Excelsior

Chapter 22: Family problems

Chloe's reserved temperament and her habit of hiding her worries had led her to avoid talking about situations that she considered embarrassing in front of everyone, choosing to reflect silently by her bedroom window, yet, on that autumn afternoon sitting on a bench in the high school woods, she couldn't reserve her meeting with Ramela, and while not a big deal, she expected her friends to weigh in on the matter with the same heated interest that she expected. Meryl just said:

"She mocked you phone? That's ridiculous.

"She's so vulgar and her concept of wealth is limited by the same middle-class biases she shares with her mother," Diane added.

It turned out that their classmate was none other than the stepdaughter of the mayor of a small neighboring town in the county.

"You are right. I attended a party and her parents were among the guests, and I couldn't bear to talk to her family. Her mom could only talk about a trip to Italy and how much she adored her husband for buying him a truck of exaggerated proportions."

"She humiliated me," said Chloe, "and she must pay."

"It seems to me that you are giving her more attention than she deserves."

"She isn't worthy of out attention," Diane continued. "Her stepfather's corruption scandals and her family's manners are punishment enough for anyone, as she will never be welcomed outside of their circle. Typical Democrat! Let's not lower ourselves to their level. There are people who have done you more harm that are the subject of careful study."

After saying this, Sabrina greeted them along with Monica and Angelica. The three girls had their fresh, young faces glittering, and the first asked them kindly if they had seen Gary. Diane lied and said that he had been seen walking with Johanna into the woods, to which Sabrina's smile faded and she said goodbye politely.

Her acting was natural and her attitude towards girls was no different from what he showed before Angelica's party, which worried Chloe. She doubted if what they had done to her was as serious as she thought or if it was just a little joke that no one remembered anymore, and her doubts increased when she met Sabrina a few minutes before the debate club meeting began.

Sabrina greeted her and wished her the best of luck with heartfelt anguished eyes, and after the votes had been tallied and it was decided that she had been elected the new club president, she asked Chloe if she wanted to be her vice president. The question was so unexpected that, due to how thoughtful and slow Chloe's mind worked, she had no choice but to unconsciously accept.

While being the president would have been better to help her get into a good university, it was better than being nothing, and now that one of the members was suspended under suspicious circumstances, she could not afford to decline the offer, as the club had so many only seven members.

The election as president left Sabrina satisfied. She did not stop talking about the matter at dinner, and mentioned it as many times as possible to her father, hoping to be congratulated and to make him proud, which Mr. Russell pleased.

She spoke about her dreams and aspirations with her maid, who smiled when she listened so lively as she brushed her long hair in the dressing room, a beauty ritual that the young woman carried out every night before going to sleep.

They heard the doors open and Mr. Russell came into the room. Sabrina got up, and when she saw her father, she rejoiced hoping that he would come to congratulate her as she deserved, as he had done before. She went over to give her a hug, when Mr. Russell's face hardened, and she slapped her so hard that her cheek was scarred.

"Please Geoffrey!" Mrs. Russell exclaimed, entering the room followed by the youngest Russell.

Mr. Russell watched his daughter's beautiful blue eyes moisten as she stroked her cheek, covered by her tousled hair.

"Have mercy on me, and for your love, I beg you not to punish my Sabrina like that."

"Have mercy on you?" Said Mr. Russell. "I have put the education of my daughters in your hands, and you have failed because you only care about being on a television show." He turned to Sabrina. "My daughter has become a drug addict under your care." He took out of his pocket the blue velvet bag that was found in his daughter's bag that afternoon. "I'll take matters into my own hands if she doesn't want to be banished of my will and her allowance once she's over eighteen.

Sabrina frowned, and thought about answering that she would not need his money since her mother had a time deposit that she was a beneficiary of; she held back.

"What do you have to say?"

She didn't answer.

"Say something!"

"Don't yell at her!" Mrs. Russell cried and dropped to her knees before him. "If you want to punish someone for your daughter's attitude, punish me. Hit me if you think I deserve it, just don't you dare touch my dear Sabrina, who is my responsibility."

Mr. Russell didn't hesitate to push his wife away and stepped closer to Sabrina, who backed away. He proceeded to slap her other cheek, and Margaret couldn't hold back any longer: she approached her father and tearfully pleaded with him to leave her sister alone to no avail, as her demands were not heard.

Mrs. Burlew jumped up and joined Margaret's desire to intervene, and then considered that it was easier thinking about it than facing those sententious eyes of Mr. Russell, who took his daughter's hand, opened it and placed the velvet bag in it.

"I want to see you dare to do it again," and turning to his wife, who had stood up, he continued: "Our daughter is a failure because of you. So much grace and intelligence wasted by her addictions."

Mrs. Russell lowered her head in shame, and replied:

"But we can help her. We could take her to a rehab center..."

"Rehabilitation? Do you have no consideration for our surname, yours, that of your other daughters? I take the risk of keeping a drug addict under my roof, and taking her to rehab would only cause gossip that will damage the image of the family in society." He saw his daughter again. "I hope you at least consume it in private, and not with friends or outside of this house, because it would give free rein to the impertinent to know about it and the gossip to circulate."

Sabrina couldn't look at his father.

"It's no use being highly esteemed in the social scene if you use drugs. Our daughter was perfect, and her flaws were so inconspicuous that they could not be considered as such, so we could boast that she had no mistakes; I suppose you end up being a failure like your mother, who couldn't get married to the patriarch of one of the most respectable families and had to settle for a man without such prominence," he said dryly, aware that he was insulting himself with such affirmation. "Your virtues are useless with such low-level recreation. You will be a failure just like her, who lives her dreams in the fantasy that one day all her daughters will be married to the heads of the best families."

"Do not listen to anything your father says," she commented. "You are a talented young woman who deserves the best; even a better man than your father. Jill, can we get us a bag of ice? We cannot allow my daughter's face to remain swollen like this, it does little justice to her virtues and beauty, does it not? "She said, hoping to cheer her up in vain, for she kept feeling denigrated. "Also bring us a cup of hot chocolate, please."

Mrs. Russell would not admit it that while she loved all her daughters, from all of them, Sabrina was her favorite. He felt a special identification with her that went beyond the simple fact that they were both the second of their siblings. He loved her with devotion, and seeing her being violated and sad filled her with anguish. She thought that Sabrina combined the ease and spontaneity of the eldest of her daughters, and the intelligent curiosity of the youngest of them, being also provided with grace and elegance, traits that had made her the best known of her sisters, and the most valued in society.

It was therefore advantageous that the grounds of Villa Magnífica were extensive, and that the walls were thick enough that no nosy neighbor knew about the embarrassing domestic incident that occurred behind the curtains. The screams couldn't even be heard in the rooms adjacent to Sabrina's bedroom.