Chapter 6
An hour after Mrs. Campbell called Serena, the girls were almost to the summerhouse.
"Hey thanks, Andrew," said Mina as they drove down the road.
"Hey no problem," he said as they turned the corner.
"Should we have called before heading out here?" questioned Lita as she rubbed Amy's shoulders.
"You want to call right now," suggested Andrew. "You can use my cell phone." "Thanks," said Mina as she dialed the number.
"Hello," said a feminine voice.
"Hi," said Mina, confused. "Is Serena home?"
"One second please," said the person. "It's for you."
"Hello," said Serena.
"Hey, Serena," said Mina. "It's Mina."
"Oh hey, Mina," she said. "What do ya need?"
"I just wanted to let you know that we're heading over to your place," she said. "Why?" asked Serena.
"Because we want to see how you're doing," said Mina looking at the others in the car. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's fine," said Serena.
"Hey, who was that who picked up the phone," asked Mina.
"Oh that was no one," Serena said. "Just one of my neighbors."
"Turn here," said Mina.
"Okay," said Andrew.
"Is that Andrew?" asked Serena.
"Yeah," Mina said. "Hey I've got to go. Talk to ya in a little bit."
"Okay," said Serena hanging up the phone.
"It's that house right there," said Mina pointing to the light blue three story house with the convertible in the driveway as they parked at the curb.
The girls all piled out closely followed by Andrew. They quickly walked up to the house and knocked on the front door. There was silence as they stood there waiting for someone to greet them. After knocking twice, someone opened the door. The door slowly pulled back to reveal Hotaru standing with a sweatshirt hanging from her elbows.
"Hotaru?" said the girls in confusion.
"What are you doing here?" asked Raye.
"Who is it, Hotaru?" asked Amara as she appeared from the kitchen. "Oh hello. Please come in. Hotaru, go up stairs and get everyone."
"Yes, Amara," Hotaru said politely, hurried up the stairs and out of sight.
"Please come in," said Amara. "Serena will be down shortly."
Amara showed them to the living room and offered them something to drink. "No thank you," said Raye.
"What are you two doing here?" asked Mina as they heard footsteps on the stairs. "Ah, here she is," announced Amara as Serena, Trista, Michelle, and Hotaru appeared at the bottom of the steps.
"Hi guys," said Serena as they entered the living room. "You guy aren't still mad about last night are you?"
"Of course not," said Mina with a big smile on her face. "I like your hair being down."
"Thanks," said Serena with a smile.
The other girls agreed with Mina and stood up. Everyone gave Serena a hug except Andrew.
"Hi, Andrew," said Serena. "How's Crown?"
"Everything's going good," said Andrew.
There was a knock at the front door that caught everyone's attention. "I've got it," said Amara as she hurried to the door. "Hello."
"Hello, is Serena here," said a masculine voice.
"In the living room," Amara said closing the door.
Amara entered the living room with Darien right behind her. "Hey there," he said. "Darien," said Serena quickly moving over to him.
"These are for you," said Darien handing her a bouquet of red roses. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," she said taking the flowers. "How nice."
"Hey, Serena," said Mina.
"What?" asked Serena.
"Remember what we told you earlier today," said Mina.
"Oh we all ready dealt with that," laughed Serena. "It wasn't what you thought it was either."
"I was taking a friend to the train station in the next town before heading to a college retreat," said Darien. "You guys gave Serena a real fright."
"Oh, we're sorry. We didn't mean to jump to conclusions," said Amy blushing. "It's okay," said Serena.
Once again there was a knock at the front door. Without saying anything, Amara automatically went to the front door and opened it. She returned with six people following her: Three ladies and three gentlemen.
"This is Mr. and Mrs. Isaci and their son Jay," announced Amara. "And this is Mr. and Mrs. Asiny and their daughter Tori."
"Hello," said Nancy. "Are we interrupting something?"
"No," said Darien.
"Well then allow us to introduce ourselves then," said Nancy. "I'm Nancy Isaci and this is my husband, Ted, and our son, Jay."
"I'm Zoe Asiny," said a short brunette with jet black eyes, dressed in a pair of jeans, a pink blouse, and a pair of tan sandals. "This is my husband, Al, and our daughter, Tori."
