"Why didn't you say no?!" Sid says.
"What am I supposed to do?" I tell him. "Tell no to an Alpha and Beta to their faces?"
"Yes! You talk like a granma to our dad and Alpha Walter, but couldn't say a single no to those two?"
"Hey, I'm not the only one who didn't reject them. They said dad agreed to it."
Sid and I turn towards our dad who was peacefully drinking coffee in the living room.
My dad sighs. He says to Sid, "It's just a website. I didn't want us to look petty by refusing to help with something as small as that."
"But dad, I don't want Ben and Luke talking to Rose," Sid says.
I can't help but find what he said funny. He's worried about me talking to them when last night I almost had sex with one of them.
My dad says, "Why do you think I asked those kids to come here to work with Rose? This way you and Mike can keep an eye on them."
Sid looks annoyed. He doesn't want to spend the Saturday watching over me. But he also doesn't want to do nothing about it. "Fine!" he says. "But you're not going to invite those two again."
My dad nods.
——
Now here's a scene I never thought I'll see even in my wildest dreams: Me, Claire, Sid, Mike, Ben, and Luke, all sitting at our house's dining table
Ben is sitting next to me so we could discuss the site.
The tension in the room is palpable.
"So, what? You guys couldn't afford to hire a decent designer for your website?" Mike says.
"Are you telling me Rose is not a decent designer?" Ben asks.
Mike angrily says, "She's better than anyone out there!"
"That's why we're here," Ben says. "We afford only the best."
Mike opens his mouth to retort but thankfully mom appears from the kitchen. "Boys! Behave," she says while throwing a warning look at Mike and Sid. She then places the snacks she bought for us on the table.
With another warning look at Mike and Sid, she leaves.
Claire and I exchange our own look of relief.
Soon, everyone except Ben and I are on their phone. We both continue to discuss the site design.
I have a spreadsheet open and am noting down every requirement Ben has for the site.
Most of it is pretty basic: information on the school, courses, and faculties; student and faculty forums; event and PR sections; and some more.
But then Ben asks me to include a shopping module.
"What's that for?" I ask him.
"We want to provide basic school supplies at a reduced price for our students," he says
I like the idea and make a mental note to bring it up with Mike one day.
After two hours of meeting, we wrap up. Just as Ben and Luke are getting up from their seats, Claire's mom comes in. "Oh, you two are not leaving yet. The lunch is ready," she says to Ben and Luke.
My mom and Claire's mom don't hold the same level of pack-patriotism as the rest of us do. To those two the most important thing in the world is that no guest leaves on an empty stomach.
Claire and I clear up the table, and our dads join us for lunch. They always sit at either head of the table.
And whenever my dad joins us for a meal, I sit with him at his side, instead of sitting with Claire. The seat next to my dad is something I won after crying a river when I was four years old.
