It was 4:46pm when Alex called Mari, the latter was sitting on her desk writing her English essay.
"Hey"
"I didn't know you missed my presence that much, I just left your house five hours ago"
"Oh please"
"Don't roll your eyes at me", Mari said gigling.
"Whatever, I just called to ask if your free tonight"
"I guess", Mari said unsure where the conversation was headed.
"Good. My mum wants you over for dinner"
"Your mum", Mari repeated for confirmation. She hardly ever use to see Alex parents, even her elder siblings so this was a Surprise.
"Yes. Are you going to come"
"Sure, of course"
"Then I will see you by 7.... also the dress code is black"
"Whats the special occasion"
"It's just a family dinner with Jasmine's family "
"With black themed and Isn't it meant to be just family"
"Jasmine's mum favorite color is black and You should know by now your family, plus my mum said is been so long she's seen you...I will see you later"
"Yeah bye".
Mari stood up and went to her closet and rummaged through it.
"Black dress", she whispered scanning the rows of dresses in her closet.
"Nope I don't have one" she sighed then she finally saw two black dress sticking at the back of her closet.
'Well I do is just that it isn't my size anymore', she dropped the dress she held up to her chin "too short"
She picked up the other dress and tried zipping one up, "nah too tight"
She closed her closet and leaned against it, closing her eyes she took a breath in 'were would I find a black dress before seven', she sighed then after a moment she smacked her forehead "gawd why didn't I think of this before", she said then left her room to her sisters.
She met Cherry sprawled on her bed with her phone in hand texting away.
"Hey Cherry, do you perhaps have a black dress", Mari said deep in thought stroking her cheeks, trying to remember if she had seen her sister on black before. Cherry pointed her left index towards her closet and waved her hand dismissively.
Mari went to her closet and rummaged through it, finally after ten minutes she pulled out a black burgundy dress. She stared at it for a minute, then wore it and checked herself in the mirror.
Twirling round "I guess this will do",
She shrugged and went back into the room.
"Cherry", the girl in question rose her head and looked at her sister head to toe, then gave a thumbs up.
"By the way thanks", Mari said and left the room.
It was 5:36pm already, Mari decided to conclude her essay for thirty minutes, then by six she took her bath and started to dress up. She put on light makeup, wore her flats and took a matching purse. She checked herself in the mirror and gave herself a mental thumbs up. She finished by 7:13.
She left her room and ran down the stairs on reaching the landing she looked up and shouted to her sister.
"Am leaving"
"Ok be safe"
"Always", Mari reassured then left the house and sprinted across the street to Alex house.
She passed through the gate and ran to the ring the door bell and immediately the door was swung open by the butler, he bowed on seeing her.
"Miss dawnson, it's pleasure to see you"
"It's good to see you too Dan" Mari said with a smile "I hope am not too late"
"Not really, they are just settling down"
"Thanks", she said, he smiled, made way and gestured for her to go in.
~~~~~~
"Hey", Mari said settling down on her sit "where's Alex"
"Late as usual", Ari said chuckling.
"Mari dear, it's been so long", said a tall beautiful woman, she had Arielle's warm eyes and cheerful spirit. Standing up Mari went to hug the woman.
"Hey Allison", Mari said with a smile
"At least someone still sees me young", Allison joked causing everyone at the table to laugh.
Arielle rolled her eyes "not again", chuckling Mari sat back on her sit.
"It's been so long since we last saw you, now your all grown up", said Anthony, Alex's father.
"I don't see Amelia nor Ava here"
"They took poppy for a walk, they will be back in twenty minutes or so", Allison said.
"Long time no see huh", Jasmine said settling down opposite Mari.
Mari seeing the mischievous glint in her eyes remembered what happened during the hockey game "indeed", she replied.
"You must be Mari", a tall blonde haired woman asked, she was gorgeous too, everyone in the room were.
"Yes I am and your..
