A Made Up Story
'What is he doing here?' thought Alicia.
Her heart raced as she recognized the man standing outside. It was Mr. Adrien Archer. Of course, he'd have a gun. The man's a cop—a senior at that.
"Do you know him, Alicia?" she heard her mother ask, snapping her out of her bubble of thoughts.
"Uh... yes. Yes!" She exclaimed, opening the door wide and gesturing for Adrien to come in.
Adrien gave a confused look, and so did her mother.
"He's related to the topic we were to speak about, Mom," she said as she patted his back, faking a laugh.
"What does he get to do with your bike?" Mrs. Anderson was still confused. Seeing her daughter closer to the man didn't seem to look fine in the eyes of hers.
Adrien's eyes widened at the mention of it, but he composed himself. "What nonsense are you blabbering?" he questioned, gazing right into Alicia's eyes.
"Why don't we continue this conversation over dinner?"
Reluctantly, her mother agreed, giving one last look at her daughter and the man whom her daughter claimed to be related to her missing bike.
Her mother was the first to walk into the dining hall, which gave Alicia some time to convince the cop.
"What does this all—?"
"Please accept my apology and listen to me once and quickly," she pleaded, but she didn't wait for him to speak as she continued speaking. "My mom doesn't know anything about my bike being missing. I have yet to explain it. I'll do the talking, and you'll just have to nod in between."
"Lise?!" They heard Mrs. Anderson call out.
"Please," she begged, her doe eyes looking into his pleadingly.
"Show me the way." Before he could finish his words, she squealed and thanked him, dragging him into the dining hall like a two-year-old child. Adrien was baffled by the girl's sudden burst.
Her mother watched as Alicia took Adrien into the dining hall while simultaneously expressing both perplexity and worry. In an effort to uphold the persona Alicia had established, Adrien tried to gather himself and put on a warm smile.
"Mom, this is Mr. Adrein Archer," Alicia introduced, gesturing toward Adrien. "He's actually a private investigator, and he's been helping me with something related to Gloria's bike."
"Gloria's bike?" came the confused question from her mother and the cop in unison, startling Alicia, who had her eyes widened at them.
"Yes, G-Gloria's bike has gone missing," she replied nervously. Adrien gave her a 'go ahead' look, as if he were eager to see how long she was willing to extend the lie.
"And what does it have to do with your bike? Why do I not see your bike?" Mrs. Anderson raised an eyebrow as she questioned.
"Right, my bike. That's where I'm about to come, but don't you think it's rude to keep our guest on his feet, Mom?" Alicia's voice wavered as she tried to divert her mother's attention away from her slip-up. She hoped her mother would take the bait and shift her focus to Adrien.
Mrs. Anderson gasped out loud, her hands flying to her mouth, and realized her negligence. "Where have I lost my manners?" A sense of embarrassment came over her for not offering Adrien a proper welcome.
"Pardon my rudeness, Mr.Archer. Please have a seat and make yourself comfortable," Mrs. Anderson said, gesturing for Adrien to sit down.
Adrien was caught off guard by the sudden change in dynamics. He nodded his head and took the offered seat. He exchanged a bewildered glance with Alicia and thanked Mrs. Anderson.
Mrs. Anderson rushed back to her own seat, her face still flushed with embarrassment. "I apologize again. It's been quite a hectic day, and I completely forgot my manners."
Adrien smiled warmly, trying to ease her concerns. "I understand completely, Mrs. Anderson. No need to apologize."
Alicia seized the opportunity to steer the conversation away from her initial slip-up. "Mom, why don't we continue with dinner? I'm sure Mr. Archer is hungry after his busy day."
Mrs. Anderson nodded, grateful for the suggestion. "Of course, let's eat."
Adrien refused, but Alicia's mother kept insisting he have some. Having no choice, he had to accept it, gritting his teeth and sending a glare at Alicia.
Alicia could sense shivers running down her spine as he did so, but she gave him a pleading look.
"Mr. Archer, please help yourself while I brew us some coffee," said Mrs. Anderson, standing up from the chair. She pushed the bowls and dishes near enough for Adrien to reach out. "Alice, why don't you come with me for a while?"
"Sure, Mom," she squeaked, and she followed her mother, giving one last look at Adrein, who had his eyes trailing behind her as she entered the kitchen.
He shook his head and sighed, looking around him. "What have I gotten myself into?"
As his gaze fell on the few dishes on the table, his face scrunched at the sight of the onion soup. He could not imagine himself drinking it. The very sight of it nauseated him. He shifted his gaze to the next one that stood out favorably, watering his mouth.
"What do you mean by Gloria's bike being missing? Where's your bike, Alice?"
"Okay, let me explain, Mom," Alicia said, trying to calm her mother.
