thankfully, they were all wearing seatbelts, so no one was hurt. Sienna undid her seatbelt and looked back. She asked, "Is everyone alright?"

Lucas checked Derek and Noah and said, "Yeah, we're fine. Are you okay?"

Sienna said, "I'm fine as well."

Lucas asked, "What happened?"

Sienna said, "A cat suddenly came in front of us."

Lucas asked, "Oh. Is it fine?"

Sienna replied, "I don't know. It ran off."

Then she started driving again. She said, "Derek, dear, who knows about your Call other than us?"

Derek replied, "Only Auntie Sylv."

Sienna asked, "You mean Sylvania? The City Lord?"

Derek replied, "Yeah, she is my Godmother."

Sienna said, "Alright, promise me one thing. Do not tell anyone else about your Call."

Derek asked, "Do you know what it is?"

Sienna replied, "Hmmhm, I might have an idea. We'll talk about it later. You are staying tonight, aren't you?"

Derek nodded.

Sienna said, "Well, that is settled. Now, tell me, how is the Student Council?"

Lucas said, "Mom, you won't believe what happened…"

Lucas told her about the fight. They all talked until they had reached Noah's house. His mother was waiting for them. Noah got out of the car and hugged his mother. She looked at Sienna and said, "Thanks for dropping him off. I hope he wasn't a bother."

Sienna said, "Not at all. He was a sweetheart."

Then she looked at Noah and said, "Don't forget to tell your mother about the Call."

Noah nodded. They all said their goodbyes, and Sienna drove to their house. She parked the car in the garage, and then they all entered the house. Mrs. Z was waiting for them and hugged the two boys as soon as she saw them.

She kissed their foreheads and asked, "How are my babies?"

Derek had started regularly visiting the Zenith House soon after he and Lucas had become friends. Lucas's family, especially his grandmother, had grown very attached to Derek. It was to the point that they would have adopted him if he was without a guardian. He even had his own room at their house.

Derek and Lucas also kissed her cheeks. Lucas said, "Grandma, we're not babies anymore."

Derek said, "He's right, Grandma Z. Do babies have muscles like these?"

He rolled up his half sleeve and showed her his biceps. He said, "You show her yours too, bro."

Lucas nodded and also rolled up his half sleeve. Both boys flexed at the same time, trying to show off their muscles. But, instead of the praise that they had expected to receive, all they got was a bonk on the head.

Mrs. Z said, "Even if you become as old as Sienna, you'll always be my babies. Got it?"

Both boys nodded.

She said, "Alright, why don't you two go and freshen up? I'll set up your plates. You must be hungry."

Both boys ran up to their rooms while Sienna yelled from behind, "Boys, no running in the house."

But they were already gone. Lucas came down first. He came to Sienna and said, "Mom, I need to tell you something. I know that I should have, but I didn't want you to freak out."

Sienna replied, "Why would I freak out? There is no way I would freak out unless you have a girlfriend. Wait, do you have a girlfriend?"

Lucas said, "Huh?"

Sienna grabbed his shoulders, looked into his eyes, and asked, "Lucas Alexander Zenith, do you have a girlfriend?"

Before Lucas could fully comprehend what was going on, Derek, who had arrived just a minute ago, said, "Bro, you had a girlfriend and you didn't tell me? Who is it? Is it Genie? Is that why you've been buying so many of her designs?"

Sienna looked at Derek and said, "Who's this 'Genie'? And what do you mean by her designs?"

Derek said, "Lucas didn't tell you? He didn't want to go shopping with you, so he hired Genie to choose clothes for him to buy. Most of those clothes are her own designs. And, she is the President of the Phoenix Dreamweavers."

Sienna said, "So you're telling me that she is already deciding what he wears?"

Lucas said, "What?"

Everything was happening so fast that he was having trouble answering. Thankfully, Mrs. Z swooped in for the rescue. She forced Sienna to let go of him and stood between the two of them.

She said, "Sienna, calm down. You're scaring him. Making baseless assumptions will only agitate you more, so why don't you let Lucas answer?"

Sienna took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She realized that she had acted a bit rashly. She glanced at Derek, who was wise enough to take his plate of food and go to his room, then at Lucas.

After a few minutes, Lucas said, "Mom, I don't have a girlfriend. I'm way too busy for that. And for shopping. That is why I hired Genie to do that for me. Just look at my clothes."

Sienna said, "So what were you worried about?"

Lucas said, "My Call."

Sienna said, "Lucas, we have already discussed this. What you're feeling is completely normal–"

Lucas interrupted her and said, "I know, I know. But I wasn't exactly forthcoming with you."

Sienna had a bad feeling as she asked, "About?"

Lucas replied, "About my Call. Well, Calls."

Sienna said, "As in plural Calls?"

Lucas replied, "Yup."

Sienna said, "I'm sorry, do you mean to say that you're experiencing two completely different Calls that are unrelated to one another?"

Lucas once again nodded.

Sienna rubbed the bridge of her nose and said, "Since when? When did the other Call start?"

Lucas whispered, "Four months."

Sienna asked, "What did you say?"

Lucas repeated, this time in his normal volume, "Four months."

Sienna sat on a chair. Mrs. Z sat down beside her. Lucas started feeling guilty.

Sienna said, "Explain the Call."

Lucas said, "I told about it to Teacher Mina and she said that I'm experiencing the Call of the Stars."

Sienna's eyes widened in shock.