The Girl Behind The Mask | Chaelisa

Chapter 7

Roseanne twisted her neck from Axel to Lisa and back to Axel, equally confused and speculating. “You two know each other?”

“You’re…Lalisa Manoban.” Axel piped up and ignored her question, his face transforming from alarm to awe. “I’m Axel. It’s an honor to meet you, Miss Manoban! I’m a huge fan of yours and your family!” Axel walked proudly over to the still baffled brunette, extending a hand up to her which Lisa grabbed on a hunch. He gave it an overly harsh squeeze, trying to basically tell her to play along since he did not have the privilege to explain with words.

“Oh-er, um…thanks…young man.” Lisa responded, letting go of his weirdly strong grip for a scrawny, ten-year-old kid. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too.”

“Rosie… you never told me you’re friends with Lalisa Manoban!” Roseanne squinted her eyes at him, confused but intrigued. “Miss Manoban, pardon my fawning, but I read the article you gave Forbes Magazine when you were nineteen! The one about continuing your parents’ legacy. That was just…mind blowing!” Lisa shot him a look of sheer terror now, she herself had forgotten about that event… so, so long ago. She was almost a different person then…

“I must admit, what you did… creating a non-profit organization for young college students who lost their parents, much like you did…well, it inspired me. It made me want to follow in your footsteps.” Axel glanced down at his feet shyly, and Lisa suddenly wanted to scoop him into her arms and squeeze the sadness right out of him, whether genuine or not.

“I’m sure you have a million things going on, and it’s not my place to ask but… I’d love to interview you sometime. See, I want to be a businessman myself when I grow up…but I never really had a role model to look up to in the business world… well, not until now at least.” He lifted his gaze then, shooting Lisa a pained look that was so incredibly raw and authentic, so resilient yet humble, that it made her look away as she nodded, quickly bringing a hand up to wipe the single tear that spilled from her eye.

Roseanne felt wrecked from Axel’s heartfelt admiration, fighting off tears of her own. “Sweetie… honey,” She knelt before him, hands gently ruffling his already disheveled hair. “Why didn’t you tell me this, Axel. I can find someone to mentor you if that’s what you want… I can get-“

“Me.” Lisa spoke firmly, earning both their attention and giving the pair a hopeful smile. “You can have me. For as long as you want, anytime you want, Axel.” She walked over to the boy, kneeling before him much like Roseanne, placing a light hand on his shoulder. “The honor would be all mine.”

Axel grinned widely now, inspiring similar smiles to form on Roseanne’s and Lisa’s still saddened faces, and without an ounce of hesitation, he wrapped his arms around Lisa’s neck, embracing her in a grateful gesture. “Thank you! I can’t wait to tell my friends about it! You’re awesome!”

Lisa looked at Roseanne, who was still struggling to process what was happening, but hugged him back in earnest, making a mental note to buy the kid a whole goddamn ice cream parlor for being so goddamn clever.

“Hey, monkey, what do you want for dinner?” Roseanne asked, standing and ruffling his hair some more, Lisa followed suit. “I can make your favorite! How’s that sound?”

Axel furiously nodded; all traces of sadness already vanished from his face. “I’ll be upstairs. While you make dinner. Doing the ton of homework I have, which will probably take me hours to finish, so no chances of me interrupting you again…” He shrugged, shaking his head. “It was nice meeting you, Lisa. Can’t wait to see you again. Super, super, super soon.” He winked and grinned, making a dash for the stairs.

Roseanne cleared her throat when they were alone, turning to face the brunette. She smiled. “Well, we still have quite a lot to get through in order to get you ready for that exam. Would you like to stay for dinner?”