"Jasmine's mum, Alora and this my husband Charles", the woman said gesturing to the tall dark haired man at her left. Looking at the man she saw the striking resemblance between him and Jasmine.
Not long after Alex strode into the dinning hall.
"I thought you won't grace us with your presence", said Adrian the first born, he had raven hair.
"Why would I refuse food now", Alex said with a fake smile to her brother.
"Now that your here Alex, do you mind saying the grace so we could start with dinner", Allison said.
"Not at all", standing up she sighed and said "The grace, all done", sitting down and picking up her fork she began to eat. Everyone was silent as they all stared at her, Andrew the second born with white hair tried stifling his laugh by coughing. Anthony shot him a glare.
"Sorry something got stuck in my throat", he said drinking a glass of water.
Looking up she rose an eyebrow "what!, you guys aren't hungry", she asked them and took a sip of her orange juice.
"Al that's not how you say the grace your suppose to....you know whatever", Allison said waving her hand dismissively and the rest started to eat.
Dinner was peaceful with conversations here and there, the adults talked mostly on business and politics obviously.
Amelia and Ava strode into the dinning room twenty minutes later. Upon seeing Alex, Ava unlatched her hand from Amelia and ran to Alex side.
"Ugh all the time", Amelia groaned walking up to the dining table.
"Please feed me", she said opening her mouth. Everyone smiled at the interaction.
"Your allergic to anything concerning salad"
"But your eating it", Ava whined with a pout.
"Cause am not"
"It's not fair, I also want to eat it"
"How about we improvise, what of this one do you like it, am also eating it too", Alex asked feeding Ava rice.
Ava smiled happily and nodded in approval upon tasting it.
"So Jasmine how are you enjoying Crescent fall lately"
"It's cool. There lots of nice people here", she said stressing the word nice, this got Mari's attention.
"What's wrong with there being nice people"
"Nothing, it just gets on my nerves when there everywhere, it's like as if their forcing themselves to be nice", groaned Jasmine. It then clicked on Mari what Jazzy is going on about, apparently Jazzy lives in the posh area where lots of snobby, fake people live, hence never got to experience how normal kind of people behaved. While the Paris being the richest family in Crescent fall built there mansion in the middle of town, where the average people live.
"That must be stressful", Mari said.
"Tell me about it, I get headache by just hearing their screeching voices, it's so annoying", Jasmine shuddered making everyone laugh.
"Like I said you just have to learn how to adapt and tolerate your surroundings", Mrs Anderson said.
"But it's really hard", Jasmine whined.
Mari turned to Alex ,"So how are you feeling"
"Normal"
"Normal could mean anything"
"Normal can also mean normal"
"Mari can you play dollies with me", Ava asked holding up one of her dolls.
"Sure", she said surprised.
"Yeah"
Dragging Mari away from the table, she turned to a corner and started running down the hallway.
She walked into the hallway and saw a glimpse of Ava's departing figure.
She noticed an intriguing picture among others hung on the wall in the middle of the hallway. Stopping and staring at the picture 'gosh his hot', she whispered.
"Let's play hide and seek", Ava giggled coming back to the hallway.
"But you said you wanted to play dollies "
"I did but I change my mind", she said fiddling with her fingers and staring at the ground.
"Huh, ok"
"Good, count to twenty, and close your eyes", she clapped her hands excitedly
"Ok, one", hearing the girls giggles as she ran to hide brought a smile to Mari's face.
"two..three...seven..twelve..fifteen seventeen... nineteen and the half, twenty", Mari said opening her eyes "ready or not here I come"
She heard the girls giggles everywhere around the walls, she tried finding her but to no avail, she checked every crook and cranny in the house, every drawers and cabinets, even under the couches and the basement.
The Paris all gave her weird looks on seeing her frantically searching everywhere to which she replied "am playing hide and seek"
~~~~~~~~
"What are you doing here"
"Gosh Alex you scared me", Mari said clutching her chest she was still breathing heavily from the search.
