To Be Me

The Devil in Stilettoes

          "You must be kidding me. Really. Isn't this our little Charity Case? Jason has gone and done it again." She rolled her eyes.

"I feel defiled just being so close to her. I may start smelling like poverty."

"Charity case huh?" Emma silently chuckled to herself adjusting her bag.

"Yep she was a rich spoilt brat alright. She even called the teacher by his direct name." She thought.

"Eden stop it. Come on you're better than this." Oliver responded to her taunts obviously unhappy at her actions.

"If not entirely then at least for the time that we're going to be working together on this project."

Eden shot Emma a disgusted look and scoffed before bringing out her phone. Also a new product similar to the Blue Pro.

She put out her other hand to Emma.

"What?" Emma asked looking at the hand.

"Didn't know you were daft as well."

She briefly cleared her throat when she realized both Ryan and Oliver's eyes were on her.

"Your phone." She said gesturing for Emma to put it in her hand.

Wearing a concerned look for her phone's safety, Emma slowly dropped it on Eden's hand.

Eden took it and quickly typed in something before disgustedly giving it back to Emma.

She looked as though she had just mistakenly touched filth or put her hand in a garbage bag.

Bringing out a GUCCI handkerchief, she began wiping her hand as she spoke.

"I'm almost sure it won't work on such a low version of whatever phone that is but I put my number and it's code in there. Try to call me sometime Charity case." She said dropping the handkerchief in front of Emma.

"Who dresses like this and uses your kind of phone anyway. I'm absolutely certain that's what my great grandfather used in his time. My dog won't even play with such a worthless piece of trash."

"That's a bit much of an exaggeration even if you're just trying to piss me off. Don't you think so. Grace." Emma responded without a care in the world searching through her phone before she looked up at Eden with a smile and look that made it clear that she wasn't the tiniest bit intimidated and wouldn't be in the near future.

Eden was clearly shocked at this response which made both Ryan and Oliver chuckle inwardly.

"Kitty's got claws. I see." Ryan thought looking at Emma.

Eden slowly scanned Emma from top to bottom before giving a mischievous smile which was clearly meant to pass along her future intentions.

Immediately after, she nonchalantly turned to Ryan and Oliver.

"I'll see you boys later then." Walking away, she suddenly paused in her tracks as though she forgot something before turning back to Emma.

"Oh it seems I forgot someone..." She slyly smiled at Emma.
"Later Charity Case."

"What did she even do to my phone?" Emma wondered eyes fixed on the screen.

"She put in her number and it's code." Ryan said taming her curiosity.

"There was a time she got prank calls a lot, an omninous voice would call, threatening and cursing so her dad got her a new number and a code for it. Can't call her without it."

"Woah." Emma thought to herself as she watched Eden walk away, "these people can use money to do practically anything over here."

"Well, I'll fix the days and time for us to meet and send it to you guys. Is that ok?" She waited for a response from both of them before briskly walking away.

"Bye then." She hurried as though she was trying to get as far away from them as possible.

                                    ***

             Closing the door to her room, Emma carefully dropped her laptop on the reading table before dropping to the bed in agony when suddenly Eden's face flashed by.

"Whyyyyy?" she groaned, kicking the air and rolling on the bed.

"Of all the people I could've been placed with, why her?"

She wished it wasn't true and was all just a bad dream but it was all too real to be a dream and she could do absolutely nothing about it. The deal had already been sealed.

Getting up, she sat in front of her computer.

"Might as well get to it."

                   

              Almost two hours later, Emma collapsed on her bed. Drained out, of course. She had to move everything around a lot mainly because Eden just kept on adding different parties to her schedule what felt like every 15 minutes.

"Finally." She sighed stretching her arms but was interuppted by a ding from her phone. It was Eden again and now she sent a totally and completely different schedule from before. It now seemed like she was doing this on purpose just to taunt her.

With time and dates and everything. It even looked more professional than she seemed capable .

Going by this new schedule, they would have almost no time to meet up as a group.

"Does she expect me to perform a miracle here or what?" Emma wondered for a minute looking at it and comparing it to the other schedules.

After a few minutes she chuckled looking at the message then at everyone else's schedule one last time.

She had already decided on what to do and it didn't take her long to finalize it.

"And send." She hit the button and waited patiently.

"In 3, 2, 1..."

Her phone began to ring exactly on time. Answering the phone, she put it on speaker and kept it on the table.

"Yes Eden?"

"I didn't know you were blind as well Charity Case!!!" The voice obviously sounded pissed.

"You put all the group meetings exactly on the days that I'm really busy and left the days I'm less busy empty. What's the meaning of this or did your piece of trash cellphone not receive the message I sent?"

"It did." Emma replied completely unbothered.

"So what happened?!!"

"You see Grace there is no possible way we can all meet effectively and efficiently if I take your ever evolving schedule into consideration so I purposely left you out of well, almost all of it."

"You what?!!!" Eden all but screamed.

"Why would you do that? You do know we are also graded based on participation right? Are you trying to make me fail on purpose Charity Case?!"

"Be truthful to yourself Eden. Even if I would've included you in even the slightest task, would you have participated? I mean with all the parties you're so busy with." She made air quotes.

"And I figured out you'ld just leave all the work to me. After all I'm just your little Charity Case aren't I? If you're so concerned then you'll make time for it and show up rather than attending a party."

Emma navigated a file on her laptop.

"I took into consideration the first schedule that you sent to me taking note of all the days and the time you would be working professionally or would be, you know, just not at a party and worked with that in mind. Just be aware that there's no way I'm re-doing this group schedule so keep that in mind Grace." Emma said in a definite tone which once again rendered Eden speechless.

"No one had ever or would even dare speak to her in such a manner but this Charity Case..." She raged inwardly.

Emma abruptly cut the call as soon as she was done speaking without giving Eden an opportunity to respond or even curse at her.

"I'm tired."

Was the last thing she said before dropping on the bed and quickly falling asleep.