#03 Hidden Talent?

Eric texted me the moment I got out of the shower. This time, it was neither a greeting nor a wish. Instead, it was something serious.

"Your mother is here."

... My mother...?

I looked all over the house. Every room, the kitchen, the garden, and I couldn't find her anywhere. She usually never goes out uninformed. Does Alice know anything?

"Alice!"

Alice came running to me when I called for her. "What's the matter, Miss?"

She looked panicked because I called her out of the blue. "It's just... do you know where mum went?" I asked in a calm tone. She had an 'oh' look on her face and calmed down.

"When I told the lady about the young master, she left the house immediately," Alice said in a polite tone.

Sigh. Mum must have told father too, or she won't be there.

I told Alice that she could leave after she told me where mum went.

Sigh. Today was a long and tiring day, and I need to go to school again after lunch. Does Alice know that?

I went to inform Alice about my schedule, just in case, before laying on my bed lazily for a short nap. Or maybe I should complete some assignments instead.

Just when I was about to do so, a text notification came.

Ding!

It seems like Eric sent some poem.

"Roses are red; Violets are blue, if I were to choose a date, it would be you."

Why, all of a sudden? Did my mum say something there?

Before I even had a chance to reply, mum came back.

'That was quick,' I thought to myself.

Even though it was almost time for me to head back to school, we still had lunch together. 'Mum must have come back to see me off for school,' or so I thought. It turns out that she was here to lecture me.

I went to my room after lunch when she knocked on my room door. She told me she wanted to talk with me, so we went to the living room. She sat on the comfortable couch she always sat on, and I sat on the sofa opposite her.

"Amanda."

Gulp.

"Break all communications with Eric Frederick at once."

Excuse me?

I blinked my eyes continuously in confusion as I couldn't interpret what she just came out of her mouth. Does she mean I can no longer contact Eric? And there I thought father wouldn't give such instructions to her, that's why I didn't mind letting Alice report this to her. Now, I regret what I've done.

"We have once agreed not to let him attend the same school as you, but it seems like he insisted and they couldn't do anything," She added.

What agreement did the Asia and Frederick clans make? But no matter what it is, we children do not have the rights to oppose the adults. How did he do that?

I did not answer anything because I wasn't sure if it was avoidable to not text each other, especially in this era, when we do everything online, where communicating with one another is necessary to complete specific tasks. I'm sure they did my engagement online too.

Mum did not say any further and let me eat and go to school since it's almost time for my co-curricular activities. As usual, Alice drove me there.

We had small talk while we were on our way there.

"Please do not worry, Miss. From what my lady has said to you, I am sure you still can talk to the young master in school."

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

There was a slight pause before she started speaking again, "Considering the circumstances, it should not be a problem."

Alice drove the car in front of the gate and dropped me off.

"Contact me once you're done, Miss. Take care." Alice said as she drove off.

I went to the school hall to gather with my other club members. I took out my phone to contact Mia because I couldn't find her anywhere.

'Perhaps she's late.'

While I was looking for Mia's contact, I was so shocked when I realized all of my chat conversations with Eric had disappeared. Just what is going on with the Fredericks?

Well, mum told me not to text him anyway, so I don't think it matters much to me.

Just when I had that thought in my head, Eric texted me.

"Have you reached?"

I looked around to see if he had been watching me from somewhere.

"Yes," I replied. "You?"

Suddenly, I received a text from Mia. Right, I wanted to text her where she is, but it seems like there's no need to now because she told me.

"I can't go today, sorry for leaving you all alone..." She even added crying emojis at the end of her text. She might be having family troubles too. 

Come to think of it, does her family arrange her marriage for her too? Maybe I should ask her someday.

I replied with an "okay" and kept my phone in my bag. Eric has neither reply nor reads my text. 'Maybe he's busy right now. Guess I'll have to enjoy by myself today.'

We did the same activities as any other co-curriculum days. We do quizzes and play games like musical chairs and broken telephone. Although it's always the same activities, I never get bored because the topics would be different every time. As expected of Calnan Academy, they never failed to disappoint us.

When it was about time for our co-curriculum activities to end, I contacted Alice. As usual, she came to pick me home on time.

I checked my phone and realized that my chat conversation with Eric disappeared. 'How would this happen?' I did not care much about it since it wasn't anything important, so I just left the matter and kept my phone into my bag.

To my surprise, dinner was not ready yet by the time I reached home. Or rather, the chef has yet to prepare it. My mum was sitting on a couch in the living room, wanting to talk to me. I quickly went to my room to put down my bag and took a bath before talking to her.

I was hungry since it was dinner time, but hearing her out wouldn't hurt.

I sat on the couch opposite her, and then she took out a piece of paper. I was dumbfounded when I read it.

It was an agreement five years ago, between the Asia and Frederick clans, to not allow Eric to attend the same school as I do.

Suddenly, a notification came in.

Ding!

'This is the worst timing ever.'

Who could it be that texted me so late in the night? I wanted to check my phone that is just right beside me, but I was afraid mum would do something to me. To prevent that, I quickly set my phone on silent mode, before any more messages came in.

"Your father already knows this, so please prepare yourself when he returns," Mum said when I finished reading the agreement.

Finally, she told the chef that he could prepare the food already. I went to my room while waiting for dinner to be served. While I was at it, I took out my phone to check who it was that texted me just now. However, I couldn't find anything.

There were neither notifications nor traces of new messages. Just then, I recalled my mum's words.

'Break all communications with Eric Frederick.'

I have known Eric for a while now. He is not the type of person who will delete chat histories, and I'm very sure of it. Were his parents the ones who deleted it?

I looked upon the Internet about deleted messages and found out that it is possible to connect one device to another, to control it.

"Nope, impossible. Mum is bad at this type of thing." I chuckled at my thought.

Does that mean, I deleted it by accident?

Impossible. I've never made such a mistake before, and I will never do such a thing. Could it be...

I went to the study room and searched through all the books on the shelves. 'It should be here somewhere.' I bit my fingernails while looking for mum's old books. She once gave me a book where she wrote all of her achievements. If she was good in technology, it should be written in there too.

I looked through the books from the top shelves to the bottom shelves, from the oldest books to the newest ones. Finally, I found it. Dust covered the book, so I had to sweep it off before reading it.

"Achievements... There's nothing about technology."

I wasn't sure if I should be happy that the device connecting wasn't the case, or should I be worried that she might have hidden her talent from me. Either way, I have to be cautious at all times, in case anything worse happens.