The Clumsy Designer

Chapter 9

Stepping in Greek soil, my heart warmed upon arriving at my homeland. Ametrine was bombarding me with lots of messages asking me what time I would arrive, same goes with my father.

But I tried my hardest not to reply as I wanted to surprise them.

"Μια τόσο όμορφη ηλιοφάνεια που λάμπει, χαίρομαι που σε ξαναβλέπω δεσποινίς Μπλε," (Such a beautiful sunshine to shine upon, glad to see you again Miss Blue.) Dan said, slightly bowing his head to me and giving me a warm smile of his.

"Χαίρομαι που σε ξαναβλέπω επίσης Νταν!" (So good to see you again too Dan!)

I smiled back at him and gave him a hug, and as soon as we stepped out from the lobby, we were greeted by lots of paparazzi, shouting my name and asking how my education was.

Only giving them a smile, I put on my sunglasses and climbed inside the van hoping that one of my family members isn't currently watching the news or standing by at some social media platform because surely my surprise would be destroyed.

"Mr. Dimitri has missed you a lot," Dan said, as we drove away from the largest airport in Greece serving the city of Athens and region of Attica, Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos.

Hearing Dan's heavy Greek accent, it truly washed upon me that I am back in Greece.

"I missed him a lot too, along with Mama and my other siblings as well. Πες μου Νταν, πώς είναι τα αδέλφια μου?" (Tell me Dan, how are my siblings?) I gave him a warm smile again when he looked up at the rearview mirror.

"Η δεσποινίς Αμέτριν και ο κ. Δημήτρης δεν μιλούν πολύ μεταξύ τους και πρόσφατα τσακώθηκαν. Αυτή τη στιγμή η δεσποινίς Καρνέλιαν ψύχεται με τη Μις Γκολντ, η Δεσποινίτσα Οπάλ εξακολουθεί να πηγαίνει τέλεια στο σχολείο, η δεσποινίς Τζέιντ είχε ξαφνικά μια επίθεση όταν πήγε μαζί με τον πατέρα σου σε μια επαγγελματική συνάντηση. Και ο Μικρός Δάσκαλος Τανζανίτης είναι υπέροχος στην απογοήτευση της κυρίας Γκενιέζε." (Miss Ametrine and Mr. Dimitri doesn't speak to each other much and recently had a fight. Miss Carnelian is currently chilling with Miss Gold, Miss Opal is still doing great in school, Miss Jade suddenly had an anxiety attack when she went along with her father to a business meeting. And Little Master Tanzanite is great on frustrating Mrs. Gheniese.)

Astonished at how he analyzed my family members, I burst into a fit of laughter. Dan was not just our driver, he also became a family friend of ours.

But upon learning that Ametrine and Patri had a fight again, my eyebrows furrowed. Hit with curiosity, I tried shrugging my mind knowing Ametrine will never tell me the reason for their fight and will never give in even if I showed her my puppy eyes.

She is strong-willed and stubborn after all, just like our dear Patri. If I tried to ask Patri, he would only tell me to go and ask Ametrine as he didn't want to be bearer of such bad news.

Feeling my phone vibrate, I excused myself from our conversation and opened my phone to see that I have received a sweet message from my dear boyfriend.

From: Baby

I hope you had a safe and comfortable flight, buttercup. I love you and I always will call you later! xx

Feeling giddy, my heart warmed and I tried stopping my smile as I replied back to him.

"Seems like you have a lovely man now, Miss Blue?" Dan inquired, but still his eyes remained on the road.

"Yes Dan, he is such a lovely and handsome man. I will introduce him to you soon!" My heartbeat fastened at the thought of our lovely kisses once again.

"I hope to meet such a great man who has given you happiness." He sincerely said, not replying back anymore. I sank back to the seat comfortably and closed my eyes just waiting for our drive to end and to arrive at our beautiful home.

"Miss Blue, we are here. Wake up."

I opened my eyes and blinked repeatedly due to the light and immediately saw Dan trying to wake me up. Nodding, he backed away and opened the trunk of the car to get my luggage.

