Chapter 116 - A Lazy Weekend

The school term finally came to an end. Elfie was staying with Jasper in the same room after Danny left the country. Scarlet felt bad and asked if it really was alright to not be sharing a room with Alex. Mrs Wilde explained that unlike Jasper, both her daughters needed more space with their hobbies. Jasper and Elfie were content with space to place a single laptop but for Scarlet who had a huge collection of books and Alex who had canvases and easels with a lot of paint bottles, they needed a bigger area.

The boys spent most of the time in their room working on the chatroom and conversing with the other boys from the E.C. Class. Jasper was in charge of coordinating their meetups. Apparently, the debate about the type of vacation camp wasn't resolved. Jenna dutifully watched over them from time to time while bringing meals up to them. Mrs Wilde only smiled and shook her head at the antics of the children under her roof. Scarlet and Alex could often be found working on their craft. The young writer was always reading and drafting plots if not researching something for her new works. Alex was constantly sketching or watching videos to improve on her skills. The Wilde princess was less focussed on the idea of a prince charming and more interested in improving her skills to help her sister.

Mr Wilde had a rare weekend off from work and was slightly disappointed to know that all the children were busy.

"Why don't we let Claire and Jenna have a day off? I'm sure the children will be fine on their own for a few hours. You and I can go on a date, it's something we haven't done in a while," Mrs Wilde proposed much to Wilmer's joy.

The four children, head maid and butler were gathered. When Mrs Wilde made the announcement, the children were immediately thrilled and agreed. Meanwhile, Claire and Jenna felt uneasy.

"Milady, I could stay behind to look after the children. Please let Claire take the day off instead," the lady butler offered and Claire was quick to refuse.

"It should be me. Jenna hasn't had any time to rest in between helping out with the business and running the household affairs."

Scarlet frowned. "No, both of you haven't had any good time off. We'll be fine on our own. You should both go and pamper yourselves."

Alex quickly agreed and the boys silently communicated their sentiments.

"See?" Orita grinned. "They're reliable and responsible children. We'll be back for dinner together, just call for pizza or something and enjoy the lazy weekend. I'm sure the children won't mind."

Reluctantly, Claire and Jenna agreed. Scarlet grinned and gave her mother a wink. Wilmer raised a brow. His girls were definitely up to something but he didn't know what it was. Why would Orita suddenly propose a date and leave the children alone at home? Sure, they were busy but the children had never denied him any attention when he craved it. Alex and Scarlet would often drop what they were doing to spend time with Wilmer at the tennis court or simply taking a stroll in the garden.

"Let's go, darling!" Orita laughed and dragged her husband upstairs to get changed. The heiress had already decided on a romantic trip to the laid back side of Singapore. Something about flying kites by the seaside and cycling together much to Wilmer's amus.e.m.e.nt.

Jenna excused herself and decided to visit an art exhibition while Claire excused herself and changed into a tracksuit. Alex wondered where Claire was going to with such a huge bag but the head maid simply answered that she was going to train. Nobody knew what Claire was up to but they didn't question it. After all, it was a rare day off for the head maid. Most girls would pamper themselves at the hair salon or beauty house but the ladies of the Wilde household had very different ideas about an ideal pampering treatment.

Scarlet decided to add them down into her observational journal. It didn't take long before the children were left alone. The first to sneak out of their rooms was Alex who immediately went to find Elfie and Jasper. Scarlet was the last to gather in the boys' room simply because of her still-healing leg. She didn't have to wear the support now but the doctors still advised her to use the crutches.

"We're all here now," Scarlet told them and closed the door with a grin.

Elfie was the most excited. The girls had made this plan with Mrs Wilde a few days back. They wanted to create a lazy weekend to give the hardworking a.d.u.l.ts some time to themselves. IN the meantime, the children wanted to thank them for helping them with the planning and putting up with their whims. Lin Lin's request, the E.C. Class and Special Class' gathering, some boys' sleepover, the special exception to include the interested boys from the E.C. Class for the internship were things that the children troubled them with.

It was only right for them to do a little something in return to show their gratitude.

"Do we have all the information?" Jasper asked and Scarlet smirked, pulling out a notebook. Everyone knew that Scarlet kept her observational journal updated on the blog but not many people knew that Scarlet saved a more detailed journal with the names and particulars of each specimen in a physical book that was carefully blended into her massive hardcopy collection.

The budding entrepreneur took a look at the pages and discussed ideas with everyone. Eventually, the children decided on hosting a surprise thanksgiving party in the TV lounge that was hardly utilised.

"Alright, I'll go through the list again," Elfie said. "Cake, chicken, pasta, pizza and fruits. We also need to get some balloons to decorate the room. Where are we going to get money for it?"

Alex grinned and threw something on the bed that they were seated on. "Mommy gave this to me last night before tucking me into bed. The balloons are in my room, we just need to inflate them and hang them up with some tape."

Elfie's jaw dropped at the black card and Jasper gave her a thumbs up. "Good job. I think we should split the teams. You and I will hang the balloons. Elfie and Scarlet can inflate them. But first, we need to make some calls and place some orders."

There were no objections and Jasper dismissed the team. Elfie stayed back to search for food delivery services that accepted card payments with Jasper while the girls worked on the decorations.

By the time evening came about, the a.d.u.l.ts returned looking tired but refreshed.

"I'm home!" Orita called out but the house was very silent. Jenna and Claire who had met up with the couple before returning started to worry.

"Scarlet? Alex? Jasper? Elfie? Where are you?" Jenna called out.

Wilmer raised a brow and looked at his grinning wife. "Are they playing hide and seek with us?"

Orita chuckled. "Perhaps. We should put away our bags and find them. They must be hungry by now."

Before they could start the search, there was a loud popping sound before the four a.d.u.l.ts were covered in party streamers.

"Surprise!" Alex yelled and laughed at the surprised looks as she burst into the living room from the TV lounge.

Wilmer spluttered and Claire relaxed from her fighting stance. Jenna was flabbergasted but Orita exchanged a knowing look with her daughter. Alex returned the black card to her mother and Wilmer gave a betrayed look to his wife.

"You knew what they were up to!" he accused.

Orita gave him her most innocent look and Scarlet laughed. "Sorry, daddy. We just wanted to surprise everyone. Before we start the party, I would like to thank you, mommy, Jenna and Claire for all the help. It certainly wasn't easy to manage so many requests for stay overs, internsh.i.p.s and garage band instruments..."

Elfie bowed. "Thank you for your hospitality and taking care of me while Danny is away, I really appreciate it."

Alex smiled. "Thank you for supporting my passion for art. I know that you're both worried about how far this will take me but I won't regret it."

Jasper bowed. "Thank you for giving me the chance to work with the company in a field that I can progress in."

Wilmer didn't know what to say and Jenna wiped tears from her eyes. Claire had her poker face on but the soft touch when she patted their heads spoke volumes about how she felt at the moment. They spent some time chatting until Orita decided to start the official party.

At once, the children ran to the TV lounge and grinned. It was quite the sinful spread full of high calories, oil and unhealthy stuff but everyone enjoyed it thoroughly. Jenna didn't fuss over the lack of greens in their diet for the night and indulged in the cake. Nobody commented about how much of a slob Wilmer looked like that night eating fried chicken with his bare hands instead of with a fork and knife. Even Orita had a good laugh seeing her husband with tomato sauce on his polo tee.

Scarlet took in the joyful scene and burned it into her memory. It was nice to have a warm family, she would definitely protect it at any cost together with the help of her friends and siblings. Nobody, not even Anastasia, will hurt her family under her watch.