amicizia ✔

6 . . . the necklace

7.00 𝑷𝑴 | ♙ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘃.

𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗬 texting spree and setting up the plan with the group chat, Amily walked into the office where we saw, as expected. Miss Charity sitting down in a spinning chair. Here goes nothing. She still seemed a little frazzled from our earlier confrontation. Wait, how did she get up here before us? She probably took the service elevator to avoid us. Well, damn, I didn't know she was that scared.

"Amily. Charlotte. Please, take a seat," she said, her voice cracking. I glanced at Amily, wondering what she'd do. She took a seat in one of the black chairs and gestured for me to sit next to her. I followed her lead. After an awkward silence and some random eye contact, the door burst open, and Eloise and Adrian rushed in. Adrian darted to the seat next to Amily and whisper-yelled at her.

"Don't you dare."

"Shut up," she shot back under her breath. Eloise staggered into the room, out of breath, and plopped into a chair. Is she okay...? The door opened again, this time revealing Jenny, Lochan, and Cedric, all out of breath.

"Sorry, y'all. Adrian was so fast," Lochan panted, dropping into the chair next to me. Jenny scoffed.

"Move, Lochan! I want to sit next to Charlotte!" Jenny whined. Internally, I cringed. Not really in the mood for this, Jenny...

"No way! I just sat down!" Lochan protested.

"MOVEEE!" Jenny yelled louder. Jenny and Lochan fighting over me? Never thought I'd see the day.

"Just move, Lochan. She's not going to stop," Amily said firmly. Lochan looked like he wanted to argue, but Amily raised an eyebrow, and that was enough to shut him up. Grumbling, he moved to sit next to Eloise, while Jenny triumphantly claimed his spot beside me. Miss Charity cleared her throat, a strained smile on her face.

"So, I hope you all did well in the auditions today," she said. I kept my expression blank, though I wanted to strangle her. Instead of responding, I grabbed a pencil from the table in front of us and threw it at her. It hit her square in the face, and she tumbled backward, falling to the ground. The room erupted in laughter, everyone clapping in amusement. Miss Charity, still on the floor, looked rattled. Was she actually about to cry?

"Girl, it's not that deep. Get up," Eloise yelled at her. Charity slowly stood, a small patch of blood on her forehead. Damn.

"Here, let's clean it up," Adrian said, the only one not laughing. He got up and helped the tutor out of the room.

"He helped us and didn't even know it!" Jenny pointed out. For once, something intelligent from her. Lochan smirked.

Amily and I stood, taking off our necklaces and placing them in her bag. Then, Amily pulled a Charlotte Tilbury highlighter out of her pocket and slipped it into Charity's bag. We exchanged a glance filled with malice. Finally, we were going to get rid of her for good.

We sat back down as Adrian returned with Miss Charity, now sporting a Band-Aid on her forehead. "Maybe you should go," Adrian suggested, glaring at all of us. He thought he had a point, but I held back my laughter, keeping a straight face. The tutor nodded, grabbed her bag, and left without saying another word. Amily glanced at me, smirking.

"Party?" she asked, holding out her hand.

"Let's do it," I said, taking her hand. Just as we were about to leave, Adrian grabbed my arm, meeting my gaze. Well, shit. Don't fold, Charlotte.

"Don't do this. Please," he pleaded, knowing all too well that I usually caved under his stare.

But I stood my ground. "Let go," I said firmly.