Hollywood Zenith

I looked over Adele\'s shoulder and found that everyone was staring at us and realized we were still hugging. It was an embarrassing situation, but I rubbed her back to calm her down; It had been a long time since we met.

" Ooho, who do we have here? Girlfriend? " Aunt Amelia teased from the side.

Adele separated abruptly, and her face was red as a tomato which I find really amusing and cute. She is still the same as the first time we met, but there is a certain boldness in her attitude, which is definitely a good sign for a shy girl like her.

" N-no, It was just....." She fumbled but changed the subject, "S-s-Samuel, W-what are you doing here?" She asked.

" OMG, what did I just do? I hugged Sami out of the blue in front of everyone. Hope he doesn\'t find me weird." Adele thought.

" Don\'t tease her, Aunt. She is an acquaintance I met a few months ago." I said, salvaging the situation.

" Hmm, seems like more than that. " Uncle George added.

" Anyway, I was walking past the class and recognized your voice. I will be coming here to study acting from tomorrow onward. You never mentioned that this is where you studied singing." I said.

" You never asked or mentioned it earlier. I don\'t even know that you like acting or wanted to study it. Uncle Oscar helped me enroll, and I have to thank you for it. You never visited this past month, so it never came up; Hannah also told me you are busy, so there is that. You should talk to her more; She would often talk about the promise you made to her but never disclose the details. " Adele said while her classmates began to surround her.

There are five of them in total, including the teacher. One of the girls from the group came forward to stand beside Adele and gave me a funny look. She looked somewhat familiar and showed a resemblance to someone I had met before. Did I do something wrong? She looked at me from top to bottom, after which she asked Adele---

" Not bad, perfect even but Adele, you must be cautious of such boys. They are always worse, hiding behind their looks. " She said blatantly in a harsh tone, with a slightly loud voice making sure that I heard it.

She is probably a few years older than us. As for her appearance, She has an oval face with bright red eyes, which is quite rare. Her long dark hair and facial features are attractive, but her harsh words definitely lowered her appeal. What puzzles me why such hostility toward a complete stranger?

" What are you saying? I trust him. By the way, this is my friend Iblis Hanson. She is a fellow classmate. Don\'t listen to her nonsense; I don\'t know why she is acting like this. " said Adele.

" I don\'t mind. Nice to meet you, Iblis. This is my Aunt Amelia and Uncle George. The fellow in the back is Oscar, who you have already met. " I said.

" I-it is nice to meet you, Aunt, Uncle. I am Adele Adkins." She said in a polite tone. Uncle and Aunt nodded at the girl.

" Cheh, I will expose you sooner or later. You--" Iblis retorted, but the teacher stopped her.

" Iblis, why are you behaving like this. My apologies; I am Joyce Wood, instructor for this class. I see that Lucy is giving you the tour. It is early in the class, so I will no longer hold you. Adele, you can take an early leave to accompany them if you want. " Instructor said.

" Umm," Adele thought while looking at me. I thought about it but didn\'t want to be an inconvenience for her. Missing classes for petty reasons are not a good thing.

"It\'s okay. Go back to the class. We will have plenty of time to meet in the future." I said, assuring her. I also have to plan about the promise I made to Hannah and have to invite Adele to come along with us.

Iblis saw the opportunity and took Adele away while giving me scary looks. I had never met someone this hostile before. What is her problem?

We said our goodbyes and continued the tour while Aunt kept asking questions about Adele. I had to explain the whole story in detail to both of them, which was surprisingly short. Lucy also listened from the side and would occasionally look at me with admiration. Helping people is nothing to be proud of, but how should I express it without sounding condescending? I simply ignored it.

" So, you are like a knight in shining armor for her? That explains everything. Are you sure you are not starting early?" Uncle George said.

" Heh, I can already picture a dozen girls throwing herself at Sami. How many wives do you think he will have in the future?" Aunt Amelia raised a specific flag, but I saw Uncle nodding and thinking of an answer.

" What are you talking about? I am only a child. We have important things to take care of. " I protested.

" You don\'t deny it? I can take it as a confirmation that Laura\'s son will be a casanova in the future. Haha," Aunt said some more outrageous things.

" What? I didn\'t say anything." I grumbled and surprisingly lost my composure.

" That\'s Samuel for you. Thinking about his own way at this age and making millions of pounds is definitely not normal. Sometimes I really wonder-- never mind. " said Oscar, which surprised me. Typically, He never gave his opinion on the matter, but today he seems to be in a chatty mood.

" Millions of pounds? " Lucy exclaimed from the side, which made everyone focus on her.

" Oh, You didn\'t know. Samuel is the author of \'The Hobbit, which is still selling like hotcakes. You will be around us more, so I think it is okay to tell you. Just don\'t spread it other than Edith and Melanie. They will find out sooner or later. " Aunt dropped a bomb on Lucy.

Lucy nodded absentmindedly and continued the tour. For the rest of the time, It was more like we guided Lucy around the campus. After the sudden revelation, she became like a zombie. Lost in her own thoughts. After a few hours, we returned home.