"I'm listening." She heard her mother say it sternly, and she began to narrate a story that went on, like how she had used Gloria's bike for delivery purposes. But soon after the services were over, she parked near the cafe and entered the cafe. And later that afternoon, when both girls were about to leave the cafe, they spotted the yellow bike nowhere.
The story went on with so many exaggerations, from her sympathizing with her friend to ending with her caringly lending her bike to Gloria as her house was not too far from the cafe.
Alicia crafted a complex network of minute details in an effort to come up with a plausible explanation for the missing bike. She made it plain that she was concerned about Gloria and had chosen to help her friend by giving her a bike. She filled in the story with details of frantic searches and dead ends.
Her mother's frown softened as Alicia went on with her story, and she listened closely. Adrien, on the other hand, had his ears perked as he had the delicious food on the table. Hearing the narration all the while, he could believe what he heard. Was he to applaud her for her storytelling skills or to be cautious of her clean lies that sounded more believable than a true incident?
Mrs. Anderson remained silent for a moment, processing the information. Finally, she let out a sigh and shook her head. "Alicia, you really have to be more careful. It was so kind of you to lend your bike, but think of your safety too. Better inform me about such things next time.
Alicia nodded, her face filled with a mix of relief and guilt. "I know, Mom. I'm sorry. I just wanted to help Gloria."
"I understand your intentions," her mother replied, her voice firm yet understanding.
Alicia thanked the god as she sighed internally. She was more relieved to see her mother grasp the storyline she had made up, or she could not imagine how all this could have turned out to be. A part of her felt thankful that Adrien had visited them, but she still didn't know what was the actual matter. Whatever the reason he had come for, it didn't seem so good.
"Go, take this to the table. I'll bring something to have along with it," said her mother as she stretched forward the tray that had three identical mugs of coffee.
Alicia nodded her head and took hold of it. Gripping both sides of the tray, she walked stiffly into the dining hall.
Adrien, who had his eyes on the food all the while, lifted his gaze at a stiffly walking Alicia. A smirk broadened on his lips. "A little more, and I'd think you're a programmed robot."
Alicia glanced at Adrien, her face flushing with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance. She placed the tray on the table as she shot him a death glare and placed a mug in front of him harshly, causing it to splash a bit on the table.
"Tch! Tch! Tch! How bad of you to not know how to be polite toward your guest, Miss. Alicia," a smirk playing on his lips as he mockingly as he remarked shaking his head.
Alicia took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. She knew Adrien was just teasing her to irk her, but his comment had hit a nerve. She quickly grabbed a napkin to clean up the spilled coffee and forced a smile. But as she rubbed the table, she intentionally wiped the wet and sticky cloth over his hand.
"Oops! Sorry about that," she replied, her tone still tinged with annoyance. "I guess I got carried away. Just be glad I didn't spill it all over you."
As expected, Adrien didn't seem to get annoyed by her but chuckled. "You're right, my bad. I'll try to be more careful next time. Let's just enjoy the food and forget about your poor manners," he said as he winked at her.
"Oh my! What happened?"
Both Adrien and Alicia glanced at her mother and walked out of the kitchen with another tray.
"Oh, nothing much, Mrs. Anderson. Your daughter just happened to trip and fall, which had the coffee spill on the table and a bit on my hand," he said as he smiled at them innocently.
"God! Are you alright?" Mrs. Anderson came running and placed the tray on the table before she took hold of Adrien's hand in hers and inspected it. "How clumsy can you be, Alice?" she scolded, placing her hand on her hips with a look of disappointment and shaking her head.
Alicia's eyes widened at the accusation. "Mom, no, that's not what happened," she intervened, trying to explain to her mom that he was lying.
"Show him to the kitchen, Alice."
"But—"
"Com'on, girl." Her mother pushed her to assist him.
"You sly fox!" She muttered as she gritted her teeth, not taking her eyes off the man who dared to accuse her.
"I'm sorry, but did you say something, Ms. Alicia?"
"Why do you bo—" She was about to curse him but held it back as soon as she saw her mother glaring at her. "I'm just sorry," she said, grinding her and leading him the way into the kitchen, but that was all she did, and she stood near the doorway, glaring at his back as he soaked his hand in the running water.
"Sly Fox! How dare he tattle-tale to my mother?" she kept muttering curses upon curses, not knowing the man was already done washing and was standing right in front of her.
He stepped forward right next to her ear and blew on her ears, bringing her back from her ranting trance.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
OSM_1015
OSM_1015 Just leave a 'HI' on the comment section so that I know you've read this chapter...
Hey there!
Made the chapter a bit longer than usual, as it hard for me to manage my tiing schedual. Hope you didn't find it hard~
[Apologies]
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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received Weekly Power Status
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