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"Who was that guy, princess?" I gasped when I heard Dad's voice out of nowhere.
He never returns back so soon. But wait, I've a more important topic to deal with.
I remained calm as I replied in my low voice with a smile, "He was my classmate, Dad. Addy had some work today, so he dropped me home."
Dad nodded his head, and the least expected thing happened, — he didn't question me further on.
I paced towards my room and took a sigh of relief after locking the door. Phew. What if Dad would have found out that he was some new guy whom I don't even know properly.
What if Dad would have asked me more questions about him? What if Dad finds out Xander calls me princess and is chasing me from past three days?
Kicking the disturbing thoughts aside, I took a good shower and stepped outside my room to spend the rest of the day with my Dad and Mum. Now I realise why Dad's home early. It's weekend tomorrow. Family time. Yey yey!
No seeing Xander's face for the next two days.
And about Addy. I'll deal with him. For sure.
At night, the three of us sat around the wooden kitchen table, the familiar aroma of Mom’s lasagna filling the air. The clinking of cutlery against plates was the only sound for a few minutes, each of us lost in our thoughts.
"How was school today, Princess?" Dad asked, breaking the silence.
He looked at me over his glasses, a warm smile on his face.
I shrugged, trying to keep my expression neutral. "It was fine. Same old, same old."
Mom raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. "Really? No interesting debates or projects?"
I poked at my lasagna, willing my cheeks not to flush. "Well, we had a debate in Miss Claire’s class again. Adrian and I ended up on opposite teams."
Dad chuckled. "I can only imagine how that went. Did you win?"
"It was a tie, actually. Everyone did really well," I said, carefully avoiding any mention of Xander.
Mom smiled, but I could see the curiosity in her eyes. "That’s good to hear. Anything else interesting happen honey?"
"No, not really," I said quickly, taking a bite of my food to avoid further questioning.
Dad changed the subject, much to my relief. "I was thinking, Princess, maybe we could go for a hike this weekend. Get some fresh air and enjoy the outdoors before it gets too cold."
"That sounds nice, Dad," I replied, grateful for the diversion, like phew this.
"We haven’t done that in a while." I added.
"Exactly," Dad said, nodding. "It’ll be good for all of us."
Mom looked pleased with the idea. "I’ll pack a picnic. It’ll be a nice family outing."
