Chapter 1 - Moving to the city.

Venus pressed down on the hooter of her faded green antique VW Beetle for the umpteenth time that morning! Her two dearest friends were late for class as usual, which meant that she would be late! She checked her eyeliner in the rear-view mirror and pulled a stray pink hair back into place just as Melody came rushing out of the house with Gabriella right behind her. Gabriella promptly plopped down the stairs and put on her trainers before running to jump into the car. For someone who worked with deadlines, Venus always found it incredibly interesting how Gabriella always seem to meet her newspaper editor’s deadlines, but could never show up on time for anything else.

“Here.” Melody handed them their morning coffee and one of her homemade biscuits, grabbing the steering wheel from Venus just in time to steady the car. It was the last week of their final exams and all three of them were looking forward to starting their grown-up lives, at least, as best they could in the human world.

“How’s Bradley?” Gabriella’s eyes sparkled as she leaned forward between the two front seats and Venus rolled her eyes.

“He is fine.” She wasn’t going to say anything more since she already knew why Gabriella was asking. Bradley was a young billionaire who accidentally bumped into Venus with his wheelchair at the campus coffee shop. They got to talking and he helped her set up her virtual assistant business. He was a tech genius! He even offered her a job once she finished with her studies, but Venus couldn’t imagine living in his house permanently. Besides, he needed a nurse more than an assistant and she definitely wasn’t qualified for that kind of job.

Venus pulled the car into the first open parking spot and they all jumped out and ran for the exam hall. The professor glared at the three of them as they barged through the doors and they quickly apologized before taking their seats. At the beginning of the year, Gabriella suggested that they should take at least one subject together out of all their classes. Since it was their last year, they picked one blindfolded, and today they were writing their final paper on classical art. Something none of them were really interested in, but they needed the credits. It wouldn’t look too good on any job application if they failed!

When they were done, the three best friends walked out of the hall complaining about how difficult some of the questions were, but they were happy that they were finally done. Tonight, they would celebrate, and in the morning, they needed to pack the last of their things before moving to their city apartment. Their lives as students were finally over. Their graduation was in a week and they wanted to be settled in their apartment before then. Although they were a little hungover, the excitement of moving to the city was enough to get them going.

“Goodbye dearest house,” Gabriella sighed as she flopped her arms over the shoulders of her two friends and they stood outside the house for the last time.

“You were good to us.” Melody sighed and wiped a tear from her cheek.

“I think we were good at it! We didn’t break anything, and are leaving the poor thing in a much better condition than what we found it.” Venus scoffed before turning around and slipping behind the steering wheel of her crappy old car. She laughed as her two friends jumped in and they followed the truck into the city that was carrying their most prized belongings.

As if it was meant to be a warning, it started to rain just as they drove into the city. It felt a little anti-climactic after they talked about the bright city lights and they drove into the grey dreary streets. The clouds were hanging thick overhead and rain poured down drenching most of the boxes while they were being offloaded. Gabriella unlocked the heavy red sliding door to their loft apartment and the sound echoed throughout the huge open-plan kitchen and living area.

The construction crew finished the last painting just the night before and everything still smelled like pain making Melody rush to open the windows. The sound of the rain flooded through as the movers started to bring their things upstairs. The three best friends stood at the windows and looked out at the dark ominous city. Everything in the apartment had been redone according to Gabriella’s specific requirements. Everything except the large floor-to-ceiling windows. They reminded her of home. The floors were tiled in a beautiful light tile. The kitchen was done in black and white marble with all the latest appliances for Melody to cook with. Their three bedrooms each had its own bathroom and Gabriella made sure they all had enormous closets.

“Well,” Venus sighed. “Welcome home girls.” She was the first to turn away from the window and grab the first box with her name on it. “Which one is mine?” She grinned at Gabriella who rushed over and grabbed one of her boxes.

“You are in the middle, and Melody, you are closest to the kitchen.” Gabriella winked and they burst out laughing. The weather might not have been playing along, but it didn’t dampen their feelings of excitement about their new home. A couple of hours later, all their furniture was inside and semi-arranged and Gabriella signed the paperwork for the movers, thanking them for all their help.

Melody grabbed three paper cups and the bottle of champagne they bought the night before and poured each of them a glass.

“Happy new home, girls!” She grinned and handed each of them a cup. They giggled as they finished their drink, and then spent the rest of the night unpacking. Around midnight, most of their things were in place and what looked like an abandoned building … A newly renovated abandoned building, when they walked in, now looked like a home.

Melody had made them some spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and the three friends flopped down on the couch to watch some television before going to bed. In the morning, they would start their new grown-up lives and they were all tired but excited. Melody had a junior chef’s position at a restaurant around the corner. Gabriella was starting her career as an assistant at a publishing company, and Venus had an early morning online meeting with Bradley. Grown-up lives in the human world … Finally, they reached their goals. They made it. Over the weekend they would go to the university for graduation and receive their final certificates.

Life was going to be great and although they were bone tired, they couldn’t wait.