As expected from the last night's incident, Ryan wakes up with a stupid look on his face, the disappointment of the missed opportunity still lingering in his mind, but he drags himself out of his room anyways.
…
After the morning passes and then the afternoon, his college day gets over and he returns back home.
The scene he meets in his house is the same as the other days. Sylvia is busy with her work, and the house is empty as usual, except for one thing.
His brow furrows as he steps into the kitchen. His eyes stare at the counter in confusion.
On the counter rests different kinds of good-looking and tasty snacks, already served in plates and bowls. On the other side rests the ingredients for the tea and coffee, ready.
"Huh… is someone coming home today?" He murmurs to himself while stepping inside. He sniffs the smell of the sweets and cookies before moving toward the tea ingredients.
Shrugging his shoulders, he starts making the tea for himself. Just then, a voice comes from the doorway, dry and unimpressed.
"Those ingredients are for making a high-quality tea, Ryan."
Sylvia stands there with her arms crossed over her chest, and her foot tapping on the floor as she eyes him in disappointment.
He turns back and asks confusedly, "But for whom? You didn't tell me that guests were coming. And…" He gestures at the kettle for a moment and adds, "So what if they are high-quality ones? I am also a high-quality man, I can definitely drink that."
But despite saying this, he starts reaching toward the normal tea leaves that he usually drinks, recognizing that the guests must have some higher standards than him.
Seeing him being compliant about it, she relaxes slightly and turns back toward her room…
…
After a couple of hours, the doorbell rings…
In the living room, Ryan sits on the couch with the two girls, Blair and Chloe, sitting across from him. The three of them assess each other with a variety of expressions.
Behind Ryan's couch, Sylvia stands with her hands planted on the back of the couch. She just looks amused after seeing their expressions. And, after quickly introducing them to each other, she leaves them alone.
The air in the room turns awkward after she leaves. Ryan shifts his feet on the floor while looking at them. He already feels reluctant to stay here, but it would be impolite to leave the guests alone.
After mustering some confidence, he finally decides to speak.
"This tea is quite good, by the way." He points at the decorated table between them before continuing, "You should try it."
Huh… I don't know how to host these two beautiful and rich-looking girls. I am already suffering after hosting one in my house.
Chloe simply nods and leans forward to take her cup, not minding the silence at all. Instead, she likes it.
However, Blair isn't the same. She wears the expression of profound boredom and stares at the tea as if it is cursed.
"This is boring! I wanted to go outside for fun, not to endure this!"
"Shh… shut up, Blair. It's just a matter of a few hours, we can go outside then." Chloe says without looking at her.
Blair lets out an annoyed groan at those words, but Chloe merely ignores her and glances toward Ryan instead.
"So, you are a friend of Sylvia, who she mentioned just now?"
…
The afternoon stretches into evening slowly. The hours pass, unexpectedly, in a quiet conversation.
Unlike what Sylvia had thought about this arrangement, Ryan handles the situation much better than that.
Blair's annoyance calms down into a growing interest the moment she really starts talking with him. She hadn't expected him to be able to endure a banter with her and then even get leverage over her sometimes.
When the time finally crosses five on the clock, the living room has settled into a brief moment of peace.
The expression on Chloe's face is thoughtful, as it seems like her mind is still wandering over the conversation she had with Ryan.
Finally, the sound of footsteps appears from the hallway, followed by the entry of Sylvia into the room. It takes her just a moment of observation to notice that the atmosphere in the room is different from what she had planned earlier.
Hm… did he handle it well?
Ryan stands up after noticing her and quickly gives a small smile toward Chloe and Blair before rushing out of the room.
She watches his movement silently before turning her gaze toward the girls, "You didn't feel bored, right?"
Blair thinks for a moment before letting out a quiet huff, "Just a little, I guess. He knows how to talk, at least." Chloe also nods at those words.
"Hm… he is not a bad host. Though, he hides things well."
"Oh…?" Sylvia's interest stirs at those words, though she doesn't press further about it right now. She straightens slightly and turns toward the bathroom. "I agree on that too. Anyways, let me change quickly and then we will go?"
I will ask him later about what he kept 'hidden' from them.
…
Soon, they leave the house to go for their outing.
Ryan is left alone, once again.
He closes the main door after confirming that they are really gone. As he finally gets a moment alone, his mind automatically drifts toward the conversation with Chloe and Blair.
A wry smile appears on his face as he walks toward his room. The tiredness he felt while talking with Blair still lingers in his mind. If Sylvia hadn't 'trained' him to engage in banter during their time together, he wouldn't have been able to entertain Blair with the kind of personality she has.
She doesn't like to be bored… I should remember that for the future, just in case.
Then, the image of Chloe appears in his mind. She hadn't been difficult at all. Instead, her words were quiet, almost uninterested in the conversation. But, every topic she brought up seemed like a lot of thinking was involved in it.
Unlike Blair, Chloe just likes to sit in silence until a random topic interests her suddenly.
But, as he sinks onto the mattress of his bed, a small smile lingers on his lips as he exhales slowly and lets out a quiet murmur.
"I understand now what Sylvia might have intended… She must have tried dumping her problem on me."
His shoulders relax as he shifts to lie back properly and stares at the ceiling.
For a moment, everything feels small in front of him and his mind wanders into deeper territories that he doesn't dig into frequently, or rather, he doesn't want to.
His attention slips past the small things and his thoughts race through his mind one after another. The small talks, fleeting emotions, feelings, college results…
He doesn't interrupt himself. His body stays still as his eyes close slowly and he goes even deeper. Even the conversations with Sylvia, the kisses…
Everything becomes secondary for a moment until only one question remains in his mind.
Why am I doing all of this?