Inside the conference room of Sinclair Construction Corp.
Arriving early as always, Lucian sat in his seat while waiting for the arrival of the Chairman, his Grandfather.
The room was far noisier before he arrived, with assistants trying to cram last-ditch documents into the hands of their bosses. But his arrival has definitely lessened the commotion.
It was then that his phone rang. Not that it made a sound, but the phone’s vibration still caught his attention. Eli.
Lucian decided to take the call outside. It was unusual for Eli to call, especially when she knew about my schedule, so this must be something important.
Just as he stood up, the double doors opened, and in walked the Chairman.
Without further hesitation, he hurried to his Grandfather to inform him about needing to take her call. To which he agreed. "Just take it here, the outside isn’t soundproofed."
Surprised to discover that it was a video call, Lucian pulled the phone farther away from his ear before hurriedly informing her.
"Eli, you’re on speaker. What’s wrong?" Lucian immediately started, saving her from saying something only meant for private conversations.
But to his surprise, Eli suddenly said, "Babe. I also have you on speaker."
Lucian could suddenly see more of Eli’s surroundings, she seemed to be in some office with the staff of Lily’s kindergarten.
"I’m here at St. Andrews for Lily’s Family Day Event but encountered a bit of a problem." Eli smiled a professional one. This is probably a more complicated problem than she’s making it sound.
Then she continued while giving the staff around her more access to the phone’s screen. "The school had encountered impersonators in the last two weeks and has asked for my identity to be verified by her known family members before I could go in. But since the schedule is too tight, I had asked if they could honor a video call instead."
Lucian heard several important key points but chose to deal with the most important one. He then angled the phone farther away to show more of his features.
He could hear the gasps of the staff closest to Eli. But then decided to still add, "Thank you for your vigilance and attention to security. I’m Lucian Alder Sinclair, the older brother of Liliana Amanda Sinclair. And the woman before you is my wife, Eliana Selene Sinclair. Please allow her entry into the school as a legitimate guardian."
Eli could be seen looking towards the staff, "Would that be enough?"
The woman did not respond right away, and this prompted Grandfather’s interference, suddenly entering into the frame.
"If that’s not enough of an introduction, I’m Lionel Sinclair, Grandfather of Lily Sinclair. And that is truly my daughter-in-law."
Surprised but happy to see the Chairman, Eli exclaimed, "Grandpa! I’m sorry I had to interrupt your meeting, I had no choice!"
"No problem my dear, we haven’t even started. You called right on time."
"Thanks, Grandpa!" Eli said with a large smile on her face before asking the staff if that was good enough of a verification.
The conference room was silent, most of the onlookers waited with bated breath on how this call was going to go. Their bosses were unusual today, a far cry from their tyranny in the boardroom.
Just as everyone thought that was the end of it, the person on the other end added, "Oh, and thank you, Honey! I’ll see you later! Have a good meeting!"
"Don’t leave the school until I pick you up. I’ll see you later." Responded their normally cold-hearted boss.
The people in the room shuddered, their eyes kept on confirming with the other onlookers.
Maybe he’s possessed? Collectively imagined by the witnesses.
__
My gut feeling was right.
It was really for the best that I chose to arrive at this time.
From where I stood, the voices of several children could be heard.
"You shouldn’t have gone to school today. Now look at us, we’re going to lose to Class 2 because of you."
"You don’t have family coming but you still decided to go, so how do you plan on compensating us for this loss?" added another child with a chiding tone.
Seems like the educational system needs moral reform. It’s that, or these children’s mouths must be washed with Holy water.
It was then that I finally heard the small voice of Lily. "Who said I don’t have family?!"
She sounded agitated. And had I not volunteered, there really would be no one else available.
These kids are too young to be spouting bullshit. Especially when they’re directing this hate towards Lily.
"We know you didn’t request for a family pass, you liar." sneered a little boy.
"Family pass?" Lily suddenly sounded alarmed.
"See? You don’t even know about the pass. People can’t enter without that. So don’t try lying to us."
I couldn’t take it anymore, and if these kids resort to saying even worse things, I might retaliate. I’m not magnanimous enough to let that pass. Not anymore.
"You’re talking about this?" I chimed while flashing the pass I got earlier.
I paid a huge price for this. So eat the price of my dignity you little brats.
Yes, I’m childish. Fight me.
Maybe this is what happens when you encounter mini-Alexas after being passive and enduring such things for years.
The children flinched upon hearing an adult’s voice. They all looked up, wide-eyed.
Lily looked like she was going to burst into tears. Probably stressed from being harassed all morning. With kids like these, it may have been going on for far longer, not just today.
"Lily didn’t have to bother getting me one. I could get one for myself. After all, I’m the one who wanted to visit her today." I smiled at the stupefied kids.
"Big Sis!" Lily called out, suddenly charging like a cannonball.
Caught in my arms, I tried consoling the child. She’s definitely stressed, not that Lily has been unruly in the past weeks but this was the first time she’s called me "Big Sis".
With this child’s hero complex, she’d probably hold it in. And with everyone being too busy, no one would notice.
So I cradled the child.
"You said something about losing because of Lily? Were you talking about today’s competition line-up?" I asked calmly as if I hadn’t thought of ways to take my anger out on their guardians.
There wasn’t even a need to ask. I’m an Alumni, I’m pretty sure I’m more informed about the school traditions, but I wanted more information.
These brats even had the gall to give me a once over.
"Who are you?" Asked a fearless little girl who didn’t value her life so much.
Hmmm...
With Lily nestled in the crook of my neck, I contemplated how I wanted to answer her question.
"Eliana Sinclair, Lily’s family member. But maybe what would mean something more to you would be my old name."
I paused before walking forward, leaving the children behind me with a few more words. "Eliana Thornhill, you can check the school’s Hall of Fame."
Fuck getting information. If we stayed here, I might end up getting a jail sentence instead.
Nevermind.