"Hey, Max!" I called out to him as I approached him near the lockers.
He was talking to a guy.
As soon as Max saw me, he became a bit tensed and nervously rubbed the nape of his neck.
"Hey, Jen." He smiled at me.
"Aren't you coming to the cafeteria?" I asked him. It was lunch time and I was really hungry.
"Um.. Yeah.. I am coming in a few minutes." He said and glanced at the guy in front of him.
"Um.. Jen.. This is Eric. My friend. And Eric, this is Jennifer, my sister." Max introduced us to each other.
Eric was a good looking guy with dirty blonde hair and bluish green eyes. He was a few inches taller than Max and had a kind aura around him.
I smiled and shook hands with him. "I know him." I said to Max before looking back at Eric.
"Eric, I don't know if you remember me, but we have been together since middle school." I said as I remembered about him.
He seemed to realise this too as his face lit up and he gave me a sweet smile. "Oh yes, I remember you, Jennifer. You were always a shy and quiet girl. Just like me." Eric chuckled.
"Damn, Eric.. You went through one hell of a glow up." I chuckled as I remembered how he looked in middle school with his big glasses and short height.
"You used to be so chubby and now look at you, so fit and look at all these muscles." I said as I traced my finger down his arm, admiring his muscles.
"Uh.. Thanks.. And you look just as cute as before, Jennifer." Eric said while blushing.
Max cleared his throat. Gazing upon his face, I saw him looking back at us with a jealous expression.
"So, you guys already know each other?" Max asked as he stared at the two of us. We both nodded and Max oddly looked quite relieved.
What's the deal with him today?
"Well, I am hungry so I am going. You can come whenever you want." I said and walked off.
It's been two days since Charlotte was back. On the very next day of her return, Zack had anonymously sent all the proofs against Colin to the police and media and within the blink of an eye, he lost everything.
Serves him right. I hope he rots in jail with dirty rats.
Charlotte however, was not so happy about all this. He was her father after all even if he was an aweful monster.
I was just about to step in the cafeteria when I was being dragged away by none other than Charlotte herself.
She looked so over the moon with a mysterious glint in her eyes and the big grin she adorned on her face.
"Jennifer!" She cheered as she made me sit beside Zack. Damien was already there too.
"Wow.. What happened? Why are you so excited?"
"We wanna know that too." Zack said and swung his arm around me as he so oftenly does.
"I have to tell you guys something!" Charlotte said while grinning from ear to ear.
"But where is Liam? And let's wait for Max too-"
"NO!" Charlotte interrupted me.
"Listen to me first Jennifer."
"Well, start please."
"Okay so.. You know that girl - Nichole?"
"Um.. Yeah.. She's quite popular. She's a nice girl though." I said.
Nichole was rich and popular but she wasn't mean or selfish. She was actually very helpful and sweet. She had even helped me a few times before.
"Yeah so.. I was eating my famous cookies when she and her friends came over to me, asking to taste my cookies. I was skeptical at first but shared my cookies with them nevertheless. And Nichole liked it so much that she gave me a big order of those cookies for her birthday which was next week. I told them that I bake all types of desert and hearing that she asked me to make some pastries too. She has even paid me in advance!" Charlotte jumped up and down in excitement and I was so happy for her.
"Well.. This is very good and congrats to you Charlotte but why don't you want to tell this to Liam and Max?" Damien asked.
"Yeah. Liam would be ecstatic to hear this." Zack added, playing with a twirl of my hair.
"No! Don't you understand? I would be getting paid for the first time in my life and I want to use this money to buy a birthday gift for Liam!"
Oh!
"You want to use your first ever payment to buy a gift for Liam?" Zack asked, looking amused.
"Yes!" Charlotte exclaimed. "So please don't tell about this to Liam just yet. And well, about Max.. I don't think he can keep a secret."
"But it's not like we don't have money to buy gifts-"
"Of course we do. The money you had stolen from the mafia and what we got after selling my mother's necklace will last us for a long time but.. I wanted to buy him a gift using my own money."
All three of us were looking at Charlotte with pride.
"Hey guys! What are you talking about without us?" Liam asked from behind Charlotte, startling her.
"Oh nothing." The four of us replied at the same time. Max raised an eyebrow at us and we all looked in different directions avoiding them.
Max looked a bit weird. His hair were messed up and his lips looked.. Swollen?! His cheeks appeared to be flustered too.
"Where were you guys?" Damien asked.
"I was in the music room talking to the teacher." Liam said.
"And I- well.. Um.. Was engulfed in a big group of girls and then.. Uh... Yeah." Max stuttered out.
Girls? Oh.. So that's why his lips are...hmm.
***
"So, what are you going to buy for him?" I asked Charlotte while she was getting ready to go out to buy a gift for Liam for his birthday which was tomorrow.
"I was thinking of buying him a guitar. He borrows guitars from his friends whenever he has to play it. And you know how he is, he doesn't want to use our money for buying something for himself." Charlotte said as her eyes twinkled.
I think she likes Liam too.
