Alicia

Her eyes shone in excitement as she looked like she just had her most wanted wish come true. And for all I knew, it could be. Just like everyone, Rose was shocked, but she soon pursed her lips as a warm smile broke out on my face, but I had to be on my guard as well. I didn’t know them well, but I had enough experience with people having ulterior motives to know that there was more to what I was shown. I didn’t want to be dragged all the way in, so the smile dropped pretty quickly.

"Look, I agreed to do this, but I cannot do this all by myself. I will need your help, and that means using your so-called secret passageways. Are you up for giving away your secret?" I asked as I got down to business even though I knew the teachers might be waiting in class already, and we all could get detention. However, none of the students were in class, their attention was caught on something that wasn’t their business, and no one was afraid of the consequences. It wasn’t much of a big deal because every day, we had an intense swimming workout right before the lunch break, and no one could flunk it, even those who weren’t on the team. So having extra ten minutes was a norm.

I waited patiently for Addison to answer, and she nodded slowly before whispering that no one could know about it. Rose cleared her throat, making her presence known, and Addison looked at her before she spoke loud enough for us both to hear.

"Only you two can know, or else everyone will use it as they wished." We looked around and saw everyone leaning towards us to hear what she was saying, and Rose smirked at this. She reveled at being unique in any way she could. This was no exception. I smiled at her knowingly as she flushed at being caught.

Eventually, we all went to our classes as the rest of the day went by as normally as it could. The encounter kept replaying in my head, distracting me, but it sank in sooner or later. The only thing that bothered me was the questions I could’ve asked or suggestions I could’ve made, but thanks to my lack of confidence when my every move was watched, I wrapped up as soon as I could. Yay, me.

By the end of the day, Rose was dropping me off and lecturing me on how soft I was for helping others and stuff. She hit the nail on the head when she said that I was doing it because I felt ashamed for not knowing Addison’s brother. And now that I thought of it, I didn't even ask for his name. Yet here I was, almost risking myself to be kicked out of school for him; pretty noble, in my opinion.

However, she wasn't wrong about me being ashamed for possibly ignoring the person. As much as I didn't want to admit it myself, I couldn't hide from it. This could be my chance to know him, and maybe I could get away from the guilt of never acknowledging him.

Still, there was a constant nag inside my head about him being an expert on laying low. I had half a heart to ask around about the person just to make sure Addison wasn’t lying, but then I stopped. I realized that even if she was lying, her body language told a thousand truths about it. Besides, I didn’t want to make her mad if she found out I did a background check. As mentioned before, they were unreachable. And people would do anything to catch their attention, and that meant being their spy.

Later, I was completing my assignments in my bedroom when I looked out the window at the approaching orange hue on the horizon. I thought back to all the opportunities I had had. Ever since I was revived, I helped anyone I could within my power. Maybe Addison’s request was somehow presented to me as a way to help her brother. I was thankful for that, and that was why I accepted it. Whether or not it was hard, or next to impossible, or maybe completely impossible, but I wasn't going to let it go without trying. Rose taught me that. It was time I put it to use. Besides, whatever I had to do, I had to do it fast because Sunday was going to come in a heartbeat, and tomorrow was Tuesday. How was I going to pull it off?

That evening something unexpected happened.

“Remind me again, why am I here?” I asked Rose, standing at the entrance of the booked venue for the dinner party Rose had dragged me to. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that some royal had come to visit hence the extravagance that had me gawking. The golden chandelier hung right in the middle of the canopied ceiling with beaded wires attaching the dangling bowl as though a flower was blooming. The people wore expensive dresses and suits that dripped with an elite aura. Every single person here contained more worth than my whole life. On top of that, Rose said that they loved flaunting about their children, who were not-so-surprisingly Ivy League students. I felt for my redhead, wondering how she coped with all this. If I had to attend these events regularly, had to listen to the standards I couldn’t measure up to, I would die from the nervousness alone. The pressure must’ve been unbearable, but here I was about to enter and blend in the millions of dollars walking on the floor.

“Well, nana suffered from convulsion again.” She chewed her lip as she told me about it. Her grandmother wasn’t well for years, and this happened occasionally, but it never ceased to come off as a surprise.

“How is she now?” I asked, wondering why this dinner was so important that Rose couldn’t go see her nana.

“She calmed down when dad went to her, but he asked mom and me to attend the dinner at all costs. Apparently, there was a rare business deal they had to close, and the man barely shows up to things like these, so this was their only chance for a long time.” She shook her head with a bitter smile.

“Sometimes I wonder if I’m expendable in front of the business too.” She said quietly as we finally entered the hall. “I needed the support.” She mumbled, and I nudged her, hoping she would believe that she didn’t have to go through it alone. That I would always be there for her, even if it meant going through this mass of high standards.

