Back after a vacation! I'm still trying to get used to my writing routine. Not to mention I got stuck on what to focus this chapter on so it kept changing ideas.
Apologies in advance for the ending part.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!
-= ⭐ =-
(Today is Jay's time to shine. He wishes everyone here a happy new year)
The days of late May had gradually turned into the early days of June. The cold and damp weather had started to creep up to the residents of Thetowne and everyone braced themselves for the drop in temperatures. Everyone started to bundle themselves in scarves, beanies, earmuffs, hoodies and coats as Thetowne gifted its residents with cool winds and downpours.
Some of Zodiac Street's residents complained about the sudden drop in temperatures. Others were neutral about it. Only Sabrina was the only resident who appreciated the weather.
"It's not that bad," Sabrina told Alex one day as the two went out together to do errands, "the weather I mean. I find this weather pretty nice."
"That's because you are used to the weather." Alex said, "Didn't you live in Wallowsberg out of all places before?"
"I did," Sabrina confirmed with a nod. "But in Wallowsberg it unexpectedly rains a lot even on the hotter days. You would need to bring an umbrella everywhere you go, just in case it rains."
"It unexpectedly rains here too, you know." Alex held their palm out. A water droplet pattered onto their hand. "Speaking of which- rain's coming."
Sabrina felt a droplet land on her nose, "So it is." She slung the hood of her blue jacket over her head. "You know, I still have a lot to learn about this place. At least this weather is better than the summer heat where everything feels sticky."
Alex cringed and slung the hood of their red hoodie over their head. "Don't remind me of the summer heat."
Despite the change in the season and the drop in temperatures, the residents of Zodiac Street found the days amusing. The days of June were filled with pride as everyone felt comfort in the decorated streets filled with colours. Through the early days of June, everyone marvelled at the sight of pride decorations put up in the town. Gilbert commented that he hoped that the decorations remained on for years, which everyone else hoped for as well.
Everyone also spent the days of June preparing themselves for the cold and celebrating Giselle's birthday. Giselle celebrated her birthday as a dinner party in her house. Everyone bonded and connected over the food and drinks ordered from nearby restaurants.
The very next day Gilbert received a late present from Lily: a new short story framed with a golden frame. The story had read "Universes away. Gilberta. The End.". Levin had ended up finding the story near the bin and decided to hang it up in his room for protection. To this day, the framed story never left the room.
It is now yet another day of June and all the residents in Zodiac Street met up in House 8. Carol, Sabrina and Phoebe had ordered and received a trampoline and called for help. As their friends, the other residents decided to pitch in and help.
Well okay. That was mostly the truth. The author is a big disappointment and disappoints us again with another lie (:'C ).
Half of Zodiac Street; Alex, Tyler, Tahlia, Gilbert, Giselle, Lily, Vincent, Levin, Lizzy, Skyler, Cleo and Aika stayed in the backyard and tried to piece together a trampoline. Everyone else remained in the house.
"Alright Cleo, what's the next step?" Alex looked down at the set parts and tools neatly arranged before assembly.
Cleo, who was reading through the provided instructions, looked up from the image of the next step. "Alright, all the parts are set out, right?"
"Yep."
"Tools?"
"All here."
"Did everyone wear gloves for safety?" Cleo checked the group. Everyone including herself wore pairs of leather black safety gloves. It was all thanks to Carol who quickly bought them when the assembly group was decided. "Alright, we're all set. First, we need to layout and assemble the frame."
"The frame?" asked Skyler.
"The curved parts." Cleo turned the instructions to show the image. Pictured were the curved frame parts arranged in a circle. "We need to set it out in a circle and click it together."
"Seems easy enough," said Tyler as he knelt on the mowed grass.
"He says before moments of disaster when the trampoline falls," Vincent commented. Tyler crossed his arms and glared at his housemate.
"Geez Vincent, how about we look at this with optimism in mind?"
Vincent shrugged.
"Anyways..." Tahlia observed the frame. "We got twelve people here. So this will be a piece of cake. As long as Vincent isn't pessimistic about it."
"I may or may not keep that promise but we'll see." Vincent nodded before he and the others began assembly.
The building team worked together and snapped the curved frames through their sockets. After the round frame, the group slid the four trampoline legs into their places. Alex, Levin, Tahlia and Aika made sure to secure the trampoline together with screws.
