Vacation

Chapter 3

A/N

This ended up being WAY longer than I planned. Enjoy!

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The heat of the summer was unwavering, and the temperature was at a rise every passing hour. Outside the concrete shimmered reflecting the sunlight, and to its touch it was a burning stove. Not a gust of wind broke the humid air, leaving the palm trees standing still as sentinels. The sky stretched beyond the horizon painted in a radiant blue, dissolving any cloud that formed in its reign. It was a quiet and tranquil scene in the suburban neighbourhoods.

Dissimilar it was on the inside though, as the ceiling fan competed with the stand fan to configure as much cool air as they could in their maximum settings. But from the constant groans and complaints from Brittany, it seemed they were both failing against the California heatwave.

She sat, focused on filing her nails on her pretty pink bed. She let out a groan every so often as she felt like she was sitting in a sauna. Sitting in front of her, just out of Brittany's focus, her laptop opened to her first assignment. Currently the screen just displays a blank document. A plain page that should have had an essay in the works, but has instead been idly lacking any words for hours now. Business management wasn't so much management as it was writing and maths. If her assignment was to file her nails to the perfect almond shape, then she would have aced it. Perhaps she should have considered a career in being a beautician. So why didn't she pursue this?

Brittany's love for cosmetics and fashion had always been evident since she was a little girl. Ever since her eyes had first been caught by the cover page of 'Seventeen Magazine', she was hooked. Eyes wide and mesmerised, she looked through every page at beautiful models dressed up in the latest fashion, or showing their best makeup looks. She had no idea such style and class could exist. This truly was her first moment of consciousness; A peek at her future, because right then she decided this was what she wanted to be.

So it was a surprise to many when she had applied for a degree in business for university. Sure, business could link to salons, brands and shops... but she was never the third party when it came to these things. She was always in the centre of it, always first person when it came to salons, brands and shops. She lived in these, her heart beat for these and her soul was attached to these things. She wasn't herself without them. Anyone could see from a mile away that her future would enlist into the entertainment, beauty or the fashion industry, or even all three. When she didn't it felt as if the world flipped in a pan. Right was now left and up was down. Was she thinking straight?

Even Miss Miller, who didn't always think straight, knew there was something askew. But Brittany assured her and everyone else who gaped at her that she had not lost her mind. She had made a calculated choice; a choice not influenced by money, definitely not due to peer pressure, and totally not because of the open seat availability of the program. She simply matured enough to realise the most beneficial route to a successful future for herself was through a degree in business. Childhood dreams never make it to the adult stage, they slowly wear out like your favourite top until you eventually outgrow it and replace it with something new, something more adult.

Polishing the last of her nails she looked over at her laptop, now sitting with a black screen. And through it she saw her reflection, her auburn hair wisping around from the breeze of the fans, glossy lips sparkling in sunlight and pretty eyes filled with the look of regret. She exhaled through her nose at the sight of her panged conscience and inwardly grumbled. There's no way she was going to back out now. Eleanor's words had yet to be shoved back into her mouth. And Brittany was going to do it herself, no help and no giving in.