Spoiled by Eight Uncles (Lily)

It was the weekend the very next day. Drake and Josh Crawford were generally disciplined by nature and were up by 7. Zachary and Hannah on the other hand were not morning creatures and would not wake up unless they were hungry.

Josh was in the study on the first floor, seated upright on a chair with a serious expression on his face.“Magnetic induction...

B=F/IL...” Josh mumbled to himself. “If B is the force of the magnetic induction and the magnetic flux required to be on a supernatural frequency is phi... and B and F is...” Drake, who was seated opposite Josh reading Shakespeare, looked up from his book. What was Josh calculating?! Drake wondered.

“Are you waiting for Lilly?” Drake asked. Josh usually preferred to stay in his own room since there was a large desk for him to work on his mathematical equations.

“Of course not,” Josh responded without looking up.

Drake smirked as he tapped on his cellphone. “You said yesterday you weren't looking for her either, but | caught you going over to her room!” he Josh's ears turned red, but he did not crack. “Which eye of yours saw me going into her room? | wasn’t looking for her. | just happened to pass by her room.” Drake refused to let his younger brother off the hook. He turned his cell phone screen in Josh's direction and shoved it in his face roughly, accidentally hitting him on the cheek.

“Argh!” Josh cried out in annoyance and pain. “Fine, so what if | did look for her?” Josh had no qualms turning to Lilly for help since she was a genius. In fact, if Drake found out just how much of a genius Lilly was, he might even fight for her attention. No, Lilly was his! Josh eyed Drake warily before grabbing his math textbook and moving over to the other end of the sofa.

Drake thought Josh was being ridiculous and sensitive, as if he would even be interested in Lilly. Was that even possible? Drake scoffed as he restrained himself from rolling his eyes at his brother.

Just then, Lilly appeared at the bottom of the staircase, hugging Bunny in one arm and rubbing her eyes sleepily with the other.

Josh immediately shut the math textbook he was reading upon noticing Lilly. “Lils, you're up!” he exclaimed.

Drake barely lifted his head from his book despite overhearing Josh. Wow, he gave her a pet name already? Drake thought to himself.

Lilly looked dazed and unfocused, and her hair became even more frazzled as she let out a loud sneeze.

“Why didn’t you sleep a little longer?” Josh asked.

“Mmm...” Lilly flattened her lips as she looked in Josh's direction. “A ghost scared me, and then | couldn’t go back to sleep anymore...” Josh could not help but recall the ferocity in Lilly's eyes when she caught the ghost last night. How could she still be frightened of one? Just as Josh was about to offer Lilly some words of comfort, he noticed Drake looking at her intently with a curious glint in his eye.

Josh resisted the urge to give her a hug. Instead, he merely patted her on the shoulder stonily as he said, “There's no such thing... Ghosts are nothing to be afraid of.” He was just about to say there that was no such thing as ghosts, but he knew better now.

Old Mrs. Crawford appeared from the kitchen carrying a tray of food. “Lilly, you're up early!” the old lady said as she noticed Lilly with the boys.

“Granny!” Lilly squealed as her vision came into focus. “I'm hungry.” “Oh? It seems hunger is the only thing that can wake you up, silly girl,” the old lady chuckled heartily. “Come, try some of these buns fresh out of the oven!” “I'll brush my teeth first!” Lilly exclaimed as she ran up the stairs two at a time.

Josh shut his textbook and went over to help Old Mrs. Crawford set up the table for breakfast. Drake watched all of this in amusement. Josh never let anything distract him when he was concentrating on his arithmetic calculations. He probably would not even budge in the event of an earthquake, and yet now here he was helping Granny arrange the breakfast table just for Lilly.

Drake shrugged as he walked over to help his brother out. Typically, chores like these were done by a servant and as the young master of the Crawford family, Drake never had to lift a finger. Family meals at the Crawford home never used to be like this.

Back then, once the dining table was set up by the servant, the Crawfords would each sit down quietly to finish their meal and go about their own way once they were done. Drake had gotten used to the cold detachment of the entire ritual.

As he heard Lilly’s excited footsteps barreling down the stairs, he could not help but think to himself how much had changed since this little sister of theirs entered their lives. All of a sudden, she did not seem so irritating any longer.

