(The Matriarch)

*December 1st, 1941*

*8:25 pm*

*Miller Manor*

Mrs Hamilton raised her eyebrow with curiosity after hearing Calvin's offer as she began to speak.

"Anya? She must be that girl whom my granddaughter hates, correct? That name sounds familiar to me.." Mrs Hamilton asked Calvin sternly as she stared down the boy, waiting for further updates.

"You're right. Anya is a good friend of mine, and she's quite a fox, I must say; however, don't get me wrong, I only invited her here so she and Judith can become friends, and once that happens, I can hang out with my former friend again" Calvin responded with the same smirk on his face.

At the same time, Mrs Hamilton sighed before giving into Calvin's strange suggestion, as she would call it.

"Fine, I'll go ahead and meet your little friend; however, you must promise me to drag my embarrassing granddaughter out of her room so she can socialize amongst her peers and perhaps find a potential suitor for marriage. I was hoping it would be you, but it seems you have a thing for that Anya girl, correct?" Mrs. Hamlition spoke to Calvin once more with a mixture of annoyance and sternness in her voice and facial expression while Calvin chuckled.

"I promise I'll bring Judith out of her room, and I do. Anya is just everything I want in a woman. She's beautiful, strong, tough, and very dominant in what she does; however, I asked her out when we first met, and she rejected me…" Calvin spoke to Mrs Hamilton once more while he and the elderly woman walked across the beautiful garden, approaching the manor's entrance.

"I take this information as a sign that you want to marry and start a family with her, correct? I won't stop you since we're not related; however, marrying such a common girl like her could spell trouble for your name, but your parents seem to be rather open-minded at such prosperous ideas," Mrs. Hamilton spoke to Calvin once more with a hint of perplexion on her face while finally approaching the backyard door with Calvin stopping behind her.

"I'm aware. I know Anya comes from a family that's rather poor but still enough to manage through life. Still, when you just love someone, that doesn't matter in a sense or something like that," Calvin spoke once more to the elderly woman while walking over to open the door for Mrs Hamilton.

"And that would be your downfall. Hanging out with that girl will bring sorrow for your family, but I can't stop you since you are not in my family.." Mrs. Hamilton responded in a strict manner while entering the Miller Manor, with Calvin following her.

"You're just like Judith. No wonder she acts the way she does, but I guess it can't be helped considering she was raised to be this way," Calvin spoke to Mrs Hamilton in response to what he just heard while the elderly woman made a comedic face before speaking again.

"I-I'm not Judith, and she's not like me! Next time, watch your tongue, boy, or this conversation shall be forwarded to your parents.." Mrs. Hamilton responded comically but with seriousness in her voice as she and Calvin continued to walk across the ballroom before stumbling upon Anya and Louise.

"That's Anya. She's the girl with the Clara Bow hairstyle who's talking to my sister, and I hope you two get along nicely. Still, I'm going to talk to Judith, so I hope things go well," Calvin spoke to Mrs Hamilton while pointing at Anya before walking towards the door that led to the main foyer, thus leaving the elderly woman to herself.

Mrs. Hamilton sighed before walking over to Anya and Louise, and from there, she began introducing herself.

"Good Evening. you must be Mrs Anderson, correct? I'm Ellen Hamilton. The grandmother of Judith. It's a pleasure to meet you." Mrs Hamilton introduced herself; this surprised Anya since this was the first time she saw Judith's grandmother.

"Yes, I'm Anya Anderson. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. I hope I can make this visit worth your time.." Anya introduced back before shaking hands with the older woman while Louise watched with great interest.

"I've been hearing so much about you from Judith, Calvin, and Neville, and I was eager to know. Have you been causing trouble for my two grandchildren, Judith and Neville?" Mrs Hamilton asked Anya sternly while staring at the young girl, prompting her to respond quickly.

"N-No, Ma'am. With respect, Judith has been causing me and my friends trouble for nearly a year, and it's to the point where I'm attending this event so that, perhaps, me and she could become friends after this.." Anya responded politely while Mrs Hamilton nodded in an understanding way before letting out a sigh of annoyance.

"Judith, what shall I do with such a sad disappointment of a granddaughter? But, perhaps you might have something to do with it, eh? She told me that you stole Calvin from her, and she's been annoyed about the issue ever since." Mrs Hamilton responded with annoyance while crossing her arms as Anya began to speak again.