Sabrina walked out of her house holding a plate of piled triangle sandwiches. She watched as the builders, after testing out the stability of the frame, flipped it around to stand on its legs.
She smiled and made her way to the group. "Looking good."
"Yes, I am aware. I do have a handsome face." Gilbert posed fabulously.
Everyone else turned to him, their mouths open. "Sabrina meant the trampoline," Lizzy stated.
"Yeah I meant the trampoline but Gilbert does have a cute face." Sabrina laughed, "Anyways here's the sandwiches. Cameron and Vivian made them for the hungry builders. There's no meat for Lily's sake."
"Glad someone remembered." Lily smiled.
"Is there a reason why you don't like eating meat?" Giselle asked Lily as she and the others took off their gloves and received their sandwiches.
"Answer's simple," Lily said, "I don't like eating it. I always feel guilty."
"But what about products like cheese, egg and milk?"
"I can eat those. Just not meat, seafood and poultry."
"Oh."
"Ew tomatoes." Tyler picked the sliced tomatoes off his sandwich. "Why didn't Cameron tell the others that I don't like sliced tomatoes?"
"He could just, you know, forgot?" Vincent answered.
"I thought he would at least know since he lives with us. Either way, where do I put these slices?" Tyler held up the slices.
"Hold on put them on the empty plate." Sabrina held out the now empty plate that once carried a pyramid of sandwiches. "I'll throw them out and remind Cameron and Vivian." Tyler plopped the slices on the plate and thanked Sabrina.
Gilbert knitted his brows together and began to think. "Hm... Sabrina?" Sabrina turned her head in Gilbert's direction. "I got a question."
"What's the question?"
"Do you happen to know where Arlen is, perchance?" Gilbert asked. "I need to ask him something."
"Perchance...?" Cleo whispered to herself.
"Is it a wolf-related one?" Skyler asked knowing it was regarding his best friend. For some reason, Skyler wasn't sure how he felt about the amount of wolf jokes. It was as if he teetered on a fence between joining in with Gilbert or defending Arlen.
Gilbert shook his head. "Not this time. It's regarding someone."
"Let me guess." Giselle interrupted. "It's about your love for Skyler."
Skyler slowly turned to Giselle with a disgusted look.
"Not this time." Gilbert shook his head.
"Sabrina then?"
"No."
"Is this related to anyone else? Like Giselle? Alyssa?" Vincent listed.
"Me or Arlen themselves?" Levin added softly. He silently prayed that it did not involve him. Being involved in something is not something Levin preferred.
"On the right path. But not any one of those people."
"Leo?" Aika asked softly. "It's involving him, right?" Gilbert nodded. Aika clicked her fingers, "Figured and it's worrying."
"Why?" Tyler asked, "Did something happen? Gilbert and Leo didn't end their friendship, didn't they?"
"Feels like it..." Gilbert muttered. "Leo questioned our friendship. And I answered that he still is but he seems unsure. And before I didn't know how it came that way but now I do. It's because of how little time we spent together."
"Did you try what I suggested?" Sabrina asked. "Establish communication?"
"I did but it feels like he is purposely hiding how he feels. I don't want to lose him as a friend. Did I do something wrong?"
"No. It could be self-doubt playing its role," said Lily after she finished her sandwich. "A recurring character in the play."
"What does that mean?" Tyler asked.
"I'm no scholar but I think Lily is pointing out that self-doubt comes on whether it pleases in our lives and it is something that happens," Levin answered.
Tyler smiled. "Are you sure you are not a scholar? That sounds scholarly enough."
"I'm-" Levin looked away, not knowing how to respond.
"I am a bit confused. How is self-doubt impacting Leo? He appears so confident." Gilbert asked with a frown.
"Gilberta, you do realise that even the most confident of people have self-doubt too. Happens to anyone- even those who march with pride." Alex said pointedly.
"Exactly, even I had experienced it. It's not a good feeling. And it comes and goes." Giselle placed her hands on her hips.
"I find that hard to believe that even the most confident experienced it." Gilbert said with a slight frown.
"Alright let's prove a point." Giselle mused before she spoke out. "Raise a hand if you have experienced self-doubt before."
Everyone outside raised their hands except for Lizzy. Everyone turned to her.
"Lizzy? You didn't experience it before? Self-doubt?" Vincent asked.
"Oh, that's what everyone is raising their hands for?" Lizzy blinked.
"Yes."
"Well, I have experienced it too." Lizzy raised her hand. She turned quiet and turned to Giselle nearby. Somehow the topic is a coincidence to Lizzy.
