5 The Painting (1/2)

Jeanna smiled and waved at Jon as he left the house to go to school. The door slammed behind him and she heard the hurried footsteps on the other side, frantically trying to reach their destination on time.

And it seemed like her personality changed at the drop of a hat. This was the unseen personality that unnerved Jon; the side she would never show him. And for good reason. If you were to see a completely different side of someone you thought you knew well, it would undoubtedly be jarring.

The smile from earlier faded completely. There were no traces of warmth left on her face. There was only a robotic indifference, and her eyes seemed nearly iced over. If someone asked if this were her true nature, the answer would be yes. In fact, both sides of her could be considered her ”true” nature. Like a coin, both sides of her were needed in order to survive.

As the commotion subsided, she thought to herself about his rapid development in the recent times, and how *he* was able to unlock Jon's true learning potential. And for a rare moment, she cursed her inability.

”Honestly, I really can't believe *he* beat me to it...”

Jeanna had a good idea of who this ”friend” character of Jon's was. She had known him for a long time, and she even considered forcibly terminating their relations.h.i.+p. But she couldn't, because of how Jon was improving recently. A double-edged sword.

”It's not too late... we can turn this into a new opportunity and still win.”

To be fair, this turn of events was mostly a positive for her, and she had to wonder what *his* family was truly planning. It made less sense the more she tried to think about it. Perhaps, it was a clue her cold-hearted personality couldn't crack.

”Oh well...”

As she mulled over the topic a little while longer, she decided to take a quick stroll around the house. Or rather, she had a very specific destination in mind. The hallway leading to Jon's room. Each of her footsteps on the hardwood floor, though not loud, seemed to reverberate endlessly against the walls in the quiet and lonesome house. If someone were here to witness this, they would feel an unnecessary rising tension as she proceeded closer to the entrance of the hallway.

”That Jon... he's never usually clumsy at all. I guess I really must have freaked him out yesterday. And the majority of his life, apparently.”