#12 Amanda Seeks the Truth

"I made donuts and cakes. Amana, do you like it?"

"It's--" I inhaled to keep my frustration from bursting out, and exhaled to calm my anger from hearing grandma calling my name wrongly every time. "Yes, it's delicious."

I never had a big appetite but I guess grandma doesn't know it that's why she kept baking more snacks for us to eat. Unable to reject those delicious foods, I ate until I felt like my belly could burst anytime soon. I could hear my sister giggling under her breath at how I tried my best to eat everything.

"Pfft. Squirrel cheeks." She teased while poking my puffy cheeks that were filled with food.

Remained ignorant to her actions as I got used to it. After all, nothing annoys me more than a certain someone's daily texts. Come to think of it, I haven't heard from him ever since my phone got confiscated.

As soon as I was done with my snacks, I returned to my room to check my phone. Unfortunately, there were no messages. I kinda miss my friends so I thought I should send something in our group chat.

"Hey guys."

Within a second or so, tons of replies came in that her phone nearly broke.

"Amandaaaaaaaaaa"

"Where were you?"

"We missed you so much!!!"

"You're finally online?"

"Damn, do you know how much we talked about you in class?"

"Our gossip topics were all about what happened to you for not being online for the whole week!"

Woah woah woah, chill there people. I never knew I played such an important role in class that they would talk about me in their gossips. I just hope they weren't speaking ill of me especially Mia, who knows about almost everything since I always told her.

They didn't give me time to reply and started spamming again.

"Where are youuuu??????"

"Did something happen??"

"Amanda, reply to us…."

Jeez. Can't they see that I'm typing? My phone could barely withstand the amount of messages coming in at the same time.

"Don't worry, I'm fine here. Just gotten quite busy lately."

I sent a text when I finally had a chance to. However, that chance did not last long. They started spamming the group again to prevent me from leaving.

"Good, good."

"Great to hear that."

"Please chat with us more~"

"What were you busy with?"

I couldn't tell them that I was kicked out of my own house, could I? I was in a tough spot thinking of an answer but Mia saved me.

"Are you okay?"

I was in awe when she texted me personally. That text alone was enough to make me realize someone actually cared for my existence.

I told Mia about my current situation and how I ended up in grandma's mansion. We didn't chat for long but dinner was already ready. I felt like it had been just a minute but it was already more than an hour. Time really flies when you're enjoying something.

I left my phone in the room and headed for dinner. Luckily it wasn't seafood. It looked like pancakes with toppings from afar but when I got a closer look on it, it was pizza!

Grandma had various pizzas served on the dining table. I've always been bad in identifying foods by their looks, so I tasted them all to see which one I like the most.

When I ate a slice of the mushroom pizza, I already knew that'll be the one I'll be taking extras. I should try mushrooms on pancakes sometime.

I just left the dishes in the sink without washing them because grandma insisted. Sometimes I wonder how she managed to handle the entire mansion all alone.

I returned to my room and took a shower before heading to bed. I couldn't find the hair dryer anywhere. I thought maybe this room doesn't have one since it has been so long since someone last used it. I decided to just let it dry naturally and that means I'll have to sleep later tonight to ensure my hair is completely dry.

My phone's battery was almost dying so I used it to the fullest. It was already ten o'clock so I assumed Mia had already gone to bed and I didn't want to disturb her. It was the perfect time to find out the truth behind Eric's contact disappearance on my phone.

Fortunately, I brought my laptop with me. I turned it on and started searching for some kind of information. I didn't think it would be that easy but it's worth a try.

[How to connect a device to another]

[About 260,000,000 search results]

…

"Wow, that's a lot..."

I scrolled through the page with my mouse, hoping to find an answer.

[Bluetooth]

"Nah. Mother wouldn't be that kind of idiot who uses such an obvious method."

[USB Cable]

"That's even more unlikely."

There weren't any more relevant topics about it so I shut down my laptop and my hair was dry just in time. As usual, I combed my hair so it wouldn't get tangled in the morning. My pajamas were wet due to my wet hair earlier so I changed into a new one and let it dry. I didn't forget to plug my phone to charge before laying on the bed.

There was a remote on the bedside table to control the electricity in the room. I used it to turn the lights off and set the temperature of the air conditioner lower. The cooler the better, as I wrapped myself in the feathered blanket.

My sister came into my room from the adjoining door just when I was about to enter my dreams.

"Good night, Amanda."

"Good night."

What's gotten into her? We've never done that before. 'Maybe she's homesick'

As I fell deep asleep, I suddenly had the urge to use the toilet. I have totally no idea why but, I just felt like trying the toilet outside since I've always used the one in my room only.

I tried my best to not make a single sound by turning the doorknob silently to open the door. It was pitch-black out there and I didn't know where the switch was so I ended up walking in the dark.

Luckily I had good vision. I tip-toed while watching where I was going. Tripping over in the dark has always been a common accident for everyone, though it never occurred to me before.

I reached out my hand and touched the wall to make sure I was going the right way, when I heard someone talking in a nearby room.

"My lady, please do not eat too much as it harms your health."

"It's just *cough* coughing medicine *cough*. It won't harm."

'I thought only grandma lives here?'

I went closer to the door to eavesdrop their conversation. A young woman's voice could be heard while grandma kept on coughing during their entire conversation.

'Oh wait, I was going to the toilet, not eavesdropping.'

I returned to my room as soon as my objective was completed.