the moral of the story

chapter five: the slap heard 'round the world

it was after i clumsily ran into james and met him that day, maybe three hours or so. he went and took me out to lunch and i was afraid of everything else on the menu so i just ordered a cheeseburger. james playfully mocked my lack of ambition when it came to food, and i knew right away that i would find it hard not to develop a crush on him. come to think of it, i definitely already liked him by that point.

anyway, he had to leave early because he had some prince duties, i guess. he kept apologizing and i couldn't be mad at him because no one had ever cared so much about cancelling plans with me. but i really wished he'd walked me home, because now, i was lost.

i know, i should've just asked someone, but truth be told, i would have rather cut out my liver and fed it to my cat than bother someone with my own issues. which is why i couldn't force myself, once again looking at the map in front of me like i was solving the most difficult chemical equation in the world.

"you lost?"

were the people in london always this friendly and outgoing?

i tilted my head up to the voice, this time a female's. the girl in question practically towered above me, peering down at me with amusement behind her dark brown eyes. she had a pair of red cat-eye sunglasses pushed up into her wild brown hair, with a white tube top and loose fitted jorts and grey birkenstock's. with her shoulders pushed back, she radiated this sense of confidence that i definitely couldn't relate to. her eyebrow was raised as she appeared like she wanted to laugh. well, i was glad one of us was enjoying this.

"um, yeah," i sighed weakly, "would you mind helping me out?"

i think it was because she was a girl. that was why i gave in so easily to her help. i mean, i guess it was sorta less likely for her to kidnap and rape me, so that was why it was easier for me to accept her help. besides, i'd always been more comfortable around girls. i assume that it's from the fact that i lived with mostly women my whole life, and my relationship with my dad wasn't exactly the greatest.

the girl glided over to me like a freaking goddess and squinted her eyes as she studied the map. "where are you trying to go?" she asked in her thick brutish accent that sounded angelic to me for some reason.

"um, my aunt's house," i answered, pointing to the street on the map, "i just have no idea where i am right now or how to get where i need to be."

the girl scrunched up her nose as she examined the map some more.pulling her sunglasses down to cover her dark brown irises. lifting her up to face me, she began to speak. "it's a little far from here, probably an hour's walk."

i groaned, running my fingers through my already-matter hair. it was already four-thirty, and my mother specifically told me that i needed to be home at five for family dinner with my aunt and uncle. if i were to be late, i knew my mother would have a complete hissy fit. and i didn't need to be grounded the first day i'd arrived in my first time ever in a foreign country.

"okay," i sighed, beginning to turn away from the girl, "thanks. i should get going if i don't wanna be late. my mom would kill me."

as i began to walk away, i heard the girl's voice once again. "wait! my car's just over there, i could drive you, if you like?"

i turned. her sunglasses were up in her hair again, and she seemed pretty serious by the genuine smile across her face. although this offer seemed minuscule, to me it really wasn't.

a few months prior, i'd lost my best friend, cassie jones. she didn't die or anything, the bitch just backstabbed me and stopped talking to me completely. she'd been my only best friend for years, so you can imagine my hesitance in making a new friend. but i knew i couldn't be closed off for the rest of my life. i had to start opening myself up if i ever really wanted to be happy again.