Cherry - part 11

Cathy

Gum

If anyone knew how much it sucked to work a double shift, it was Cathy. As she stood in the shop and waited, she reminded herself how much she needed the money. It was so nice of Cherry to give her this offer. So nice and yet so unbelievable. How could she ever find time to go through an education?

She moved slowly to the music on the radio as Squeeze song “Tempted by the fruit of another, tempted but the truth is discovered...” when she saw him. Someone new. Someone she indeed haven't seen before. Instantly, she is interested. Not in him, but in her job again. She wonders how sad it is, that she's excited to see a new face. It doesn't really happen much. She even knew Percival before he asked for her service.

“Can I help you?” She asks the man, who is approximately somewhere late in his thirties. Not that tall, wearing a jacket which would never get in a fashion magazine. He's wearing a cap, too.

“I'm just looking.” He answers while walking around. He looks like he's having an out-of-body experience and she chuckles. He just looks so weird.

He turns to her.

“Excuse me?” He mutters, not angry at all, just absentmindedly.

“Sorry, you just look a little out of yourself.” She answers in a low voice. She is surprised when he nods. She leans over the disk, revealing a bit of cleavage, not that she wants to seduce the old guy, it just gets them talking. He looks like he's about to say something, but doesn't. For a long time he's hesitating to utter a word, until he finally breaks the silence.

“I know this is a fairly big town, but do you know a family that goes by the name of Cryx?” He asks, and she laughs. What kind of question is that, anyway? He's not from around here, why would he know the Cryx's? Cathy knows everyone in town. She knows who they know. She is in the middle of the gossip, so she cannot miss anything. If someone new came, she'd know. Who was this man?

“When living here, it's hard not to know the Cryx family. Why?” She answers, then proceeds to clean the desk.

“Just met one of them last night.” His pupils widens. He's perfectly still.

“They are important figures in one of the major projects that Mr. Waltz own. Mr. Waltz is the riches around here, owns pretty much everything important. Cryx is following nicely.” She elaborates, and figures that's much more than he needs to know.

“She was amazing.” He says under his breath. She? So Zia is back, she thinks. She had seen Zia multiple times, and she was without a doubt the most beautiful woman on this earth. Why would she know this man? And how come didn't she know all this yet?

“How did you meet her?” She asks him boldly.

“She was in my cab. I drove her from the airport.” He looked struck. Zia has that effect on people, even women.

“I see. Why was she returning?”

“Some personal stuff.”

They shared a look. One that cannot be defined. Just that look two people who've seen Zia can share.

He buys a pack of gum and a Coke, and drives slowly away.

Cherry - part 10

Percival

Blame

“Good morning, Zia.” And suddenly, his old urge to ask why they named her Zia comes up again. Who even remembered a more than twenty year old game? He have never known anyone who have heard about it, let alone played it. Why did they choose to call her that? But he doesn't ask. He's afraid to ask. Some part of him doesn't want to know anyway.

He wonder why his dad looks at her that way. That look of pride he never, ever got. At least not a sincere one.

He thought that was what he wanted. A boy, carrying on in the family business. Sort of, at least. Maybe it is because Zia didn't turn out like his mother, and became a housewife instead. She made something – someone – out of herself. So proud he was.

He knows the song she sings exists. She didn't make it up, she took it from that game. A game both of their parents knew and used to play. Zia looks a bit like mom sometimes, that's what he thinks when she puts up her hair, so it looks short. That black hair, that fair skin. That's all mom. Her height is without a doubt something from dad. Her personality is nothing like theirs, though. She's wise in a way only Zia can be. He never saw such cleverness and know-how in anyone else. If it wasn't for their parents, they would have had such great use of each other. He would not only be proud to be her brother, but he would forget the pettiness. If only things had been different. That's what he wonders all the time when he think about Zia. They would have been the perfect siblings and people would talk about them out and about.

It's the game, he ponders, for who know which time in his life. Why did it all had to be about the game? Does she feel special because of that game?

He blames the game.

But he also longs for the song, and keep repeating the sentence he could hear clearly last night.

“Some day those tears are gonna spill...” and the melody in his voice doesn't do his sister justice, but that's all his imagination can handle, apparently.

He pours a glass of juice and shot a glance at his sister, sitting there, looking like a freaking model. How does she even do that, she just got up ten minutes ago? He heard her walk from the bed to the door. She's still wearing her night gown.

All the pretty genes in the family got to her. Another reason to be jealous of his ever so perfect sister. She's a beauty, but does she know how much she can mesmerize others, just by looking at them? She's so modest.

