𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴

𝕯𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍

"You've sacrificed so much; you can't just give up now," Georg said, not letting me escape his embrace. "We will hire you a bodyguard; everything will be fine. Just please don't leave school; it's been your dream since like forever."

"Georg, you don't understand," I sighed. He released me from his hug, and I looked up at his eyes. He seemed really worried. "It's not about the crazy fans; they just took me by surprise, but that happens. It's about not doing well in school because whenever I try, I get distracted by someone or something. And at this point, I'm sure almost all the teachers hate my guts. This way it's only a matter of time before I lose my scolarship. I love art and fashion, but maybe college is not for me?"

"Lolita..." he faintly began.

"I am not going back there, Georg; I'm sorry," I plainly said.

"No, I'm sorry," he apologized; his voice seemed full of pain. "Because of us, you now have to give up your dream."

"No, because of you, Georg, I get to live my dream," I smiled. "I'll ask Bill; he once mentioned he has a lot of contacts and can get me a good job. But for now, I have to get to my current job; my shift starts in an hour," I said, checking my clock. "And don't worry; I'll be alright." I hugged him once again before heading to my room.

***

When I walked into the hotel, the lobby was empty. I took a look around, but Mrs. Anderson was nowhere to be found. I decided to check her room, just to let her know I was in. I softly knocked on the door and could hear some rustling before the door was opened by a young woman. She had long blonde hair and delicate facial features. However, it seemed like she had been crying a lot.

"Can I help you," she asked in a hoarse voice. "Hi, yes. I work here, but I can't seem to find Mrs. Anderson. Is everything alright, miss?" I inquired. Tears started welling in her eyes. "She's dead. My mama is dead," she cried.

I felt my heart break. Mrs. Anderson was the nicest woman I've ever met, and it was so nice having her as my boss. I couldn't believe she had died.

"I'm sorry," she said, wiping the tears off her cheeks. "Come inside; I could really use your help."

I followed her inside, closing the door behind me. The room wasn't as big as the others, but it felt really homely. The woman led me to a huge wooden chest next to the closet. Opening it revealed an enormous collection of all kinds of crap. "Would you please unload it for me? I'm expecting a baby and find it quite hard to bend down," she explained. Only now I noticed the bump in her stomach. I nodded and started taking stuff out of the chest.

"If you find something you like, keep it; I'm throwing everything out anyway," she said before leaving me alone.

I kept cleaning out the chest and packing stuff up in separate boxes and garbage bags until coming across a package in white wrapping paper. There was a note on it which read "Rings are lame, so I hope you'll accept this. Will you marry me, Rosa?" It confused me because Mrs. Anderson's name was not Rosa or anything close to it. I was curious, so I decided to open the package and see what the guy was proposing with instead of a ring.

I tore the white paper up and pulled out a black glittered mini-dress from the package. It was so beautiful; it must have cost a fortune. The dress wasn't what I would usually wear, but it was so beautiful I couldn't let it go to waste. I set the dress aside so I could take it with me later.

Unloading the chest turned out to be a really time-consuming activity; it took me my whole shift to sort out all of its contents. On my way out, I decided to make sure I could take the dress with me because it seemed expensive. However, the woman said that she doesn't want any of her mother's belongings left. It seemed sad to me that she didn't want anything that would remind her of her late mother, but everyone grieves differently.

"Will you be running the hotel now?" I asked just before leaving. I wanted to know who I was going to work with in the future.

"I'm sorry you weren't notified earlier, but me and my father have decided to sell. All the current employees will be fired," she explained. "Alright," I sighed and left. Now I don't have nor school, nor a job; might as well go home.

***

"You cannot go home," Georg said after I had explained the situation. "Dad would keep reminding me of this for the rest of my life, but I don't really have a choice, Georg," I stated.

"No, Lolita. You are very recognizable now; you can't go home. That will put not just you, but both of our parents in danger as well. We will figure this out, but for now, you're definitely staying, and that's final," he declared. I mean, if I feel like a complete disappointment now, at home it would be much worse. My father would drive me nuts with his sarcastic remarks.

"Alright, alright, it's not like I have much of a choice now," I smiled. God, I messed up.

We continued to eat our dinner - stove-baked vegetables with cheese sauce - when suddenly Georg got a call. "I got to take this," he said, stood up, and walked outside to sit on the bench and smoke. I could see through the window that his conversation didn't last long; he took a few more drags from his cigarette and then made his way back inside, his mood clearly lightened.

"Bill got you a job," he smiled. "That's amazing, what is it?" I asked.

"Well, we all know you like fashion, so he got you a photoshoot for a fashion magazine," he said, continuing his meal.

"A photoshoot?"

"Yes, a fashion photoshoot. The details are still being worked out, but it's a great opportunity. Bill pulled some strings, and the magazine wants you for a feature. It's a chance to kickstart a career in the fashion industry," Georg explained, looking genuinely excited for me.

My eyes widened with surprise. A photoshoot? In a fashion magazine? This was beyond anything I could have expected. The thought of leaving school and losing the hotel job had left me feeling lost, but now, a new door seemed to be opening.

"That's incredible! I can't believe Bill did this for me," I exclaimed, feeling a mix of gratitude and excitement. "He and Tom have been doing a lot of nice things for you lately, I wonder why," he muttered. I decided that it would be for the best to ignore his comment.

"When is it happening?"

"We're still waiting for the final confirmation, but it should be soon. You'll get all the details once everything is set," Georg replied, finishing the last bite of his dinner.

***

It was starting to get late, so I decided to text Bill a 'thank you' instead of calling. It didn't take long for him to answer.

"Ur welcome." Well, that was a bit dry.