Al was a heavy guy with a mustache and a head of nicely kept brown hair. He was dressed in a pair of tan slacks, a white golf shirt, and a pair of black loafers. Tori was a thin, average height, beautiful young lady with waist long brown hair that had streaks of blond running through it. She was dressed in a black knee short skirt with a green camouflage tank top and knee high black boots.
"Well now that you're aquatinted with us," said Zoe. "We brought you a couple welcome baskets."
Nancy held up a basket filled with pastas and sauces, and Ted held up a basket filled with soaps, shampoos, and lotions. While Zoe held up a basket filled with fruit and breads, and Al held up a basket filled with stationary and pens.
"Wow, thanks," said Serena. "How nice of you all."
"Your welcome," said Nancy. "Jay says that he met you two in the store today."
"Oh yeah," said Serena. "I was shopping for dinner and Darien joined me after I ran into Jay."
"He also says that he asked you a question and felt like a jerk after asking it," Nancy said. "I believe the question was are you being abused by your fiancé."
The room went silent. "Excuse me, but Darien would never harm Serena," spat Raye after a moment. "He loves her to much to even think of hurting his future wife."
"Well that's the question he told me that he asked," Nancy retorted. "Then he continued by saying that this lovely lady had set him straight about it and that he felt really bad for even asking the question without ever knowing her fiancé."
"Well he should," said Raye weakly, embarrassed by her sudden outburst.
"Good go, Raye," said Mina.
"Allow us to introduce ourselves," said Darien. "I'm Darien Shields and this is my fiancé, Serena."
"My name's Mina."
"I'm Raye."
"My name's Amy.
"I'm Lita."
"I'm Amara and this is my cousin, Michelle."
"Hello," said Michelle.
"My name's Trista and this is Hotaru."
"My name's Andrew."
"Well it's nice to meet you all," said Zoe with a smile.
"We better be going," said Nancy. "It's late and we don't want to keep you guys."
"It was nice meeting," said Darien. "Hope to see you around."
"Bye," said the Isaci's and the Asiny's.
The group stood there in silence as if waiting for something to happen. "That was interesting," said Mina.
"They seemed nice," said Michelle. "But they certainly do give me a bad feeling except for the young lady."
"What do you mean, Michelle?" asked Amy.
"I get this feeling like I know that young lady from somewhere," she said. "I'll think about it later. We all should be going home. It's getting late."
Andrew looked at his watch and said, "Elizabeth's going to kill me."
"Oh no," said Mina. "I promised Artemis that I would give him a bath tonight."
"I've got to study," said Amy.
"You promised no studying tonight, Amy," said Lita. "Since you're spending the night at my place while your mom's still out of town."
"When's your mom suppose to be back," inquired Serena.
"Next Friday," answered Amy.
"Come on you guys," squawked Mina running outside.
"We better get out there before she starts walking home," said Raye.
"See you guys later," said Lita.
"Nice seeing you again, Serena," said Andrew as he closed the door.
"We'll be on our way too," said Trista slipping on her coat.
"Try and come by some time again," said Serena. "It was nice having you guys here."
"We'll see," said Michelle. "Have a good night, Serena."
"I will," said Serena. "I've got Darien here with me."
"Good night, Serenity," Hotaru said as she followed Trista and Michelle out to the car.
"It was nice seeing you again, meatball head," said Amara.
"Bye," Serena said as Amara and them climbed into the car.
"Bye," they said as Amara backed up and started down the road.
Darien closed the door and followed Serena to the stairs. She turned around and looked at him. She had something on her mind.
"What are you thinking about?" asked Darien. "You better not think to hard or else you'll hurt yourself."
"I'm just thinking how lucky I am to have you," Serena said. "If I hadn't met you I probably would be with someone like.Melvin."
Serena turned around and fell towards Darien. "I've got you all to myself now. You're pretty lucky," teased Darien. "If things had gone differently I would be with Raye right now."
Serena stood up and looked at Darien with fire in her eyes. "You would be with Raye?" she said. "How mean."
She bolted up the stairs with Darien right behind her. Once in the bedroom, she closed the door and locked it. Darien pleaded with her to let him in but she wouldn't. Finally, she unlocked the door only because she though he went down stairs. But when she opened the door, there stood Darien with a smile on his face.
"Are you truly mad at me for saying that?" he asked her.
She laughed. "No. I just wanted to be a butt," she teased.
Darien picked her up and plopped onto the bed. "I love you, Serena," he said. "I love you too, Darien," she said.
Soon the two future rulers were sound asleep.
