The Cheshire Cat Diamond

Chapter 1

The morning sunlight filtered in through my plane window, illuminating the book I had in my hands. I must have fallen asleep on the long plane ride. Groggily, I rubbed my eyes, and shakily got up. My mouth was absolutely disgusting. Rummaging through my suitcase, I produced my "morning kit", and headed off to the bathroom. There, a line of almost 50 people awaited me. Taking my place in line, I then took out my phone, and started to wade through the barrage of texts that I had received from Mom and Dad. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents to death, but sometimes it's a bit much. Quickly, I typed out a message confirming that yes, I had a good night's sleep, I was still on the plane, and that I loved them too. While I was doing this, a sulky voice rang out from in front of me.

" Oh my god, I can't even believe this line. First-class passengers deserve priority. Don't these stupid flight attendants know that? Plus, my maid did not pack my beauty kit, and I hate everything! Ugh!" I blew out my cheeks, and rolled my eyes. I had not had my coffee, I hadn't brushed my teeth yet, and on top of all of this, now I had to listen to a drama queen lament about her beauty kit. This morning was off to a great start.

After I had sufficiently woken up, and gotten most of my morning problems (the drama queen found her friend, and every few minutes they'd snicker loudly, sounding like hyenas) dealt with, I made it back to my seat. First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Stacia Chase (though my friends call me Cia, or Stace, but that's not important). I was on a plane to England for my childhood friend's annual Cheshire Cat Halloween Gala. It would be a costume party, and I was heading over to Berkshire mansion to stay a night before the party. Back in Colorado, my parents were off on a business trip, so this was perfect timing. Also, given that this would be the greatest Halloween gala of the century, and that I would be rubbing shoulders with famed celebrities, there was no way that I could pass up this offer. 

My friend, Trisha Berkshire, is a fabulous party planner, and a very smart gal. Trisha did tell me that we would have a lot of fun at the party and that she had recently been reunited with one of her long-lost relatives, a guy named Kyle.

She was really excited about this when she told me over the phone. I guess it's because Trisha had always been a single child, and she's always longed for a sibling, or something close to that. She decided to host the gala as a welcome event for her cuz and to prove to her parents that she could successfully host a celebration. She's planning to be an event planner. 

Being the good friend that I am, I confirmed with Trisha that I would be there for her first-ever gala, and so here I was, sitting on a plane sandwiched between an old guy with drool leaking out of his mouth and a spoiled brat bragging about her 200 dollar pink Gucci phone case. I didn't need a lot of convincing. It sounded like it would be a blast!

I spent the rest of the flight listening to music, dodging any drool that came close, and trying to maintain my sanity. I'm not even kidding, but the spoiled girl was so annoying. I did find out that her name was Stephanie (so stereotypical) and that she was going to the Halloween Gala.

I'm pretty sure that Trisha would never invite someone like her, so I guessed that she's going with someone else. Once I finally got off that flying tube of ear torture, I headed off to the luggage claim. There, I simply waited for my bags. 

I've always found the luggage retrieval area quite interesting. The way that the plates overlap each other, and how they smoothly slide in an oval, it's just really cool.

I did fashion designing and I love horror movies and reading Nancy Drew. Anyhow, it wouldn't be that hard to find a metallic turquoise suitcase, out of like, a hundred black or brown suitcases right? I started scrolling through the news (I like to keep updated). Out of my peripheral vision, I saw a flash of sparkling blue, and then it was gone. Pocketing my phone I started to where I had seen the blue. There was nothing there. What? Did I imagine it?

Turning around, I asked the elderly woman that was sitting there. "Excuse me mam, have you seen a metallic blue suitcase on the conveyor belt here?"

"Was it turquoise?" she asked slowly.

"Yes!" I said eagerly. It hadn't been my imagination!

"A blue-eyed blonde girl talking on a sparkly pink phone took it while she whispered with another brown-haired smirking girl. They looked quite rich, and quite rude too," she replied. "Does that answer your question?"

"Um, yeah. Thank you!" I said as I ran back to my backpack, and duffel bag. This was not good. All of my major clothes were in there, along with all of my notebooks, designs, and supplementary supplies. Quickly, I whipped out my phone and dialled Trisha, while speed-walking to the pickup zone.

"Hello?" a silky voice answered.

"Hi, Trish. I've got off the flight. Can you come to pick me up?" I asked in a trembling voice.

"What's wrong? Wasn't the chauffeur supposed to pick you up?" she asked.

"Just come. Please? Something came up. I'll tell you when you get here." I pleaded.

"Okay. I'm on my way." 

****

A/N

Hey Lovelys, this is Solarys, stirring up some trouble for Acelyst since she decided to expose me on my short stories!!!! 

And Acelyst, what's wrong with Stephanie? It's such a pretty name! Maybe your name is stereotypical. (Did you guys really think these were our real names?)

-Solarys