TWO YEARS LATER...
‘Don’t forget me, I’ll beg,’ I sing, lathering my hair with my favourite strawberry and mango scented shampoo.
‘Tess, darling, breakfast is on the table, your new Porsche is out on the driveway, have a good day, sweetie, love you!’ Mum yells up to me and a second later, I hear the door slam.
I glance at the clock in my en suite and rinse my hair slowly, realising it’s only ten minutes past seven. Adele’s Someone Like You croons away and I continue singing along softly, as I slowly get ready for school.
‘Okay,’ I tell myself in my Venetian mirror, pulling on my Chloè jeans. ‘School. Right. I will be strong.’
I button up my white blouse, patting down invisible creases. ‘I will be confident.’
As I brush out my brunette hair, I look at myself in a panic. ‘Oh my god, I can’t do this...’
Emma, our housekeeper, comes bustling in my room, in the middle of my soft sobs. She stops humming one of her favourite pop songs as soon as she sees my face. ‘Oh, honey,’ she says warmly. ‘Stop crying; you’ll ruin your mascara.’
I stop crying and looked at her in disbelief. ‘Not funny, Emma.’
Emma chuckles. ‘Tess, you’re very strong.’
‘What?’ I sniffle.
‘You’re a Bell, darling.’
‘I know, Emma –,’
‘No,’ Emma shakes her head. ‘You don’t. I’ve been with you Bells for a long time and I know that Bells never cry. They’re strong, beautiful and fight back with everything they’ve got.’
‘I can’t do this – I want to go back to Australia,’ I tell her. ‘Can we get Daddy?’
‘You and I both know you’ve got your Daddy wrapped around your little manicured finger, darling,’ Emma smiles.
‘Pfft,’ I shrug, smiling back. ‘I’m just a Daddy’s girl, Emma. It’s how life works.’
I wink at her and Emma chuckles again, before enveloping me into a hug. Her warmth embraces me, along with her motherly, familiar scent of freshly-baked cookies, cinnamon and weirdly enough, laundry detergent.
‘Now get your pretty butt to school sharpish,’ Emma says, smacking my butt. ‘Before you’re late.’
‘You know...’ I begin, wondering how far I can go, today, in teasing Emma before she cracks. ‘I wonder – would it be easy for me to bunk off school?’
Emma looks horrified.
‘Tess, no!’ she says sharply and I shut up, smiling.
When a short, chubby woman brandishing a Henry Hoover tells you to calm down, you calm down.
‘You are an amazing, talented, brilliant –,’
‘Keep going,’ I grin.
Emma rolls her eyes. ‘Look, sweetie, in all seriousness, you’re very strong. But you don’t need to bunk – you were joking, weren’t you?’
I run out, laughing as Emma chases me, threatening to suck my hair up with the Hoover.
The threats on that woman...
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The Jerk&Me
HumorWhen Jace Carson, resident badboy, pushes Tessa Bell, fashion-allergic nerd, too far, she runs. Scared and panicky, Tess flies to Australia where she has the best two years of her life, partying it up with fun cousin, Annabel Teffally . But real di...
