amelia

three

"Oh my god, look at this cute little leather jacket!" Rachel squealed, holding out the dark jacket to her show it to her friends. The inside was coloured purple, Rachel's favourite colour. For Rachel, it was perfect.

Amelia forced a smile, even though she thought the jacket was plain and ordinary. Yet she didn't want to disappoint her friend, and gave a nod. "It suits you, Rachel."

"Do you want me to pay for that?" asked Penny, who was practically rolling in money. There was no doubt that her parents were rich, and her house -- well, more like mansion -- was swarmed with tons of security guards. Amelia always thought that they were intimidating.

"No, I brought some money," Rachel shook her platinum head. "You can pay for the gray leggings I was eyeing earlier, though." She winked.

Penny only smiled and continued with her search for new clothes. On the corner of her eye, she saw Amelia hovering in the background, eyeing a cute, sleeveless belted purple dress.

"Had your pick?" Penny smiled amiably, gesturing to the dress. "I must say you picked a good one."

Amelia shook her head vigorously. "It costs a fortune, Pen!" she cried, widening her deep blue eyes. "I won't let you pay for that. It's too much. You can pay for something else, just not this dress."

Penny gave a giggle. "You forget that I save a lot of money, Lia," she gave a broad grin. "If you want it, I can buy it for you."

Amelia bit her dry lip. "I don't want it," she insisted.

The other girl rolled her eyes. "You're shit at lying, Amelia," she chuckled, "I can see it in your eyes that you want it."

"Fine, I do," Amelia gave in. "But you're not buying me anything anymore."

"Nonsense!" Penny said firmly. "That's what I invited you for -- to spend my money on the stuff you want."

Just right then, Rachel and Roselyn came up, holding a bunch of clothes under their arms.

"I'm done searching," Rachel smiled.

"Me too," Roselyn nodded, her rose gold hair bouncing.

"Great! I have too," Penny grinned. She turned to the redhead next to her. "What about you, Amelia? Is the dress enough or do you want something else?"

"Well, there was a beige skirt I saw earlier," Amelia added hesitantly. Penny smiled.

After Penny and Rachel paid for the clothes the girls chose, they headed to Starbucks -- their favourite coffee shop -- for a drink and a chat. Amelia insisted on buying the drinks, but the girls were doubtful.

"Are you sure you can handle four drinks?" Rachel asked curiously.

"It's okay, I don't want one," Roselyn added, showing the others her water bottle she had put in her blue sling bag.

"Okay then," Rachel shrugged. "I'll have a Vanilla Bean with soy milk as usual." She winked.

"And I'll have a Caramel Macchiato." Penny nodded.

"Sure thing," Amelia nodded. She put down her bag on the table. "Oh, and please take care of my bag. It will be too much to carry." And with that she left.

Silence descended on the group before Roselyn spoke up. "Is the notebook in her bag?"

"Yeah," Rachel cut in, "I saw her take it out a while ago. I don't remember what for. Should we take it?"

"Duh," Roselyn replied sarcastically. "Of course we should."

Rachel looked sheepish. She didn't like it when her closest friend spoke with sarcasm. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking," she mumbled. Then she replied, "Should we take it now, though?" She raised an eyebrow.

Ignoring Rachel's comment, Roselyn reached out to take Amelia's bag. Penny immediately slapped her hand away, shooting her a ferocious glare. If looks could kill, Roselyn would be dead by now.

"Not right now!" Penny hissed, her frown deepening. It definitely wasn't a pretty sight. "It will be too obvious if she finds out it's missing later."

"You're right I'm sorry," Roselyn muttered, lowering her blue eyes. "But when should we take it? We can't put it off every single time."

"Monday," Penny sighed, knowing that she was betraying Amelia's trust, one thing she knew Amelia thought that Penny would never do. "Or at least a school day. We need to take it when there are a lot people Lia will suspect. Now be quiet, I want to drown in my own guilt."

A few minutes later -- to Penny's relief-- Amelia came back, holding three hot drinks. She was wearing a smile, but of course Penny could tell that it was fake.

"Here are your drinks, Pen," Amelia handed Penny and Rachel their frappes while they mumbled a thank you. Grabbing her bag, she sat down on the comfy armchair. "What are we doing after this?"

"Are we still going to do anything after this?" Roselyn groaned.

"It's only 3 o'clock," Penny checked her beige Gucci wristwatch. "And we've barely done anything, thanks to you."

"I overslept this morning," Roselyn admitted sheepishly. "But let's not talk about that. What next?"

"How about we go watch a movie?" Penny suggested. "I still have plenty of money with me."

"Movie it is," Rachel declared.

-:-

It was becoming dark outside when Amelia came back from the mall after the movie and a visit to the arcade. It was a nice day for Amelia, if not the best. She made most every moment with her closest only friends.

Amelia was tired from the games at the arcade and from walking almost all the time that day. She was planning to take a shower, have a short nap and have dinner. After that, she was either going to read a book or write another story in her notebook.

Her notebook. It was one thing she cherished very much. It held all her secrets, stories, and even some diary entries. Ever since her mother gave the notebook on her tenth birthday, she knew it will become one of the most important things to her. She loved it as much as other teens love their electric gadgets.

"Hi Chloe," Amelia greeted her caramel coloured cat as she entered her bedroom. Chloe meowed in response, licking her furry body. Amelia put down her bag on the floor and sat on her bed. She gave a heavy sigh, making Chloe jump.

"Sorry, Chloe," Amelia petted the cat, who was at the edge of her bed. Chloe purred as Amelia stroked her fur. "I really didn't mean to scare you. I'm just tired."

Chloe meowed back as she was accepting Amelia's apology and continued to lick her body. Amelia shielded her eyes when Chloe licked the fur at the private parts.

"Chloe!" Amelia pouted, hitting her playfully. But she only kept licking, looking oblivious and happy, Amelia thought.

Happy.

When can Amelia ever be happy?