Aika looked over at her quiet housemate and furrowed her brows. She then turned to Gilbert. "See? Self-doubt is not as uncommon. It's common but people can hide it and that involves Leo."
"I don't like self-doubt..." Gilbert frowned.
"No one does."
"Is there anything I- I mean we can do to stop it? Or eliminate it?"
"The thing with self-doubt is that it is like a boomerang. You throw it away as far as you can and it comes back. We can not fully eliminate it in my opinion but, " Skyler advised as he squeezed Gilbert into a side hug, "there is a way to support your friend through it."
"Which is?"
"Showing how much you value Leo. Be honest about how much you value him, and be supportive. Involve him and be a listening ear. They can mean a lot, especially showing how much you care about Leo."
"Hold on..." Gilbert mused and pulled himself away. "I had an idea in mind of what I can do."
"Oh?"
"But I still need Arlen." Gilbert turned to Sabrina, "Brina? Do you remember where Arlen is?"
Sabrina traced back her steps, "Last time I saw him he was in the dining room with Sienna, Sam, Phoebe and Pete. They are playing a game and they did commissions last time I checked."
"Commissions?" Skyler questioned. "You mean the thing Colin does with his art?"
"No. They are more like tasks for a reward. I'll be honest, this is the first I've heard of it. But Arlen should be in the dining room. If not, you can ask the others."
"Thanks." Gilbert smiled, planted his lips on Sabrina's forehead and left for the house. "I'll see you later! You all continue without me!"
"Wait! You're gonna leave us here without telling us why you need Arlen? Gilberta?" Cleo called out. She sighed when he entered the house. "Typical. He never even told us why he needs Arlen."
"It could be related to our conversation earlier?" Sabrina suggested. "Anyways I got to go throw these tomatoes out. Good luck constructing the trampoline!"
"Could be. Also bye Sabrina! Thanks for the sandwiches!" Cleo joined in the others waving to Sabrina who left with the plate.
"So!" Alex looked down at the assembled frame, "What do we do next?"
-= ⭐ =-
(Jay is taking photos!)
Gilbert found Arlen in House 8's dining room. He sat at the table with Sienna, Sam, Phoebe and Pete all playing a similar open-world game on their devices (Phoebe on her laptop while the others focused on their phones). Also in the same room, Gilbert noticed Leo, Colin and Alyssa engaged in gossip while Carol sat at the head of the table currently engaged in a call.
Gilbert greeted everyone in the room and took his spot on the empty chair in front of Arlen. "Ar-bro, my favourite and dearest brother. I need to talk with you."
"Favourite?" Arlen asked, "I wouldn't say that if I were you."
"You get what I mean. Are you free now?"
Arlen laughed and looked up from his phone. "No." He turned his phone around to reveal the game. Gilbert noticed Arlen was playing as a character who rambled about wine and memories while clicking his fingers. "Kinda busy right now."
"Busy standing idle?"
"No. I was about to claim the reward for my commissions." Arlen turned his phone around to continue the game, "And then maybe do domains with Phoebe, Sienna and Pete. Mostly Pete. He struggles with them."
"I had to focus on building my mansion in my teapot." Pete shrugged, "Farming materials and gathering resources is what I should focus on."
"Yeah and getting better artifacts too." Sienna quipped in quickly.
"I hate artifact farming though."
"So do I. I don't understand how Phoebe has better characters."
"Routine." Phoebe answered, "Also experience. I have been playing since release."
"Wait Sam is not joining you all?" Gilbert wondered.
"Sam just started the game," Arlen answered. "He has not unlocked co-op yet."
"Oh. Anyways," Gilbert leaned forward in his seat and looked directly at Arlen, "I want to talk to you about something. I got a request and we need to talk in private."
Arlen frowned, "Why couldn't you tell me right now?"
"Because," Gilbert remembered that Leo was in the room currently, "just... never mind. This is a private discussion."
"Alright?" Arlen raised an eyebrow, "I was going to do domains."
"Don't worry about the domains, wolf boy." Pete interrupted, "We can all do it another time."
"But-"
"Domains aren't a big deal unless it's for ascendation materials. What do you need exactly?" Sienna asked.
"Well, artifacts for Ga-"
"You can worry about artifacts later. We will be doing other things." Phoebe interrupted, "Like me, I'll be wishing." She tapped on her keyboard and smiled at the golden comet on her screen before it faded to a frown when she got a certain ice-type healer. "Seriously?!"
