Mai Legacy
1.17 - Jocelyn
“So what’s your home life like, Maverick?” Aarohi asked.
Aarohi, Maverick, Susan and Leah were all sitting around the dining room table. Aarohi had come over to check up on Susan and was pleased to meet Leah’s friend when Maverick came knocking on the door.
Seth was staying well out of the way. He didn’t want James or Susan to find out about him kissing Maverick. But… he also had his own plan. Sure, James and Susan didn’t want either of them to be petty because of their past with the Le Chiens, but he wouldn’t get chewed out if what he was doing didn’t appear petty.
“I just live with my aunt in an apartment in the Spice District,” Maverick shrugged. “She’s a mechanic.”
“You get good grades?” Susan asked innocently.
“Uhhh… yeah?”
“Mom!” Leah exclaimed. “Just because I’m failing a few classes doesn't mean you have to ask every guy who comes over that!”
“Exactly, a few Leah, that isn’t okay,” Susan sighed.
“I don’t need to worry, once I become heir, any company will be lucky to have me.”
“Leah!”
Aarohi and Maverick exchanged a look. Neither of them wanted to be in the middle of this conflict.
And sure enough, they were saved by a knock on the front door.
“Who could that be?” Susan muttered. “No one else was supposed to come over today.”
James emerged from his bedroom, where he’d been painting. “I’ll get it.”
He pushed open the door and was met with Jocelyn.
Upon seeing James, Jocelyn took a deep breath and let it out. She’d seen him in the news since she was a little girl. “Um, hi? I’m Jocelyn. Seth told me this is where he lives when he invited me over… I guess I’m in the right place cause you’re here! Hahaha… hahaha…”
James smiled slightly, then turned around and hollered for Seth.
Seth emerged from his bedroom and walked past the dining room table, pointedly not looking at Leah. He did, however, smile slightly at Maverick. Had to leave that option open. Even if, unlike Leah, he was getting good grades in school, he also had no other option but to beat her in the race for heir. He was firstborn after all, it was only fair.
“Jocelyn! Hi!” Seth called out as he walked for the door.
Jocelyn gave a little wave.
“Who’s this Seth? Friend from school?” James asked.
“Met her at the cafe last week,” Seth shrugged.
“Cafe? Seth, you didn’t go to the cafe, Leah did. You told us you went to the library.”
Seth mentally berated himself. He wasn’t good enough at this whole lying business.
Jocelyn grimaced. “I’m sorry, but is this a bad time? Should I go?”
James shook his head. “Of course not. You’re welcome to come in.”
Jocelyn walked carefully into the house, a little weirded out by the conflict she’d started. If she’d had any idea, she would have stayed well away. As much as she wanted to know the Mai family, the last thing she wanted to do was start drama.
Susan waved her over to the table, and Jocelyn greeted everyone sitting around it.
After that, Aarohi coughed politely. “Well, I think I’d better get going. I have… things to do!”
Susan, Leah, Seth, and James knew that she didn’t have anything to do, she only got paid when a company hired her to do standup or from tips at comedy nights at various lounges. And she certainly didn’t have anyone to go home to either. Clearly, Aarohi saw the storm brewing and wanted to get as far away from that argument as possible.
Aarohi hurried to the door and escaped, then Jocelyn quickly took her seat. Immediately after doing so, she was consumed by intense regret. She should have offered it to the people who actually lived here!
“Dumb Jocelyn,” she muttered under her breath.
“Seth kissed Maverick to try and ruin my chances with him,” Leah blurted out.
The whole room fell into dead silence.
Terrified, Seth looked up to his parents with pleading eyes.
“Maverick… I don’t want to put you through an interrogation here, but did he?” Susan asked.
Maverick gave Seth an apologetic look, and nodded slowly.
“Hang on, are you gay?” Jocelyn asked. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that! Just asking.”
Seth, overwhelmed with the stares from everyone in the room, ran to his bedroom and locked the door. He didn’t emerge until after both Jocelyn and Maverick had left.
Following that, James and Susan unlocked his bedroom door and dragged him out to the living room, where Leah was already seated. Without Jocelyn and Maverick there, there was nothing stopping James and Susan from giving the mother of all lectures to the both of them.
“Hajar Le Chien was petty and lost the legacy she’d married into!”
“What were you thinking?!”
“We celebrated and rubbed our victory into the Le Chiens faces after winning that court case, and you know what happened? You two lost several years of your life!”
“I don’t want you two to fight over the whole heir situation…”
Both Seth and Leah went to bed that night worn out from a full on hour or so of lectures. That night, they both silently agreed that they wouldn’t try to bring up anything like that again.