Stepping out, I stretched my arms out and gave out a long yawn.

"BLUE, BLUE, BLUE!" Hearing three voices, the big doors of the front door suddenly burst open and three little children came running to me with full glee and happiness spread all over their faces.

"Gold, Jade, Nitey! Oh how much you all have grown, I missed you three a lot!" I kneeled down their heights and gave them each a hug.

"Ελάτε μέσα στο Μπλου, έχω πολλά να σας πω ειδικά εγώ και η φάρσα της Λιαν στον Τζέιντ!" (Come inside Blue, I have lots of tell to you especially me and Lian's prank to Jade!) Gold screams in excitement and drags me by my arm but was getting pulled back by Jade.

"No, no, no! Μην την ακούς Μπλε, είναι ντροπιαστικό!"(Don't listen to her Blue, it's embarrassing!) Jade stomped her foot in annoyance.

Both screamed at each other while I held little Nitey in my arms who completely ignored his two sisters screams.

"Enough, it is just some silly pranks Jade between you and your sister. Get inside!" Patri's voice immediately boomed, Jade's face fell and walked inside walking pass by Patri.

Gold remained by my side, which I didn't like considering her twin sister just got reprimanded and she should be with her.

"Get inside Gold," I softly said.

"Αλλά θέλω να σας πω τα πάντα για τις φάρσες μου..." (But I want to tell you all about my pranks...) She whined and stayed rooted to her spot, but I gave her the look to just listen and get inside.

Pouting, she stomped away and also went inside.

Then Patri slowly approached me with a big smile on his face.

"Patri, I missed you though we saw each other at my first runway project."

I laughed and enveloped him in a hug, forgetting that I was carrying little Nitey. He squirmed in my arms, then Patri took him from me and gave a kiss on my forehead.

"Even if I see you yesterday, I will still miss you, my dear child. Let's come inside, unfortunately Ametrine is at my position today taking my place in meetings. And your Mama has been sick with the flu since last night, so I suggest you don't approach her yet for now."

Nodding, my mind then remembered the fight between him and Ametrine when he mentioned her name.

"Hmm, a little birdie told me that you and my lovely sister had a fight once again daddy," I jokingly mocked him, using a spoiled daddy voice from what I've seen in movies.

"Carnelian?" He raised a brow at me.

"Don't change the subject, what was it about?" I turned serious.

"Let's get inside first, shall we?"

We walked inside with the sight of my luggage being carried by our maid. Reaching our living room that doesn't get sat by visitors, I plumped my ass on the comfortable cushion of the sofa.

Patri then raised a brow at me.

"No, not here, in my study." He gestured upstairs and began walking his way.

Groaning internally, I forced my tired legs to follow him upstairs. When it was private matters that he would talk about, he would talk to us inside his study room where it is sound proof when the door is shut of course.

Meaning, I would get to know the real reason why they fought.

And that thought alone made me grimace but happy a bit knowing that for once and for all I will know the reason, ugh.

When I shut the door, I turned to see my father sitting comfortable behind his wooden desk with a distraught look on his face.

"So what is this fight all about, dad? This is not the first time."

I shake my head disappointedly at how stubborn they could be to each other to the point that it once irritated me to the max.

"Nothing, your sister is being difficult again. Always questioning me!" He threw his arms up in the air and stood up once again.

I stayed silent, knowing fully well that he wasn't done yet.

"Sometimes she just heeds to my orders without questions but most of the time she questions and then proceeds to ignore me. Tell me Blue, is that the way a daughter should be to her loving father?" Dad asks me, looking at me like he wanted me to take his side.

Sighing, I shake my head in annoyance.

"Patri, you are in the wrong too. So what did she question you about?" I curiously asked, I knew sometimes it would be about the business. But Ametrine isn't petty when it comes to the shipping business, this issue would be something more related to personal issues.

"Ask your sister." He placed his finger under his chin and sat back in his chair.

"There goes that line!"

