“Oh, that cousin” Alex fake gasped, clapping her hands together, “He’s from my mother’s side of the family. I haven’t heard from him in so long.”
Emily gave her cousin the side eye. Alex actually remembered it before she could. It had been a while since it happened. The two had a short attention span when it came to boys. It was a wonder they still remembered how they mistaken ‘male’ Alex as her boyfriend. She almost told them it was Alex—but made up the idea that she had another cousin with the same name.
“Aw, man. Guess we don’t have any luck today” Elena sighed. Standing next to Charlotte, she wrapped her arms around her sister’s shoulders. Then, she snuggled her head against the side of her sister’s, “I only have my Charlotte. Quack quack, quack?”
Charlotte leaned her head to the side, resting it on Elena’s head, “Quack quack!”
“What are they doing?” Alex mumbled in Emily’s ear.
“They sometimes speak in Quack Language” her cousin explained, a sudden urge to facepalm tempting her, “I figured it’s a sister thing.”
The door to the bathroom opened and three girls came inside. Emily grabbed hold of Alex’s wrist and pushed the sisters towards the exit. Nothing really good ever happened in a public bathroom—especially among such shallow people.
“Well, well, well, look at what we have here.”
The three newcomers blocked their path. At the center, a young lady with strawberry blonde hair smirked. She crossed her arms over her chest, her ears, neck and wrists adorned in jewelry. Her red dress hugged her body like a glove, small gemstones glistening under the light.
“Ugh, don’t talk like that. It only tarnishes your already bad rep” Charlotte snorted. She placed her weight on one foot and tilted her hips.
“I wasn’t even referring to you.”
Elena sneered, “Are we too blinding for you to see?”
She clenched her teeth and nearly popped her ears from the intensity of her glare. Her hands had turned into fists. If it hadn’t been a party, she would have already lunged the moment she caught sight of them.
The young lady rolled her hazel eyes, “You’re only even in Freccia Prep because of your grades. It must be so nice for you to experience these kinds of parties.”
“And for you too” Alex cut in, “Enjoy it while it lasts.”
She headed for a gap between the girl and her companion. They didn’t give her the chance. Their spokesperson raised her arm, grinning at the heiress.
“She speaks! And I thought the ice princess had frozen lips.”
“And I thought trash belonged in a dump but you’re here” Alex snapped back. She wasn’t even sure who these girls were. Her guess was they attended Freccia Prep. It wouldn’t be a surprise at all. Even if she turned out to be right, they had no business with her. Why they even wanted to cause trouble at her grandmother’s party was beyond her comprehension.
“All bark and no bite?” The young lady giggled without humor.
Emily groaned, stepping forward, “Enough of this.”
Before anyone could blink, her foot hooked onto the loudmouth’s ankle. She spun a bit while pulling the ankle towards her to control the direction of the fall. The young lady screamed as she lost her balance. Her arms flapped in the air and her eyes closed.
Just when she almost hit the floor, she didn’t. Emily reached out to snatch the front of her dress, keeping her elevated. The young lady opened her eyes and met with flared nostrils directed at her.
“Listen to me you, little bitch” Emily seethed, “I think you forgot your place. My family is the host of this party and you don’t have power here. If I ever see you in Freccia Prep, mark my words I won’t catch you the next time you fall.”
She let go of the girl’s dress and let her flopped onto the floor. Emily fished out a small hand sanitizer and disinfected her hands. Then, she tossed it towards the young lady, “You might need this. Who knows what’s on that floor.”
Her heels clacked on the tiles as she passed over the young lady’s legs. She didn’t dare look back and kept her chin high while she walked out. Elena and Charlotte quickly followed her. Both of them glanced over their shoulders to stick out their tongues at the two other girls. Only Alex remained inside.
She sighed and offered a handkerchief to the girl, “I won’t help you get up since you’d still want your pride intact. As for this, it’s your choice whether to use it or not.”
Alex took the girl’s hand and folded her fingers over the handkerchief. She stood up and quickly left the scene. Emily and her friends waited for her out in the hallway. They already walked a good distance before they realized she wasn’t behind them.
“What took you so long?” Emily huffed.
Alex smiled gently, “My handkerchief fell.”
A shiver trailed down her cousin’s spine, “Remember not to use it because it probably already has germs.”
The four of them headed back for the ballroom. Elena and Charlotte chatted among themselves behind the two. They figured if they looked distracted enough, they could use it as an excuse as to how they ended up at Alex’s table.
Meanwhile, Alex leaned her head towards Emily, “You really couldn’t think of a different name for you male cousin?”
“I already said your name when they pointed to the pic” Emily explained, “It was good that I realized what I just said on time. Since you went by your mother’s maiden name, I figured to use that and now, you have a male cousin with the same name.”
“And when did you exactly plan to tell me about this?”
“Next to never?” Emily fluttered her eyes with an innocent expression on her face.
“Just be thankful I was smart enough to catch on” Alex chuckled, aiming to pinch her cousin’s side. Emily dodged her attack and laughed.
They made a right turn once the hallway ended. Some of the guests had started to mingle again since dinner had ended. A few businessmen had taken the initiative to go outside for their smoke, a traditional practice that hadn’t died down quite yet.
“Well, you surely took your time” Jae commented once the girls reached the table.
Emily slumped down on a chair. She had enough drama to last her the rest of the night. If any guy tried to hit on her, she would definitely hit them where the sun didn’t shine. She didn’t have the patience for anything else.
“The bathroom was crowded” Alex answered for the both of them. It wasn’t technically a lie. There had been enough people to prevent them from leaving early.
“And who are these ladies?” Logan nodded to the two girls that accompanied them. He flashed them a smile.
Emily jolted in her seat. She snapped her head towards the direction he stared at. Her eyes squinted at the sneaky sisters. They met her gaze, pulling out their innocent faces. She frowned at the sight of it.
Reluctantly, Emily sighed. She faced the boys again and gestured a hand towards the girls, “These are my friends, Elena and Charlotte.”
Jae held out his hand for them to shake. Then, he grinned devilishly, “Hello, ladies. I’m Jae, Emily’s boyfriend.”
“I knew it!” The sisters gasped.
Emily spared no time. She rose up to her feet and slammed a hand onto the table. She took a fork. Leaning in Jae’s direction, she steadied herself with a hand on the backrest. The points of the fork lifted up his jaw.
“Take it back or I’ll stab you!” She scowled, keeping her jaw locked. The silver specks in her eyes ignited like lightning against blue ice.
“I will if you kissed me” he pursed his lips for emphasis. The way her nostrils flared up amused him.
His answer only made her hiss like a cat, “You disgust me.”
“I like you too.”
“Alex, would you come here?” Angie called out from the other table.
Her daughter stood up immediately. Her mother’s voice sounded like sweet heaven. As much as she loved her cousin, she didn’t want to be there if Emily decided to make Bloody Mary’s out of soda.
===
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