Mimie stared at the ever-so-impressive building with obvious uncertainty, battling on whether she was making the right decision or not. But if she had made it up to that point it simply meant one thing. She wanted it.After scrutinizing her surroundings, she bee-lined across the highway where she poorly blended with the elegantly dressed clients walking in and out of the once upon a time unhabitable Cold Spring's constructions that no one dared to near at whatever time of the day as it was reportedly haunted by the furiously disturbed spirits of the prime proprietor. And now it was the most beautiful edifice Cold Spring was known for. The place on its own was a touristic sight to forever remember.When her grandma mentioned that it once belonged to the Vladimirs in the early years of the small town, she didn't doubt it a bit.'The curtains had drastically descended on the family,' Mimie thought as she made her way to the porcelain receptionist.
With Ephriam and Draken on his tail, Sean joined Gianna where he'd instructed her to wait for him with a bone-chilling authoritative tone. He'd wasted time to show up, or was it her who was too eager to get rid of the leather case, so much that she'd gotten stuffed with the pungent odor from the garbage dumpster. Good thing she hadn't had lunch just yet as she notified to join Mimie as soon as she'd taken care of 'a little something', as she put it, so she wouldn't worry much. As eager as scared Gianna was, remembering her last encounter with Sean. She kicked his balls for the sake of Christ. There was no way she would go scot-free. And she was prepared to face it as long as he got his stuff off her shoulders. Sean wrinkled his nose. "You stink." Gianna said nothing as quietness reigned. No soul but theirs in the horizon. It was either a lucky day to not have come across the delinquents who perched there to stuff themselves with pot or were warned ahead of time of Almighty Sean's ne
"And I thought you love me.""I do. I swear it, I rea—""Then prove it."The boy's breaths were heavy, his panicked countenance so bold that it shone far more than that of the full moon's sharp beams. "There are so many other ways to prove it besides this, c'mon." He desperately pleaded."No, I do not want so many other ways. This is the only way and the only chance you have but if you can't do just this little thing for me, I swear, you and your pathetic love confessions are as good as useless."The boy gritted his teeth. He'd admitted his love for the girl not so long ago. It'd required dragon balls but the outcome was shocking nevertheless, triumphing. He almost applauded peer pressure for the very short time it lasted.He'd never in his wildest dreams, thoughts, to ever declare his flames of love to this girl until they graduated and parted ways. That was how much of a ban, a peculiar aura she'd built around her. From afar, he'd loved to admire her. In his mind, she'd smiled at h
"When you have to start trusting the decisions taken by a teen, Lulu, I will never advise you to do it wholeheartedly. We have this African saying; 'what an old man sees seated, a young man can never see even while standing on the tallest Iroko.' At this age they think they know so much, they live in the spur of the moment, take quick decisions without thinking about the aftereffects. In this case, what you do is give them the silent benefit of the doubt. Ask if you can give your opinion, which of course, the proud ones will turn you down. Assure them that you got their back and will always be there if things don't go as planned. Tell a little story related to that matter, you know, with a little lesson they can learn from it. I don't know if I'm making some sense to you." Louisa nodded. "Yeah." She bit on a cookie, her stare distant. "Come, have you ever had a mother-daughter time with Gigi? 'Cuz I recall you mentioning one with Mason before and never with you." Louisa twisted her
Persuaded, or so they hoped, to not do anything crazy, the trio ambled towards the school's exit after the seventh period, of course, with numerous feminine faces they'd never known frequented that school, buzzing around them like hungry bees. Excruciatingly infuriating. Mimie hadn't said a word to either of them, which was off of the girl's attitude. "I got to meet these McCoys of a neighbor last week," she initiated a topic that will no doubt urge Mimie to talk. "Town's gossip was right, they got three lovely kids." Mimie, besides being mute, didn't retract her gaze from her feet as she walked. So to say, she seemed aloof concerning the topic she once was excited about. "Two pretty girls and an adorable boy," she nudged Mimie with a perspicacious smile. Yet, nothing but a faint affirmative hum escaped her throat. "Adorable, hmm. Smells Bermuda Triangle soon. Seth won't like this." "I don't think Seth will mind being caught in a Bermuda triangle with a lovely six-month-old or
"Gianna's being bullied," Mason calmly stated. "Did you know that?" "I suspected. You know she doesn't tell me anything." Mason exhaled. "Was that the reason for Sean?" Louisa hesitated, freezing from applying a layer of clay mask. "Yeah. I figured he could help, which he did from my observations and his reports until the last incident. And I can't help but wonder what went wrong. I haven't seen him since." Mason remained quiet, silently putting two and two together. "You're saying you've been receiving reports from Sean all along which no doubt confirmed that Gianna was being bullied and didn't let me know?" "Honey, I didn't want you troubled with all that you were going through in the vineyard and—" "Bullshit, Lou! That's bullshit. Gianna is our daughter. Not yours, not mine, but ours, and I don't mind breaking my limits when it comes to our kids so that is not a fucking excuse." Louisa's head lowered in guilt. "Did you ever ask her anything pertaining to the subject matter