As Lilly rushed down the stairs, she missed a step and found herself in mid-air for a few seconds before landing on the ground with a loud crash. As she laid motionless on the ground, a parrot appeared from behind her, spreading its wings wide and shaking its little head. Instead of stopping where Lilly was, the parrot perched itself on Lilly's head.

Drake let out a cackle as he watched the entire scene unfold. “What an idiot!” he muttered.

Lilly grasped at her head. “Polly, you're stepping on me!!” she grumbled.

Polly immediately hopped off Lilly's head onto the ground and scampered around in circles. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry! One more time! One more time!” the parrot squawked repetitively only to be met by Lilly's death stare.

Josh immediately rushed to Lilly's aid, lending her a hand to help her stand up on her feet. “Are you alright? Does it hurt?” Josh's voice was concerned.

Lilly shook her head. “Nope. Pfft, that’s nothing!” Josh could not hold back his laughter. “Well, that’s some skill you have right there!” he chuckled.

Alightbulb went off in Lilly’s head. She finally understood what she had — it was skilll When she lived with the Hatchers, no one bothered to talk to her, so she had to pull all sorts of pranks to get someone's attention. Now, she was a genius whiz kid who learnt new words and picked up new skills in seconds! She was only going to become more skillful from now on! As Old Mrs. Crawford brought over a tray of pasta to the table, Drake came over to take the tray from her. “Granny, just let the servants do their job,” he said flatly.

“It's alright, Drake. It's good exercise for me anyway,” Old Mrs. Crawford smiled. She enjoyed cooking and had been personally cooking meals for the family lately. The servants and cooks had modified the kitchen layout just so Old Mrs. Crawford could move about the kitchen easily with her weak legs. On the menu today was spaghetti bolognese, hot cross buns, blueberry muffins and chocolate milk.

Lilly took a big bite of the hot cross bun and squealed in delight. Even a plain bun like that tasted so delicious! “Lilly, have some spaghetti!” Old Mrs. Crawford felt a deep sense of satisfaction watching Lilly enjoy her food. The girl was not picky with food and would eat anything given to her. Lilly nodded and scooped a heaping mountain of pasta onto her plate. She forked a large portion of pasta into her mouth and gobbled it all up, getting sauce all over her face in the process.

Drake could not believe this girl. Was the pasta really that good? he wondered. Unlike Lilly, Drake twirled a small spoonful of pasta before politely bringing the spoon to his mouth and gingerly taking a bite. Hmm... he slowed his chewing. He did not know why, but the pasta was more delicious than he remembered it to be.

After breakfast, Lilly carried her backpack out of the door. The little girl had on a new panda bag pack today that she used to house Tortoise in as well as Polly who wormed her way inside.

“Where are you headed, Lilly?” Old Mrs. Crawford asked.

Anthony Crawford, who was swiftly eating his breakfast after finishing a morning meeting, answered on Lilly's behalf. “We're paying the Taylors a visit.” Noticing Old Mrs. Crawford's confusion, Lilly explained further. ‘Remember the ribbon cutting ceremony for Taylor Entertainment that Uncle Anthony brought me to? It's the same Taylor!” she beamed.

Lilly might have mixed up Taylor Entertainment and the Taylor family, but that did not stop Old Mrs. Crawford from admonishing her son. “You may be a workaholic yourself, but you shouldn't involve Sweet Pea in it. How are you going to keep her entertained while you're busy with work? What if she wants to play?” Anthony rubbed at his temple. How did he end up getting scolded by his mother once again? The car left Peninsula Villas and traveled on the highway through the bustling city to arrive at Greenview Bay. Greenview Bay was home to the best schools in the city and the land price in the area was among the most expensive. Only the city’s most affluent could afford to buy a home here.

Valentine Taylor was already waiting outside the door when Lilly and Anthony arrived at his home, smiling from ear to ear as he spotted them. “Ms. Lilly! Please come in!” he greeted jovially.

Just as Lilly was about to enter Valentine Taylor's home, she felt a sudden compulsion to turn around. That was when she spotted an old lady dressed in a green Victorian era ball gown on the second-floor balcony of the opposite villa. The old lady grinned as she locked eyes with Lilly. Lilly gasped.