An hour after Mrs. Campbell called Serena, the girls were almost to the summerhouse.
"Hey thanks, Andrew," said Mina as they drove down the road.
"Hey no problem," he said as they turned the corner.
"Should we have called before heading out here?" questioned Lita as she rubbed Amy's shoulders.
"You want to call right now," suggested Andrew. "You can use my cell phone." "Thanks," said Mina as she dialed the number.
"Hello," said a feminine voice.
"Hi," said Mina, confused. "Is Serena home?"
"One second please," said the person. "It's for you."
"Hello," said Serena.
"Hey, Serena," said Mina. "It's Mina."
"Oh hey, Mina," she said. "What do ya need?"
"I just wanted to let you know that we're heading over to your place," she said. "Why?" asked Serena.
"Because we want to see how you're doing," said Mina looking at the others in the car. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's fine," said Serena.
"Hey, who was that who picked up the phone," asked Mina.
"Oh that was no one," Serena said. "Just one of my neighbors."
"Turn here," said Mina.
"Okay," said Andrew.
"Is that Andrew?" asked Serena.
"Yeah," Mina said. "Hey I've got to go. Talk to ya in a little bit."
"Okay," said Serena hanging up the phone.
"It's that house right there," said Mina pointing to the light blue three story house with the convertible in the driveway as they parked at the curb.
The girls all piled out closely followed by Andrew. They quickly walked up to the house and knocked on the front door. There was silence as they stood there waiting for someone to greet them. After knocking twice, someone opened the door. The door slowly pulled back to reveal Hotaru standing with a sweatshirt hanging from her elbows.
"Hotaru?" said the girls in confusion.
"What are you doing here?" asked Raye.
"Who is it, Hotaru?" asked Amara as she appeared from the kitchen. "Oh hello. Please come in. Hotaru, go up stairs and get everyone."
"Yes, Amara," Hotaru said politely, hurried up the stairs and out of sight.
"Please come in," said Amara. "Serena will be down shortly."
Amara showed them to the living room and offered them something to drink. "No thank you," said Raye.
"What are you two doing here?" asked Mina as they heard footsteps on the stairs. "Ah, here she is," announced Amara as Serena, Trista, Michelle, and Hotaru appeared at the bottom of the steps.
"Hi guys," said Serena as they entered the living room. "You guy aren't still mad about last night are you?"
"Of course not," said Mina with a big smile on her face. "I like your hair being down."
"Thanks," said Serena with a smile.
The other girls agreed with Mina and stood up. Everyone gave Serena a hug except Andrew.
"Hi, Andrew," said Serena. "How's Crown?"
"Everything's going good," said Andrew.
There was a knock at the front door that caught everyone's attention. "I've got it," said Amara as she hurried to the door. "Hello."
"Hello, is Serena here," said a masculine voice.
"In the living room," Amara said closing the door.
Amara entered the living room with Darien right behind her. "Hey there," he said. "Darien," said Serena quickly moving over to him.
"These are for you," said Darien handing her a bouquet of red roses. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," she said taking the flowers. "How nice."
"Hey, Serena," said Mina.
"What?" asked Serena.
"Remember what we told you earlier today," said Mina.
"Oh we all ready dealt with that," laughed Serena. "It wasn't what you thought it was either."
"I was taking a friend to the train station in the next town before heading to a college retreat," said Darien. "You guys gave Serena a real fright."
"Oh, we're sorry. We didn't mean to jump to conclusions," said Amy blushing. "It's okay," said Serena.
Once again there was a knock at the front door. Without saying anything, Amara automatically went to the front door and opened it. She returned with six people following her: Three ladies and three gentlemen.
"This is Mr. and Mrs. Isaci and their son Jay," announced Amara. "And this is Mr. and Mrs. Asiny and their daughter Tori."
"Hello," said Nancy. "Are we interrupting something?"
"No," said Darien.
"Well then allow us to introduce ourselves then," said Nancy. "I'm Nancy Isaci and this is my husband, Ted, and our son, Jay."
"I'm Zoe Asiny," said a short brunette with jet black eyes, dressed in a pair of jeans, a pink blouse, and a pair of tan sandals. "This is my husband, Al, and our daughter, Tori."