Gianna was quick to grab Mimie by the arm and detach her from her entourage. "Are you okay, Mims? Like...sincerely." "Yeah." "No. You're off. Aren't we friends anymore?" She rhetorically asked. "Tell me what's troubling you. Did I offend you in any way?" "No." "But your actions say otherwise." A ripple of pause ruled. "Mims, listen, I don't know what I did to you but if I ever offended you in any way please, please forgive me, okay? I don't like this distance between us," Gianna pouted, "I miss my day one bestie." Mimie weakly smiled. With glassy eyes, she unexpectedly hugged Gianna. "You did n-nothing, rest ass-assured." "Then what's the matter?" "Are you w-waiting for someone?" Mimie examined their surroundings. "Not really. Adam dashed to the principal's office immediately after lunch." "Okay. Can we fin-find a quiet place?" A boy passed them by mimicking a failed attempt at a move she'd done in the video, laughed with his mates, and made a snide comment on how hot she'll
Adam left the principal's office as fast as he could, tearing past a small crowd heading to their class and dismissing the profanities and comments of those he bumped. Luck on his side, he spotted Mimie exiting the restroom after contemplating on whether to call out on Gianna from outside of it. "Where's Gianna?" He walked in on a pale and beaten-looking Mimie. "Is she in there?" Mimie sluggishly shook her head. She'd wanted to wait for her friend outside as planned but was scared off by Ephraim who guarded the door with diligence. "She's in th-the art room, w-with Sean." At the mention of the name, Adam made a U-turn and bolted to said place. The sight of the burly dark-haired teen hadn't any effect on his momentum yet, ignoring him wasn't an option. "Where to?" Ephraim interrogated, his big hand in a back-off stance. "Piss off!" Adam swatted his hand away with a force that alerted Ephraim to take his opponent seriously. "You better back off if you don't want to end up with a
It was a tough fight.The basement was unusually overcrowded. No one wanted to miss out on Ring Kong's final fight, especially not with the 'pretty face stranger' involved—as the homeless natives referred to him. The news of Sean confronting Kong had spread like wildfire so much to the entry fee collector's surprise. That night, he'd made more money than he'd ever made in the history of its existence, he was quite a devoted employee: he's been since thirty-five. Now forty-two, single, and searching? Not sure, Strav's excitement was unmatched as he flipped through a stack of bills, outlining the expenditures of his share. He'll finally put his landlord on a door number 38 break, afford a ticket to watch his favorite football team play, get himself a brand-new toaster, and restock his fridge with enough booze to take him through a week or two. Now that sounded like a perfect plan.That very night, Strav had seen faces; ones he'd seen once and never again, ones he'd never seen before, on
"What are you doing here?"Adam seemed amused by the question. "Talking with you, of course." But there was no linger of humor around Gianna.Adam cleared his throat. "Fine, I'll tell you what, but not here. Unfortunately, I'm yet to get familiar with this place. Plus, it's not appropriate for catch up...care to come over?"What has familiarity got to do with anything? She almost asked. "No.""Come on, Gigi. It's been months since we saw each other, don't you think it'll be the perfect time to catch up? There's a whole lot I need to tell you if it's not your case. So?""Adam I can't. I can't do whatever I want when I want. I owe my uncle and his wife some respect."He held both of her shoulders. "Visiting a long-time-no-see friend for some catching up isn't wrong. Maybe you should let me talk to them, I'll make them understand that I'm absolutely harmless.""Oh my God, no, are you crazy?"Adam shrugged, and with a straight face, he replied, "Guess I am, ever since I met you." "Oh, pl
"Follow me." Viktor stamped a bill on the bar counter and walked through a cascade of thick wooden-beaded curtains that led to a dimly lit corridor with his friend on his tail. It had doors on either side. He knocked and opened a door that had a man sitting behind a counter. That, with 3 chairs and a TV made up the tiny stale-smelly room. Viktor spoke with him and deposited some bills on the dirty counter. The man hollered something in Russian but Viktor waved it away as he pulled open the floor.It shocked Sean, but what almost knocked the breath out of his chest was what was below. He would never have thought in a thousand years.They were hit first by contesting blows of luminosity and noise from a crowd of not more than a hundred men surrounding a caged boxing-sized ring. Some faces, he'd seen before; they were permanent residents of his different 'homes'. A heated fight was the source of the hollers and tumult. They were so loud that he wondered why he didn't hear them from abov
