Chapter 170: Annette meets the gang, and goes back home

"Are you feeling better, Mom?" asked Mikaela as she entered the room with Edward behind her.

"Not particularly. Nearly everyone has threatened me in some way or the other for what I’ve done," said Annette, looking depressed and pathetic.

"Well, don’t sweat it too much. Everything will be fine," said Mikaela, trying to be reassuring.

"Sure they will, I just now have to ask Ruth, Edward, and even you for permission to even do anything," said Annette, bitterness in her voice.

"Well, it’s not all that bad," said Mikaela.

"You know, all of this wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t made such a big deal," sighed Annette.

"Oh yeah? You’re the one who started it by hugging Ester right in front of me!" snapped Mikaela.

"I’m her homeroom teacher! I was doing the same thing that Maria was doing for you!" snapped back Annette.

"Actually this is all your fault Mom. You didn’t let me go to St. Ignatius, so were stuck with, what did Ms. Hirschfield call it? Oh yeah, a conflict of interest. So, from now onwards, I’m not going to Boston Public," said Mikaela.

"Looks like I don’t have much of a choice on that one, do I?" sighed Annette.

"No, you don’t. That’s happening no matter how many knives you pull," said Edward stepping in.

"I get it. I get it, all right! You don’t have to keep rubbing things in like that!" screamed Annette.

"Yeah, well. I’m just worried about what you’ll do once you’re out of this place," said Edward.

"Hmph! It’s not like I can do anything," grumbled Annette, subdued once more.

"OK, Mom. Here’s the deal. I go to St. Ignatius, and Captain Hawkins here cooks for both of us. Meat for me, and fresh veggies for you. And you will be nice to him, he’s doing it as a courtesy," said Mikaela.

"He is not keeping dead animal in my fridge, or cooking dead animal in my kitchen," said Annette flatly.

"I can work with that," said Edward with a shrug.

"OK, now. I want to introduce you properly to my new friends. Behave, OK?" asked Mikaela.

"I’ll behave," sighed Annette, too burned out to argue.

Mikaela left the room, and returned with Adelaide, Yue, Yasmin, and Alexandria.

"Hello, Ms. Petra, I’m Dr. Alexandria Messerschmitt-Albrecht. Please call me Alexandria. It is nice to meet you," said Alexandria, extending her hand with a warm smile.

"A doctor?" asked Annette, shaking Alexandria’s hand.

"Relax, I’m not a shrink. I’m a genetics researcher," said Alexandria.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Petra, I’m Adelaide," said Adelaide, shaking Annette’s hand.

"And I’m Yue," said Yue.

"And I’m Yasmin," said Yasmin, also shaking Annette’s hand.

"It’s nice to meet all of you," said Annette, feeling a little overwhelmed with the sight of Alexandria and the other girls - all beautiful and dressed in sleek skirt-suits.

"Adelaide and the others are in the Seventh grade at St. Ignatius Academy. They’ve agreed to help me study for the entrance examination," said Mikaela.

"You needn’t worry about the tuition Ms. Petra. We’ll make sure Mikaela gets the free ride scholarship," said Adelaide.

"C-could I get a minute alone with you Alexandria?" asked Annette.

"Sure. Girls, wait outside, OK?" said Alexandria.

Adelaide and the others nodded, and filed out.

---

"Look, Alexandria. I know you all mean well, but I’m opposed to sending Mikaela to St. Ignatius. Not only does my ex-husband teach there, but I know for a fact that it is a high-profile institution. I want Mikaela to have a normal life, not one with so much controversy," said Annette.

Alexandria sat down beside Annette, and held her hands.

"You know. I’ve been there too. I’ll let you in on a little secret. My husband runs a nuclear energy empire from his own kind of fiefdom, much like this Sirius Zone back in Germany, and he was instrumental in leading it down the nationalist path it currently is on. I too, refused to let him pay for Adelaide’s tuition with his blood money. But I’ve come to realize something. As much as I would love to not associate with that kind of life and power, it was robbing Adelaide of precious opportunities, and of a stable father-figure. More than that, I realized that even if I chose to run away, my husband’s enemies would not see me as innocent or as an individual, no matter what I said or did to distance myself. Given a choice between a life of danger without his protection, and a life of safety because of his protection, I chose the latter. Not just for myself, but for my daughter," said Alexandria.