Al was a heavy guy with a mustache and a head of nicely kept brown hair. He was dressed in a pair of tan slacks, a white golf shirt, and a pair of black loafers. Tori was a thin, average height, beautiful young lady with waist long brown hair that had streaks of blond running through it. She was dressed in a black knee short skirt with a green camouflage tank top and knee high black boots.
"Well now that you're aquatinted with us," said Zoe. "We brought you a couple welcome baskets."
Nancy held up a basket filled with pastas and sauces, and Ted held up a basket filled with soaps, shampoos, and lotions. While Zoe held up a basket filled with fruit and breads, and Al held up a basket filled with stationary and pens.
"Wow, thanks," said Serena. "How nice of you all."
"Your welcome," said Nancy. "Jay says that he met you two in the store today."
"Oh yeah," said Serena. "I was shopping for dinner and Darien joined me after I ran into Jay."
"He also says that he asked you a question and felt like a jerk after asking it," Nancy said. "I believe the question was are you being abused by your fiancé."
The room went silent. "Excuse me, but Darien would never harm Serena," spat Raye after a moment. "He loves her to much to even think of hurting his future wife."
"Well that's the question he told me that he asked," Nancy retorted. "Then he continued by saying that this lovely lady had set him straight about it and that he felt really bad for even asking the question without ever knowing her fiancé."
"Well he should," said Raye weakly, embarrassed by her sudden outburst.
"Good go, Raye," said Mina.
"Allow us to introduce ourselves," said Darien. "I'm Darien Shields and this is my fiancé, Serena."
"My name's Mina."
"I'm Raye."
"My name's Amy.
"I'm Lita."
"I'm Amara and this is my cousin, Michelle."
"Hello," said Michelle.
"My name's Trista and this is Hotaru."
"My name's Andrew."
"Well it's nice to meet you all," said Zoe with a smile.
"We better be going," said Nancy. "It's late and we don't want to keep you guys."
"It was nice meeting," said Darien. "Hope to see you around."
"Bye," said the Isaci's and the Asiny's.
The group stood there in silence as if waiting for something to happen. "That was interesting," said Mina.
"They seemed nice," said Michelle. "But they certainly do give me a bad feeling except for the young lady."
"What do you mean, Michelle?" asked Amy.
"I get this feeling like I know that young lady from somewhere," she said. "I'll think about it later. We all should be going home. It's getting late."
Andrew looked at his watch and said, "Elizabeth's going to kill me."
"Oh no," said Mina. "I promised Artemis that I would give him a bath tonight."
"I've got to study," said Amy.
"You promised no studying tonight, Amy," said Lita. "Since you're spending the night at my place while your mom's still out of town."
"When's your mom suppose to be back," inquired Serena.
"Next Friday," answered Amy.
"Come on you guys," squawked Mina running outside.
"We better get out there before she starts walking home," said Raye.
"See you guys later," said Lita.
"Nice seeing you again, Serena," said Andrew as he closed the door.
"We'll be on our way too," said Trista slipping on her coat.
"Try and come by some time again," said Serena. "It was nice having you guys here."
"We'll see," said Michelle. "Have a good night, Serena."
"I will," said Serena. "I've got Darien here with me."
"Good night, Serenity," Hotaru said as she followed Trista and Michelle out to the car.
"It was nice seeing you again, meatball head," said Amara.
"Bye," Serena said as Amara and them climbed into the car.
"Bye," they said as Amara backed up and started down the road.
Darien closed the door and followed Serena to the stairs. She turned around and looked at him. She had something on her mind.
"What are you thinking about?" asked Darien. "You better not think to hard or else you'll hurt yourself."
"I'm just thinking how lucky I am to have you," Serena said. "If I hadn't met you I probably would be with someone like.Melvin."
Serena turned around and fell towards Darien. "I've got you all to myself now. You're pretty lucky," teased Darien. "If things had gone differently I would be with Raye right now."
Serena stood up and looked at Darien with fire in her eyes. "You would be with Raye?" she said. "How mean."
She bolted up the stairs with Darien right behind her. Once in the bedroom, she closed the door and locked it. Darien pleaded with her to let him in but she wouldn't. Finally, she unlocked the door only because she though he went down stairs. But when she opened the door, there stood Darien with a smile on his face.
"Are you truly mad at me for saying that?" he asked her.
She laughed. "No. I just wanted to be a butt," she teased.
Darien picked her up and plopped onto the bed. "I love you, Serena," he said. "I love you too, Darien," she said.
Soon the two future rulers were sound asleep.