I think so too.
Hehe.
Soon after, she was off to buy the guitar for him. And I was left alone in my room.
How will she hide it till tomorrow?
Damn.. Even I have to get a gift for Max. But I don't even have my own money... And nor do I have any talent.. Shit..
***
I don't have any money with me, still I am roaming around in the streets as if a gift will drop in my arms from the sky.
I heard some yelling coming from one of the smaller streets which is usually empty. Not many people use it since its so small, making itself inconvenient for vehicles to be driving through it.
I followed the sounds and saw an old lady being threatened by two big muscular men. They were trying to steal from her, asking her to hand over her purse to them. When she refused, one of the guys got pissed and had the guts to raise his hand to slap her, causing her to fall down.
Do something Jennifer!
But what can I do?!
You need to help her!
But how?
Use your brain, blob fish!
Don't call me that.
Without thinking twice, I gathered all my courage and walked over to them.
"Grandma! Grandma!" I yelled as I neared them.
The lady, including the men looked up at me as I approached then. She looked confused but also relieved.
"Where have you been all day? Your Police chief son has been looking for you everywhere. You know how possessive he is for your safety." I said.
The men suddenly tensed.
The lady still looked confused for a few seconds but she realised quickly what I was trying to do.
"Oh yeah, my child. I had just come out for some shopping but these men-"
"Um.. We were just helping her to find her way. Nothing else." They said and quickly walked away from there.
I chuckled seeing their scared expression and the lady looked at me with grateful eyes.
"Thank you so much, my dear child. I don't know what they would have done to me if you hadn't helped me." She smiled.
"Please don't thank me. It's alright. Are you Okay?" I asked her and she nodded.
"I actually live alone. My husband passed away a few weeks ago and my son had just cut me out of his life after marrying his girlfriend." She said while frowning. Her eyes were filled with tears.
My heart swelled up for her. She seems like a lovely lady.
"Would you like to come over at my house? I would really like some company. It's actually my birthday today and I have no one to celebrate it with." She said as a single tear rolled down her face.
Normally, I would have never agreed to go with some stranger but I just couldn't refuse to her. She looked so sad that I couldn't deny and agreed to go with her.
She lived in a small house in a peaceful neighbourhood. It wasn't anything fancy but it had a very homely feel to it. The garden was well maintained and even the house looked impressively cleaned.
I helped her in baking a cake and I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy her company. She was so cheerful and had a positive aura around her. She was actually fun to be around with.
Julia, as she later told me her name, told me so many stories about her life. About her childhood, school times, love life, her married life and how everything started to fall apart after an argument she had with her son.
We chatted for a long time and all the while, Julia had a lovely smile plastered on her face. It made me so happy to know that I was the reason of her happiness.
"Meow" I heard a cat and soon after, a fluffy cat with white fur came running over to Julia and jumped on her lap. She purred loudly as Julia started caressing her soft fur.
I was staring at the cat with heart eyes and an open mouth. She was just so cute that my heart was melting.
"Jennifer, meet Snow. She is my lovely kitty companion."
"Can I touch her?" I asked as I slowly approached the cat. Julia giggled at my expression on seeing Snow. It was such a cute ball of white fur.. How can I keep my hands to myself.
"Sure, you can. But be careful, she's very selective in people. If she doesn't like you, she may attack you."
But surprisingly, Snow didn't mind me touching her, in fact she seemed to enjoy it.
"She likes you!" Julia exclaimed happily and I grinned.
"I love cats so much!" I grinned at Julia. Snow came over to me and jumped on my lap, nestling herself to get into a comfortable position.
"She seems to really like you, darling." Julia happily said.
"Can I ask you for something, Jennifer?" Her expression turned serious.
I nodded as she continued.
"Um.. Jennifer.. You see, I am getting old and it's getting difficult for me to take care of Snow. So-" She hesitated.
"Would you like to keep my cat with you and take care of it?" I was caught off guard with that.
"But.. She is your only company here and-"
"No, darling. I have my nurse, Nancy who takes care of me. My child, I am sick.. And my health isn't getting any better. I was actually worried about what will happen to Snow after me. You are such a great girl, Jennifer. I would really be relieved if Snow is under your care. Please, sweetheart."
"You are sick? And your son still doesn't care to talk to you?" I knew I shouldn't have said that but it just came out of my mouth.
Julia looked down and shook her head.
How can her son be so heartless to leave his mother alone like that when she is sick and just lost her husband?
I really hate humans so much sometimes.
After a lot of convincing and denying, Snow was finally here, in my room, in a box covered in a fluffy little blanket, happily eating her cat food.
I had to be so quiet while hiding Snow here and she was a clever cat. She hadn't uttered a sound until we reached inside the room.
I had decided to gift her to Max for his birthday. Charlotte looked shocked at first but after I told her the whole story about Julia and how I had saved her from those men, she was feeling proud of me.
"So, our gifts are ready and now we just have to give them to the boys! I am so excited to see their reactions, Jen!" Charlotte said as she playfully pulled my cheeks.