She hoped wrong. Very wrong."Rianna, I got you a seat right next to me, come," Elsa invited."It's Gianna," Gianna gently corrected."It's going to take at least two weeks for her to get your name right. Took her a month to get Tay from Fay right." Tay took the seat behind Gianna's destined chair while Teesha occupied that behind Elsa."Roughly three weeks from Treeshay to Teesha. Can you believe she called me 'Cheat' in French?"Elsa rolled her eyes, "Oh come on now girls, y'all make it seem like I'm a ditz or something."Gianna stifled a giggle."Heard Mr. Stevenson is taking AP Biology this year," Teesha announced."Oh gawd, why me?" Elsa flattened her jaw to the desk with a grimace. "Not Mr. Hot with the bad teaching skills. He gonn' make me hate reproduction, I can feel it deep in my bones. Someone call the academic cops on him.""Is he that bad?" Gianna set her notebook on the desk."Nah, she's simply more attentive to his features than his teachings. And the 'hate' part of the
It's been a little over sixteen weeks since Sean made the chilly streets and dark alleys of Moscow his home, his bed. His duffle bag, which diligently served as a pillow with what he wore excluded, had nothing more than four pairs of jeans, two tees and a hoodie against the night's blistering cold, his passport, a wallet with a few notes to sustain the little his stomach demanded for another four weeks or so, a cap to shield his face from lingering eyes and UV light, and a pocket knife for precautions. Safe to say the latter never saw the darkness of his duffle bag from the day he purchased it from a local store not too far from the alley he slept in that night. Another one of such assets was a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. The nicotine has helped him a ton lately more than ever before especially with his appetite.Before leaving for the airport in the company of his brothers, he'd left some money he'd worked from Spring's dinner and gathered from debtors to his supportive father
To new beginnings!To a new whiff of fresh air, a new environment, a new and undoubtedly successful academic year, new school, new projects, new friends? If at all, that brings into the picture new characters to study not forgetting new lecturers to adapt to. The best for the last, new self.Physically not. More of psychological maturity, mistrustfulness, cautiousness, and ardentness in all her endeavors.Gianna got her driving license not too long before the end of summer break and ever since then she has been the 'errand girl' of the family: Sometimes she transported fabrics from suppliers' venue—when they seemed too carried away to supply on time—to her aunt's fashion boutique. Once she'd opted to drive her uncle to a business gathering five minutes away from home when his driver was on sick leave and his assistant was rendering his services to his beloved wife coming in from a fashion week in Paris. He'd denied it at first. Uncle Marley was skeptic on legs when it concerned her uni
She wasn't a relationship ruiner. Definitely not. To her greatest surprise, she'd stifled back most of her tears and turned to word filter paper. The forty or so minutes spent with Luna were, suffocating, murderous, for the most part because even though she resented the Seth talk—that surprisingly didn't sting as much as when it was all fresh from the oven—she found in Luna a great friendship. Rather unfortunate. Luna insisted they exchanged digits which Gianna did out of pure kindness, not fathoming staying in contact.They had a lot in common; shared almost similar hobbies except yoga and shopping. The latter done when necessary. Movie genres—she never appeared to be a horror, thriller, mystery (HTM) fangirl. Gianna would've bet a pound of flesh on romance and fiction, strictly. Similar food, and even shared DIYs with the most interesting being home remedies for getting rid of menstrual acne in two days. Luna developed an engrossment in the book donation club and planned on doing so
It's been days since Gianna battled with calling Sean. Such a crazy sensation, but she was determined to take that bold step there and then, in South Beach, Miami.Yes, her parents had made them believe they'd be spending the entire summer with Uncle Marley and his family until they headed to JFK International Airport and boarded a direct flight to Miami. Not to be misunderstood, she was delighted because why not? It was Miami for the sake of Christ, yet disappointed and peeved as she had drafted a hundred and ten ways to boomerang Ace's demonic pranks and found out the initial purpose of the journey respectively. That explained why she was alone with a massive straw beach hat on despite her umbrella's generous spread of shade, laying on her stomach browsing, envying, and babysitting the sister who promised to stay by her 'darling sister's' side because she knew no one else and was too lazy to make friends. Words from the mouth of a Magpie who was currently marathon swimming with a sw
"Everything checked?""Yup, everything checked," Gianna confirmed after she'd swung the last luggage into the trunk and dusted off her hands. "Great, then we're good to go. Almost." Both Louisa and Gianna settled in, waiting for Mason, Petra, and Noah. Not too long into the wait, the family of five were ready for the city. Ready for the cool vacation air.Songs and games commemorated the journey as it was of the family's habits every time Mason was involved. But at some point, one of them got distracted with a text message.'I miss you already. I don't know how to survive knowing that I won't be seeing you in such a long time.'Gianna rolled her eyes at the level of drama.'I was able to dig into Sean's past as requested and was successful.' Now that skyrocketed Gianna's interest. 'According to medical records, Sean was diagnosed with a chronic kidney disease at age 11 and underwent a kidney transplant a year later. That's about how much I got.''Oh well, thanks.''Three times nothin