" Wake up, Sleepyhead," Adrian's annoying and taunting voice attempted to wake Susanna from her sleep.
She groaned slightly, annoyed. She hated being disturbed in her sleep.
"What," She asked, opening her eyes halfway.
"Won't you at least wake up first?" Adrian said.
"I'm awake," Susanna muttered with an exasperated sigh.
"No, you aren't."Adrian insisted.
Grunting, she straightened herself and sat on the bed while yawning and rubbing her eyes constantly.
"Now what?"
"Dad has some information and he wants us all at the living room," Adrian said.
"Information?"
"Yeah, care to listen?"
" Lemme give it a try," Susanna said as she stood up from the bed, "I'll be there in a jiffy."
"Okay," Adrian said as he exited the room.
Susanna loosened her pyjamas and rushed to her closet.
She sighed, unaware of what to wear among the handful of clothes she had.
After much contemplation, she finally settled on pink T-shirt and brown sweatpants. She didn't like the combination but she didn't care either. She wasn't dressing for anyone anyway.
She gave the T-shirt a quick glance as she was about to wear it. It was written in bold, 'LOVE'
She scoffed, "Who the hell still believes in love?"
After she had put them on, she walked to the mirror and tied her long blonde hair to a ponytail. Satisfied with her looks, she prepared to walk out.
Then her eyes caught a glance of a jacket.
It was the most expensive thing in her room. It stood out from all the clothes and was the center of attention to anyone who walked in the room. It was exactly two weeks after her incident with the unknown guy who she properly termed as her savior. She'd not forgotten even a single bit of the incident and most importantly, him. He'd lingered on her mind for the two weeks and she'd found it strangely impossible to pull him off. Susanna wondered what type of guy he was to have a standing effect on her . So puissant, it gave her the unending desire to find out who he was. Save yourself the stress, she told herself, you forgot to ask his name.
It was like a bad move in a chess game. She'd forgotten to make an important move and now was one step behind.
What if he'd saved another girl the same night and she'd asked his name? Her heart dropped, the nagging thought that she'd never find him crossing her mind.
Get hold of yourself Susanna, she scolded herself. Wasn't it just a great act of kindness and heroism.
Why would his name be important?
Maybe the act was just out of kindness and heroism, but how he had handled her wasn't. It was different, She couldn't explain the feeling. It was just so difficult to decipher. And it had really disturbed her for weeks. She'd not found a good bearing yet after the incident, and she really hated it as much as she...
"Anna!" It was Adrian again.
Quickly, she jolted out of her thoughts, "Coming!"
She arrived at the living room and met the whole family seated, all waiting for her. Georgina, her stepsister was busy on her cellphone and did not even spare her a glance as she passed beside her to her seat. She had her dark hair tied to a French plait,it was something she'd grown quite fond of when at home.
It was... beautiful? Well, yes in some terms. But not in general.
Her step mom only gave her a hateful look from those witchy brown eyes that scared her from when she was eight. But she'd grown quite used to it, anyway.
And she loved calling her a witch. In a way, she was. Why?
Well, she was always a makeup lady, always on makeup as if ger life depended on it for survival. Susanna suspected that she even had to apply makeup in the middle of the night just to open her face locked phone. But back to her looks, someone should just be hired to tell her that she never looked even a quarter of what she imagined, or expected. She was more of Cinderella's stepmom.
Enough of her for now.
"Now," Began the deep voice of their father, "Here's what's on."
They all stared at him with a glimmer of interest, all but Georgina who was still busy on her cellphone.
"I have landed myself a job at the Accenture Company," He stopped to observe their reactions.
"This means no more moving and most importantly, something to be proud of, it has offered me two scholarships for two of my Children at the prestigious Cedarhurst academy."
Georgina looked up at once, "Cedarhurst? Are you serious, dad?"
"Yes, Georgina," He replied smiling.
This made Georgina to squeak excitedly, "I am finally going to see Alan Brailsford!"
What? Susanna scoffed, She's this excited because of a guy?
Who was Alan Brailsford anyway?
"So,"he went on , "I gave decided that Susanna and Georgina will take the two scholarships at the school."
"What?" Screamed her step mom standing up , "Why not Adrian?"
"Relax, Melisandre," Said their father.
"But dad," Said Georgina, " I don't want to go with her."
"You heard her, Spencer. You know what she can do," Her mother backed her up.
"Let her go," Adrian said, much to the disappointment of the two ladies, "I'm not interested at all."
"You heard him," Said their father. "School stuff will arrive today evening. Now if you'll allow me, I need to get to work. First impression matters. "
" But Spencer, what about Adrian, " Susanna's stepmother asked as he was about to leave. Susanna frowned. It was not like she cared for Adrian. She just hated her more than she hated him.
" I'll know what I'll do with him, " He answered as he gave her a quick peck .
" See you soon, " He said and left the house.
Susanna found it unstable to continue sitting there as soon as her father left. She couldn't afford to start a quarrel with Georgina and her mom that early morning.
She walked out of the house and closed her eyes, quietly breathing in the morning's fresh air. It was the first time she'd been out in days.
" Look who's out here, " A feminine voice brought her out of her reverie.
She opened her eyes and met Della Ford staring at her.
Della Ford was a friend Susanna had made on her first week inMoses lake,right after her incident . Now, Della was not just a friend but a best friend, almost a Best friend.
She went to school at Cedarhurst and was on scholarship, just as she was going to be.
"Oh, hey Della," Susanna said.
"Busy?" Della asked.
"Hell no," Susanna replied.
"Cool," Said Della, "Could you help me with something?"
"What ?"
"Don't ask so much, just follow me."
Della took Susanna into her house next door and into her room.
Della was one friend who always kept huge photos of all her celebrities.
