Tutor and Tutee (ver. 2) [HIATUS]

Chapter Three

When I got back home, Mom was already at the doorway with a smile. She hugged me and pecked my cheek, greeting me.
    "Jone, my baby, welcome back," she chirped. "How was your day at school?"
    My face began heating up in embarrassment. After years of her treating me like a child, I still have not gotten used to it. I pouted at her before sighing a little. But before I could answer, she interrupted me with a frown. "And what did I tell you about walking in the rain, young man?" I was going to reply but I was yet again cut off by her, now sighing. "Anyway, as I was saying—how was your day today?"
    Jeez, she wouldn't even allow me to answer her at least once . . . I thought sheepishly.
    "It was okay. The same as every other day." I shrugged. I really didn't know what else to answer with. I knew that she was always expecting a better and a more cheerful response from me but I couldn't feel that way when nothing special really happened. Either ways, as long as she knows that I'm okay, she'll be happy.
    "Good, good." Her smile remained before she gripped her chin lightly as if she was thinking about something. "Oh, actually, I got a call yesterday about a tutoring programme. Who's your partner?"
    I was expecting this question since yesterday and it finally came. She had probably forgotten about it yesterday and was way too prioritized by her cooking and baking.
    Every time I come home, I would see the kitchen filled with either baking or cooking utensils and ingredients. Sometimes even both! You might think she owns a baking company or something but she actually doesn't. She wasn't a chef, either. A shocker, huh? Baking and cooking was actually just one of her hobbies.
    She was actually a businesswoman and since she's always the first to finish her work and whatever project she has, she gets to leave first. She was a fast and organized worker who plans her actions. Her work is her priority when it comes to serious business. But when she's at home, she cooks as if we were going to have a family gathering later on.
    You might think, isn't that going to be a huge amount of food wasted? Well, she usually brings food to her workplace for her colleagues as some sort of motivation for them. Especially when we have lots of leftovers. And if there's more after giving out to her colleagues, she'd turn to our neighbors. It was quite embarrassing to have a mom delivering your neighbors food even when unnecessary.
    When I opened my mouth to reply, nothing came out. I had a feeling that if she knew it was Nate, she was going be ecstatic as if she had met her idol or something. And since I could see baking utensils everywhere in the kitchen, she'd probably give some baked goods to me and tell me to give it to Nate once I see him again.
    I decided that there was no point in trying to hide it from her. I gave a sheepish smile before clearing my throat. "It's Nate," I answered as fast as possible as if speaking of him was some sort of sin in the house.
    At first when she didn't respond, I thought she didn't hear me. She still had a smile but her eyes looked dazed. I tried waving my hand in her face but no reaction. And just when I was going tell her again, she jumped up, squealing in excitement.
    I sighed at this. I knew it was coming so I wasn't surprised.
    "My baby boy is going to be with his soon-to-be-husband!" She squealed again, squeezing me in a hug. "Don't worry! Mommy's gonna support you all the way!"
    My face heated up quickly. "M-Mom!"
    Sometimes I don't even know why I try to calm her down when I know she won't listen to me.
I knew that she was just being dramatic with her jokes and all, but sometimes she takes it way too far—I mean, we weren't even old enough to marry yet! I wouldn't even get it if she replaced 'husband' with 'boyfriend' since Nate and I weren't in a good relationship now—oh, right, she doesn't even know that . . . But then again, we weren't even in an average relationship. We were just acquaintances who finally spoke to each other after years of not being able to.
    I pulled away from her embrace before frowning at her playfully. "Don't say embarrassing things, Mom!" I sighed as I ran my hand through my hair.
    She just chuckled. "I just wanna let you know that you have my fullest support."
    I let out a soft whine before reluctantly giving up yet again. I gave her a pout and told her that I was going back to my room. She returned the pout and then winked at me before heading back to the kitchen, singing. "Have fun thinking about Nate, honey!"
    I ignored her, pink still dusted on my cheek. I seriously wondered why I liked that part of her so much. All she does is tease me consecutively all day long if she isn't doing anything. She'd once burst into my room on Valentine's Day with heart-shaped cookies and a heart-shaped cake with N + J written in blue icing.
    I still remembered the reaction I had on that day. I was so mad at her that thinking about it now was actually making me laugh at it. And I'd admit I actually ate the cookies during midnight when I woke up hungry. I even told myself that I wouldn't eat them as I was still upset. But I could never hold myself back when it comes to her baking. I had actually managed to finish the cookies in a week since I liked it so much. Her cookies were just too good to ignore!
    When she found out that her Jar of Hearts, as she liked to call it, were missing, she obviously turned to me and asked. I even tried my best to lie about it but failed miserably. Even though my lies and excuses were credible, she didn't take any of it. It made me think of how much of a bad liar I was. She'd even made me jog around the nearby park since I'd gained some pounds from eating all her cookies.
    A part of me wanted another Valentine's Day incident to happen again but I knew it wasn't anymore since nothing occurred this year. Mom probably didn't want to upset me anymore but her teasing still continued. I wasn't quite sure why I even wanted another one of her Valentine's Day teasing—but I was sure that one reason was because I'd get to eat her cookies, cakes and cupcakes again. But the thought of jogging around the park again made me grown. Seriously, I needed to gain a few pounds anyway. I was almost as weak as I looked with skinny arms and legs.
    Just as I was thinking about Mom, there was knocking on the door along with her permission to enter my room. Once I let her in, she stood at the doorway with a smile.
    "I made another batch of cupcakes. Wanna try one?" she smiled.
    I almost nodded immediately and stepped out of the room. She pushed me into the kitchen and I could tell that something was odd since it almost seemed as if she was smirking. Not to mention, she wouldn't rush me just to test her baked treats.
    When I looked at the trays of cupcakes, they looked normal with a sort of peach-colored icing. There were even peaches placed on them. There was definitely no suspicion there. But I knew something was fishy.
    Mom noticed me looking at the fresh batch of cupcakes before chuckling. "Not those, honey. I made three especially for you." She went over to grab the ones on a plate and showed it to me clear with a smug and proud smile.
    There were three cupcakes, vanilla icing spread on the surface of each cupcake. The first cupcake had a J written on it, the following had a pink heart on it and—Oh no, I knew where this was going . . .
    "Mom!" I yelled at her, flustered, as she began laughing at my reaction.
    "I knew you'd like them!" she beamed as she took one (specifically the one with N on it) and smudged the cream on my lips as she tried to feed me. "How does your boyfriend taste, sweetie?"
    I knew that she was expecting some sort of embarrassed reaction from me but I just smiled back at her playfully. "Great." Her laughing immediately stopped before she noticed my playful smile and had a smile of her own. I knew that I was going to regret thinking that a comeback would get a better reaction from her rather than me. But in the end, I knew I was still the victim of her teasing.
    "Oh? Well, isn't that great, honey? Now you know what it's like to kiss him."
    My face was flushed bright red and I didn't have any other comebacks I could think of. I knew it was a bad idea! I mentally smacked myself. Why the hell did I even try?! And so to avoid my embarrassment, I just bit into the cupcake and once I had a hold of it with my teeth, I headed back to my room quickly in embarrassment as my plan of seeing her priceless reaction backfired. I could still hear her laughing even when I shut the door.
   I should never have tried making a comeback . . . What was wrong with me when I had thought that it was a smart idea, knowing that I'd immediately regret it after!