"Geez you three, let the guy speak." Sam who watched what went on frowned. "Also Phoebe why are you upset? At least it's a five-star."
"Yeah, but I got this character so many times!" Phoebe showed the character on her screen which was a short ice-type character. "At least I got all her constellations..." She resumed her game.
"Well, looks like I got time to spare." Arlen smiled. "Where do you want to meet up?"
"I was thinking someplace away from the others. Like maybe back home, in my room?" Gilbert suggested.
Oh? That secretive, huh? Arlen thought to himself before he stated, "Sure, I guess we can talk there. We do have to let Sabrina, Carol, Phoebe and Levin know that we are leaving."
"I'll let them know if I could remember." was a voice. The two turned to find Phoebe who joined in.
"Were you eavesdropping, Phoebe?" Gilbert asked.
"I mean I am right next to you."
"Still does not answer the question." Arlen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Either way, would they mind us leaving suddenly without saying goodbye."
"They would but I'll let know that you have urgent matters to deal with. Besides Carol is busy on a call and Levin and Sabrina you already know are at the back. But I'll make sure to tell them."
"If she doesn't, I'll remind her." Pete joined in.
"Wow," Arlen said as he blinked in surprise. "You didn't have to do that but thank you!" He turned to Gilbert who patiently waited, "Let's go."
-= ⭐️ =-
(Jay is printing out the photos he took)
He had never expected to talk with his housemate in Gilbert's room. Arlen never thought the day of being in the room would come. It was always his own room that was involved, never the others. Levin always made sure that his room was out of bounds and Gilbert kept a guest list for his. Either way, a serious talk in Gilbert's room was not on Arlen's bingo card.
The last time Arlen visited Gilbert's room properly was last year when the room felt a bit emptier. Since then Arlen never invited himself in out of respect. The only times he interacted with the room would be the times he walked past the open room or even knocked on the door to call Gilbert over.
But this case is different.
Arlen took the time to observe the room's surroundings. Gilbert's room was the smallest of the lot- his room was decided for him last since Arlen and Levin picked theirs first on their moving day. Since it was small, Arlen found himself feeling cramped.
Despite the small room, Arlen noticed that his housemate used the space to his liking. He used different shades of grey, which Arlen found weird since Gilbert's favourite colour was not used much. Three of the walls were painted in light grey while the fourth wall closest to the bed was a dark grey brick-themed accent wall. Lined around the top of the walls were LED strips of light which were currently off due to the daylight. The wall felt cluttered as well with posters plastered onto the walls and Gilbert's clothes and belongings scattered on the double bed, the grey rug and near the large mirror in the corner. Arlen paid no attention to the mess and focused on the graffiti-styled mural that was painted above Gilbert's dark grey dresser. 'GILBERT' the mural read.
Gilbert paced around the room. "Sorry about the mess. You see I would clean but I didn't feel like it."
"It's... fine. Don't worry about it." Arlen nodded as he stood near the front door. He noticed Gilbert had lunged for a pile of clothes on his bed, scooped them up and threw them in an empty yellow laundry basket near the mirror.
Gilbert neatened the bed and patted on the sheets. "Sit here." He hurried to the front door.
"Alright." Arlen took his spot. The mattress creaked under him. Arlen bounced and noticed that the bed was bouncier than his. He was used to having a firm mattress- never a bouncy one.
Gilbert left the door ajar. "Just in case Levin comes home and decides to join in."
"Okay." Arlen nodded. He watched as Gilbert made his way to his desk near the window and fell backwards onto his gaming chair. "So what is this private thing you want to talk about? You didn't get yourself in trouble and looked to me for help didn't you?"
"No. Do I look like the type to cause that much trouble?"
"Yes."
"Well, I can assure you that it is not regarding that."
"Then what is it then?" Arlen leaned forward.
"Something else related to someone." Gilbert turned away from the dual monitor computer screen he was facing before. "Tell me, Arlen- how confident do you feel about creating a robot?"
Huh? "A robot? Sorry, what type are you looking for?"
"You know like a miniature robot companion. But you have not answered my question. How confident are you with making them?"
"Not that confident I'll be honest," Arlen said softly.
"Really?" Gilbert's eyes widened. "I thought that you would feel confident since you made all types of awesome things."
"That you kept touching."
"Geminis are known for their curiosity!"
