Whirling Storms: Darius

19

"Do you know him, dear?" Aunty asked when Darius mentioned my name.

I sighed in defeat and looked at Darius with despise. How can he carelessly go around greeting me?

"Yes, Aunty." I replied and Aunty nodded.

"You should join us for lunch then, young man. We're grabbing a quick lunch at the nearby resto." Aunty invited and my eyes bawled.

Why is she inviting him for lunch?

"No, Aunty. It's----"

"I'd gladly join you, Madame." Darius had cut me off that made me surprised.

"That's great. We'll just pay for these and we can all head over to the resto." Aunty said before pushing the cart away.

That's how we ended up in a restaurant together. Darius is sitting beside me while Aunty is in front of us. We ordered some food and got into a chitchat.

"So what is your name?" Aunty started asking and Darius smiled at her direction.

"My name is Darius, Madame." he reiterated while I just shut up and eat the appetizer.

"Darius. My, how fancy." Aunty replied when she heard Darius's name.

Darius sounds a little fancy to be honest. It's a little sophisticated and luxurious at the same time. The first time I heard his name, I also thought it was so fancy. I don't know. It just shouted rich vibes to me.

"I'm Nympha Fitzgerald. You can call me Aunty or anything. Besides, you're Sydney's friend."

"That would be lovely but I'll call you Madame." Darius replied which made Aunty squealed in happiness.

Oh my goodness. I think Aunty had just took a liking to this guy in front. Which shouldn't be happening because I can't let Neo know about Darius's existence. Like never. I can't risk it.

"I didn't know you have such a great male friend, Sydney." Aunty said and I smiled awkwardly at her.

"Yes, Aunty." I replied and went back to eating the salad.

"So how did you two meet?" Aunt Nympha asked and I was quick to answer. "From my friend."

Which Darius answered with a different one. "From my sister, Madame."

I looked at Aunty and she was now raising her eyebrows in confusion. Why did he have to say 'from my sister'? He could've just closed his mouth.

"From her sister which is my friend, Aunty. That's how we two met." I tried to clean out the mess and it was a relief when Aunt Nympha smiled at me.

"That's lovely. You should introduce me to his sister someday, Sydney. I'd like to keep meeting your other friends." Aunty said which I didn't know if it meant to be serious or not.

"I'll take note of that, Aunty." I replied before letting out a short awkward laugh.

"So where exactly did you two met? I mean, yeah, you two met through his sister but where exactly?"

This time, I got a feeling like I was being interrogated for doing something. It's like all these questions are putting extreme nervousness in me. Which was true because I'm close to shaking off of this chair. Like my hands are shaky and I'm sweating all over. Like icky sweaty.

"At a party."

"At her school."

My head slowly turned to Darius who wa sitting next to me. I gave him an 'unbelievable' look for totally ruining it again. How can he always answer Aunty's questions? He should use context clues in analyzing questions. It was clear that Aunty is asking me. Why would he answer?

"So where did you two really met?" Aunty looked serious now and was giving Darius a stern look.

"At the university, Aunty. I kind of forgotten that I saw him first in the university before his sister really did introduce me to him." I reasoned out and crossed my fingers.

"Are you still a student, Darius?" Aunty asked and Darius shook his head.

"No, Madame. I'm already too old for school. I don't even think I can pass as a college student." Darius said and gave Aunty a charming smile.

"That's true. You look mature. There's no way you can still be a college student."

"He's not a student anymore, Aunty." I joined the conversation and took a close look on Darius.

I can't believe he still manages to be this attractive at such a tense atmosphere. God is really unfair with his creations. He basically created rags and riches. It's just too unfortunate that I ended up in the rags.

"So what were you doing at Sydney's university if you weren't a student anymore?"

I love Aunt Nympha but with her asking these questions, I'm kind of getting upset with her. Cause can't we just eat peacefully? There's no use in asking Darius several questions. I mean, she might be just looking out for me. But hey, I won't put myself in trouble. Not with a guy.

"He was applying for a position in the university, Aunty. History professor, right?" I looked at Darius and gave him the look that screamed 'say yes'.

"That's right, Madame. I was hoping to land a job at her university. Unfortunately, I didn't passed." Darius played along and I was able to lift a huge weight off of my shoulders. He should play along with whatever story I weave because if not, we will be both doomed.

"Really? So you're a professor. Fancy me." Aunty yet again, looked impressed with Darius.

"He's really good with history, Aunty. It was his major in college. Right, Darius?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Yes, Madame. I really really really love history." he answered and it was so noticeable that he was only forced to answer.

He should have added emotion to that remark. I would never believe someone who talks about their favorite things with a deadpan look. He's such a slow learner. He can't even grasp the situation well.

"That's great to hear." Aunty commented.

Thank the heavens that after that, we finally had the chance to have a peaceful, no questions, lunch time. We probably finished the meal before the clock struck one.

"It was so nice meeting you Darius I'll be expecting for more encounters." Aunty said.

I badly wanted to butt in and just tell her to not expect in seeing Darius again. Because I'll never let that happen again. Experiencing this first hand is already difficult for me. I can't let them meet again. I'll be walking on eggshells if I do.

"It was my pleasure, Madame. You two should be careful on the way. I'll get going first, ladies." Darius bid farewell and shot us one last charming smile before walking away.

Aunty and I on the other hand walked to the car and entered it. I wore the seatbelt and looked at Aunty who was currently wearing hers.

"Aunty..." I called her before we hit the road.

Aunt Nympha looked at me and gave me an encouraging smile that tells me to just go on with whatever I wanted to say.

"Can we not...like tell Neo about Darius? I just don't want him to like think about things right now." I explained and Aunt Nympha gave me a quick wink before starting the car.

"No worries, dear. It's totally fine. You can count on me." she replied which made it all so relieving.

"Thank you so much, Aunty." I said and she nodded.

"It's fine, dear. Moms don't go around telling her sons about her daughter's boyfriend, you know."

"Aunty, that's not it!" I exclaimed after hearing what she just said.

"Oh honey. Tell me that when pigs fly."