"Welcome to our house," Andy said as he pressed the remote control to open the gate. Then he parked the car in front of the mansion's entrance. Suddenly the door opened. It was Alicia.
"Thanks for coming." Alicia approached and hugged Dianne. She was glad that her friend finally came. "Hey wait a minute! How come you two came together at the same time and in the same car?" She questioned curiously. She stared at Dianne, folded her arms in front of her chest, and winked at her. "So tell me, did you date my brother?"
Dianne's mouth opened wide in an instant. She was about to say "I did NOT!" when Andy exclaimed, "Ohh! Give me a break!!" He went inside the house, leaving the girls outside.
"Don't worry, I was only kidding. Andy's always like that. He always takes jokes seriously. He doesn't often talk to other people. I bet you both stayed quiet in the car, didn't you?"
Dianne didn't answer. She was surprised to hear what Alicia told her. What happened in the car was entirely the opposite to what Alicia just said. They weren't quiet at all. In fact, they had a friendly conversation.
"What's wrong?" The concerned girl asked Dianne.
"Urm... I think I left my sandwiches and ice cream in the car." Well, Dianne did forget to bring her stuffs out of the car. And that was also a good reason to hide the truth from Alicia. Alicia took the car key which Andy gave her out her pocket. She opened the front side door and took out the shopping bags for Dianne. Dianne told her that the sandwiches and ice cream were to be eaten together with her, Andy and Brad.
"How nice of you." Alicia smiled kindly and lead Dianne inside the exquisite mansion. Dianne was amazed as she examined every part of the house as she would in a museum. The exterior part of the house appeared renovated, modern, and luxurious. But the interior was completely different. It looked old-fashioned and classical, yet elegant and attractive. The furnitures were antique and ornamental. The tables and shelves were embroidered and made of dark-coloured wood. The wallpapers looked artistic compared to modern-day wallpapers, and colours seemed to have faded. When Dianne looked up at the ceiling, she saw a lovely chandelier hanging from it. The chandelier was shiny and golden. Even though everything in the house was antique, it was clean and taken care of -- not dusty and deteriorating.
"Well, what do you think?" Alicia said, asking for Dianne's opinion on her house. She tried not to giggle as Dianne showed an astonished and flabbergasted look on her face.
"Your house is amazing!" Dianne cried and threw her arms in the air. "You're living in an 18th century castle!"
Alicia laughed. Dianne looked like a little girl who just received a Barbie doll house. "Hmm... you must be surprised if I tell you that this house was built in 1890."
"What?! Tell me you're kidding!"
"No, I mean it. Our family from the previous generations were living in this house since then. And I assume either Brad, Andy, or I will live here in the next few years," Alicia explained briefly. Dianne gave an oh-I-see look at her.
"Oh... so that's how it went... hey that's cool! This mansion belongs to your family forever!" Dianne said as she followed Alicia to the living room. After she was told to sit on the fancy arm-chair, Alicia added on her explanation that the house would be renovated in a few years. Her father desired a modern feature for the mansion. But he would add a classical touch by not removing the fancy and antique furnitures.
Alicia suggested that they have lunch, because it was noon already. Dianne agreed; her stomach was grumbling and demanding food. She helped setting up the dining table. She took some plates and crystal glasses from the top right corner of the kitchen shelf. Alicia arranged them on the table and brought the food that she cooked. I can't wait to eat all this, Dianne thought. She could feel the saliva watering her dry mouth.
"Dianne, can you please get the ice cream scoop from Brad's room? He used it last night for his geometry assignment. I totally have no idea why he used it to draw an ugly circle. I know you're bothered, but... please? I have to heat the spaghetti sauce and make more fries," Alicia said pleadingly.
"No, I'm not bothered at all. I'd like to wander around this house anyway. So where do I have to go?" Dianne asked.
"Brad's room where there's a Spiderman poster on the door. Just go up the stairs and turn right. It's beside the study room."
Dianne nodded and tiptoed up the stairs because they creaked as she stepped her foot on them. Then she turned right and found a huge poster stuck on a door. That must be Brad's room, she thought. I never thought a guy like him would admire Spiderman.
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