Chapter 30: TEENY WEENY

" What are you doing here?" She eyed me suspiciously.

" Waiting for Sam. What are you doing here?" Repeating the same question, I eyed her the same way.

" Sam asked me to wait for him."

" I see" Humming, the seat next to me was immediately occupied.

Thank goodness for the invention of phones. Now, can both ignore each other's existence without any hassle. Who would have thought I can go so long without talking to the person I supposedly live with. Oh, wait, me.

" Got any ideas why he called us here ?" Natasha inquired, looking up from her phone for the first time.

" Nope, there wasn't a hint or anything. Except.....if he wants to tell us about someone moving out or something " I answered, the way I thought to be the best. I hadn't complained about Natasha to Sam ever since the very first day when he told me that was what the agency wanted. But, if he miraculously found a way for me to have a new housemate then who am I to dispute.

" Oh " Her face fell, surprisingly.

" Anyway, I think he'll be here soon. Probably just supervising some work." It's not like we've been waiting for that long. He's been busy recently. Who am I kidding? Sam is always busy, except this time busier than usual.

" Ok. Jeremy, can I talk to you for a sec?"

" Go ahead" I urged, putting my phone in my pocket, trying not to be rude.

" Well, firstly your mum is extremely charming." She played with her fingers on her thighs. That was somewhat unexpected.

" Ummm, thanks ?" Snickering, I recalled when some of my friends from school complimented mum the same way. She told them not to be so sure about her being charming.

" I'm sorry about the way I reacted. But still, you have to see things from my point of view. It wasn't totally my fault." Apologizing, she indirectly pushed a teeny-weeny part of the blame to me.

" Then whose fault was it then? Definitely not mine" Crossing my arms, I narrowed my eyes at her. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed her hands balled in a fist.

" In all fairness, you were the one who drove Lucy and took her from the house...."

" What the heck Natasha? I already told you that I acted based on your consent!" Unconsciously, I raised my voice higher than usual.

" Well, yes but if you had just told Lucy no from the very start all that could have been avoided." How she manages to keep her voice under control baffled me. While I desperately want to pull my hair out she kept her cool.

" Do you think I didn't try that? Your very stubborn daughter chose not to listen to me. I wonder where she got that from." Any conversation with Natasha equals a form of banter or another.

" I am not stubborn!"

" Yes, you are. This started off as an apology. Who apologizes and still tries to push the blame to someone else. Oh, wait, you." I pointed out not so discreetly.

" Oh, now that's just downright offensive!" Crossing her arms, she rolled her eyes.

" Great! So what you said wasn't offensive either?"

" I'm just saying, you have to accept your faults too."

" I can accept anything when I'm not at fault here. Your daughter, your child, your offspring was the one to walk up to me. I didn't offer to take her along with me. She pleaded to go with me. Why is this such a problem? Nothing happened to her she was in good hands." What's the hassle about anyway? Nothing happened to Lucy, we both had free brunch and good company.

" Yes, your mother and Katie. If they weren't there what could have happened?" She shrugged and indirectly shot at me. What is she trying to imply, I might be ridiculous but I won't hurt her child. Or anyone else's.

" Do I look like I want to hurt a child?"

" Do you look like you love children or are fond of them? Sam told me how pissed you were. I have to protect my daughter here."

It always resorts back to him. I hadn't even gotten to know them properly when I complained to him.

" I might not like children but I am not a monster! I would never hurt a child. How does it even relate to everything? Maybe you can try being a better mother!"

" Don't you dare!" Her hand landed on my cheek. Not only did she smack my face, but my dignity too.

" Just face it. It's the truth. All Lucy wanted was to spend her weekend in a different place. You aren't really the world's coziest mum in case you do not know. You try, but there's that hint of distance. You are only being a mother, tried being a friend yet?"

" You have no idea what you are saying."

" Just because my perspective is different from what you expect doesn't mean I'm entirely wrong."

" You are wrong if your perception is beclouded by dislike. You have a problem with me, you always have!"

" I have no problems with you. You are just uptight and stuck up."

" Stuck up? Or mature? Which is it. You can't tell the difference because you are definitely not mature from what I can see. When last did you deal with situations like an ADULT? Let me guess, never!"

" You don't even know me!" How did an apology escalate into a test of knowledge and personal preferences?

" Neither do you. You don't know me nor Lucy."

The sound of the door brought our squabble to a sudden halt. Taking our places on the chairs, we acted as though nothing had happened in the first place.

" Hey, guys. Nice to see you both." Sam chatted , not being any wiser.

" Yeah," We said at the same time. How weird.

" The agency took a new contract. You must have heard about it."

" Yes, Stacey mentioned something about it. Apparently, it's hushed for now."

Yeah, Stacey would know. After all, she's everywhere even where she's not needed.

" Yes, it a requirement in the contract. We would be needing two models to work on this. As a team, sort of a partnership."

" Okay..."I dragged on.

" You and Natasha would be working together."