Seeping Tension

That feeling kept on dangling on Xaloc's mind even as he, his grandmother and the twins went to the dining room. 

His father believed that work and family should be kept separate so his father never hosted visitors or colleagues in their main house. Unlike the mansion at Parte, the dining room in their family house was more of a smaller side.

It was just his grandmother, father, mother, the twins and himself that would be dining today. His little siblings had already had their dinner and Orson was already dosing off in the crib.

According to the structure of the dining table, there was a single seat reserved for the master of the house, and there were two other seats on each side next to the master's seat.

His father would normally sit on the master's seat and his mother would naturally sit on the left side of his dad and Maya on the right side, with Mason sitting on the left side of his mother.

Traditionally, this was wrong. As the first child, his position was at his father's right-hand side, but his parents were too concerned about the twins' health that the seating arrangement had been rearranged. It was just one of the little things that had changed, it was not a big deal.

Today due to his grandmother visiting, the seating had been rearranged again. Grandma sat in the master's seat. His father sat in the right-side seat and his mother sat at the left seat with Mason beside her and Maya beside his father.

Xaloc sat beside Maya. With nobody sitting opposite him, it was as if he was an unwanted but necessary addition.

He had always wondered if their seating arrangement was the physical representation of their life as a family. To him, it was though.

Aunty Monalisa drove in the cart full of piping hot dishes. Aside from the driver, She was the only servant in their house. 

Maybe for fear of an extramarital affair, his mother had told his father when they married that she was not a fan of servants, however, his father had insisted on one to help her around.

His mother had chosen Aunty Monalisa. She was an oriental middle-aged woman with a large scar on the left side of her face that was very frightening.

Growing up the scar on her face had frightened him terribly. In order for the twins not to have a similar experience, she wore a black mask on her face. 

Aunty Monalisa was the nanny, the housekeeper and the chef all at once. With all these, it was no surprise that she was not just a servant of the house but was like a part of the family. The twins for example adored her.

Well, Xaloc was sure that they liked her more than they did him.

"Aunty Mona. What are we having for dinner?" Maya called out happily.

"I cooked your favourite braised pork." Her expression was doting and her voice was very soft.

"Yay!"

"What about me?" Mason asked.

"There is also spicy crayfish." She replied fondly pushing the cart full of piping hot bowls to the table.

Xaloc got up and helped her carry the bowls from the cart to the table. He arranged them properly ensuring that what everyone liked was closer to them. 

After that, he sat down and scooped some of the prawn congee into a smaller bowl. He also plated some coleslaw and some crystal dumplings on a different plate. 

From the corner of his eyes, he could see his father expertly shell the crayfish.

He pinched the crayfish's head, body and tail. He then removed the head and pulled on the tail. A big chunk of meat was pulled out from the hard shell.

Felix placed it on Mason's bowl and the boy's chopsticks moved immediately. He picked it up and ate it with relish.

"Just four crayfish this night. Too much would not be good for you." Felix said as he picked up another crayfish.

"I did not know that little Mason liked spicy food, I thought it was just Xaloc. Felix, do not just focus on peeling, you should eat too. Monalisa, next time peel them in the kitchen before serving." After saying this, Nyx paused and shook her head before she continued to eat.

"Brother likes crayfish too. Do you want some?" Mason said as he tried to pass his plate to Xaloc who shook his head.

"I don't eat spicy food anymore." As he said so, he took another spoon. The congee's fragrance burst in his mouth and he happily closed his eyes.

Karen and Felix looked at each other and saw the surprise and guilt reflecting in the other's eyes. Xaloc had grown up loving spicy food, even after his lips were swollen and red, he would not stop eating them.

It has been so long since they had registered him eating spicy food. Just when had he stopped...they had not even noticed.

"Xaloc. How is your college application coming up? It should have started by now. Do you need any help choosing, we can take you to scout some of the universities you favour." Felix asked.

Xaloc bit into one of the dumplings. Aunty Monalisa's cooking was delicious.

"Thank you but there is no need. I have already made up my mind about my university choice. I will be going to Jaune College in spring next year." He said flatly.

"Jaune College?" His mother gasped. His father was equally surprised while his grandma watched him curiously.

He could understand their surprise. If Emerald City was the large summer city close to the capital then Jaune City was the opposite. It was a small city built on one of the many islands of the country that depended on farming and fishing for its food production.

The climate was different from that of Emerald City. It was always raining there. To the urbaners of Emerald City, cities like the Jaune cities were rural people.

Karen dropped her spoon as her eyes narrowed, "Xaloc, are you trying to run away from home? Is that what this is?"

"Karen! Xaloc, you do not answer that. Later, you should come up to the study and tell me your reasons for choosing the school. Your mom is just very shocked, Jaune College is not just far but it is far above your level." He glanced at his mother and felt a little embarrassed. "We will talk about this later."

Nyx just smiled, "No need to quarrel about his college. It would be not necessary. I came back for a very important discussion. No need to look so worried, Felix. I am alright. Let's have a nice meal."

The room descended into silence as the only noise heard was the cracking of the eating utensils, however, an indescribable tension has started to seep into the house.