===

Groaning, I lay back my tired self in my bedroom and covered my eyes with my arm, waiting eagerly for Ametrine to go back home. Opal was still at school, same goes for Carnelian, the twins didn't have school today because of a teacher's program in their school.

Tanzanite is home-schooled but would probably be in a normal school once he finishes kindergarten.

Looking at the time, it was still four pm and in New York it's still nine in the morning knowing that Greece is ahead seven hours from New York.

Lucifer is still most likely in his class, so I decided to message my friends before I bid goodbye since I wanted to take a swim in our dimly lit rectangular pool now.

Changing to a two piece suit, I covered myself first with my bathrobe and then walked to the backyard to see the three kids already splashing in the pool whilst Dad was on his phone and shouting at someone.

Deciding to ignore him, I smiled at the three kids who excitedly ran out of the pool and unto me.

"Blue, let's toss the coin in the pool!" Gold excitedly says, I see Jade and Nite agree but probably it would just be me, Gold and Jade who would be playing since Nite was too little to swim.

"Don't remove your life jacket, Nite," Dad said, covering the mic of his phone and looking at Nite sternly when he tried to remove his life jacket.

Knowing fully well that Patri only wanted him to be safe, I crouched down to his height and brushed away his baby hairs. "Tell you what, Θα πετάξεις το νόμισμα και θα το ψάξουμε." (You'll toss the coin and we will look for it.) I cheered him up.

"Yehey!"

Then they all jumped back in the pool.

Gold and Jade already knew how to swim and were taught by professionals when they turned seven and I know Nite is very much excited to turn seven next year so he could also be taught how to swim like a pro.

It also happened to Ametrine, me, Lian and Opal.

Getting a coin from Dad's wallet who was at the pool table, I ran back inside the pool and did a cannonball jump, their squeals could be heard.

"Toss the coin, toss the coin!" Gold happily shouts at Nite who was standing over the edge of the pool with his hand raised up and the coin in his hand when I gave it to him.

"Nite, be careful. Don't stand on the edge," Patri says with a slight loud voice and approaches us.

"Blue, watch over your brother," He reprimanded before walking back inside.

Then Nite sat by the edge carefully and showed sadness in his eyes, "Daddy always thinks I would fall and hurt myself. Is there something wrong with me?" His small voice asks.

"Don't worry Nitey, daddy is just worried and loves you very much," Jade assures him, placing a hand over his knee with a faint smile on her face.

Then his face beamed.

"I love Daddy too," Nite says, returning back to his happy self.

And as Nite jumps back into the pool, my mind wanders off on how our dear Patri treats them. He treats us all differently, but he doesn't have any favorites. I thought I was his favorite child but when he scolded me one time, he didn't hold back.

When I saw him get angry at Carnelian, it was the first time that I saw her cry but I don't know why he was angry at her. I asked Lian once but she told me to leave her alone.

But the eldest sibling who probably got the worst treatment was the eldest.

Me, Lian, Opal, Gold, Jade and Nite have experienced a somewhat loving and tender relationship with Patri. But Ametrine? I have never once seen her hug Patri, maybe a little bit but only for a short time.

"Look who's here."

I snapped out of my thoughts as I saw two pairs of flats and rubber shoes, trailing them up to their owner. I smiled upon seeing Opal and Lian.

"Lian, Opal! So nice to see you both again!" I climbed out from the pool and was about to approach them when I remembered that I was wet.

"Keep your hands to yourself, when did you come home?" Lian asks with a smirk on her face.

"Ate Blue, I missed you!" Opal didn't mind that I was wet and gave me a hug before pulling away.

(Ate in Filipino means Elder Sister.)

"I missed you too, Opal and... Lian." I eyed Lian who didn't like telling people that she missed them, she grimaced at me but didn't reply.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. So what's the juicy stuff about that Lucifer hmm?" She raised a brow at me.

I looked at her with a glare, not wanting Opal to hear such naughty things at such a young age.