"You didn't have to point that out but okay." Arlen rolled his eyes, "But getting back on topic, creating a robot was on my mind before. But I kinda stopped working with machinery and focused more on the gym."
"You stopped? Why?!"
"Because it felt a bit draining. Also, a certain princess would not stop touching the machines."
"Again- I was curious." Gilbert then mused, "Well that changes things."
Arlen raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean? Why are you asking about robots and machines all of a sudden?"
"Well, I can't keep you guessing." Gilbert turned to his housemate. "I want to gift Leo his very own personalised robot. One that can eliminate his self-doubt with praise and kind messages while being a companion to him."
"So an ego-bot?"
"No. That sounds mean. It's more like a 'Leo-I-want-you-to-know-that-you-are-valued-here-so-here-is-a-robot-as-a-gift-for-how-meaningful-our-friendship-is' bot."
"Yeah... still calling it a-"
"IT'S NOT AN EGO-BOT!" Gilbert raised his voice to Arlen's alarm. Noticing the wide eyes from Arlen, Gilbert took a deep breath and repeated calmly, "It's not an ego-bot. Now don't go telling the others that I got mad at you. Got it?"
Arlen nodded, afraid.
"Good. Anyways I want this robot to be very special and unique, and to have a design that looks like me." Gilbert picked up a book which laid on his desk: a red gamers guide with loose leaflets of paper poking out the pages. Gilbert looked through the leaflets and picked one of the lined ones up. He passed the paper to Arlen, "A few days ago I had drawn up a potential design. I'm no inventor but this is what I planned."
Arlen examined the blueprint. Doodled on the paper with a blue pen was a picture of a robot with pixelated eyes. Annotated on the paper were arrows pointing to the robot and accompanying messages. Arlen read through the messages: 'Program robot to provide comfort and advice', 'Screen to show different expressions with the eyes', 'Robot programmed to understand human emotions', 'Small and must have my hairstyle in the design'.
The more Arlen examined the blueprint, the more he reflected on his past machines. He thought back to the times he attempted to make a robot. Three failed attempts just like everything he had done before. He never told Gilbert this but it was because of this failure, that he refused to continue.
But this blueprint showed something Arlen once had. Something that had joined Arlen at the start of his journey before it faded away.
Passion.
Gilbert's idea could work.
It may work.
It better work.
Or so Arlen hoped so.
"I'm guessing the simple robot drawing is the final, isn't it?" Arlen looked through the blueprint a second time.
"Not really. That's why I said it's to resemble me a bit."
"Gotcha." A lightbulb clicked in Arlen's head. "Hold on I think I got something." He left for his room.
Later he returned with three heavily annotated blueprints and set them on the bed. Gilbert made his way over and noticed that Arlen had brought blueprints of three different robot designs. Unlike Gilbert's design- Arlen's focused on the details such as the parts required and the heavy details of the functions.
"I tried to make a robot in the past, but the ideas didn't work well- so I gave up." Arlen explained, "I thought that these could help with your blueprint."
"You made these?"
"Yeah. Never worked on them though."
"Whoa," Gilbert carefully handled the blueprints as they were artifacts made from centuries ago. He looked through the flow of Arlen's handwriting as it pointed to the different sections with detail. There was something in these blueprints Gilbert noted.
Passion.
"You sounded so passionate here! But you stated that you gave up." Gilbert said softly. "What happened?"
Cost. Problems with coding. Stress. The need for perfection. All things Arlen had left behind in the past. "Well, things got difficult. I sorta lost passion for it. So I had to stop."
"Oh... and you did the same with your creations, didn't you? You're not the same as you were last year." Gilbert's voice trailed off, "You didn't give up... didn't you?"
Arlen fell silent.
"Arlen?"
Arlen remained silent. How is he going to tell Gilbert that he did? He knew that giving up felt wrong but it was the only available option. He regrets it to this day. All that work only to be tossed away. That was neither an achievement nor a memory worth praising.
Gilbert took in the silence. "Well even if you did give up- I feel like this project can help you."
"What do you mean?" Arlen asked. "How would it help me? I went through a lot with the costs and everything."
"I'm guessing you gave up 'cause of that." Gilbert assumed.
"Well..." Arlen hated to agree. Gilbert was right. "Yeah, I gave up because everything got too much to handle on my own and I lost my passion."
"Then why don't we work together? And create a team?"
"Me? Work with you?"
