I'm really sorry for the delay in uploading the next chapter… I just realized it's been almost 9 months. So, yeah, sorry about that. I'm uploading this during the second week of classes in college. So, since it's been so long, here's a recap of what's just happened: Francis and Alice went into the break room of the hair salon. Alice explained the whole thing with Lexi, and then they started making out. Lexi opened the door and saw the whole thing, and asked what was going on. There you go! That's basically a summary of what happened in the last chapter! Now, on with the actual story (this chapter will be from Lexi's POV once again).

Mama and Francis the hairstylist have been in that break room an awful long time… I hop off the chair I've been sitting on, right next to where Victoria is having her hair cut off, and walk over to the door I saw them go through. I can hear weird noises coming from the other side of the door. I slowly open it. Mama and Francis are kissing! With tongue and everything! And Francis' hands are going up the back of Mama's shirt! And her bra is slowly slipping off… I have to stop this. "Mama, what are you doing?!" I run over to Mama and push Francis away, scowling at him. "Mama doesn't want to kiss you!"

Francis glares at me. "Au contraire, Alexandrie. Your maman was enjoying this very much." He looks … suggestively (? Is that the right word) down at Mama (I know that Francis and Arthur are canonically the same height, but I imagine that the female nations are a few inches shorter than their male counterparts) and wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Mama smacks Francis on the arm, then looks at me. "Don't worry about it too much, baby." She blushes. "You see … um … Francis and I are, uh, together. And that's why we were kissing like that. Um, Francis has missed me very much, because I haven't seen him since you first got sick… In fact, um, before you came in, I was … about to ask him to … move in with us." (1)

Francis looks at Mama in shock. "Really?" Mama nods, blushing even brighter, before turning and glaring at him. He stammers, "A-ah, oui, she did just say that." He looks at me and nods energetically, looking rather nervous.

I look at Mama. "Why, Mama? I thought you said that you two were just friends."

Mama sits down on the table behind her, pushing Francis away slightly and swinging her legs a little bit, and motions for me to sit down on the chair opposite the table. "I did say that, didn't I?" I nod, and she smiles from me to Francis and back again. "Well, uh, sometimes, people tell a little white lie, but it's only to avoid hurting someone else's feelings. I wasn't sure how you felt about Francis, so I decided to … not tell you the truth initially, just in case you didn't like him."

I nod. I can see the sense in that. "Well, he seems pretty nice, I suppose. So … when is he gonna move in? Is he gonna come home with us today?" I run my hand through my hair before tucking a few strands behind my ear.

Mama's eyes widen, and she shakes her head quickly. "No, he's not coming home with us today. He'll be moving in after the start of the school year, most likely. There are only a few more days of summer, don't forget." She leans forward and strokes my hair.

I pout slightly. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that."

Mama laughs. "Don't worry, sweetie. I'm sure you'll love this new school."

Yeah, I'm just gonna end it there. The next chapter will be uploaded either in the next few hours or this weekend. I haven't quite decided yet. College life is difficult to adjust to. Sorry this chapter is so short – the next one will probably be a lot longer. Also, there is a surprise twist, and the chapter will not directly follow this one – there will be at least a week between the end of this chapter and the beginning of the next.

(1) Yes, Alice will continue to lie on the spot. However, this time she didn't expect she'd have to, so that's why she's stammering like that.

FRENCH TRANSLATIONS

au contraire - on the contrary

Alexandrie - Alexandra

maman - mother (informal)