Only a few minutes had passed, but everything in the kitchen was progressing smoothly. Even though the dish he's making is something he has never made before, he didn't feel any pressure or make any mistake, as everything has been perfect so far.
Due to the time constraints, he decided to prepare the side dish and the drink first, before the main course. He has less than twenty minutes and Stacy, and her friends would be arriving soon. He wants to make sure that when they arrive, he can offer them something while they wait for the main course.
Since he was only dealing with vegetables and fruits, he was able to finish making it quickly.
And just as he was finishing with them and putting the chicken in the oven, and getting the rice ready to cook, he heard the familiar buzzer of the gate's intercom system.
He turned to the small touchscreen positioned in a corner in the kitchen and he saw Stacy standing at the gate. He walked to it and pressed the gate control button and the gate opened automatically.
He watched as Stacy and her friends drove into the compound, and parked their cars in the visitor's parking space close to the garage, before walking to the front door.
Liam put down the knife he was holding, washed his hands and dried it with a clean towel, and left the kitchen. He walked to the front door and opened it.
Standing at the door were Stacy and her friends. Though Liam didn't remember all of their names, he did remember some, especially Lana, Matt, Kristie and Kristopher.
"Hi guys," he greeted.
"Hi," they all greeted slightly awkwardly.
"Come on in, guys. Don't stand at the entrance," he said as he stepped away from the entrance.
They all nodded at Liam respectfully and walked through the door. When inside, they paused for a moment and took in the view of the mansion's interior.
They had already heard from Lana about how beautiful and amazing the whole place is but words can't do it justice.
Liam smiled when he saw their reaction. Yes, the mansion is pretty amazing. Even he, the owner, is still getting used to it.
"Please make yourself comfortable," he said, gesturing to the sofas in the living room before walking to the kitchen.
They nodded when they heard what Liam and they walked to the living room, but Stacy didn't as she followed behind him.
"Hey," she called out, as she chased after him.
Liam turned back and was surprised to see Stacy following him.
"Ummm... I can smell what you're cooking in the kitchen. I was wondering if I could help out with something. If you don't mind of course," she said with a low voice and a polite, yet slightly nervous smile.
Liam looked at her for a moment, slightly taken aback. He was really surprised as he never expected her to offer to help out.
She just keep proving to me that I saw her in a wrong perspective. Very wrong perspective. Or did she grow up?...
He was quite confused as she wasn't acting anything at all like the Stacy he knew. Or maybe he didn't know her at all.
Actually, now that he thought of it. He never really interacted with her and he never got to know what sort of person she was. The whole image he built about was from what he saw from the distance, what people said and how she carried herself.
Also, it was years ago since he last saw her. A lot of things had probably happened since then and she might had changed thanks to them.
Liam sighed internally and made a decision to discard the previous image he has about Stacy, and start seeing her for who she actually is.
And so, he decided to allow her help out in the kitchen.
"Thank you," Stacy smiled, looking really happy.
The both walked to the kitchen and Liam continued what he was doing. But since they are already here, he decided to serve them the side dish.
Stacy's friends watched her following behind Liam and looked at each other in confusion.
"Is she seriously helping him cook?" Matt whispered, wide-eyed.
"I think she is," Kristie murmured softly.
"Wow," Matt smiled in disbelief.
Liam dished the salad and readied the drink, before turning to Stacy who was standing behind him, looking at him with surprise on her face.
"Here. Can you help me serve this," he asked and she nodded.
She picked up the plates and took them to to the dining table, while Liam focused on the rice and chicken for the main course.
After Stacy was done with serving the salad and mocktail, she returned to the kitchen to continue helping him.
"Aren't you going to eat your salad?" Liam asked in surprise, when he saw her standing there, watching him.
He looked at the last plate of salad on the kitchen island and looked at Stacy.
"Ummm. Can I eat it here?" She asked.
"Why not?" Liam smiled.
"Thank you," Stacy said and immediately stuffed a piece of heirloom tomato and avocado into her mouth.
Her eyes closed, as she relished the taste.
"This salad's so good," she muttered, as she stuffed more piece into her mouth.
"Hey. Take it slow. Don't choke yourself," Liam chuckled.
He was really happy that she was genuinely enjoying it as he could see it from her face. Who doesn't love their work being appreciated?
"Truthfully, I would say that this is one of the best salads I've ever had. And I'm not flattering you. I can't wait for the main course," Stacy said, stuffing more of the tomatoe and avocado into her mouth.
"Thank you for the praise," Liam smiled.
"Not at all. You're such a good cook. I can't help but be impressed. You're really just impossible to figure out," she smiled.
Liam chuckled at her words but he didn't say anything.
"Ohhh, least I forget, congratulations on your new place. It's really cool," Stacy said with sincerity.
"I'm sure you know how popular you are right now," smiled at him.
"Popular? How?" Liam asked, quite surprised and slightly confused.
"Come on. Don't tell me that you don't know about the online articles about the mansion being sold to a mysterious buyer."
"Ohhh, that? I didn't actually pay much attention to them," Liam smiled.
It was just as he said. He never did pay attention to them.
"Of course you didn't. But who would had thought that you were the mysterious buyer. I couldn't contain my reaction when I found out. Actually, I was beyond shocked and speechless.," Stacy said as she thought back to what Lana revealed in the group chat last night.
"I guess there are a lot of shocking things," Liam smiled and turned to look at her, "Like you for instance."
"Me?" Stacy asked in confusion.
"Yeah. You had no idea but we went to the same middle school and high school together," Liam replied.
"Huh?" Stacy blinked, stunned. "...Wait. What?"
"Maple Hill Middle School, Class 2-B, 9th grade. Hillshire High, Homeroom 10A. Hillshire Spirit Squad. I wasn't noticeable back then. You probably never saw me."
Stacy couldn't believe it. She felt that Liam was probably joking with her. Besides, with his power, digging up information on her was far too easy. She refuse to believe that she went to the same school with him.
Liam saw the disbelief on Stacy's face and he started calling out some names, mentioning some casual and minor things that happened in class, or at school. Something only someone who actually went to school there would know.
"I... You... How?" She asked in utter disbelief.
Liam didn't say anything as he continued what he was doing.
Time passed as Liam got lost in what he was doing. Stacy also helped out silently with disbelief still on her face. It seems like it will take her a while to come to terms with what Liam said.
More than half an hour later, a very rich aroma filled and wafted out from the kitchen, spreading all over the living room and dining.