"Sorry, but what are you doing on the terrace"
Sighing and placing her palm on her forehead. "Am playing hide and seek with Ava".
Alex laughed at that.
"What is not funny you know, I've been at this for an hour already"
"Can I let you in on a little secret"
"Go ahead am all ears"
"Ava never plays hide and seek and am speaking from experience, she's obviously sitting on her bed playing with her dolls"
Mari gawked at the statement "what!!, Please tell me your joking"
"Go see for your self then"
Marching downstairs to Ava's room, she pushed the door wide open and saw the girl in question sitting on her bed and playing dolls like Alex had mentioned. Her jaw dropped on the sight of the girl.
"Yeah Mari you found me", Ava said squealing excitedly and jumping up from her bed to hug Mari.
"You got to be kidding me"
Chuckling behind her Alex said, "told you so"
"Do you want to go again "
"What no"
Ava pouted and gave puppy dog eyes.
"I mean am really tired"
"Fine next time I guess", Ava said with a sad smile.
"Want to watch a movie ", Alex asked.
"Sure", she said.
"Wait for me in my room I need to talk Ava in", nodding Mari left the room and went down the hallway to Alex's room.
"Ok trouble maker it's time for bed", Alex said carrying her sister to her bed.
"But I don't wanna", Ava whined kicking her legs.
~~~~~~~~~
Jasmine was in the room when Mari entered, Mari caught her going through a book.
"What are you doing here"
"I should be asking you the same question"
"She's my best friend"
"She's my cousin"
Rolling her eyes "doesn't give you the right to snoop around"
"Why does it matter to you anyway"
"It doesn't, am just saying fact, plus I doubt you understand Alex really well. She will be pissed if she finds you snooping"
"Am her cousin"
"When was the last time you met her"
"Are we seriously having an argument over this"
"You started this"
"I...you know what forget it, gosh your annoying", dropping the book back to it's rightful place, she purposely bumped into Mari shoulder on her way out.
Noticing a golden book sticking out from Alex library section where Jasmine was a minute ago, the book looked so intriguing like it was calling to her. She was about to go into the library to check the book but stopped in her tracks when Alex entered the room.
Alex looked at her best friend awkwardness skeptically.
"You still up for the movie"
"Yeah, I am", she breathed, her heart was beating frantically. Why did she feel this way, she's not doing anything wrong is she.
She kept looking back at the book during the movie 'what's in that book', she mentally asked herself, her curiosity was killing her. Alex noticing her odd behavior asked "something wrong"
"No..um nothing's wrong"
"your hands are shaking you know and I can tell when you lie "
"Am fine, the movie just scares me"
"It's comedy"
"Yeah the jokes are scary",
"Ok", Alex said unsurely she knew something was bothering her friend but didn't want to put pressure on her.
"Hey can ask you a question", Mari asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Shoot"
"If I was a monster or related to a monster would you have befriended me"
"I don't understand your question", the movie was now long forgotten as Alex gave Mari her undivided attention.
"If supernaturals were real and I was one of them and you knew that, would you ever talk to me or would treat me as an outcast, a monster"
"You know Mari in every life, there are the bad ones and the good ones. You can't be called a monster without actually involving in bad things or commiting an atrocious crime"
"What if my mere existence is a bad thing.....a crime to humans"
"Where are you going on with this, the supernatural world isn't even real you of all people should know that", Alex said 'you have no idea Alex', Mari mentally said staring at her best friend.
"Did something happen with someone to make you question yourself"
"No it's not that, forget I said anything", Alex stared at for her a few seconds.
"I will do that for now since you asked, but we will talk later on this"
"Yeah sure", she said and they focused back on the movie.
"But do you know my honest opinion is", Alex said after a few seconds.
"Huh"
"I don't care what you are or who you are", Alex said and turned to her "you will always be my friend Mari", she whispered.