Deadly Poison

11. Taming your demons

I entered the Romano mansion. My main purpose on this lovely summer morning was to meet with Lorenzo. He had called my brother and asked for my attendance in his house in the morning, he had something important to discuss with me.

I was guessing it was something related to me taking care of and helping his younger brother escape his addiction.  I wore a floral print  pencil skirt and pink shirt, I wanted to dress up a little formal for the serious occasion, not that I had to but, I just wanted to feel a little professional.

I pressed the bell and a servant opened the door. The living area was deserted and on further inquiry I found out that Lorenzo was waiting for me in his study. I asked the maid for the direction to the study. I knocked on the door twice and waited patiently, soon the door opened. Lorenzo ushered me inside and asked me to take a seat.

“You might have some idea why I called you here today?”
He said and I nodded in affirmative.
He passed me an envelope and said “this is an exchange student letter, I have taken care of all the formalities and you are officially a transfer student from London, so get ready for high school!”

I nodded and smiled “Thanks for taking care of all the formalities; I promise I will do my best for your brother, he is family to me now. I will take your leave now” I said

“Yes of course, I want you to be my eyes and ears at the high school. Don’t ever let him go astray and if he does or a sudden temptation arises from the dark, you have to notify about who is supplying it to him and deal with the situation smartly”

I walked out of the door thinking about the task at hand; it won’t be an easy one but I am up for this challenge, to help a person dear to me get out of their personal hellhole.

After exiting Lorenzo’s study I walked towards Giovanni’s room. From distance I could hear the sound of  glass shattering and breaking on the floor. I walked to get a closer look and saw the door to Giovanni’s door open and  on the floor was shattered pieces of glass and food items scatteredaround. He was yelling at the maid to get lost and not disturb him, I apologise on his behalf and politely told the maid to go.

After she was gone I tried to reason with Giovanni and in a calm and composed tone I said “Giovanni you must count your blessings and feel happy that you get proper meals everyday, there are so many people in the world that don’t have this luxury, you must not throw food away like this.”
He remained silent for a few moments and then said “You don’t understand why I am acting like this, I am no spoilt brat, I am just going through severe mood swings and its difficult for me to enjoy anything I feel empty, nothing satisfies me.”
This troubles me a little and I feel guilty for scolding him, I decide to surprise him and make a special breakfast for him to cheer him up, before going downstairs I tell him “wait for me I have planned something special for you. On reaching the kitchen I send a maid upstairs to clean up the mess in Giovanni’s room.
I prepared a cute dog shaped hotdog, a cute teddy bear shaped pancake with chocolate syrup and flavored milkshake with panda shaped cute caps.

I arranged all the foodstuffs on a tray and took it up to Giovanni’s room all by myself, although it was a tedious task, I was hoping it will be all worth it in the end.
As I walked into his room and laid the ornate tray on the table, I saw him brooding on the bed. On seeing the spread his face lit up, followed by  a sense of dejection. After a pause of a few seconds he spoke “do you think I am a child or what?,”
I was stunned by the response I composed myself and calmly said “Why do you say so?”
“Because this type of food is made for little babies in kindergarten school, I am a teenager for chrissakes”.
He said angrily. I had to make him understand and cheer him up now.

“Look Giovanni age is just a number and you can be old or young depending on your perception. Your body ages, but you can stay young forever inside” I said and ended it with a cheeky wink. My little Ted talk had the desired effect and it did bring a smile on his face and he sat down to dig into the feast.
I was relaxing against the bed stand when a tiny whimper comes from below the bed, I bent to check and finds a little puppy the same puppy I had seen Giovanni rescue from the mall’s parking lot.

I pull him out and play with him. Giovanni is pleased to see the sight and asks me about my love for animals.

“Yes I love them and I find pets really adorable, like little babies but even better. I also have a pet cat, her name is Cara and she is my lifeline. I cannot imagine my life without her” I said.

Giovanni smiles. “How is the food?”  I ask him.
“Its mindblowing, I am really impressed by your cooking skills . I have to say you really went the extra mile for me today. Thank you so much for doing this. My mood is much better than before, I feel refreshed and energized” He said and I could really detect the happiness in his voice.

We chatted for some more time and Giovanni finished his meal. Afterwards I took his leave and decided to head home. As I was about to pass by Lorenzo’s study with the door slightly ajar. I see the regular suspects Adriano and Lorenzo, but with two new and unfamiliar faces.

I let curiosity get better of me and go closer to hear their conversation then  I stop, because my conscience reminds me that trespassing and spying on others is a  bad habit. I am about to turn around, when I suddenly crash into a nearby vase.

The noise rouses the attention of my brother and he shouts “who’s there?, show yourself” I have no other choice  but to slowly open the door and walk inside. Everyone is surprised to see me and Adriano inquires “what the hell are you doing here?, were you trying to overhear our conversations?” I replied “no I was just passing by after meeting Giovanni and I crashed against this vase as I was walking unmindfully.”

“Ohh really? Are you sure about that?” my brother cheekily chimes in. “Yes believe me”  say desperately. “Okay, I trust you I was just teasing you a little. Aurora meet Gabriella and Alejandro from Mexico they are our friends and business partners and friends this is my little sister Aurora.”

I exchange pleasantries with them and I decide to excuse myself and head home, without further disturbing their meeting.
On my way back I cannot get out their faces out of my head, their was something mysterious and cute about them I guess they were a couple. I shrug these thoughts away and think of the progress I had made with Giovanni instead and  a  satisfied smile appears on my lips.