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