Cocoon

Chapter 5: Sarcasm

[LUKE]

And so here I am, from being a "volunteer" member of the welcoming committee into having breakfast with the newcomer, who apparantly skipped her breakfast because she thought she was running late for her 7AM class. By the time she arrived here, it was quarter to seven and she had realized that her 7AM class was still tomorrow. Her first class today would still be around 11AM. And then Atty. Stanley came and introduced himself, and he's been her company till I arrived.

"I left the hotel room even before Mr. Samuels woke up. I'm going to get scolded once I get home for sure." she joked, but I could tell she was rather anxious about getting an earful from him later.

"Well, we all make mistakes. Your dad will scold you but he'll forget about it later."

"Oh no, Mr. Samuels isn't my dad... more like...a guardian during my stay here in New York." 

"Oh, okay. What is he then? A friend of the family?"

"Haha, no. I just met him a few nights ago."

I tried to analyze that. "You just met him a few nights ago for the first time? Meaning, he's been a family friend for a long time but you only got to meet him personally just a few days ago?"

She smiled, "No. As in... I just met him. Period. He's not a family friend. My parents don't know him."

Now THAT'S something I never heard of before.

"I'm lost."

She just laughs, "It's a long story."

"For women, every story is a long story even if you can just sum it up in a couple of paraphrases."

She laughed. "Point taken. Well, I'm talkative when it comes to telling stories. But if you don't want to hear the whole story then... he helped me out when I got in a sticky situation at the hotel I was supposed to be staying in. So instead of finding another place to stay in, I'm crashing in his place, the same hotel that I got scammed at. He decided to let me live with him from now on to... to show kindness and generosity."

"Ah. Okay. How old is he?"

"I'm not exactly sure. Around his late 60s I guess."

"And he's not expecting anything in return?"

"Not that he said, no."

"Okay... Just make sure his intentions are honest. New Yorkers can be really... insincere sometimes." I advised her.

She smiled at me, "If I didn't know any better, I'd assume you were concerned about me, Mr. Cook."

I widened my eyes, "What? No, I only meant..."

"Just giving a friendly advice?"

"Yeah, of course."

She smiles, "Well, thank you for your 'unconcerned-friendly-advice.'"

"Are you being sarcastic?" I narrowed my eyes at her, unnerved.

"Of course not. I was being sincere." 

"Of course you were." I glanced at my watch for effect and turned to her, "Well, my class will be starting soon. Is it alright if I leave you now, Ms. Fuentes?"

"Sure, but what's with 'Ms. Fuentes'? I thought we agreed with Rienna."

I stood up, "If that's the case, I'll be going now. Nice meeting you, Ms. Fuentes." I say and then turning way to leave.

"Wait!"

"WHAT?"

"I'm sorry, did I say something to upset  you?"

"Of course not. I was being sincere." I said dryly, mimicking the exact tone she used from a while ago what she had said a while ago.

For once, she didn't say anything immediately.She looked down.

And I immediately felt guilty. Ugh.

"I see. Well, thank you for your company Mr. Cook. I'll see you next time, I guess." she nodded at me.

I nodded back and walked away.

Ugh. Crap. Stupid. Damn it.

Now I remembered the reason why I stopped dating. I'm just not good in "unprofessional" settings. She was just being playfully friendly and I just had to be too professional and sensitive.

Way to go, Mr. Cook.

[End of Chapter 5]