The World As We Know It

Chapter 3: The Diamonds

Artwork: treshnat on Instagram

A/n: Just an little FYI: all chapters from Pearl's perspective will be in the present (the late 80s) while all Diamond chapters will be happening in the past (the early 80.)

Staring outside the window of her family's small car, Pearl watched as cars and trucks passed by their car, all driving in a similar pace down the long straight highway.

Pearl and her sisters were driving down to Empire State, where Yasmin and Bec were going to have a job interview with the Diamonds. After taking some time consider the opportunity, both of her sisters decided taking the job would be the best option for their family.

The car had been silent for most of the ride. Occasionally, Yasmin, who was in the driver's seat, would ask Bec about directions from the road map that she had laid across her lap.

Both Whitney and Pearl sat in the backseat of the car. For most of the trip, Whitney had her eyes closed like if she was trying to take a nap, but Pearl knew she was still awake by how often she was moving.

Being trapped in her car seat for almost five hours straight was starting to make Pearl feel uncomfortable. As much as Pearl loved the dress she was wearing, the tulle material that underlined the skirt of her dress was starting to make her legs feel itchy. Yasmin had bought this dress for Pearl to wear at their job interview, specifically to make a good first impression with the Diamonds.

At first Pearl was excited to have a new dress. Her sisters rarely bought clothes for Pearl, most of her clothing were hand me downs from Bec. Yasmin had brought Pearl with her to the department store and together they chose the dress Pearl was wearing today, a flowy dress with blue sleeves, a yellow bodice and pink skirt.

Pearl's sisters also had dressed for the occasion as well. Whitney, Yasmin and Bec all wore their nicest professional clothing, almost as if what they were wearing was the most important part of the job interview.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Pearl looked over to the windshield, where in the horizon, was a bridge that crossed a large body of water. Wanting her Whitney to see the view as well, Pearl reached over and tapped her sister's arm.

Opening her eyes at the sudden touch, Whitney turned to face Pearl. "What's the matter June?"

"We're gonna cross a bridge!" Pearl beamed, clearly excited to see the pretty view of the water.

"Hmm?" Whitney straightened herself up as she looked over to the horizon. "Oh yeah, that's the Empire River."

As the car made its way over to the bridge, Pearl sat as tall as she possibly could as she admired the scenic view of the water glittering in the sun.

"Look, June! There's a boat!" Whitney exclaimed as she pointed to the window on her side of the car.

Craning her neck towards the other window, Pearl tried to see what her sister was looking at, but because of the restraints of her car seat and her height, all she could see was the infrastructure of the bridge. Frowning, Pearl slumped back into her car seat. She wished she could have been as tall as sisters.

Noticing her disappointment, Whitney placed her hand on Pearl's shoulder.

"When I was in Empire City, I saw this minutes huge bridge." Whitney exaggerated. "Maybe one day I'll take you to see it."

Pearl's smile immediately returned to her face. "Really?"

"Of course, silly." Whitney giggled as she smoothed Pearl's hair.

In the passenger seat of the car, Bec lifted up the map from her legs, and began to trace her finger across the line that represented the interstate they were traveling on.