"Is it just you, sir?"
"...No one else has stopped by?"
"No, sir, no one else has been here."
The manager was about to lead Angelo inside.
But Angelo suddenly felt a pang of nerves.
Who was this guy with such a big presence that it outdid his own grand entrance?
Angelo whipped out his phone and called his unlucky sister.
"Hey? What's the deal? Didn't you set up a meet with Odie?"
"No, I already sent him a message."
"What good is a message? Did he text back?"
"Nope."
Sandy shrugged it off, "Nobody ever turns down an invitation from me."
"..."
Angelo was at his wit's end with his sister.
What on earth was going through her mind?
"I'm really over it with you!"
Angelo hung up the call.
The manager asked again, "Would you still like to dine, sir?"
"Yes! Of course! I blew half my monthly allowance on this."
To keep up appearances for Sandy, he'd rented out the whole venue.
If he'd known the guy wouldn't show, he could've just grabbed a bite at a corner café and saved a ton of money.
That afternoon, Angelo filled Sandy in on the lunchtime fiasco when he got home.
When Sandy found out Odie completely bailed, she was fuming. "Who does Odie think he is, turning me down?"
"Yeah…ugh! It got me so upset…ugh! I ended up stuffing myself at lunch…ugh!"
"Why the tears, my little girl?"
Caelum's face turned stern. "You little troublemaker, picking on your sister again?"
"I didn't!"
"Oh, really? You little punk, giving your sister a hard time!"
Mom chimed in, and together they started tugging on Angelo's ear.
Sandy watched in a daze.
"Who dares to mess with my little girl? I'll sort them out!"
"Angelo, you're old enough to know better! Haven't I taught you to look after your sister?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'll take care of her, I swear!"
Sandy watched her parents team up against Angelo.
The whole scene felt like something out of a dream.
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