"It'll be fun!"
"For you. Wolf jokes are not fun for me."
"But I like the wolf jokes."
"I know. It's something that has become normalised here."
"But either way," Gilbert waved a hand, "This would be the perfect opportunity to rely on teamwork. You always work alone from what I see and while that is a good thing- it is not helpful in your stance."
"Are you criticising the way I work, Gilberta?" Arlen inquired.
"No! Not exactly. Working independently is a nice thing and I completely understand if you prefer it. But it's okay to rely on your closest companions for help too." Gilbert shrugged, "What I am saying is we should hire a team that focuses on different parts of the robot. Someone can work on coding. Someone else can work on- I dunno- working out the costs of the materials. You get the gist."
"Mm."
"And, and, and not only does it help speed things up- it can help you learn more to improve!"
Arlen pressed his lips to a thin line
"Do consider it," Gilbert added.
"Let's do it. You have inspired me, strangely enough."
"What?" was Gilbert's startled response, "I did not intend for my rambling monologue to be an inspiration."
"Well, it did. Shockingly."
"Does this mean that little wolf pup Ar-bro is trusting his brother?"
"I still hate you with every inch of my body."
"You know what I kind of expected that." (Gilberta- fighting off haters since day I don't even know).
"But..." Arlen continued, "I guess this is a step in understanding you better."
"Yeah." Gilbert laughed, "By the way, wanna do a pinky promise?"
"Huh?" Arlen asked.
"Pinky promise. That we will work together."
"Isn't this a bit childish?"
"You're forgetting that we are young at heart. This is a pinky promise that we would create the best thing anyone would set eyes on."
If Arlen were to be honest, he was not confident about the robot being the 'best thing' that others would 'set eyes' on. There were still words of doubt pulling him back like an anchor holding a boat in place. He couldn't help but read Gilbert's face. His housemate's eyes twinkled as he talked about the idea and now here he is offering a promise.
It is at this moment Arlen realised it was time to pull up the anchor from the rocky sea bed and set sail.
He locked his pinky finger in a promise with Gilbert's. "Let's do this."
"Great! I look forward to our collaboration!" Gilbert smiled.
Suddenly Gilbert's ringtone rang. Well rather... whistled:
"CAN YOU BL-"
"Oh! Forgot to change this. It's a joke, I promise." Gilbert fished out his phone. He answered the call and the ringtone stopped, "Hello? Oh hi! Yes, Arlen is with me. Don't worry. Did Phoebe tell you and the others? She did? Good."
"Who is it?" Arlen asked.
"Levin." Gilbert said quickly before he resumed the call, "That was Arlen, Levin. He just wanted to know- sorry?" Then Gilbert's eyes widened, "Oh... oh... we're coming over right now."
"What is it?" Arlen asked after Gilbert ended the call.
"Levin wants us both at House Eight right now." Gilbert answered, his tone different from usual, "Sabrina and Carol got into an argument. And it's bad."
-= ⭐ =-
(Jay makes a photo album. Aww)
She felt like a spectator watching a tennis tournament, her head turning side to side as she watched the two sides. Only the two sides were her housemates- the people she grew up with, now having a tense moment passed between them like a tennis ball. On one side Carol stood with Skyler and tried to prove her case. The other side was Sabrina accompanied by Alyssa.
"Don't you think you're quick to judge this?" Carol asked her housemate, "It's just a request. From me."
"A stupid request that is." Sabrina scoffed.
"There's no need to call her request stupid." Skyler stepped forward.
"Skyler, you out of all people should understand where I am getting at."
"I do."
"You're not. You don't understand how much this impacts everyone here."
"I think you guys are being harsh. Things change, so do people. You don't understand."
"No Carol, you don't understand. And none of us want to escalate this but this is a stupid idea." Alyssa crossed her arms. She turned to Vivian who decided to be the mediator in case things went wrong, "Right Vivian?"
"I'm not involving myself here," Vivian announced.
"How very neutral of you. Why can't you join everyone else outside?"
Since the argument caused sudden tension, Sabrina and Carol instructed everyone to remain in the backyard to work on the trampoline. Only Sabrina, Carol, Phoebe, Vivian, Skyler and Alyssa remained. Lily, Levin and Tyler also stayed back for their best friend. Phoebe was glad they were around. She needed all the help she could get.
The doorbell rang and Vivian got up from her seat, "That must be Gilbert and Arlen." She pointed to the two sides. "Don't fight."
