Bullied and the Bitch

Chapter 26: The P Word

"What are you working on, daddy?" I ask, leaning over his shoulder to look at the design he's working on. He jumps, as if he wasn't expecting me. I guess he wasn't, because though he keeps the study door open while he's working, I don't ever bother him. Not since I was three. And mom has noisy footsteps, so he can always hear her coming.

"The design for the Aratines. They want to renovate their mansion, and I'd previously rejected their request because I was looking for you. But they were really understanding – you know they have a daughter as well – and I decided to take the request on..." he tells me. I'm busy appraising the design, though.

"I like this," I say, running my hand over the sketch of the veranda. Beautifully shaped and in a location you wouldn't expect, yet totally worked, as you would expect from a visionary like my dad.

"Yeah?" he perks. I hadn't praised his designs since ever.

"I really liked the design you made for the new train station wing, as well," I tell him.

His grin widens, looking almost goofy. "Really? You've seen it?"

I nod. "I passed it when I was taking the train back..."

"It is nice, isn't it? I can't claim full credit, though. There was a boy on the building team there who helped modify the design a bit because of a faulty pipe... Brian, I think his name was. There was something very familiar about that boy. Does Brian ring a bell for you, Bry?" He pauses, perhaps thinking, like I was, about how similar the names were.

"No," I say quickly.

"Really? Hmm. Well, I might see him again, assuming he joins the art gallery design competition."

"Art gallery design competition?" I ask, feigning my lack of knowledge.

"Yes, I rejected the offer to design it – I didn't know how long you would be missing, I didn't want to take on jobs – and they decided to make it into a competition. I suggested Brian enter it. He has some raw talent, that one."

I try not to let my pride show on my face at the compliment.

"Do you think I could join the competition, daddy?" I ask. His pencil falls onto the floor, and he stares at me, his jaw slack.

"You want to join an architectural competition?" he asks, his voice rife with disbelief. I shrug.

"Why not?" I ask. I had hesitated to join it as Brian, because I didn't know what would come out of me joining it as someone kind of 'fake'. But as Brianna... why not? I was starting to enjoy and appreciate architecture. I would lay at night sometimes, listening to El sleeping, and thinking up designs I could use for the art gallery.

"Well... you never showed any interest in it... And this is a serious competition, Bry," he says.

"What makes you think I'm kidding, daddy?" I ask, though my tone is lacking in the sugary sweet tone I usually use to talk to him – especially when I want something. He blinks.

"Well, alright. But let me tell you now – you might be singled out for biased reasons. You are my daughter, after all."

"I'll prove to them that I'm way better than you, dad," I say, smiling confidently at him. He shakes his head with a smile, then pulls up a chair.

"Okay, if you're going to be serious about this, then let's go over some of the basics. Then we can go over the parameters of the land they're going to use. As well as the terrain, that's important."

"Right," I say, recalling some of what he was saying from when I was a child and he would explain to me the process of creating a design and the steps involved. I feel a thrill run down my spine, something I never thought I'd feel from doing something my dad does.