"I see. Well, I don’t have that luxury Alexandria. My ex-husband is a toxic brute that has already threatened me with far worse violence than what any of his so-called enemies have. As for the Sirius Zone. Let me share a little secret with you. My ex-husband is Ivan Zakhrov, and his son, Aaron Zakhrov is the founder and dictator of Sirius Software and the Sirius Zone," said Annette.

"I know that. Professor Zakhrov teaches Adelaide after all. But if you are worried that I’m friends with him, you can rest easy. I have my own dysfunctional high-powered family issues to deal with without getting mixed up in yours," said Alexandria.

"But you are mixed up, aren’t you? Your daughter has befriended mine," pointed out Annette.

"Not quite. They are friends. I’d like for us to be at least acquaintances on speaking terms so that it makes coordinating things like visits and sleepovers easy, but if you’d rather not have anything to do with me, I’d understand - even if I don’t particularly like it," said Alexandria.

"You know, I suppose that isn’t the worst idea. I’d like somebody who actually knows what it’s like than be surrounded with a bunch of envious harpies who think I’m crazy for wanting to be free from Ivan," said Annette.

"Well, I suppose that’s one way of putting it," chuckled Alexandria standing up to leave.

"By the way, Annette. You’re looking pretty fabulous for a woman who is past 40. You must have some great genes," she said, pausing in the doorway.

"Oh please! Enough with that empty flattery, it’s not going to work on me," said Annette.

"Just making an observation," said Alexandria, leaving.

---

"Finally back home," sighed Annette, as she walked through the front door, with Edward and Mikaela behind her.

"You girls get comfortable. I’ll start on dinner," said Edward, carrying a large bag of groceries into the kitchen.

"Hey! I said no dead animal in my kitchen!" said Annette, painfully aware that Edward’s bag contained cuts of beef steak in addition to fresh vegetables.

He had dragged them into a farmer’s market, and she had nearly fainted from the sight of beef sides hanging in the refrigerated rooms of the butchery section.

"I know, I know. I’ll drop those off at my place," said Edward, unpacking the vegetables and greens, which included cucumbers, bell peppers, lotus roots, potatoes. Along with sprigs and bunches of thyme, coriander, mint, and a large package of rice.

"I’ll come with you, Captain. I have to get some of my stuff from your house as well," said Mikaela, skipping behind him as he left for the house across the street.

"I need a nice hot shower," sighed Annette, and trudged upstairs to her bedroom.

She stripped, locked herself in the bathroom, and turned on the shower, letting the steaming hot water pound over her head and neck to soothe the dull aching she was feeling.

She turned off the shower, and wiped the fog away from the bathroom mirror.

"This damn body is a curse, but at least I’ve managed to not do the whole dolling myself up thing," she muttered, surveying her appearance in the mirror.

Her black, short-cropped hair leant a tomboyish look to her face, and contrasted with her warm brown eyes.

Her skin was pale, and years of processed vegan foods had replaced its natural softness and glow with a papery roughness and a spotty pallor. However, it did nothing to hide the fact that her features were undeniably pleasing to look at, even through her sour expression.

She was still slender, and her breasts were respectable C-cups.

Her overall figure still retained its hourglass shape, and without her usual attire of oversized clothing, her 180 cm tall frame made her look statuesque.

A thin layer of black body hair covered her arms, and large tufts of hair grew out of her armpits, making her otherwise conventionally very attractive appearance seem unkempt and frumpy.

Looking away from the mirror, she retrieved the hair dryer from the sink drawer and started to blow dry her short-cropped hair.

Fully dry, she padded into the master bedroom and put on a fresh pair of simple black cotton panties, before changing into a fresh oversized gray hoodie and sweatpants.

The smell of cooking tickled her nostrils, and her stomach gave a loud rumble.

"Hmph! Let’s see what Edward has cooked," she said, and trudged back down the stairs.