"Relax, we know better than that." Alyssa did not budge from her glare towards Carol and Skyler. Vivian nodded and left for the door.
"You know what let's try to talk this over." Carol interrupted. "Arguing gets us nowhere."
"You're right." Sabrina nodded, "And I don't want to argue with you on this but this is a really bad idea. You can't just arrange something and expect us to all get along."
"She has changed."
"Did she? It could be a trap. Carol, I'm scared that you got yourself in a trap."
"I'm not in one. You don't understand from my point of view."
"Guys-" Phoebe whispered, a crack visible in her voice.
"Sabrina I heard her voice. She has changed, for the better. She wants to make up."
"It could be a trap."
"How could you know that? You're quick to assume!"
"This is getting tiring Carol! I am tired of this!"
"I am getting tired too!"
"Guys-" Phoebe whispered. She felt hot tears pool in her eyes and brushed them away quickly with the back of her hand. Now is not the time to get upset. It would make things worse, and the last thing she ever wanted was to worsen an already tense moment.
"I'm getting tired of you always making choices without thinking through!"
"And I'm getting tired of you always making assumptions!"
"I don't always do that!"
"You just did though! I thought of everyone when making the choice-"
"Hey, hey, hey cut it out! Didn't you two say you were going to negotiate?" Levin stepped between the two sides, "This is not negotiating!"
"Yeah! You two could just take this privately! There is no need to involve everyone else." Lily added.
"Lillian, this is a topic regarding everyone." Alyssa turned to her housemate. "And involving them too."
"Yeah but did you four ever once consider everyone else here? The last thing we all need on our plates is another argument here." Lily slammed her fists on the dining room table. "I mean everyone is to blame here, is it not? If you took this privately without any arguing then this can work out. But no! You argued ahead. That gets you nowhere."
The room went silent. Phoebe covered her face with her hand. She felt Tyler's hand holding her only free one. Despite not speaking in the conversation, Tyler stayed by her side, a hand and a hug prepared in advance.
"Whoa, I'm guessing things got resolved?" a voice assumed. Everyone turned to find Vivian with Gilbert and Arlen near the dining room doorway.
"Still not, unfortunately," Lily frowned.
"That's not good."
Phoebe got up from her spot at the table. "I'll be right back."
"You alright, Bee?" Carol turned to her housemate.
"I'm okay." Phoebe pursed her lips. She wanted to curse them out. Carol, Sabrina, everyone. A storm was formed because of them. A storm that she had to endure.
"You sure, Phoebs?" Sabrina asked softly.
"Yes." Phoebe looked down. "I gotta go. Need to the think." Then she hurried off, hugging herself.
Everyone in the room heard Phoebe's footsteps running up the stairs followed by a slam of a door upstairs. Everyone remained in uncomfortable silence, not willing to speak up. Eventually Lily, Levin and Tyler followed their friend upstairs.
Then Gilbert asked softly, "Can someone please explain what is going on?"
Carol and Sabrina shared a look. Meanwhile, Vivian shared a look with Alyssa and Skyler who both took their places at the table.
"Well, it is a bit complex." Vivian answered, "But Carol organised a hiking trip."
"Hiking! That's fun!" Gilbert exclaimed.
"Wait that doesn't explain why there is an argument here." Arlen pointed to Carol and Sabrina, both their faces with guilt.
"Well... Carol suggested something that involved a lot of people." Vivian frowned.
"And what did she suggest?" Gilbert wanted to know.
"She wanted everyone to go hiking," Vivian answered, "With Lila."
-= ⭐ =-
(Jay is decorating the album)
Haha, whoops. I wanted to cause chaos. Probably not something you would expect after a holiday break. In case you are wondering, the holiday was okay. It had its ups and downs but I am back now!
I promise you everyone will make up. I just felt like creating drama.
Also, this book hit 200k? On the unofficial 100th chapter?? On the first month of the new year??? I am still confused and surprised about it but thank you <3. It means a lot that so many people decided to give this book a go.
I am grateful for every single one of you here. From the ones who stayed and patiently waited while I felt burn-out and writer's block, to the ones who left because they moved on or for other reasons, I am grateful that you are all here. You deserve this milestone as much as I do as you all truly made this story a memorable experience. I appreciate you all so much and I appreciate the support you have given. ❤️
Anyway, that's all for this note. Thank you all for 200k and happy unofficial 100th chapter!