My home is where my heart lies

Nobody's fool

Akali's POV:

Returning to the diva's mansion took the raven-haired teen more than she had initially anticipated. Well, there were multiple reasons behind the delay, starting from the waiting time and ending on a massive traffic jam. Yet, Akali would have rather done virtually anything else instead of going through this passage of events again. After all, it would be foolish and irresponsible for her to delve into such minor and not worthwhile matters before facing her legal guardian. Given that Evelynn rarely openly asked her to talk, it must have been something important, undoubtedly not suited for the public, whereas someone could have – in theory – eavesdropped. All in all, this did not bode well, making her shudder. Yet, no matter what anyone said, her guardian – the so-called siren – was a straightforward type of person who held other people's opinions in low regard.

Nonetheless, the teen quickly concluded that overthinking something she had no control over was pointless. Hence, she took a few additional minutes to steady her mind, forcefully pushing all the unnecessary thoughts out. It helped – to some extent – but nothing could be done about a carefully planted seed of curiosity. It proliferated inside her, forcing her to get to the truth as soon as possible. Well, as people say, curiosity killed the cat. And, as much as Akali would want to deny it, she was the unfortunate feline in the given situation. After all, it would not have been an overstatement to describe the teen as curiosity-driven. And ... frankly, it single-handedly affected her decision-making, leading her to bid farewell to her friends and return home much earlier than initially planned.

"I am back," the brown-eyed girl announced her arrival as soon as she closed the door behind her. It was – of course – a pointless endeavour; the older woman most likely had already seen her passing through multiple cameras installed around the estate. "Eve? Where are you?" she asked, realising her questions were seemingly swallowed by the massive house that suddenly felt much colder and emptier than she had remembered it.

"Kitchen, darling. I'm in the kitchen," the diva's velvet-like voice sounded after a long pause, filling the overwhelming emptiness.

"I am coming; give me a few," the teen replied, heading towards the voice origination.

With a temporary goal more-or-less set, Akali removed her shoes and put down her backpack before delving deeper into the mansion, heading towards the kitchen. As she got increasingly closer, her nostrils started noticing a pleasant smell spreading across the establishment. It was surprisingly simple, yet it made her stomach burp. Until now, the girl did not realise how hungry she had become, as if her mind overrode or surpassed the biological impulse, preventing it from affecting her. However, once the effect ceased to exist, she sped up, eager to fill her – by now – mostly empty stomach.

"Hello, Eve," Akali greeted, waving slightly awkwardly when she finally reached her destination.

Evelynn sat by the table, facing the entrance.

"Oh," a soft hum passed between the lawyer's plump and kissable lips. "Good evening, darling," she responded immediately afterwards, flashing a small smile at the teen. Though, at first glance, it was as perfect as always, Akali noticed something out-of-place, simultaneously bothered and curious about what had caused the barely noticeable change. "Are you hungry?" she questioned.

"Eh," the raven-haired girl sighed heavily, smiling embarrassedly. "Kind of," she managed to say before her stomach took the stage, burping relatively loudly. "I am sorry ... have you eaten already?" she asked, trying to change the topic as her face flushed up rapidly.

"I think you answered my question," the diva chuckled. "Yes, I've already eaten," she added. "If I had known you'd have returned earlier, I'd have waited. But ... considering you left the school with your friends, I honestly expected you to return late," the siren explained, fixating her eyes of molten gold on the girl.