Chapter 38

Mum and Dad

Even though I knew Cherie Dhaussy was at home; I didn't care. I just kicked open the backdoor and threw my bag to the floor; I trudged all the way back home after Mariam lifted me over the fence – I couldn't care less if people knew and could see that I was avoiding school – and Ray... argh, I felt like grovelling at his feet and apologising like mad. All I want now for the moment are my new best friends – a couple of tissues, a mug of hot chocolate, a pillow, warm socks and a good movie.

"I'm home." I said aloud– everyone's away, obviously. Eurydice, to work. Nana, to the market. Triplets in school.

Cherie poked her head from the kitchen doorway – she had cleared her face of make-up and looked shabbier than this morning; she had sported a huge, murky white sweater and jeans – I blinked at her for a couple of minutes as she put back the teabag jar into the cupboard. "Eh? Miss Nuo? What are you doing home so early? I thought you had school?"

Hmm, I just met her this morning but she's got that tone in her voice as if she's known me for ages. Heck, I don't care anymore.

"…. I don't feel too good." I replied back mournfully.

"Oh my, I see. Look, your eyes, so red! I'll get you a boiled egg for those later." She took a sip from her cup.

"I want a hot chocolate." I simply said, before marching past her and snatching the kettle off the stand.

"Here, I'll make one for you."

"…. Thanks." I mumbled, before walking deliriously up the staircase. Cherie watched on worryingly, before opening the taps to fill the kettle with water.

I trudged back down in my pyjamas, with my bunny slippers and matching rapist-looking hat, before wandering back inside the kitchen and taking the cup of steaming hot chocolate from the counter. "Thanks." I mumbled again, before swaying into the lounge and plopping down, immersing myself inside the cushions. I didn't even put the TV on, just stared at the Yellow Pages sitting in the corner.

Yup, I'm depressed.

Cherie sat on the seat beside me. "Miss Nuo? You okay?"

"No." I replied after a few moments of silence. "And I don't feel like talking about it."

She nodded. "Okay."

I glanced at her as she dipped a digestive into her cup. "Cherie? Why are you here?"

The supermodel (she's actually not looking very super at the moment though) looked up. "Actually, Miss Nuo, I'm not staying here for long. Well, to be more precise, we're not staying for long."

"Eh?" I cocked my head to the side.

"Your parents are returning now as we speak. They should be in the taxi… probably."

I spewed out my hot chocolate. "That fast?!"

Cherie nodded. "Oh, and by the way, this morning, I was not actually sent here in the box. I travelled here with the postman, who your mother hired. When we arrived outside your door, postman opened up the big box for me to go in. your mother is very creative. It is no wonder she is so popular in France"

"You know, she could've gotten you killed. I'm terrible at opening packages, and I had a knife."

Cherie looked blank at me.

"N-Never mind…" I grumbled under my breath.

A few hours later….

"We're home!!"

The door had creaked open, and then, in came two people who I had not seen for a very long time, carrying a huge amount of bags and suitcases lagging behind them as they bustled in through the front door. Cherie and I sat up, after watching the credit rolls to today's sob-film fest and my jaw dropped.

"M-Mum! Dad!"

Wow, they've changed a lot – mum's hair was shorter than before, and dyed a completely new colour, not to mention, she still looked glamorous as ever. Dad was more bulkier that it looked as if his black suit was a bit too small for him, and now his black hair was flecked with bits of grey and he even had a couple of new scars across his chin.

I had bounced up to him, and mum held her arms out to me and I leapt into her embrace, inhaling a strong scent of perfume and I gaggled a little, when she let go of me. Dad lifted me into the air next. Yes, I've always been 'Daddy's little BIG girl' at some point in my life.

"Nuo, love, you've lost weight." He commented, once I stopped squirming as my feet touched the floor again.

My eyes went all watery. "R-Really? Oh my god, you can't believe how happy I am to hear someone finally say that…" I snivelled tearfully, happily.

Mum giggled; I just realised how modern and hip-looking my parents actually were, despite being over fifty years of age. "Yes, yes, you look healthier. Nana must be doing a good job taking care of you – but then again, she always does, I – Nuo, aren't you supposed to be in school?"

I blanched, and then looked up at dad, then back to mum. "I don't feel well…"

"Oh dear." Mum said, and then she pressed a hand to your forehead. "That must be why you look so red and puffy…"

"Um…." Actually, that'd be because I was watching the movie.

At that point, Cherie, who had been watching my reunion silently, giggled a bit. She switched off the movie and dumped all my tissues of snot and tears into the bin. Mum perked up at her. "Cherie! You're here!" She walked over to the model and embraced her also, then kissed both her cheeks and ruffled a hand through her hair, smiling.

"Mrs Yung, so nice to see you." Cherie replied, smiling also.

Dad put an arm around my shoulder tightly and sighed. "We have lots of things to tell you, love. Come on, help me and mum take our luggage back into our room."

"Sure thing, dad. I have a lot of things to tell you, too."

………

Indeed I did; we retired upstairs back into mum and dad's old room where the mattress had no new sheets because Nana had taken them out to wash this morning. I had to tell them all about what happened back in Episcopal Academy – inevitably, mum and dad concluded that it was a solved mystery where I did not set fire to the cafeteria and those girls were the ones who framed me. Mum said she'd go back and tell them that they'd made a mistake, but I said there was no need, and I was happy at my new school – sort of.

Nana came home from the market and she went upstairs too, to listen to what I had to explain about myself. Cherie remained downstairs because she thought there was no need for her to come up.

