Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

Chapter 285

The atmosphere at the dining table was relatively pleasant. At least, it was harmonious. After all, there

were no awkward moments or tense scenes.

Halfway through the meal, Ava, the little princess, called. When Sherri got off work in the afternoon,

she sent a message in the group chat, asking everyone to gather at a pizza restaurant.

Ava thought that it was their usual gathering, so she made the video call.

Natalie’s phone kept ringing, interrupting the conversation. She picked up. the phone and waved it. She

turned to Sherri and Rose. “Ava,” she mouthed.

Natalie’s lip movement was clear. Sherri and Rose naturally understood what she meant. However,

since Frank was around, Natalie was prepared to hang up the phone and then send a message to Ava

to explain the situation.

Realizing Natalie’s next move, Rose quickly stood up and walked to Natalie’s side. She snatched the

phone from her hand. This action shocked Natalie.

Just as Natalie was about to ask Rose what she wanted to do, the video call was already answered.

Rose held the phone and smiled as she wiggled her waist at Frank. She smugly answered the video

call. Instantly, Ava’s upper body appeared on the screen. The young girl’s hair was styled in a side

braid. She wore a white halter-neck top with ruffled edges. One could vaguely see that the lower half of

her outfit was a pair of light blue jeans.

A pair of bright and clear eyes stared at the screen. They were lively and innocent. She supported her

chin with one hand and rested her chin on it. Her eyes were curved like a crescent moon. Her sweet

voice came out of the phone, and her tone was cheerful. “Rose, are you guys still eating pizza?” she

said. “Oh, I really want to join you.

“It’s just that I’m so busy. I didn’t look at my phone all afternoon. I just saw the message. Where is my

sister and Sherri?”

Sherri and Natalie stood up and walked over to Rose’s back. They bent down and greeted together,

saying, “Hi, little princess, Ava.”

Natalie involuntarily glanced at Frank. She saw that Frank had been

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eating calmly the whole time. He looked like a real hearty eater. Natalie could not help but shake her

head inwardly Then, she asked, “Ava, are you done with your busy schedule?”

Ava smiled gently. Her smile was as warm as the sun. “Not yet,” she said. “I still have to check some

information tonight I had a stomach ache today, probably because I was too busy at noon and forgot to

eat. I went back to the dormitory to ask my roommates for stomach medicine. It’s just a little discomfort.

Nothing serious.”

In order to reassure everyone, she kept smiling, showing no signs of discomfort. Natalie was still a little

worried. She said. Take care of health. Don’t skip meals for the sake of the competition.”

Ava replied obediently, “Got it. Today is an exception.”

your

“Oh, by the way, Rose,” Ava continued. Thank you for recommending the expert to me. He’s really

amazing Although he doesn’t talk much, he’s helped me solve the problems that have been bothering

me recently. How did you meet this person?”

Without waiting for Rose to speak. Ava continued to share. “I don’t know if that person is a man or a

woman, but that person is quite attentive,” she said. “Every time I ask a professional question, he will

respond. But when I ask other non-professional questions, he never responds. This person is probably

a master as he doesn’t like to engage in idle chatter or unnecessary talk

Rose was at a loss and confused. “When did I recommend a tech to Ava?” she thought. Tm just a

pediatrician. How would I know a computer expert?

“And I recommended him to Ava? What’s going on?”

expert

In just a few seconds, Rose had a light bulb moment. She turned to look at Frank, wanting to say

something. However, Frank stuffed a piece of garlic bread into her mouth.

Rose was forcefully silenced. She was unable to say a single word.

Natalie found it a bit strange but thought that maybe computer enthusiasts were all like that. However,

Trevon’s eyes turned serious. He looked in Frank’s direction and smiled slightly.

He observed the actions of these two siblings without missing anything. At this moment, he was

watching Frank nonchalantly as if he was watching a good show.

Rose swallowed the entire piece of garlic bread and nearly choked on it. She glanced disdainfully at

her brother, who had been eating heartily. “Jeez, he must have gone through famine,” she thought.

Then, she trod on Frank’s foot hard under the table.

That treading was done with the intention of venting frustration. It hurt Frank. He voiced his

dissatisfaction, saying, “You are stuffed and have got nothing better to do, huh?”

As soon as Frank uttered that remark, the voice on the screen stopped abruptly. Ava, who was talking

to Sherri and Natalie, instantly felt uneasy. She lowered her head and fell silent. She clutched at the

hem of her shirt. with one hand. After a few seconds, she suddenly raised her head, smiled, and bid

goodbye. “I’ve got to attend to something,” she said. “Bye.”

Natalie knew the reason Ava suddenly hung up, so she definitely would not stop Ava. “Goodbye,” she

said. “Good luck.”

Sherri felt sorry for Ava too. She made a gesture to cheer on Ava.

After hanging up, the atmosphere in the private room became strange. Everyone fell silent. It was as if

the atmosphere had turned cold by a few degrees.

Trevon suddenly raised his glass, faced Frank, and shouted from across. the table, “Frank, cheers to

you… Stay happy being single.”

Frank tilted his head and gave Trevon a disdainful look. Instead of raising his glass, he picked up the

beer beside him and finished it in one gulp. He then crushed the can and accurately threw it into the

trash can.

