"Promise me you will behave!" Mom said for the nth times since this morning. God, not this paranoid-talk again! Yuqi groaned inwardly while suppressing the urge to roll her eyes.

"Mom, how many times do you want me to answer the same questions?" Yuqi asked as she shoved her favorite denim jacket and a pair of socks into the trunk. Mom who sat on the end of her bed stared at her with a very concerned expression.

Mom has been at it for almost two days now. Yeah, she was cool at first but now that the d-day drew closer she started being paranoid about the trip. So far, Yuqi has been humoring her, scared that she would change her mind at the last minutes.

"I just want to make sure you listen to me..." Mom started again. "As your parent, it's only normal for me to be worried about you and sending you alone oversea is not something I can take lightly. I probably should rethink-"

"Mom, I'll be fine..." Yuqi interrupted her words almost immediately. "Besides, I'm not alone, remember?"

Mom heaved a weary sigh. "I know...I know you're not alone, it just...forget it..." she said afterward, looking rather dejected, then reluctantly changing the subject to Lucas whereabout. Yuqi hasn't talked or met with Lucas today but she told mom that he was probably at home laying around or playing a game on his PC.

"Did Xuxi finish his packing?" Mom asked again after a while.

Yuqi nodded and added, "He said he done it last night..." Though she doubted Lucas would actually pack many essentials like her. He probably just packed several pieces of clothes and be done with it. He was going home after all.

Mom nodded inquiringly. After several seconds of silence, she got up from the bed and said, "Tell Xuxi to come over for dinner, will you?"

"Why?" Yuqi blurted out.

"What do you mean by 'why'?" Mom asked her with a quizzical look. "You two are leaving tomorrow..." she paused for a moment. "And I have something to discuss with him..." she continued again. Oh, that can't be good! Yuqi thought miserably.

"Ok. Ok. I'll call him!" she mumbled then proceed to dial Lucas's number.

"What's up?" Lucas greeted her after the second ring. Mom watched her with a beckoning stare.

"Are you home? Mom wants you to come over for a dinner..." Yuqi said point-blank.

"What? Now?"

Yuqi heard Lucas's response but she ignored it. "Ok. Ok. See you then..." She continued and pretended to hang up the call. "Xuxi said he'd love to join us for dinner..." she relayed Lucas's nonexistence answer to her. Mom nodded approvingly then left her bedroom after saying that she'll get the dinner ready for them.

"Xuxi, you're still there?" Yuqi muttered low onto her phone once mom's figure disappeared behind her bedroom door.

"What was that about?" Lucas sounded bewildered. "If you're going to pull a monologue, what's the point of asking me the question?" he commented again.

"Where are you? Can you come over now?" she pleaded in a rather desperate tone, again ignoring his comment.

"Why? What's so urgent that I have to be there right now?" Lucas responded to her.

Yuqi crawled on top of her bed and rolled onto her left side. "Mom has been hounding me since this morning, I can't take it anymore..." she said in a very low tone while pursing her lips. She heard Lucas chuckled from the other end.

"Do I have to come?" Lucas joked again.

"Yes. Unless you prepared for what happened next, I won't stop you..." mused Yuqi savagely.

"Wow, very encouraging..." She chuckled at Lucas's sarcastic remark. "What do you think she wants from me?" he asked her.

"I don't know. Giving you a warning. Lots of warning!" she said half-joking.

"Warning?" There was pause then he continued again in a rather concerned tone. "Yeah, that makes sense! Can't blame them..."

Yuqi creased her forehead, "What does that suppose to mean?"

Lucas didn't elaborate on what he just said, he just laughed and playfully commented, "Why do I feel like we're getting married tomorrow?"

Yuqi laughed at his comment and responded, "Tell