We’re Going on a Vacation

The following evening, Derek told everyone to be there for dinner. It was seven o'clock and the dining room table had five placemats with plates and utensils already set up. There was also a large serving bowl with salad and one with breadsticks that they could eat before the rest of the food was prepared. Lyla was sitting at the far end of the table with Becca on one side and Spencer on the other. The table could seat eight so there was an empty seat between Spencer and Aiden. Finally, Derek sat at the other end opposite Lyla and still next to Aiden.

From the moment they were all seated at the table, Lyla started staring angrily at Aiden. This wasn't anything new to him so he simply ignored it. He had just taken a sip of water when Lyla said something that made him choke.

"Aiden, sweetie, why are you sitting all the way over there? You should slide over next to Spencer." Spencer was shocked and turned to his mother.

"But mom…!"

"You hush!" While Spencer was protesting and Aiden was coughing, Derek leaned forward and put his hand on Aiden's shoulder.

"Are you alright?", Derek asked. Aiden nodded and took another small sip of water which helped him stop coughing.

"I'm fine." He told Derek. Then, he turned to Lyla and frowned. "Are you finally trying to kill me now? Why else would you call me sweetie?" He shuddered in disgust at the thought. "The only reason I'm here at the same time as you is because Derek said he had something to say to us all."

"You shouldn't use his name like that. Why aren't you calling him uncle?"

"Absolutely not." Derek spoke firmly and looked horrified at the prospect of Aiden addressing him as 'uncle'. Lyla was about to protest but was interrupted. "...I told him to use my name." After he spoke, Derek casually drank from his wine glass. Although his facial expression hadn't changed at all, a faint blush appeared on the tops of his ears. One of them was hidden behind his hair but Aiden could clearly see the other. Luckily he was the only one who could.

Lyla had nothing more to say so she gloomily started a conversation with her children. The awkward air around Aiden and Derek went unnoticed by the others at the table. Derek was laser focused on his wine glass and Aiden had turned slightly away so Lyla and the demon spawn wouldn't see his face, which had gone slightly red. Both of them had clearly remembered when Derek had told Aiden to use his name and what situation they were in at that time.

Thankfully, the awkward air was broken when Mrs. Hudson started bringing in plates filled with food that smelled divine. It made Aiden's mouth water.

"Dinner is served everyone!" When she was done placing everything on the table, Mrs. Hudson went back to the kitchen and everyone started putting food on their plates. There were several seafood dishes to choose from as well as a side dish of potatoes, another with vegetables, and finally a rice dish. Aiden put a little bit of everything on his plate because he knew that, if Mrs. Hudson was the one who cooked it, it would definitely taste amazing. He was right, of course.

As they were all getting their food, Lyla spoke with excitement.

"So, what did you want to talk about hon…Derek? I've been curious all day!" As much as Aiden hated to admit that he had anything in common with his aunt, he too had been rather curious as to why they were all gathered together.

"Right. I suppose we can talk before the meal." Derek set down his fork. Aiden frowned and looked at his own plate longingly. He really wanted to eat dinner before they talked but oh well. Once everyone was paying attention, minus Becca who was on her phone as usual, Derek made an announcement. "There's a little over a month before the school term begins. The placement exams will be in two weeks. The day after the exams, I plan on having all of us go on a two week vacation. We should be back in plenty of time for you to prepare what's needed for the school year though." Becca surprisingly put down her phone.

"Vacation? Oh my gosh! Really? Where to? Paris, Italy, London?" Derek shook his head.

"No. Hawaii."

"That works too." Becca turned her attention back to her phone.

"That's so sweet of you!" Lyla clasped her hands together. "To think you'd plan something like this. I could just kiss you!"

"Don't." The tone of Derek's voice showed he was not pleased by her comment.

"Geez. I was only joking." Lyla and Spencer started loudly discussing the upcoming trip, paying no attention to anything else. Food would occasionally fall out of their mouths since they were speaking and eating at the same time. The other's started eating as well and soon enough the dinner ended. Mrs. Hudson cleared the empty dishes away before bringing a cup of coffee for Derek. When everyone else was getting up to leave, Derek called Aiden back.

"Aiden, if you're not in a rush, we have something else to discuss,"

"Okay." Aiden sat back down in his seat and Lyla narrowed her eyes.

"What could the two of you have to discuss?"

"It's about school."

"Then shouldn't that also include my children?"

"No," Derek stated simply.

"Well, why not?" Derek sighed. He was clearly getting annoyed.

"It doesn't involve them because they don't have the intelligence or academic requirements to qualify for what we'll be discussing. Satisfied? Or are you going to keep pestering me?" Lyla was too stunned to reply. "If that's all, you can be on your way." After being dismissed, she stormed out of the dining room in a huff. Aiden clapped his hands a few times.

"Wow! Good job. I've never seen someone get rid of her that easily before."

"I've dealt with people like her enough to know how to handle them." Derek drank some of his coffee before continuing. "So, you mentioned learning several foreign languages." Aiden nodded. "I called the school to discuss whether you still needed to take a foreign language course and they're going to give you a chance to skip it."

"Really? Great! How?"

"When you go to take the placement exams you'll also be choosing your elective classes so they can create your schedule. If there are classes, such as the foreign language classes, that you've already gained the required knowledge for then you can take the final exam for that class. If you pass they'll give you the exam grade as your overall class grade and you'll earn the credits for the class."

"Awesome! Can I do that for other classes than just the foreign languages?"

"You can. You'll have to actually take all the other required courses other than foreign languages but you're permitted to attempt that exam for any elective course."

"Sweet! Thank you!" Aiden smiled at Derek who took another sip from his coffee cup.

"Mhm."

"I'll get going then. Enjoy your coffee." With that, Aiden left the dining room and headed upstairs. Mrs. Hudson came out of the kitchen and paused when she saw Derek.

"I'm on my way out now. There's still some coffee left if one cup isn't enough." She hesitated but continued. "Did something good happen?" Derek looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh, it's nothing much. It's just you looked pleased about something when I came in."

"...It's nothing."

"Alright. Well, goodnight!"

"Mhm." Mrs. Hudson left, leaving Derek to his thoughts. He may have said it was nothing but he had in fact been thinking of Aiden's happy expression when Mrs. Hudson saw him. Derek frowned. Had he really looked that pleased? He was known for being cold and even the slightest change in facial expression was odd for him. However, ever since he met Aiden, that was no longer the case. Just what was going on with him? Maybe it was just the brightness of Aiden's smiles. Aiden's happiness must simply be contagious and even someone like Derek was affected by it. That had to be it. Derek nodded to himself and finished drinking his coffee.

Meanwhile, Lyla had called Becca and Spencer into her room. She may have been speechless at the time by that didn't mean she was going to let go of what happened earlier.

"Aiden is taking the attention away from you two again!! Both of you had better do well with those tests. Do you hear me?! If people look down on you then they're looking down on me and I won't have it! I don't care what you have to do but you better change Derek's opinion about you and quickly. Got it?"

"Yeah." Spencer and Becca nodded.

"Go back to your rooms and…I don't know, study or something!" Becca and Spencer were ushered into the hall and the door slammed behind them. Both of them scowled in anger.

"Spencer."

"Yeah?" Spencer turned to Becca who grinned maniacally.

"I think we just got the perfect opportunity."

"For what?" Becca huffed and grabbed Spencer's ear, pulling it as she walked to her room. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Let go!"

"Shut up, you idiot! Why do I even bother with you!? I'll tell you one more time so you better get it through that thick skull of yours."

"Geez! What now!?"

"The plan! Duh!" Becca shoved him through the door and closed it behind her.