"Come on Blue, don't mind Opal. You're already fourteen right?" She looks at Opal to back her up, but Opal just chuckled and gave us both a warm smile.

"Don't mind me Ate's, I will go and greet Dad for now. I'll be doing my homework in my room if you need me."

She then proceeds to give us both a kiss on the cheeks and to the three little children holding by the pool, wanting also to be kissed by her.

Staring at Lian, I know Opal is indeed her favorite sister. They are more close since I would usually hang around Dad and Ametrine since I idolized Ametrine very much.

Opal is the only one who gets to kiss her on her cheeks and get away with it.

"Nooo, don't do that s**t," Carnelian whined, ignoring the four of us before walking to the direction where Opal headed off to.

Chuckling, I tiredly sighed and faced the twins and Nite.

"Come on, enough swimming. Let's all rest before dinner."

===

"I refuse to be with you anymore, and I can't look at our daughters anymore, especially Blue, not without remembering your foolishness. Take care of them for me Dimitri, for that will be what you will do for my forgiveness."

I suddenly got woken up by a violent shake on my arms.

Eyeing the culprit, relief washed over me on seeing Ametrine.

"You looked relieved to see me," She said, looking weirdly at me.

Couldn't stop myself, I gave her a big hug and cuddled her knowing she wasn't into those hugs depending on that person, and by person, meaning, me.

"What is wrong with you, why are you acting this way?" She asks, rolling her eyes at me and stepping away from my bed placing her hands on her waist.

"Nothing, I just had a weird dream again. I think that shout refers to Dad, because she screamed her name in anger. B-but I can't see the face."

I scrunched up my forehead in annoyance, remembering once again my dream from last time but included Theia Aliana.

Then I see her face morph into realization, then she quickly covers it up by blinking repeatedly.

"That's nothing, let's go downstairs. It's time for dinner."

Then she quickly walks out from my bedroom, leaving me to stare at nothing in particular but her face in my mind.

It seemed like she knew something.

Massaging my forehead, I closed my eyes and took a deep calm breath before following after her.

"Ask your sister."

Dad's voice rang in my head, and so I pinned it in my mind to ask her later though I am sure that I will not get any answers again.

Groaning mentally, I arrive at our big dining hall and see that they were all seated but without Mama by Dad's side.

"Mama's still sick?" I asked no one.

"Yep," Lian popped the 'p' in her tone and lamely looked at me as if demanding me to just sit my ass down so we could eat.

Dad always makes sure that we would eat all together when everyone is in the house, because soon he said we would move away from him to marry.

"Bless the food." Dad said, looking at Opal.

"In the name of the father, and of the son and Holy Spirit. Bless us, O Lord and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord, Amen."

We all did the sign of the cross and then the foods were passed on, beaming in delight on seeing my favorite salad. My face immediately falls knowing that it wasn't Mama who prepared it.

"Here Blue, I tried making this," Dad said, giving the bowl of Greek salad to Ametrine so she could pass it to me.

She gave it to me and I eyed it like it was alienated of some sort.

"Go on," Dad urged.

Then everyone stopped to look at me, we all knew how Dad was such a bad cook. And he could potentially easily ruin this favorite food of mine.

He ruined Ametrine's favorite moussaka by cooking it for her three years ago and ended up tasting so bad but he finished it for himself saying that it was delicious for him.

Oh God, he had different taste buds.

"Patri, what kind of taste is this?!"

Erasing Ametrine's voice from three years ago, I swallowed and took a fort then brought it up to my mouth.

Chewing it, my eyes watered.

Not in delight but in pure horror that Patri has also managed to ruin my favorite Greek salad.

Swallowing to the back of my throat, I forcibly pushed it to my esophagus. He squeezed in too many lemons because I could taste them and the pepper. Oh God, no Patri, why did you do this to me?

"Well?" Lian looked at me, Ametrine also dropped her tableware and looked beside me, staring at me and knowing fully well that I was faking my expression that it was delicious.

Sighing, I bit my lip and looked at Patri.

"Dad, what kind of taste is this?!"