"No, Mrs Hamilton. I only became friends with Calvin, and while I told him not to hang out with Judith, It's not my fault that he doesn't hang out with Judith anymore, with all due respect, of course," Anya responded politely before smiling.

At the same time, Mrs Hamilton had a serious look.

"I see; you've still been causing trouble for my family; however, I will allow you to stay here for now. You should meet my other granddaughter, Emily.." Mrs Hamilton responded to Anya for the final time before walking away from the site, thus leaving Anya and Louise alone.

"That went better than expected. I thought she was going to chew you out. I guess she didn't want to hurt my dear brother or anything," Louise spoke to Anya with relief before sitting back down while her friend followed suit.

"I agree. It seems Mrs Hamilton is just strict, but I don't know. It seems like she doesn't like Judith much, and to be fair, Judith does cause trouble; however, it seems that she might have had a role in Judith's behavior.." Anya responded while sighing before seeing Emily approaching her and Louise with two other girls.

"I guess Emily wants to talk to us, and maybe we should see what they want…" Louise had spoken out with curiosity while seeing Emily and her two friends getting closer.

"Louise! I didn't see you when I was talking to Calvin. How are you doing? Are you still engaging in your weird behavior? I'm curious to know, and you better answer," Emily asked Louise in a rather joyous manner, which offended Anya and Louise; however, both girls kept their cool.

"Oh, Good Evening, Emily. I'm still into my hobbies and whatnot. It's also not nice for you to judge others based on their interests," Louise sternly advised Emily.

Anya nodded in agreement; however, Emily and her friends only laughed at them as she began to speak.

"Relax! It's just a joke. Anywho, I want you and Anya to meet my friends.." Emily responded with a smile as she was getting ready to introduce her friends to Anya and Louise, much to the dismay of both girls.

*Hallway*

Calvin walked across the hallway, heading toward Judith's room with many thoughts in his head.

"Anya and Judith are the only girls I care for romantically. I confessed to Anya when I first met her; however, she rejected me, and rightfully so, while on the other hand, I nearly fell for Judith. Perhaps I'm only doing this to continue hanging out with Judith.." Calvin thought to himself before stopping in front of the door, which was the door leading to Judith's room.

"But, I know Judith isn't the right girl for me. She can be ill-tempered, possessive, and clingy; however, I can see a girl who's almost like Anya behind those terrible traits. A girl who's strong, smart, and knows what they're doing brings me to Anya. Over the nine months that we've known each other, I have become very close friends, and while we don't hang out every day, it feels like our relationship has grown closer. In short, I guess I'm only doing this so I can one day become Anya's boyfriend without Judith doing something to me or Anya that she'll eventually regret…" Calvin thought to himself once more while taking a few deep breaths before knocking on the door in hopes of alerting Judith, and to his luck, he did.

"Leave me alone! I don't want to hang out with that stupid Emily!" Judith responded coldly from the other side, hoping to drive away whoever was knocking.

"It's me, Calvin. May I come in? I want to talk to you about why you're not attending the Ball?" Calvin responded calmly while waiting for Judith's response.

"C-Calvin?! What do you want? Go hang out with Emily or something! I don't want anything to do with you right now; I'm not in the mood!" Judith responded coldly, hoping to drive Calvin away; however, the sound of her door opening as Calvin let himself in startled her.

"C-Calvin?! At least announce that you're entering my room! I could have been changing!" Judith advised her former friend in an annoyed voice while blushing madly.

Calvin stared at Judith before chuckling as he began to speak again.

"Sorry, you would have denied me if I asked, but let's talk, okay?" Calvin responded while still chuckling as he sat on the bed with Judith, making her blush before quickly reverting to her usual self.

"F-Finne, I'll talk. I know it's about Emily, right?" Judith responded while sighing to herself as she added a hint of disgust when saying the name whale. Calvin smiled back.

"Of course, and that's because you are going to participate in the ball, whether you like it or not, Judie." Calvin responded. This made Judith blush hot red as she covered her face with her pillow due to being called that nickname.

"Y-you called me Judie. You haven't called me that since we were friends…fine…ask away.." Judith responded with curiosity and surprise as she was ready to address everything happening to her.