The Malik Teenagers

Chapter 12: Scholarships

Vexi's P.O.V

Today had been an absolute blur. Nothing fazed me after I got the news, everything slipped passed me without my being mentally present or the will to process. I'm constantly in my own world, a bubble that no one can burst. Drifting between reality and my thoughts had been a constant struggle today because today is the day we got the paternity results back. Scarlet Wentworth is indeed our biological mother.

The wooden floorboards were rather cold against my stomach. My shirt has risen up as I struggle to get comfortable laying on my front with only a pillow to relieve the pain in my arms from having to hold up my upper body. I stared down at the collection of pages before me, the words looked like a scribbled blur. I couldn't concentrate, my mind in a far away land.

"Vexi?!" Marcy waved her hand in front of my face.

I shook my head, turning my almost full attention to the red head that sat across from me, her legs crossed and an identical collection of pages sitting in front of her. I sat up a little straighter, my shoulders rising. "Sorry. What?"

"We've been trying to get your attention for like a minute now. You missed your cue" Marcy smiles patiently, her lips almost disappeared under her large, round glasses.

"Oh. Where are we up to?" I look at the page in front of me. None of the stage directions or lines are highlighted, meaning either I wasn't in this scene or I was far behind where Marcy and Victoria were up to.

"I'll go get us some tea. Maybe caffeine will keep you're mind alert" Victoria rolled her eyes boldly in front of me. She crawled off her bed and walked out the door with her nose in the air. I could here her mumble something about how if she were the lead, she'd be paying more attention whilst rehearsing. It wasn't like this was the real thing, it's only the two main female leads and the playwright reading over and learning our lines.

"Are you ok?" Marcy asks, a serious tone in her voice.

I nodded simple. I had build walls over the years, the walls more visible once I became a Malik. Having parents in the spot light made me increasingly aware of the perceptions of others and that trust was something to be earned. I couldn't exactly go around and talk about my private life – it could very well end up being in some article within hours. I feel al little like Prince William from that movie, William and Kate (2011), where he says something along the lines of "When I meet someone new that I'm not sure about, I tell them some lie about myself. Nothing huge but something crazy enough so that it'd be bought off by the tabloids". Trust is hard to be gained and given but I don't think I'll ever do something as extreme to determine loyalty. "I'm okay" I assure her.

"You sure? You seem really out of it. Are you sick or something? You did mention you had an appointment this morning, and between you and me, Victoria will use anything she can to get your spot in the play. She's devastated she didn't get the role." The red head with freckles scattered across her cheeks, almost mistakeable under her glasses, when on.

"I'm not sick" I once again assure her. "It's just family stuff"

"I get it if you don't feel like you can trust me, with your parents and all, but I can assure you I know what if feels like sometimes" she pats the back of my hand. Her skin looked even paler against my very tanned skin.