The New me

On the way home, because of the accumulated fatigued, I slept in the car. He was kind enough not to disturb me by running the car smoothly. He woke me up when we were already right in front of the mansion.

I got off with his help and saw my parents with few maids waiting for us.

"Aunt, Uncle" Luke addressed while I gently withdrew my hand on his.

"Luke darling, you're here~!" Mother delightfully welcomed him.

She was expressing herself like she hadn't seen him for a very long time when they came to my party just the other night.

Even father went to receive him "How about some beer or wine Young man?" as he said that he gestured for him to follow him inside.

"Mom, Dad." I looked at them, "It's late and he needs to drive." I reminded both. If something happened because he was drunk driving then it wouldn't be good. He is still young. From my last life, our neighbor lost their only child because of the said act.

But it seems like I was worried for nothing as I heard Luke say, "Fine by me." He gave a brief smile before telling me, "Relax, I'll only have a cup."

Well, those are the typical words of a frequent drinker. 'I'll only have a cup' but once they started, they won't stop unless they're crawling or passed out.

"Iris, we'll just send him home if you're worried." Mother quickly suggested.

"Or better yet, have him sleep over for the night." She added.

I looked at them and said, "Whatever will he choose, that's fine."

I was only reminded of the happenings in the past since they already had plans then let them handle it. As my eyes sting from the contact lens I was wearing, I immediately went inside after saying good night.

The next day I was informed that Luke had accompanied dad for an hour before going home. He did not drive but had our driver send him back.

Work still continued as we are revising some parts of the proposal. I was out of it when I received back our draft. There was a lot to work on. We did our best and sent our final output for approval.

A week had passed just like that. As it was my off, I decided to go out and encounter life outside than being caged inside my room. I had enough of it from the past days. I had the driver send me to an Art Museum. This idea came from my own experience from the old me. To help to pay up my tuition, I had various part-time works. One of it is becoming a cleaner for museums.

The museum I've gone is relatively old just based on its outer exterior. I've searched about this place and it was once a city hall remodeled to become a museum after they relocated and finished construction of a bigger hall.

Right after entering, you can already see the displays they have. A ton of sculptures of different sizes made with different materials are presented and neatly placed one after the other.

You can see extensive displays of human sculptures most especially of women, some heartwarming like the 'mother and son', mythical like mermaids, and there are also few obscene sculptures.

Though most are based on human anatomy, there are also sculptures based on animals. There are also lots of abstract and optic illusion-sculptures that will keep you interested.

In one corner they have what it called 'suspended garden'; stones of various sizes were suspended from the ceiling. There is a wide space beneath to view it and its best viewed lying down.

Going to the other side, paintings are displayed on the walls. Most of them show how humans adapted to change. From using to farm with hands up to the usage of modern technology, it varies.

I personally like reading their descriptions if they have. It's a habit I picked before when cleaning the museum. I was immersed in reading when someone called my name.

"IRIS?" the voice was soft; it was pleasant to the ears. It wasn't something I had heard before when I met a lot of guests in my party.

Naturally, I turned to look at the owner of the voice.

Surprise, surprise! I may have encountered some acquaintances.

"It's really you~" she said as she came closer.

She is of my age, a short-haired mono lid beauty rocking her fuchsia pink ombre colored lip tint.

'I wonder what brand she is using.' I thought right after seeing her. But in all honesty, I recall seeing her in few pictures in this body's laptop. What is she called again?

"What? You don't know me anymore?" she said in a disappointed tone.

I really don't know you. I wished I had acted all amnesiac when I woke up but that would lead again to some other problems. I have no desire to be monitored and or be admitted to some hospital.

"...."

"Whatever." I was still thinking of her name when she said that and began moving away.

'What is it? Something 'he' something....' Ah! "Heather!" I yelled. I finally remembered.

She stopped in her tracks and walked towards me. "I thank your grace for remembering this commoner." She said but her tone was never sarcastic.

"You can't blame me; you did not go to my party." I gave her a feeble complaint.

She gave me a questioning look before saying, "Hello? Have I not informed you three months in advance that we're going family vacation? I even gave you my gift before flying. Or are you having selective amnesia?"

'Nope, it's more than that'.

"Still...." I said disinclined. I can only try my luck acting a bit unwilling to accept her reason.

As expected, a smile bloomed on her face. "You miss me that much, huh?" She said as she linked her arms with me. "Let's try going this way, let's look at their interactive sculpture arts".

"Okay, don't drag me," I told her while keeping up with her pace.

I accompanied her viewing all displays. It took us three hours to appreciate all the artworks. When she heard my stomach made a sound, she suggested going to a Thai restaurant nearby.

"You're not on diet, aren't you?" She asked after ordering many dishes.

"No worries, I am not," I told her as the waiter sets our table.

After waking up in this body it had been my goal to make it a little plumper, on the chest part at least.

"How's work these days?" She inquired while checking the angle for a selfie.

"It's tough. I hope that I was more artistic." As soon as I said it, I regretted it.

I saw her brows knit as she asked, "Why? Aren't you good enough? You were awarded for your painting in middle school, even took on classes in high school."

There it is, another problem. I should sew my own mouth. I already knew this body had a knack for arts when I searched her name online, it even showed in her pictures and mentioned in her diary but it was also something that will tell us apart. My art skills were mediocre.

"That's not enough. Being at work is different; you need to create something unique, something that will pull in customers." I said hoping that it will fill her curiosity.

"I don't really get it but hang in there." She gave me a comforting look and even held my fingers across the table.

"That-, thank you," I said full of emotions. It was like she was talking to the real me, she was sincere when she spoke.

"Enough of that, look here, smile!" She told me holding her phone up as she took our pictures.

The food served was appetizing. It was a combination of sweet, sour and spicy. She had a lot of stories to share and I had a lot of fun listening to her. The time we spent together seemed short yet it was not.