Twice Upon A Time

Part 6- Some Feathers Ruffled

Aubrey's POV:

With that said, Josh left.

[Author: Pic at the top depicts Mrs. Cartright's office]

Mrs. Cartright was about to leave too when I stopped her in her tracks. There were too many questions I had on my mind.

"Wait, Mrs. Cartright!! Hang on!"

Nope, this wasn't such a great idea. Discussing about Josh in a room full of people.. No way.

"Can I talk to you outside for a moment, please, Mrs. Cartright?"

"Well, I'm afraid I don't particularly have time, young lady."

"Well, Ma'am, I need to know some things. Badly. It's about the lecture plans we have in place."

"In that case, why can't you discuss it here? Alright, anyway, I'm long past my time as a teenager and I've forgotten how the mind of a teenager works. Raging hormones, the lot of you. Alright, come outside."

We reached outside, but I made sure to travel a bit further so that we were out of earshot of any person. I almost reached the hallway, with Mrs. Cartright trailing behind slowly.

"Surely it's not that big a deal?" she enquired, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, sorry for lying, Mrs. Cartright. I wasn't really gonna ask you about lecture plans. It was about Josh."

"Forget it. I've got plans other than be at the beck and call of every girl passing by and enquiring about him. Just because I know him doesn't mean.. Well, I don't really think he's interested in random girls anyway. So no questions about his personal life. You might waste your time playing video games rather than fall for him. He's much different. That's all I will say. Now, if you'll excuse me, I got some work to do."

"What's your relationship with Josh?" I enquired, unapologetically.

Mrs. Cartright was taken aback.

"Well.. None.. Of course." She blinked her eyelids and didn't stare at me. It was so obvious that she was lying.

"Please, Mrs. Cartright, I need to know the truth. I swear I won't tell anyone. I promise."

Mrs. Cartright put on a fake laughter.

"Hahaha!! Look at me. And at him too. In case you haven't noticed, we are of very different ethnicities. How can you possibly think that I'm related to him by the slightest of possibilities?"

"Is he your grandson?"

"Hahaha! You're so funny! Don't be naive. How can he be my grandson?"

"Well, here's the truth, Mrs. Cartright. I like him. And it's not infatuation. I like him as in, I really like him a lot. But in order to progress beyond that, I need to know more about him. But he's like a sphinx. Impossible to read. Even more impossible to strike a conversation with."

"Yes, he's my very own grandson. I will tell you everything. At least, everything I know about him. But first, tell me, how on earth did you arrive at this conclusion? That he's related to me?"

"Well.."

"You know what? Instead of standing and chatting like a couple of maintenance-workers, why don't we discuss everything over a cup of tea in my office? Besides, I'm getting too old to remain standing for about an hour. Don't worry about your next class. I will handle everything."

"No, it's absolutely fine. I'd love to join you too. Plus, it's not like I enjoy Medieval History at all. I only picked that as an Honours subject because I'm naturally good at Medieval History, right from my schooldays. But those classes are boring as fu..." I bit my tongue.

"I beg your pardon, boring what?"

"Nothing, Ma'am. Let's get on the elevator."

"It's a lift!"

"Oh, you English!" I exclaimed in jest.

Then we both giggled. The empty elevator or lift or whatever it is called in other places, was filled in our laughter as we made our way to her office.