Chapter 523 You Guys Conspired
The rain went on for three more days, filling the air with humidity. When Courtney woke up and heard the sound of rain outside, she pulled the curtains open. A frown furrowed her brows. The sky was overcast, and she had no idea what time it was. Frustration welled up within her. She changed into new clothes and went into the dining room. Alexander and Jordan were reading the finance news of the day.
Tina changed into her school uniform and came downstairs. She noticed the extra plate on the table, and she asked, “Is Grandma back?”
She looked into the kitchen and was about to go in when Alexander said, “It’s Oliver.”
Courtney was having her milk, and she cocked her eyebrow and looked at Alexander. The guy was burying his face in the newspaper. “I thought he was helping the police arrest some criminals at the border. They’ve already arrested those folks?”
“Yeah. He’s on leave now.” Alexander flipped the newspaper absentmindedly. Courtney was surprised that Oliver told Alexander before her that he was coming back.
She took the newspapers from Alexander and Jordan’s hands. “You can read these after you have your breakfast.”
The men looked at each other sheepishly while the maid took the chance to serve them breakfast. Tina wiped her mouth and went upstairs before coming back down, saddling her bag behind her. “It’s my turn to clean the class today. The driver will take me to school, so I won’t be following you guys.”
She went to the porch and changed her shoes in a hurry. A maid handed an umbrella to her, and she was about to take it, but Alexander shot the porch a look and said gently, “You don’t have to go to school for a while, Tina.””
“What?” The umbrella slipped out of Tina’s hands and fell to the ground. She looked at Alexander, apparently upset. “I told you I’m not going to Sunhill.”
After they came back from the police station the day before, Alexander suddenly suggested that Tina quit school and start work at Sunhill. He looked adamant and she had to throw a big tantrum before he gave up. He’s gonna bring that up again? Annoyed, she tried to go out, but the girl bumped into someone. She could smell the scent of rain coming from him.
Oliver held her before she fell. “Aw, you didn’t even wait for me? But I thought you knew I was coming back.”
A slight pause later, Tina beamed. “Mr. Oliver?”
Before she could hug him, he held her shoulder down and took her back to the dining table. His camo shirt was looking heavy on him. “The flight’s scheduled for ten. You seem to be in a hurry.”
His shirt was drenched and he left muddy footprints from the porch all the way to the dining room. Then, Oliver sat down and dug into his breakfast.
“What flight, Mr. Oliver?” Tina sat back down, looking confused.
Oliver explained through a full mouth, but it only made her more confused. “Oh, you don’t know? Didn’t your father say anything about it?”
He was famished as he finished his breakfast in just a few moments, and then he shot a look at Alexander.
Alexander put his cutlery down calmly. “I haven’t had the time.”
Tina was getting really flummoxed. “I thought you wanted me to quit school and work at Sunhill.”
“Nope. You’re going on a study tour to Everlorn. New York University is recruiting a few study tour groups, and the members will visit the top ten universities of Everlorn within six weeks. This is a great opportunity, and the members might even snag a spot in one of these universities in the future.”
“Wait, so like a recommendation?” Tina’s eyes widened in disbelief. “But I’m not even in high school yet.”
“It’s alright. You can be admitted into the best high schools in Everlorn. If you don’t want to, they can keep a record of you, and you can send your application to them after you graduate high school.”
Tina was still confused, but Oliver cocked his eyebrow mysteriously. “I have two spots here. Jordan has one. Do you want one, Tina? I’ll give it to Mrs. Yliaster if you don’t. I heard they got a spot too, so Leah will go, but her siblings won’t.”
“I’ll go!” Tina had made a decision as her eyes shone. She looked happy, and all she could think about was her dream university—Cambridge.
Alexander had picked his newspaper up again. He looked up from it and said, “Jordan can’t stay with me all the time either. See if you have any university you’d want to enrol in, and start preparing after you come back. You and Tina will start your studies there next semester.”
“Okay.” Jordan did not object, though he was giving Tina a mysterious look.
Tina had no idea about it, and she was looking at Oliver with excitement. “Where did you get these spots, Mr. Oliver?”
Oliver was eating his egg, so he did not look up. “Oh, we worked with the local police to crack the recent scam case. The one who liaised with us was Fiona, a pretty lady from Canada. Her father’s in charge of the Alliance’s department of education, and he’s working on a study tour in Everlorn. She talked to me about it, so I asked if I could have two spots.”
Courtney understood what was going on while Tina was red with excitement. She had forgotten all about the fact that she had to clean the class. “So, when are we going?”
Oliver looked at the time. “We have to be at the airport at ten. You have two hours and forty-three minutes left.”
Tina took Jordan and darted upstairs. Alexander raised his eyebrow and he asked while looking in Tina’s direction, “I thought you were going to school.”
She was on the last step of the staircase, but she turned around and shrugged. “This is more important than school. Maybe I can get a recommendation to Cambridge out of this, and you know Jordan can’t handle Leah. I need to be there to help him.”
She had a point and Alexander had no retort. He turned his attention back to the last page of the newspaper, and he sounded subtly happy as he said, “Slow down. You still have time.”
When the kids had gone upstairs, Oliver cocked his eyebrow at Alexander, as if telling Alexander to praise him. Alexander noticed that, but he moved his newspaper up and pretended he saw nothing.
Courtney could guess what was going on. She crossed her arms and looked at the men. “You guys are in on it, aren’t you? The PIC of the Alliance’s education department? Working on a study tour to Everlorn? Once Tina calms down, she’ll see that it’s a lie.”
The gentlemen could not keep up the act anymore. They could tell that she was upset, and Oliver went back to his breakfast, though he was nudging Alexander with his elbow.
Alexander put his newspaper down and answered seriously, “This was Oliver’s idea.”