Although Susanna did not entirely support this, she still couldn't deny the fact that the photos made her room to look more lively and cool like an actual studio.She didn't want to think of her own room.
Della took out a card from her drawer and showed it to Susanna while smiling.
"What is this?" Susanna asked as she took the card and stared at it nonchalantly.
"I've been invited to the Cedarhurst students party this weekend," Della replied excitedly.
"So? How's that a big deal?" Susanna asked nonchalantly, her eyes still roaming on the card.
"Not everyone gets invited, Sus... Only the rich and those who have connections ," Della answered.
"But you aren't rich." Susanna frowned.
" I'd take the second part of the sentence. "
"Anything else special?"
"Oh, Alan Brailsford and his friends will be present. This is their first party to attend in months!"
" It is? "
" Yeah, you know rumors have it that his mother is sick and... "
Susanna frowned, " But who the hell is Alan Brailsford?"
"Seriously? You never heard of him?"
Susanna nodded.
"Alan is the son of Rorberto Brailsford, owner of Accenture and also the owner of the school."
"What about his friends?"
"Well... There's Amir, an Arab but you'll never know and there's... Yardley, my personal crush."
"Geez , girl you even have a personal crush?"Susanna asked laughing.
"Is it funny, Anna?" Della frowned at her.
"Sorry, just never heard of it."
"How can you hear of it when you always shun every boy from your life?"
It was Susanna's turn to frown, "Let's not head there, Della."
Della smiled, "But seriously, why don't you join the school? You'll love it."
"Well, Della," Said Susanna, "I will be in that school tomorrow morning."
"What!" Della screamed, "You'll be... You'll be where?"
"The toppest school in Washington state; Cedarhurst acad..."
"You're kidding, right?"
"Why would I lie about a school?"
"I can't believe this," Della said squealing in ecstacy.
"You should, tomorrow I'll be around with Georgina."
Della's smiled instantly faded away as Susanna said that, "Is she coming too?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"I hate that girl," Della said, her face now filled with disgust.
"Are you reading my mind?" Susanna laughed.
"Anyway," Della shrugged, "Lemme give you some tips to survive in Cedarhurst. Trust me, you'll need them. "
" Okay, "
" Good, "Della smiled," I know you will be interested in Alan Brailsford, don't worry, everyone is, but always keep your feelings to yourself. "
" Why? "
" He has a killer girlfriend:Lola Adams who might do the worst on you. "
" Not to worry, "Said Susanna," I have no interest in guys. "
" I know, but there's a problem, Anna. "
" Problem? "Which one?"
"Did you know that you're very beautiful?"
"What?"
"Yes, Lola Adams hates competition. What to do? Stay out of her way at all costs."
"Is there anyone nice in that school."
Della shrugged, " Once or twice but rarely you might find one...it is impossible, though.But there's a friend I made. She's so far the nicest rich brat around."
"What's her name?"
"Audrey Hepburn, daughter of The Governor."
Susanna's eyes widened in shock.
" No way! "
"Yes way, Susanna. You'll like her, no worries."
"Now, away from school, you said there was something you wanted me to help you with?"Susanna asked.
" I said that? "Della feigned shock.
" Yes you did, Della Ford," Susanna replied as she Glanced at the wall clock in her room. It was 12:00 noon.
"Anyway," She said, "I need to get going."
"What? So soon?"
"I'll see you later, dear."
Susanna was already out before Della could say any other thing.
"Where have you been?" Adrian asked her as soon as she walked into the house.
"Della's," She replied as she took a seat at the couch, "Why?"
"Because," Said Adrian, "School stuff is here."
Susanna immediately sat up straight, "What? Are you serious?" I thought they'd arrive in the eve... "
" Evening, I know. But now they are here, why don't you go check them out? "
Susanna instantly sprang up and headed to her room where she found her uniform neatly arranged on the bed. The uniform;it was unique. Well what else did she expect from an institution with such high standards?
The skirt was burgundy red and the blouse midnight blue. She smiled as she admired the combination. It was intriguing and it evoked a passion and authority ideal for high end fashion and wealth unmatched. In other words, the uniform already made her feel rich.
She sniffed in the scent of them and smiled widely into thin air.
She lov...
"You love it?" A voice said behind her. She turned. It was her father.
A frown immediately appeared on her face
"Well, if it isn't for the one and Only Spencer Dewell, then who could it be?"
"Isn't it beautiful?" He said ignoring her statement.
"How'd you get in?" She asked, turning her attention from him.
"You left the door open, Susanna," He said.
"Still doesn't give you the right to enter without my permission. "
" But it's my house, "He said, something which he should have regretted some time later.
Susanna turned sharply towards him and looked at him intently," You know what? I'm gonna leave this house and give you space for you to roam around as you wish, is that toastable? "
" Why, Susanna? "
" Why what?"
" Why the attitude? "
" Why did you divorce mum? "
" Don't tell me you haven't gotten over that yet. "
" And how do you expect me to? And then you brought this good for nothing witch into your life and a godforsaken stepdaughter. You seriously didn't find any other women? "
" Don't talk of your mother like that ..."
Susanna scoffed " My mother? You must be drunk. "
" C'mon Susan, "He began to plead.
" Tell me father, what didn't you find in mom that you saw in her? What happiness didn't you find in our old family that you found in her? Tell me, father do you even know where mom is now? How she's doing? Does it even bother you? "
Her tone moved from a serious one to an emotional one.
Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes as those words found there way out her mouth.
"I'm sorry, Susan," Was all her father could say.
"Sorry for yourself," Susanna scoffed.
"I'll allow you to rest," He said as he prepared to leave, " I just came to tell you that I'll be picking you up tomorrow morning."
He left.