It was as if all the grievances in his heart had been poured into the trash. can. Seeing the cold

expression of the person beside him, Rose continued to make Frank feel down. “Serves you right as

you hurt her,” she said. “Otherwise, would Ava hang up the phone immediately after hearing your

voice? This goes to show that she doesn’t want to hear your voice. Sigh, you don’t stand a chance to

reconcile with her.”

Frank glanced over coldly and said, “Are you sick again? Do you need me to glue your lips?”

Rose shrugged her shoulders and shut her mouth. She retracted her gaze and looked at Edward again.

The more she looked at him, the more he resembled someone else. “I’ve got to figure things out, or

else it would drive me crazy,” she thought.

After hanging up the phone. Ava did not go to test the computer bugs. Instead, she sat blankly on the

chair in the dormitory. She held her stomach with one hand and buried her head in the crook of her arm

on the table, motionless.

A person from the dormitory pushed open the door and entered. It was Ava’s good friend, Alex

Johnson. She was a girl, but her name sounded like a boy’s name. Even her personality was like a

boy’s. She had a buzz cut. Those who did not know her would think that a boy had sneaked into the

girls dormitory.

The moment Alex opened the door and entered, she saw Ava lying prone. She quickly walked over and

patted her shoulder, expressing concern. Her voice carried a magnetic quality as she asked. “Ava, are

you okay? Are you feeling unwell?”

Upon hearing this, Ava raised her head. Her eyes were shimmering with tears, making people feel

distressed. Alex was anxious. “Which part of your body is unwell?” she said. “Why are you crying?”

After observing Ava’s hand. Alex noticed that Ava was holding her stomach. She then said. “Is your

stomach hurting so badly that you’re crying? I’ll take you to the hospital. This stupid competition is

driving everyone crazy. The school principal has got nothing better to do than to agree to such a

competition. He’s old and has got nothing better to do. Let’s not participate in it. We don’t care about

saving face for anyone.”

Alex cursed, “What kind of lousy thing is this? Return it tomorrow and let the principal participate in the

competition himself since he agreed to it.

“If I were the top student in the school. I would go on your behalf. I should’ve known and not slept

during class.”

Ava was on the verge of laughing as a result of feeling irritated. When Alex got angry, she said

whatever came to her mind without holding back. Ava found her adorable. She forced a smile and

explained, “I’m fine. I’m just a little uncomfortable.”

She felt emotionally uncomfortable. She felt very uneasy.

Initially, Ava thought that it would be fine as long as she deleted Frank’s contact information. As long as

she did not see it, she would be able to avoid being reminded about Frank. As time passed, she would

then be able to forget him.

But that did not seem to be the case. When she heard Frank’s voice, she wanted to cry. She missed

him.

She truly missed him, but she could not say it out loud. She had her own dignity too. She had already

lowered her pride to pursue him. She could not pester him anymore.

“Even if I can’t make him like me, I can’t make him hate me,” she thought.

Feeling anguished, Ava said, “Alex, I lost my love.”

Alex raised her head abruptly and stared at Ava intently. She wanted to see if Ava was telling the truth.

She saw Ava looking sad. Ava was holding back her tears. This was the first time Alex saw Ava like

this. “When did you break up?” she said. “Why didn’t I know about it? Who did this to you? I’ll go give

him some beating.”

“Fuck,” Ava thought. “He was blind.”

Her good friend’s words warmed her heart. A crystal clear teardrop slowly slid down the corner of Ava’s

eye. She pretended to be relaxed and said, “It’s one-sided love. I confessed my feelings, but I was

rejected.”

“He has no feelings for me,” Ava thought.

Upon hearing this, Alex got even more furious. “Fuck, who is this?” she asked. “Is he fucking blind?

Can he not see your good qualities?”

Ava seemed to have forgotten to ask for the specific reason for getting rejected. It seemed

meaningless to continue asking after she had been. rejected. She felt that it was okay this way. With

time, she could return to being a happy little princess, but at the moment, her heart was aching. and

her eyes were teary. “Maybe I’m too young,” she said. “Or maybe he has already had feelings for

someone else. Or maybe he wants to be with. someone from his own city…”

“The most probable reason is he doesn’t like me,” Ava thought.

Alex understood. She did not want Ava to dwell on this topic any longer. Like a boy, she hugged Ava,

who cried silently in her arms,

Alex lowered her voice and comforted Ava. “Don’t be sad, Ava,” she said.

There are plenty of people at school who like you. We don’t even like him. It’s his loss if he doesn’t like

you.”

Ever since Ava came back from Athana, she would shake her head and say this to herself whenever

she thought of Frank in the middle of the

“But the reality is not like that,” she thought. “When you want to forget someone, that person will always

appear in your mind. They will appear frequently and won’t disappear. The more you try to forget, the

more often they will appear.”

She thought of Frank a lot, so much so that she almost cried when she heard Frank’s voice just now.

Hence, she hurriedly hung up.

She was afraid that she would be looked down upon if she hung up a second later. She wanted to be

proud of herself.

She did not tell her brother and sister about this. She was afraid that they would worry, especially her

sister. She knew that her sister would blame herself and feel responsible for the situation.

Ava cried for a very long time. When she could not cry anymore, she got up to wash her face. Alex

looked at her good friend and scratched her buzz cut sadly with a frustrated expression.

Alex thought, “Why bother liking any guy? It’s just asking for trouble. It’s better to be single.