There's no pulp in his orange juice.

Cherry - part 9

Zia

Years

She sees her dad at the morning table. It must be the first time in several years she sees him at that table. He was always working. Gone before her or Percival even got up. She smiles at him, noticing how that year have changed him. Does he really look that old? How does other people see him? Those, who are used to see him every day, do they notice the years sneaking up on him?

“Good morning, dad.” She says, as she places herself next to him. There's coffee in front of him.

“Zia, I'm so glad you came home, finally. The place is nothing without you.”

They hug and talk about her teaching job in Paris. As she figured, not much is going on in their life. He got that bonus.

Percival stands in the doorway, looking at them. He says nothing. He probably thinks they haven't noticed him, but Zia has. She doesn't dare look directly at him. He seems upset.

“... and then he fired the old assistant! Would you believe it? You knew him, right? Eh, miss Darsy's son? Anyway, I got the chance to hire Percy instead, which just might be better, who knows. But still, the kid didn't do nothing wrong, why would he let him go like that, without warning?”

“That's nice.” She answers.

She laughs. Percival seems to lighten up a bit, when he hears his dad mention him in a good way in front of Zia. He comes to the table and sit down.

She looks at her dad again. She never understood how a person could change so rapidly. A year in her life seemed like a lifetime. For him, she wondered if the years just kept coming without him noticing. Another Christmas, another birthday, another new years eve, passed without a single notice. He sighs, and she realize how stupid her flow of thoughts is.

He sighs again.

Cherry - part 8

Cherry

Honors

Cathy's story was heartbreaking for her to listen to. A girl who went through that much trouble throughout her life did not deserve to be yelled at.

She wonders if anyone would be so nice to her if she had to leave home. Who did she even know who could take her in for good? She looked at the poor girl and wanted to help her. She could. Would she take her charity? Would she be offended and leave, if she offered her money? She wanted to get to know Cathy. She had a courage she never could find in herself.

“Cathy, may I help you?” She said, after a long, long silence. She looked at her weirdly, as if she had said 'May I kill you and then rape your lifeless body?', but she had offered her help. That wasn't something she shouldn't be the least bit used to by now. She had been helped before. Couldn't she take Cherry's help, then?

“Why?” She said slowly, hesitating.

“I think you've done a great thing, considering. You deserve a better job, something you would like to do. You deserve the chance to get an education. And I would be honored to help you get on with your life.”

Cathy looked offended, and Cherry was immediately regrettable in her speech. She shouldn't have said what she said. Not like that. She made Cathy sound like a social loser. Which she kind of is, but she still did a great, great thing by making it on her own for so long.

“You'll help me get on with my life?” She snorted, and Cherry was confused. Was that the part she was offended by? She must be able to see for herself, that her life is going no where.

“I would be honored to help you.” She repeated, this time slower, apologetic.

“Fine then!” She bursted, then calmed herself. “You wanna help me? Good! Then I'll send you all my checks. I'll go search for an education and I'll buy all the stuff one could ever need, and I'll send you the bill. Fine? Because that's what I want!” Her breathing got heavier.

“Calm down, Cathy. That's not what I meant, and you know it. I may have the resources to do such, but that doesn't mean I want to give you a life of luxury on a silver platter. No way. Believe it or not, even though my family is rich beyond belief, doesn't mean I get everything served. In this family, you have to prove your right to get a bigger room. You have to do good in school and do chores at home to get access to that loaded credit card, your parents hold above your head. In this family, they lie to you about how far you are. You may already have done everything around there is to do, you have done the maids' jobs for a week, you've stayed late up and studied to get straight A's. You're exhausted and they tell you there's just this one more thing... And you can go buy yourself whatever you want, but no, there's always just a bit more. My father works all the time and my mother is a classic housewife. I was her toy for many years. What could she make me do next? That's how it is to grow up here, it's not toys and plays all the time. They make you think that, but no. So I'll help you, the same way I was helped. You are going to start an education. I'll pay for it, but you're not getting a cent more than what the school bills me. Everything else is on you, and I suggest you go get some money in the bank, because computer, notepads, books... they are not cheap. When you're through, I'll give you ten thousand dollars, but only if you graduate with a decent result. And do I even have to tell you, that if you don't make it through, I will not pay a single penny anymore. Choose right in the first place, get in, and we got ourselves a deal. Okay?”

She was shocked, Cherry could see the shock in her eyes. She nodded.

“What do you get out of all this?” She mumbles. Cherry shrugs.

“A project, I think, while I work.”

Cathy's dress is stained by some tea she spilled at some point.