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This chapter's song
Little Me by Little Mix
"Wish I knew back then What I know now. Wish I could somehow Go back in time and maybe listen to my own advice.
I'd tell her to speak up, tell her to shout out, Talk a bit louder, be a bit prouder, Tell her she's beautiful, wonderful, Everything she doesn't see,
You gotta speak up, you gotta shout out, And know that right here, right now, You can be beautiful, wonderful, Anything you wanna be,
Little me"
***
Allene takes a deep breath, knowing that what she's going to tell Aubrea is of extreme importance. Since she's not very good at guessing people's reactions, she must rely on her communication skills only. "Okay, Aubrea, I guess you want to know why I called you upfront in first place," she says, locking her eyes into her interlocutor's.
The other girl smiles faintly at her, making her pale face, including her blue eyes, brighten a lot. Allene knows that Aubrea rarely smiles, which is proof that something might change sooner or later.
"First of all, I want to thank you from the deepest of my heart for accepting this amazing opportunity," she reprises. "I want to make sure personally that you're up to my standards. You know, you don't want to disappoint me, or else-" She cuts herself off, realizing that her voice has since turned blunt.
"Or else I'll end up like Aly-" Aubrea intervenes, only to be cut off in return by Allene's ice-cold glare. She shouldn't have attempted to pronounce that name. To get into Allene's good grace once for all, this is a mistake she must never make.
"Sorry," she mutters, looking down. Allene, however, gestures at her to look straight into her eyes and leans a hand towards her as a sign of forgiveness. Aubrea takes it and shakes it vigorously.
"Good. Now, get back to the counter and start working. And, remember, never disappoint me." After hearing her young boss's words, Aubrea leaves the small office to return to her work. She despises Alyzza enough to consider her low-level but, at the same time, she fears ending up like her. This is why she needs to move on quickly.
***
After swearing that she'll never approach Allene's shop again, Alyzza must find a distraction. The party was a disaster and bringing that topic out again might anger either Aaleiyah, who's deemed to be at fault for the failure of the event (and therefore banished from Peter Rubin's club), or Alanis, who had to bear with Ainsley dancing and even making out with a guy in front of her, perhaps to humiliate her.
Still, it's much easier said than done. Not only she's being bombarded with WhatsApp messages from her friends, who are rambling about anything and everything, including the horror party; she's also unlucky enough to have to share every single inch of her life with Ainsley. Yes, the girl she'd slap without any remorse.
The latter, indeed, has just showed up out of a sudden and is poking right behind her stepsister's back, angering her. Alyzza doesn't like when she is spying on her phone without being apparently notice. Firstly, she always catches her. Secondly, she doesn't like being observed when she's minding her own business. Last, but not least, Ainsley is a true bit of a pain.
"Alyzza, we need to talk!" Ainsley's shrill voice is already getting on her stepsister's nerves, to the point that the latter stands up, turns her back at her and flips her off, before leaving her behind. Still, Ainsley insists, "Hey! You can't leave like that! I'm talking to you!"
Alyzza turns at her, clenching her fists and narrowing her eyes. "Listen carefully, little miss, I have no time for talking to you, okay? I have other, better things to deal with. Go and fuck your new boyfriend." As she coldly pronounces these last words, she finally manages to go out, leaving an angry and bewildered Ainsley behind.
Even though she is anything but used to being treated that way, Ainsley won't take Alyzza's answers anymore. She needs to find the way to make her cave once for all. It's all about what she wants, and she has to accept it. There are no other solutions.
***
Sitting at her desk, incessantly tapping on the keyboard of her laptop, Annaleigha is writing. Not an essay, not a fanfiction and not even a post on Facebook. She's indeed trying her hand at poetry. She finds it relaxing, mostly because it's her best (and only) way to express her feelings at the best of her abilities without being judged.
As she's guided by the sultry flow of each verse, gently accompanied by metaphores and similes, she evokes the scents, the sounds and the sights through simple but thought out words. There's no room for anything out of place, or the flow will break.
As she keeps tapping on the keyboard, Annaleigha is making a great effort to dribble the negative thoughts that are popping out of her mind. The more, the harder. Still, the way she resorts to poetry to let go of troubling sensations is simply incredible.
Suddenly, her stream of verses is interrupted by a shrill voice calling. Even though she doesn't want to turn her eyes away from the screen, Anna knows she has to answer, for the person who's calling doesn't take a no. In other words, she has to face who she resents the most, with no chances of turning back.
"Annaleigha! Come here!" The girl slowly reaches the stairs, walking down them, and enters the living room, where her mother is sitting on the couch with her hands on her laps. As the woman makes her a sign to sit down, Annaleigha does as asked.
"Why did you call me?" she asks, trying hard not to glare at the person who completely changed her life just for her own interests. However, she just lowers her head, looking down and pretending that the situation between her and her mother is close to being perfect.
"Oh, I just want to talk to you." Anna's mother dismisses her daughter's worries with a few simple words which, however, don't seem to have the desired effect on the girl. In fact, the latter is still suspicious at her, to the point that she asks, "What exactly do you want?"
"Come on, Anna, chill out," replies her mother. "I just want to ask you how things are going now, if you made any friends and-"
Annaleigha cuts her off, shaking her head and raising a hand as a sign to stop her. The woman lowers her head, realizing that she used the wrong approach with her daughter. So, what exactly can she do to get her to talk to her in a civil manner?
Right now, the only certain thing is that Annaleigha doesn't want to talk to her.