I also explained why I was in jail for less than twenty four hours but was still in jail nonetheless. Mum and Nana tutted at me for getting into a fight while dad cheered me on, then received a sharp elbow nudge in the ribs by mum.

"Stop encouraging her! That behaviour is un-ladylike and absolutely unacceptable!" Mum yelled at him.

"Hey, if one of my daughters is being bullied, why can't she defend herself?" He protested. "Nuo, that was the right thing to do."

"Victor!" Mum shrieked at him. Wow, I hadn't heard dad's name being used in ages.

"Dad, mum, chill." I tried to simmer them down. "It's okay now."

"No, Nuo, I'm sorry to say that it's not. We've… thought about this for a long time before we came here." Mum said, turning back to me on the bed.

"Well, there was a reason why you guys came here, right?" I piped up nervously, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy now. "… What is it?"

Dad sighed. "Nuo, we're moving."

My eyes popped. "WHAT?!"

"Yes, Nuo, we're moving. To Bordeaux, in France. I got a new job opening there, and the houses are marvellous there, even bigger than here. We've already got a house in a wealthy neighbourhood; they're multilingual so there's no need to learn French… although it's probably better if you do learn French…"

My jaw dropped. "B-B-But… then, when are we moving?"

"In a few weeks, love. Nana won't be coming with us so she can help us sell the house." Dad added.

"Why are you being so impatient…?" I babbled helplessly. "What about Cherie?"

"She is my designated model. I thought we covered that in the letter. Did she come in a box?"

"Mum, that was nuts."

"But creative." She protested.

"Still nuts." I chirped.

"See? I told you that was a dangerous thing to do." Dad said to mum. "I'm pretty sure Cherie didn't appreciate it either."

"Eh, what do you know, darling?"

"I know that the kids probably would've pretty scared stiff by a person coming out from a box."

"Victor, it was perfectly foolproof."

"Mum! Dad! Focus!"

"Ahem, Cherie won't be living with us. She'll be living with her fiancée. She's just my work partner, that's all. I thought she'd like to meet my children."

"… Er…. Okay."

"Right, back to the point - Nuo, you went to jail. You need a different environment. It's not too late. We still have hope for you." Mum then looked attentively towards me. "What was jail like anyway?"

I cringed. "Um. Noisy." I croaked out, remembering the times Daneira and I bickered and yelled at each other that the policemen watching us had cotton wool stuffed into their ear canals. Nana held my hand and I turned to her for a moment. "Nana, you knew what my parents were planning?"

She nodded. "Nuo, it's for your own good, and don't worry about me, I'll just tidy up the house and then it'll be ready for selling."

I still looked unsure; I looked down and bit my bottom lip firmly, gripping Nana's hand in mine tightly as well.

"Nuo, don't you want to move?" Dad asked, a hand on my shoulder. "Even if you decide to stay, we're not letting any of you stay behind. Not even Eurydice. Even if she is 21."

"I think she's 22, darling." Mum corrected dad.

"Oops." He replied back bashfully. "You're 19 -- right, love?"

"…I'm 18 now – my birthday was back in March. But you were close, dad."

He cleared his throat. "Oh dear, my memory's getting fuzzy. The most I can remember is Eurydice bullying you in the waddling pool, and the triplets stuck in prams crying all the time. And now you're all grown up. Okay, what we were saying again? Oh yes, Nuo, do you want to move?"

I thought for a moment, and then looked up at him. "…. I want to move. There's… nothing really left for me here." I blurted out.

"It's okay. We know you'll miss your friends, but we must go." Mum replied, putting her hand on my other shoulder.

"… Are we moving… because of me?" I whimpered out. "I mean, we've been living in this house for ages, since the triplets were born… how will they take it when they find out we're moving?"

Mum shook her head, giggling again. "Of course not, Nuo." She kissed my forehead, but somehow, I still didn't feel so sure.

Suddenly, heavy rock music began playing in the quiet background. Mum's expression soured; "What is that racket?"

Sheepishly, I took out my mobile phone. "Um, excuse me." I flipped it open and pressed it against my ear. "Hello?"

"Nuo-sama, it's me, Romance! We found the culprit!"

…………

As much as I didn't want to leave the company of my parents which I had lost for quite some time ago, I left the house at three, when Nana, mum and dad went personally to pick the triplets from school; I hitched a ride as well – actually, they wanted to see St Mango's High themselves and ended up looking v.v. disgusted at the state of the school and the students as they poured out from the gates.

"Victor! Did you see that?! That boy had a tattoo on his arm! He barely looks 18!" Mum shrieked in shock again.

Even dad looked unimpressed. "…. I can't believe you're really studying here, love."

Nana's face seemed to have grown a bit red as she in-took my educational surroundings as well. "Nuo… I can't believe they actually let students study here. It's a dump!"

I shrugged, then open the car door and got out. "I'll walk back home by myself. Bye mum, bye dad, bye Nana."

They waved, and then drove off to get the triplets. I straightened, and then marched up to the front gates, where I said I'd meet Romance. They were already there; Romance, Tala, Hilary, Mariam and Julia. After I greeted them weakly, they explained to me that Tyson and Max took part in the hunt but couldn't stay to see what would happen. Apparently, nobody had told Ray. And Kai… well, they said they hadn't seen him all morning.

"I'd say," Romance said out aloud. "I don't think Kai really cares."

There was a silence, and I smiled helplessly at her. Hilary and Mariam's eyes widened when she said that, and gaped up at me. Julia went up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. Romance was roughly prodded in the side by Tala, who moved in front of her.

"Come on, Nuo. We know where the culprit is."