Chapitre 39: Parents' Day ends badly
Three months flew by. The new year had begun, and it was two months before classes and the school year ended. The months of January and February were hard for Luke.
He hated having to wake up and have to get out of bed in freezing temperatures. Luckily that was over, and spring had sprung.
These months were very peaceful to Luke's liking. There was no attack from another crazy hag, though perhaps this was because he rarely left Nevermore. His assassins had no chance of attacking him.
Nor did he have another serious incident against older students. He had fun in his one-sided fight against Brad and the other idiot.
He spent it on classes, homework, his new club, training, and spending time with his girlfriend and his only friend Xavier.
"This weekend, you get to meet my parents!" said Enid excitedly with a big smile.
That was the first thing Luke heard early one weekday morning before he entered the boring Marginal History class. Classes were starting to get heavy. For it was only a short time before final exams.
Luke was disheveled and with dark circles under his eyes. The night before he had stayed up late playing video games with Xavier.
'How does she have so much enthusiasm in the morning...' Luke thought, looking at Enid's wide smile. Already his brain was slow to activate in the morning, and his grumpiness reached the highest peaks in the day.
'Yeah, fantastic...' replied Luke with zero enthusiasm and a tired voice.
'He woke up grumpy. Again,' thought Enid, taking a deep breath.
"I'm sure you'll get along just fine! Especially with my dad," said Enid, sitting down on one bench and opening the other for Luke.
Luke sat down seeing that he had no choice but to sit with his cute, chatty girlfriend.
Luckily, the old teacher, who had many wrinkles was very stern and did not allow the students to talk in his class, while he was giving his boring lesson.
The class ended, and it was time for lunch.
"I created a basic guide, so you know a few things beforehand. Before I met my parents. Mostly for my mother. She can get very judgmental with strangers," said Enid, holding up a pink notebook with cute stickers.
"Let's do it while we eat," she added with her usual smile.
"I can't... Xavier asked me for a private chat between friends. You know... his problems with Bianca," whispered Luke.
"I understand..." said Enid.
"We'll do that later. See you," said Luke, catching Xavier before he left. His lie could not be uncovered. This was clearly a lie he came up with on the spot.
He didn't want to spend his lunchtime talking about Enid's parents and what he must do to get them to like him.
"So, you brought me here because you don't want to have lunch with your girlfriend," Xavier said, resting his lunch on the ground. They were on the rooftop.
"You make it sound bad. I need to recharge my battery so I can resist Enid's enthusiasm in the mornings," Luke said, starting to eat.
"It's already noon..." said Xavier. He too had dark circles under his eyes.
"How long have you two been together?" asked Xavier.
"Five months almost six," replied Luke, "Why?"
"It was rare that you two didn't have any fights or problems. Sooner or later something would come up," replied Xavier.
Luke nodded. Xavier was right. So far they hadn't had any fights. It was very odd considering how different their personalities were. Especially Enid's great enthusiasm for everything compared to how moody and impatient Luke was.
"How do you and Bianca work it out?" asked Luke. He knew Xavier was an expert at fights, as he had one every few days. He didn't know how he was still with that girl. If his canon calculations were correct they should last a year and several months longer.
How would they put up with each other that long, when they fight so often?
"We yelled at each other for several minutes. Then we ignore each other until one of us decides to apologize or try to make up. It's usually me..." replied Xavier.
"Mm," nodded Luke. He didn't look capable of yelling. Even though he was someone moody his anger was hard to provoke. Especially to the point of screaming his head off. His grumpiness caused him to be rude to other people, and they ended up getting mad at him, not the other way around.
The weekend is here. On Sunday was celebrated Parents' Day. A day that takes place once a year. Families attend picnics and luncheons organized by the school.
Luke's parents were dead, so he would not receive a visit from his parents, but students were able to spend time with another student's family.
He wasn't the only one without visitors; Xavier and Bianca didn't receive visits from their parents either. Although their parents were alive.
After a speech from the principal the day's picnic with the families began. Luke watched the happy families. Xavier was with Ajax's family, and Bianca was with the family of one of her siren friends.
He looked for Veronica since her father would be his uncle and her mother's brother. He found her sitting alone on a bench, looking at her cell phone.
'Her millionaire, psychic father must hardly pay any attention to her,' Luke thought, shaking his head. So, far he didn't upload the video of Veronica and Tommy. Because his cousin had gotten him all the books he needed from the Nightshade Society library.
His eyes moved again until they stopped on a very familiar blonde hair. It was Enid talking to her parents. Specifically with her mother. Not far behind them were four boys playing roughly. They were her older brothers.
'Should I run away...?' thought Luke seriously. He knew he wouldn't be able to get along with Enid's mother. From what he knows from Enid, she is very strict and judgmental. Luke wouldn't get along with this kind of person, as he is not someone patient, kind, or a stocking licker.
His gaze met Enid's, and she raised her hand. Calling him to come closer. Her parents also pinned their gaze on him.
'Ugh... It's late already. I must have patience, patience,' Luke thought, walking towards his destiny.
"Luke. These are my parents. Esther and Murray. Mom, Dad. This is my boyfriend, Luke," said Enid, introducing her parents.
"Nice to meet you. Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair," Luke said, trying to put on his best smile that looked very forced and unnatural.
Murray nodded to Luke without saying a word, but his expression was friendly. He was a man of few words. Very different from his wife and children. Luke already liked him.
