complete deception

the mall

My mother.

Chloe Wellsy, was dressed in a beautiful emerald blue gown that highlighted her beautiful, milk-silk skin.

paired with a matching black bag and low, fancy shoes.

Her hair was pitch-black—which is where I got mine from—and styled into a neat, low ponytail.

She wore a very natural makeup look, finished with a swipe of shiny lip gloss.

Out of all the siblings, Kai and I were the only two who got most of her beautiful features.

The rest—Kelvin, my second eldest brother, Dean, and Davana—got most of their looks from my dad.

We continued walking toward my mom, noticing her gesturing animatedly with her hands as she talked to a young lady beside her. This stranger was dressed in a white top and a baggy, faded denim jean paired with clean white sneakers.

I instantly liked her style, even before we came close enough to see her face.

"Mom," I called out, letting her know we were here.

She turned instantly, a flash of surprise crossing her face.

For a split second, her expression gave off a clear "'What! Can't you see I'm talking to someone here?' vibe, before she immediately dropped the look and smiled warmly.

"Oh! My angels are here, Becca," she said, turning to the stranger by her side.

Then she looked at me. "Hailey, darling, drop the frown. It will make you look old and wrinkled early.

I've always told you to stop doing that, haven't I?"

"Ha! Mom, you're funny," I said.

Lyric, Kai, the stranger—whom I now knew was named Becca—and even I burst out laughing.

I smiled weakly as my mother’s hand reached up, gently patting my cheeks.

"There you go, smile always, hun. You know I hate an angry or frowning face," she said affectionately, before leaning in and planting a warm kiss on my cheek.

Oh guys, this is Becca," my mom introduced, gesturing toward the stylish girl.

"She's the daughter of one of my close clients, Agnes, who has become a dear friend.

I invited Becca along today because they recently moved here, and she’s been bored out of her mind with no friends yet. So, I asked her mother to tell her to come along so I could introduce her to you girls.

And also, she’s actually enrolling in your school tomorrow so she can catch up with the semester!"

Before Lyric and I could even fully process the idea of a new student joining our campus, Mom turned back to face Becca.

"Becca," my mom added brightly, "these are my angels."

She pointed at me first. "This is Hailey, my little princess, and also

my last cuties baby girl!" Mom cooed, screwing her face into a dramatic, exaggerated expression—the exact kind of goofy face you make when you're trying to pacify a crying baby or get a toddler to smile.

"Oh, Mrs. Chloe Wellsy!" I groaned, calling my mother by her full name.

"I'm not a child anymore, for crying out loud!"

I twisted my features into the classic, deeply annoyed face I always made whenever she called me her little princess or treated me like an infant in public.

I heard Lyric and Kai trying so hard not to burst out laughing at my misery, desperately holding it in. Becca gave me a shy smile, looking a little amused herself.

Before I could complain any further, my mother proceeded to point at Lyric.

"And this is Lyric, my best friend's daughter and also Hailey’s bestie. My pretty, upcoming actress... or is it modeling, darling?" she asked, waiting for Lyric to answer.

"Both, Mama," Lyric replied smoothly.

"Mama" was the name we all used to differentiate how we called our mothers.

Lyric and Anna called my mom "Mama."

Lyric's mother was "Gigi" to Anna and me.

And Lyric and I called Anna's mother "Nina."

It was a whole system, and honestly, it was so dramatic, I thought to myself.

"Oh, that's my celebrity," I teased, winking back at Lyric.

Finally, Mom reached my big bro. "And this is the man of the hour—the groom himself, and also my first baby boy, Kai," my mom added, proudly introducing him to Becca.

Becca’s smile widened gracefully.

"I'm so pleased to meet you all," she muttered softly. "And I greatly hope we can be friends."

"Oh, don't worry, darling," my mom chirped instantly.

"They don't have a choice but to add you to the group, or they'll face a great punishment." She flashed a playfully wicked smile, before silently mouthing the words "'be nice to her'" to the three of us.

She cleared her throat with a grin. "Just kidding! But really, be nice to her, okay?"

Okay guys, chop-chop! Let's move.

We don't have the whole day to ourselves because there is a lot to be done," my mom said, turning to start walking toward the mall entrance. "Come on, guys, let's go, okay?"

Immediately, my brother’s voice cut in. "Oh, Mom, I need to—"

Without even allowing him to finish his sentence, my mom spun around and glared at him. "You what, Kai? Oh no, young man. You will start here with us and do the heavy lifting of stuff to the car. And also, call Caleb and tell him to bring the truck, because we need to buy a lot today!"

"But Mom!" Kai said, sounding completely frustrated.

"Shh! Darling," Mom said, shutting him down instantly. "No complaints, Kai. You know this is all for you, and your wedding is on Sunday! We don't have time. Plus, you need to be involved in the prep. Your ideas and choices count too, right? I can't be calling to ask you from home whether you like this color, or what size and pattern of items you prefer, now can I?"

The three of us just stood there, quietly watching the mother-and-son banter play out.

"Mom, I love you, but I didn't ask you to stress yourself doing all this," Kai countered, exasperated. "There are a lot of workers, decorators, and baking companies that I am ready to pay to service us. You know it, Kai added.

"Oh, I see! Now you want to flash your wealth at me, right?" Mom gasped dramatically. "Okay, go on. Keep bantering with me, rich young master."

"Oh, Mom, you are *so* dramatic. I—"

"Shut up, Kai!" Mom interrupted. "I told you I wanted to do this myself. I want to be the one to make your wedding a fairy tale. You are my first baby, and I want you to see my efforts. I promised myself back then that whenever my children's weddings came up, I wanted to be the one to make them perfect and beautiful... but I guess it was just my imagination."

Mom lowered her voice sadly, her eyes suddenly brimming with unshed tears.

The waterworks worked instantly. Kai's posture completely slumped, a wave of sadness and guilt washing over his face at her words.

I turned to look at Lyric and Becca, and found both of them looking incredibly sad for Mom, too.

"Gosh!, I thought to myself, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

"Even with all the years Kai has lived with Mom, and as long as Lyric has been around us, they still fall for her grand dramas and emotional blackmail."

Brother, just give in and apologize to Mrs. Chloe, because you don’t stand a chance of winning," I chimed in, looking at Kai and waiting for the inevitable surrender.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean it that way, please forgive me," Kai muttered, completely defeated.

"Girls!" my mom said, her voice still sounding intentionally sad and husky. "Let's go back. It seems my efforts are not needed here..." She made a big show of wiping away a stray tear from the corner of her eye with her fingers.

"Mom, drop it. He apologized already," I said, seeing right through the act.

My mom looked up at me and suddenly grabbed my chin, since I was the closest one to her. "You evil and un-effected baby! I don’t know why you are always so immune to my drama," she said, bursting into loud, cheerful laughter.

Beside us, Lyric and Kai looked on in utter surprise at how fast she had just switched characters.

I looked over at them and shook my head. "Honestly, you both and the rest of the family always disappoint me when it comes to Mom's acting." Turning back to her, I added,

"Let's go, Mom, before I change my mind about this whole shopping trip."

With that, I turned around and was the first to walk into the mall.

Behind me, I heard Lyric catching up to my mother. "Mama, my department is actually looking for an acting lecturer for our drama days. You should really apply for the position!"

"Oh, really, baby? I'll definitely think about it," my mom replied, and the two of them laughed together.

Becca quickly hurried her steps to catch up to my pace. Once she was walking beside me, she leaned in slightly. "Hey, Hailey, a quick one, yeah? Is your mom always this funny?"

I faced her with a knowing smile before I replied, "This is just a little snippet of what she's capable of."