It didn’t take long for us to find Mrs. Millers, and she wrapped me in a hug the moment she saw me. She pointedly looked at Rose from head to bottom, surveying her look as Rose stood with bated breath. Mrs. Millers was keen on making sure that everyone she associated with had proper attire and an overall highly presentable look that demanded attention. She didn’t enjoy over-the-top and bold moves about one’s appearance, and because of it, her reputation was of someone hard to impress. She was a picky woman, hence why when she nodded at Rose, my redheaded best friend let out a sigh of relief. Rose had a great sense of fashion, but her mother was from another planet!

“Azura dear, I’m so glad you finally decided to join us. I’ve been looking forward to it for so long I almost forgot about it.” She smiled at me.

“I understand you don’t feel comfortable, but I’m happy that you came.” She said and excused herself for something and asked us to mingle around. She was an understanding person, but that didn’t stop her from trying to get her way. She was a businesswoman, and she got what she aimed for.

“I’m going to go munch on the hors d'oeuvres. With the effort I’ve put in to dress myself up, I deserve free food.” Rose exhaled deeply. She indeed had outdone herself, wearing a long red mermaid dress that had white lace going from her collarbone to her sleeves. There was red embroidery of flowers on the lace that highlighted her milk-white skin and carrot red hair. It was quite an elegant dress that made her look older. Her personality caught enough attention, but her look made it amplify. People whispered about her as she passed them by and pointed at her when she wasn’t looking. I could practically feel the jealousy of other girls her age who wanted the same look as my best friend, but she was one of a kind. And so was whatever she did.

“You want some?” She asked, and I shook my head.

“I’m parched. I’ll get something to drink. Then I’ll join you.” I replied as she went on her way as I did on mine. The way I was headed wasn’t long, but the crowd in between made it so. There were many detours in between my quaint journey. People stopped me to ask about a particular redhead or the designer who had made my dress.

I wore a simple off-shoulder black dress that had a corset with silver embroidery as thin as webs. The flowy material of the cloth bunched up in a wild black rose that rested on the left side of my waistline. It was sparkled with glitter, and the rest ended just above my feet which gave me a chance to wear my silver heels that I really adored. I may not like shopping for clothes, but I would gladly keep buying shoes.

The dress wasn’t something to fawn over and definitely didn’t compete with what Rose was wearing, but I felt pretty comfortable with it. Given the short time, I had to find one since it was only around three hours earlier that Rose had decided to be kind enough to let me in on her plan to drag me to this gala. It was held for fundraising purposes over the new and expensive medicines that were breaking through. Because they contained enough properties to help cure the deadliest diseases, the people who held power had come together to find a way to bring it to the locales. In a way, these people did more for society than the government.

Although they didn’t stop from using it for their own purposes as well. It was a win-win situation for them.

Squeezing past the crowd, I was lost in my thoughts when a girl bumped into me. We both stumbled but didn’t fall. However, the girl was in a hurry because she didn’t even look back before trying to dash away. Unfortunately, she was wearing a suit with chiffon cuffs which got stuck in my silver design. She tugged harshly, which tore a little of it. If I wasn’t angry at her manners before, I was definitely angry now.

“Wait!” I yelled and bitterly pulled her back. She showed a bit of resistance, but when she saw my face, she gave in.

“I’m sorry.” She said, looking at the damage she had done. I shook my head at her, sour enough to not reply. She had shiny neon pink hair that was fluffed with the hairband she wore. Her grey suit was a perfect fit for her curvy figure, and she wore a black tie above a white t-shirt. She kept craning her neck and standing on her tiptoes searching for something, and being my curious self, I asked who she was looking for.

“Umm…” She started, eyeing me warily. “Sleek black hair, dark green eyes, and thin lips.” She finished arching an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. I thought back to whether I had seen somebody that fit the description, but then I realized I hadn’t even paid attention to that many people yet.

“What color dress was she wearing?” I asked, hoping the answer would somehow make me help the girl.

“Metallic blue, with pastel bluish center design. There were highlights of the matte shade of blue as well. I think sea blue flowers were also there. But the sides of the dress were navy blue. Or maybe, that’s what it looked like because of the shadows. There were glitters of shiny blue as well!” She snapped her fingers and then scratched her head. “Like… Like… Oh! That pea blue tea thing! Have you tried it before? It tastes amazing!” She asked, suddenly forgetting about the matter at hand.

“No…” I drawled. “And… that’s a lot of blue, but I think I saw a unique blue dress at the entrance, I guess.” I nodded, thinking back to the dress that caught the lights and reflected straight in my eye. By the time I was done telling her about it, the thread had gotten free from the stone it was stuck to.

“Oh, thanks! Bye!” She said, breaking in a sprint. I shook my head as a laugh bubbled out. What a strange girl she was such; a wild bundle.

“I’m Alicia, by the way!” She called out from afar, stopping the mid-run, taking me by surprise.

“Uh, Azura!” I called back as people turned to look at us as though we were a disgrace to the party. Feeling out of place under their glares, I ducked my head and quickly went on my way.

I hoped she found the girl she was looking for.