"Mrs.? I'm not that old yet," said Esther.
Luke felt otherwise but decided not to say anything.
"Mom," whispered Enid with a frown.
"Luke Poe, right?" asked Esther, looking up and down at Luke, who nodded slightly.
"A psychic, huh? Your parents didn't come?" asked Esther. Enid's expression turned nervous. Everyone at school knew Luke was from an orphanage. Her mother should be aware it was common knowledge.
"They are six feet underground," Luke replied, surprising everyone with the answer. The atmosphere fell into an awkward silence as Luke and Esther looked at each other.
"Have respect for your parents, brat!" exclaimed Edgar in an amused tone. On his face was a faint smile. The response was amused and with a hint of dark humor.
[It was witty, wasn't it?] said Luke mentally with a slight smile, looking at his great-great-grandfather, who shared the same type of humor.
Esther and Murray looked at Luke's smile with slightly frightened expressions. What kid says his parents are buried six feet underground and has a smile on his face?
'This is going bad,' thought Enid. She knew Luke's dark humor and had told him to keep it to himself at the first meeting with her parents. Luckily at that moment one of her rambunctious brothers showed up.
"I'm hungry! Let's eat!" shouted one of Enid's brothers approaching their parents.
Before long Luke found himself at a table sitting with Enid's entire family. Plates filled with undercooked red meat.
"What a great feast," Edgar said sarcastically.
"Eat up boys. You must fill your stomachs well," said Esther, starting to cut the meat with her cutlery.
Luke looked at his plate with no appetite. This meat was undercooked!
"What's wrong? Why aren't you eating?" asked Esther, looking at Luke, who was just staring at the plate.
"I like my meat with more cooking," replied Luke bluntly.
"No, no. That's not good. The meat is at the perfect point. Psychics don't appreciate good food," Esther said, shaking her head.
"Well, your stomachs are tougher. Normally, you can eat more raw meat," said Luke, bringing his ear close to the meat.
"What are you doing?" asked Esther with a frown.
"Don't you hear it?" asked Luke in a serious tone.
"What?" asked one of Enid's brothers.
"Moo... Moo...!" said Luke, imitating the sound of a cow.
Enid's brothers catching on to the joke began to burst out laughing. Even on Murray's face, a smile formed, and he held in his laughter.
"That's a good one! Maybe if you poke the meat with a fork, legs will sprout, and it will start running!" said Edgar, amused.
"That bastard is funny!" said one of Enid's brothers, brutally patting Luke's back.
Luke got along well with Enid's brothers. This wasn't always the case. At first, he felt the menacing stares from all four of them. Since he became boyfriends with his little sister they were very protective of Enid. But since he swept the floor with Brad and the other werewolf they started treating him very well. They seemed to have a rivalry with Brad's group of werewolves.
The only person who wasn't the least bit amused by the joke was Esther, who was frowning more than usual. Enid looked worriedly at her mother.
The picnic continued, and Luke's jokes disrespecting werewolf traditions continued. He made them because he noticed that Enid's brothers and her father were not bothered by them. They even seemed to be amused and kept the jokes going.
If he had seen that the jokes were not well received he would have stopped, but that was not the case.
"Where are you going?" asked Enid, looking at her mother, who suddenly stood up from her chair. Since Luke had started with the bad jokes she hadn't said a word. What bothered her the most was that her whole family seemed to be having fun with this stranger.
"I'll go talk to some old friends," Esther replied, leaving the table. Her husband got up as well. He said goodbye to Luke with a friendly smile and followed his wife.
"We'll go talk to some girls. You two have fun. See you later, Luke, sis," said the four siblings saying their goodbyes and quickly disappearing.
Suddenly at the table, it was just Enid and Luke. Sitting across from each other.
"Why?" asked Enid without her usual smile.
"What do you mean?" asked Luke, chewing the tough red meat. He was taking longer than the others to chew this tough meat.
"Why did you make fun of all the werewolf traditions in front of my mother? I told you she is very strict and cares a lot about those things," Enid said.
"Your father and brothers were having fun," Luke justified himself.
"I gave you the tips to make a good impression, and you didn't even try!" said Enid, angry for the first time at Luke.
"Why should I act to get her to like me? She seemed to hate me" huffed Luke in an annoyed tone.
"Because she's my mom! You were just supposed to make an effort because it was the first time you met her. At another meeting you could make your stupid jokes," exclaimed Enid, slamming her fist on the table.
"Why should I make the effort and she doesn't? Besides, you seem to be looking for her approval all the time," said Luke, who had no plans to back down.
"Why do you want her approval so badly?" he asked.
"You wouldn't understand!" said Enid angrily.
"I wouldn't understand? I guess you're right since my mother is buried six feet underground," said Luke, getting up from his seat. This time his tone was cold, different from when he made the joke.
"I-I didn't mean that," Enid said in a nervous tone getting up. She had let her anger get the better of her. She wanted her mother to accept Luke at their first meeting or make a good impression, and it had all gone wrong.
"Yes. You meant that. Go spend the picnic with your happy family," snorted Luke, turning away and leaving Enid alone.
"Are you okay?" asked Edgar, who witnessed the whole discussion. He noticed that Luke looked hurt about his family. It was the first time he had seen him that way.
"Yeah. Just stupid school dramas," replied Luke dryly. Rather than waste time on a stupid picnic, he would train.
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