Being Ashlyn

Chapter 35

     Miranda waved at him. "Levi! I had just dropped by and then your mum told me to stay for dinner." She said in her high pitched voice. "What took you so long? We're all hungry." She patted the seat next to her, shamelessly telling him to seat with her. Ashlyn could feel her temperature boiling. How dense could she be? Can't she see his girlfriend was standing right next to him?

"Yes, what took you so long, son?" Clair asked, frowning at Ashlyn as if she just knew it was Ashlyn's fault for their tardiness.

"We were caught in a traffic jam." Levi lied, escorting Ashlyn to a seat opposite of Miranda before taking a seat next to her. Ashlyn saw Miranda frowning when her request for him to sit next to her was ignored.

Once they were seated, the room was filled with awkward silence. Levi elbowed Ashlyn and she glared at him in return. "What?" She hissed.

"Introduce yourself." Levi mouthed back.

Rolling her eyes, Ashlyn turned back her attention to Levi's parents. "Nice to meet you Mr Hudson, Mrs Hudson. I'm Ashlyn." She said, trying to sound as nice as she possibly could.

Mr Hudson nodded his head. "Nice meeting you as well. You can call me Lionel." His face was expressionless and his voice was too formal for a family dinner. Although he seemed a bit cold, but it was better than the reaction Mrs Hudson gave her.

Clair didn't even bother to acknowledge her attempt. Instead, she signalled their maid to serve the food.

Ashlyn turned to Levi and shrugged her shoulders, as if telling him he couldn't say she didn't try to be civilised. Levi gave her a sympathetic smile and squeezed her hand underneath the table. Somehow, that gave Ashlyn a tiny bit of comfort. Just a tiny bit.

"Wow! Steamed salmon! My favourite." Miranda gushed.

Clair smiled for the first time since Ashlyn got there. Unfortunately, it wasn't even directed at her. "Of course! When you agreed to stay for dinner, I've told our chef to cook your favourite dish."

Ashlyn glowered. So the food was cooked especially for Miranda? But wasn't she the main guest today? Funny how she doesn't feel that way though. Her last remaining appetite slipped away instantly. Ashlyn picked up her glass of water and chugged it down hungrily, hoping it could cool her anger.

"Tsk,tsk,tsk. I've never seen a woman drank water that way before." Clair frowned disapprovingly after Ashlyn had placed her empty cup back on the table. "How unladylike of you."

Ashlyn could think of tons of unladylike things to do to her at the moment but she held it back. "I'm sorry for...quenching my thirst." She said agitatedly.

"Yes, you should be." Clair said curtly.

Ashlyn gave Levi a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me look. How can he expect her not to curse when his mum was acting like a bitch?

"Errmm...Mum, Dad, did you know that Ashlyn is in the school's track and field team? She's a great runner. She had broken the school's record." Levi said, trying to ease the tension.

Mr Hudson, still with his stiff face, nodded. "That sounds impressive."

"Miranda is a great athlete too." Clair said, patting Miranda's shoulder. "Isn't that right, Miranda? Didn't you told me that you're aspiring to be the next cheerleading captain?"

Miranda giggled excitedly. "Oh yes! I've seen the other cheerleading girls and they are not even half as good as me. They would be..."

Ashlyn drowned out Miranda's annoying voice and instead, picked up her fork and knife. She began eating her salmon dish as fast as she possibly could. Even though she didn't had any appetite, she was determined to finish her dinner as quick as possible. The sooner she clear up her plate, the sooner she can get out of this mad house.