Four years later
"All done." The broker, a tall woman in her late thirties, says to Jade with a smile. She picks up the papers from the table and stands up, towering over the the brown eyed girl. "Congratulations on your purchase! I hope you'll enjoy your new home." Jade stands up as well and shakes the broker's hand. She can't hide her excitement as her soft eyes light up.
"This is all mine?" Jade asks. It suddenly feels real; four bedrooms with a view to the beach, two bathrooms, a large kitchen with a fridge bigger than she would probably ever need and even a small terrace.
"All yours." The woman replies, adding a light nod, and leaves. Jade wanders around the unfurnished house, trying to figure out how the hell she has enough money to buy such a huge place. Not too long ago she was serving donuts and living in a rented one bedroom apartment.
The brunette was only twenty four when she experienced what she now calls her "midlife crisis in the twenties". She was so unhappy and full of self doubt it turned into a routine. Getting rid of her flat and job made a significant change; Jade lived at her friend Leigh-Anne's apartment for a while and got a job as an assistant director. She cried a lot during that time, but it eventually got better, like it always does, and she found things in her life to be proud of. Everything changed after one audition, about a year and a half ago. Jade landed a dream role as a regular on Grey's Anatomy.
Now she walks on red carpets, she's being talked about in the news and people ask her for a photo when they see her on the street. It's the life she she pursued for so long, and the brunette sure is extremely thankful. She is known for dedicating her time to charity work, and not a day goes by without remembering the nights she spent worrying about how she's going to pay rent at the end of the month.
When the sun goes down and darkness spreads outside, Jade goes to the master bedroom and lies on the matress she has put on the floor earlier, which will be her bed until she'll go to pick out some furniture. It's actually quite comfortable, but she can't fall asleep. The actress is still filled with excitement from today, so she gets up and walks around the house again. Once she reaches the kitchen, the brunette opens the fridge and is hit with a familiar feeling; poorness. There's nothing inside but bread, milk, butter and eggs. These are the only things she managed to get at the grocery store today since she had so little time. But just a few years ago, these basics were everything she could afford.
The princess feels panic creeping in, and does what she can in order to calm down. She closes her eyes, tries to focus on her breathing and reminds herself she earns way more money than she needs. This seems to be helpful, but Jade still feels anxious. She quickly brushes her hair, grabs her purse and heads down the street, towards the grocery store. She doesn't ever want to open her fridge and see so little food again.
«-·-»
Once the plane is finally up in the sky, Perrie opens her bag and grabs her laptop. She's absolutely exhausted from today, but it seems like work never ends nowadays. She has a little over five hours to spend in this tiny seat to get home to California from New York. The blonde goes through her unread emails, most of which aren't very interesting - providers letting her know when they will arrive and a confirmation email from the government of New York. The latest email, though, is from an address the business owner is not familiar with. She quickly clicks on the email, feeling a bit more awake now.
Subject: invitation to join ICF
Hello!
Your business has been handpicked to join us at the IC Foundation. Please note this email is an invitation only and does not mean you are obligated to join ICF in any way. However, we recommend you to click on the link attached to discover who we are and what exactly we do. Thank you for your time!
Once she is done reading, Perrie stares at the screen and reads the email two more times. The blonde is filled with joy; she can't believe her business, which started from one small shop in her home town, is being handpicked to join something.
This is just another reminder of how much has changed in the past four years. Today, there are seven locations of Chocolate & Chocolate on the west coast, and soon the first east coast location will be opening in New York city.
It is all possible thanks to a deal she signed with Amazon, which expands her cakery in exchange of a portion of the profits. The confectioner still holds her Long Beach condo, but spends most of her time on airplanes somewhere between Long Beach and New York, trying to jaggle everything. She's happy to evolve, but can't help but feel like that deal with Amazon was a mistake, and the cakery is slowly being snatched from her.
The confectioner clicks the link at the bottom of the email and is greeted by the words ABOUT US written in pastel colors.
What do we do?
We are a nonprofit organization whose main goal is to provide food for the ones who need it, so no one goes to bed hungry.
We also provide holiday meals and cakes by request of the ones we care for.
How?
We accept food donations, process them and pack into boxes. Our volunteers deliver each box, which consists of a week's worth of groceries, to a house in need.
Where?
All over California.
How can you help?
We accept all kinds of food donations, so you can help by donating any fresh food. We also rely on volunteers to help us deliver all boxes.
Why?
A big part of not being able to afford basic things, such as food, is shame. I have experienced this myself, and there is no worse feeling. The system we built is meant to make donations look as regular supermarket deliveries, in order to avoid curious eyes and decrease the feeling of shame.
"ICF" stands for Ice Cream Foundation. Inside each delivery there is a tub of ice cream, because today, everyone deserve to enjoy food and not just use it to survive; take it from someone who treated ice cream as a privilege for most of her life.
Thank you for your support. It means a lot to the kid I was and to the kids, adults and eldery who are going through the same thing now.
Love, Jade <3
«-·-»
Here we go! I've been waiting to share this with you guys for SO long.
Tbh this is how I see LM basically - if they were successful enough (we all know that they are capable of so much more than what they are now), they would've put much more time into charity and giving back.
Please vote & comment, I'd love to hear what your thoughts are❤️
YOU ARE READING
Dream (Sequel to Coat - Jerrie)
Fanfiction"You were trying to figure your life out, Pez. Trust me, I understand." Jade says and adds her sweet laugh at the end of her words. "You do, Jadey. One of the very few who can." -------------------------------------------------------------------- SE...
