6 The New Apollo Friday, 2 August 2019 (2/2)

”I don't think I will ever beg you to stop. I love the attention I'm getting now.”

”Mom, the way you said that…it's like I've never paid enough attention to you or something.”

”Well there are lots of times you don't pay much attention, but you do have your sweet side so we're all good. Going back to Bethany, if there's something different about her, tell me.”

Apollo's heart tightened. What is this? Did she sense something different about Betha? Why does she sound like she knows her secret identity? He thought as he slowly munched on some eggs and bit his toast.

”What do you mean by something different?” He asked, carefully studying his mom's reaction.

Mrs. Rodriguez started eating the diced apples and after she was done chewing, she settled the fork on the corner of her plate. ”Can you hand me a tissue?”

Apollo swiftly stood up to get the box of tissues from the counter and handed it to his mom.

”Thank you, dear.” After wiping her mouth like a respectable lady, she looked at her son and examined his face. ”Is there something strange about her?”

Again, Apollo's heart tightened as if he was going to have a heart attack. Why does she sound like she knows that Betha is a Banshee? This is starting to get creepy. ”I'm not quite following, mom. What strange thing would there be about Betha?”

”I don't know. You tell me.”

Oh my God, is this a test? Does she know? Or is she pretending not to know, and she just wants me to be honest to her and tell her that Betha is a Banshee? If I tell her, would she disapprove of her as my girlfriend? Would she be like the normal protective moms out there who would get in the way of their son's unconventional relationship? Am I overreacting?

”You seem like you are in deep thoughts, dear.” Mrs. Rodriguez said.

Okay so now, does she know about what I'm thinking? Can she read my mind?!

Panicking, Apollo decided to be straightforward about his feelings. ”Mom, do you have some type of superpower that you're not telling me? You're really creeping me out here. Are you psychic?”

Mrs. Rodriguez laughed. ”I was just trying to tell you that if there's something strange about her, tell me. What if she's married, or what if she has a daughter already? What if she's a vampire and you're her next victim? I wouldn't ever want that to happen and I will never let it happen.”

”You're crazy, mom. Since we're both done eating, I'll clean this up. You can go ahead and continue your writing. I'll just do the dishes and start cooking for lunch. We can just heat it up later. I'm sure we'll have a late one since we also had a late breakfast.”

”Wow, you're also doing the dishes. Either this is part your transformation or you're just ignoring my question.” Mrs. Rodriguez said.

”I'm not, mom. There is definitely nothing strange about Betha. She's just as normal as we are. I mean, I don't know what you're thinking but what strange thing could there be about her?”

The backdoor leading to the kitchen was slightly open with Betha sneaking a glimpse of Apollo washing the dishes. She cautiously closed the door and headed back to her place with a wicked grin.