Thriving

Party Like You're 18

Thea stormed into Amber's room, irritated and focused. "She's lying."

Amber looked up from her book with her eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"My mom," Thea stated before pointing a finger at her niece. "Your grandmother."

"I'm confused."

"Earlier in the limo." Thea clarified. "She said that she got a call from work but she was talking to Mr. Merlyn."

"How do you know that?" Amber asked.

"I saw his name pop up on her phone."

Amber sighed. "Is there a point to this?"

"I think she's having an affair," Thea admitted. "But I don't know how to prove it."

"And you're asking me for help?"

Thea shrugged. "You're the smartest person I know that I can also bribe."

Amber tilted her head. "Bribe with what?"

"I will take you to any bookstore you want for as long as you want."

"You don't have a car."

"Yet." Thea pointed out.

Amber thought for a moment. "Fine. You can follow Moira to see if she's actually going where she says she's going or you can call the place to see if she's there."

"How does that help me prove she's cheating with Mr. Merlyn?" Thea questioned.

"It doesn't," Amber said. "That's how you prove her pattern of lies. If you want to prove that she's in a relationship with Mr. Merlyn then you gotta check to see if her eyes dilate when she looks at him or if she messes if her hair or something like that."

"Why?"

"The human eye involuntarily dilates when looking at something the person likes or loves," Amber explained. "And people subconsciously adjust things like their hair and clothes to make themselves look better to someone they have a crush on when they're talking or hanging out together."

Thea stared at her niece in disbelief. "How do you know all this stuff?"

Amber shrugged. "I have unrestricted access to the internet."

"You're such a weird kid."

"You're the one who came to me for help. And now you owe me a trip to the Barnes and Noble."

"I still need to get a car."

"I can wait."

Thea rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the really weird information."

"Thanks for the bribe." Amber smiled.

* * *

Loud music thumped throughout the entire Queen mansion. Somewhere near 100 teenagers danced with glowsticks on their heads, wrists, necks-- basically anywhere that one could wear a glowstick.

It's honestly quite a miracle that Thea spotted her brother in the crowd.

"Ah! Oh, God, check it out! Check it out!" She ran up to Oliver, waving the keys to her new car. "Convertible."

"You must be so surprised." Oliver smiled.

"Oh, my God, isn't everything absolutely perfect?" Thea asked excitedly before turning a little blue. "Except for if Dad were here."

Oliver leaned over so he could speak in Thea's ear. "If Dad were here, he'd say you look beautiful." He complimented.

Thea smiled appreciatively. "Oh, excuse me for a sec." She ran off, having seen some of her friends.