The Carousel

Un

"Shey!" Ondine screamed as she opened the yellow luggage bag.

Shey ran into her best friend's room with a frown. But the frown was immediately replaced by a fit of giggles as she saw her friend scrunching her nose at a pair of grey boxer briefs.

"Ames? What's that?"

"What does it look like it is?"

"Don't tell me you brought with you a dirty pair of your ex's boxers?" Shey put her hands on her hips and grimaced.

"No! This isn't my stuff. This is not my bag."

"Is there a name tag?"

"There's just this one from the airline. Miller/J. That's non-helpful," Ondine sighed frustratedly.

"Relax. We'll go back to the airport and talk to customer service or something. Whoever Miller/J is probably needs his stuff, too. You might even see him at the airport," Shey said as she looked through the clothes in the bag. "He's got this rocker vibe to his clothes, though. What if he's hot?" she wiggled her eyebrows at Ondine.

"Girl. Who cares if he's hot? He probably looked through my things, too. Ugh, a complete stranger touching my things..." Ondine shuddered.

"Well, come on then, let's get your stuff back."

"Thanks, girl. You are the best."

"I know you're normally more level-headed than this, but I will let it pass since you've just broken up with that good for nothing douchebag," Shey said and looped an arm through Ondine's.

They walked back to Shey's car that was parked in front of Ondine's building in Brooklyn. Ondine lived in a very small flat, just one bedroom with a small bathroom, a small kitchen, and a small living room. In all honesty, Ondine could have probably lived in a posh apartment in Manhattan if she wanted, to. Her parents were well off; very well off. Her father is the world famous actor Owen Carter while her mother was the much beloved novelist Ava Carter and they had a penthouse on Fifth Avenue, but they were currently putting it on the market. They didn't find themselves in the city much anymore. Her brother, Aiden, was also an actor whose own acting career was starting to take off. She was of the famous Carter clan, but she always felt that world was too much for her. She was born into the spotlight even though her parents sheltered her and her brother as much as they could. Ondine was always visible to the public, but she always felt invisible because all of the attention were on the other three, not that her family planned it that way. Ondine was naturally more shy, which she took after her mother. Her mother may be the toast of the literary world, but Ava loved being away from the public eye, would rather sit behind her computer typing away on a new best seller or spending time with her family than go to whatever opening or premiere or party Hollywood had to offer. Her father was more outgoing, but ever since he became a family man, he only chose to be seen at events with substance; events that were important. Aiden had been headlining newspapers, magazines, and tabloids, especially now that he was in the midst of planning his wedding to celebrity wedding planner Emily Jane Miller. Ondine loved Emily Jane. She was the sister she never had; she had only recently met her, but she already felt a kinship with her sister-in-law to be.

So Ondine forged her own path. She had always been into music, even as a child. Her mother had bought her a baby grand piano at age 5 and had a teacher come three times a week for lessons. Because of this, she kept mostly to herself, immersing herself fully into her piano playing. The moment she touched those ivory keys, she knew she wanted to be a concert pianist when she grew up. She wanted to not necessarily be famous, but she wanted to make a name for herself, on her own merit. It had been a tough decision to move away across the country to go to a prestigious conservatory of music. She aced her audition and got a scholarship, so it was in her best interest to go to pursue her lifelong dream. She was now a senior, her final year at the conservatory. It had been tough to be on again with her high school sweetheart, Drake, knowing that it was going to be a long distance relationship, but she loved him so much and wanted to try again to make things work; but she was wrong. He hadn't been able to control himself and hooked up with one of her friends. She didn't know which killed her more, the fact that he cheated on her or the fact that it was with one of her friends. She didn't realize she was crying until she heard Shey's voice.