“Hmm,” Heather leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. We were in her magnificent room, telling her all that had happened yesterday.
“So, Mrs. Jenson is planning an extravagant party for your birthday?”
“Yes,” I breathed out. “Can you tell her not to do that?”
Heather rolled her eyes. “As if she’ll listen to me. That woman is more stubborn than me. Unless you yourself tell her that this is not what you want, I doubt she’ll change her plans.”
“We did try to give her subtle hints about that.” I admitted.
Olivia snorted. “If you call randomly shouting at the breakfast bar that you don’t like lavish parties subtle, then sure.”
“I didn’t know how else to tell her!” I defended.
“You could’ve said something like lavish birthday parties are getting too boring and that’s not your style anymore,” Olivia said and I kept quiet because I didn’t know what to say to her.
“Listen you two, I know what to do to make her stop this. When you two return to the mansion, just make a conversation with each other about this. Make sure Charlotte is listening to you two. Tell her that you would absolutely hate what she’s planning. She’ll surely change her plans after that.”
“That’s a good plan!” Olivia agreed. “Why didn’t we think of this before?”
“Because you guys panic to the point where you don’t use your brains. So you need someone like me.”
“Thank you so much for all the help, Heather. I think I would’ve been busted on the day of that car launch party if it weren’t for you.”
“I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this for Charlotte and Alistair’s happiness. They can’t know about this.”
I nodded. “I’ll try everything I can to keep this between the three of us.”
“Good.”
A deafening silence fell among us and I was itching to bring up the topic of our colleges.
Heather had an expression on her face that was asking me what the hell were we still doing in here and that we could leave. But I couldn’t. I needed to clear up this mess.
“I wanted to talk about something else too.”
“Well, what is it?”
“I’m not sure if you’ll understand but I hope you do. It’s important for the both of us.”
“Are you going to come straight to the point or not? I haven’t got all day so I’ll appreciate it if you hurry up and tell me what’s wrong,” She seemed impatient. “I have a dinner date with Ethan and it’s important I go.”
“Sorry. It’s just about our colleges. They were closed for summer but they’re going to reopen in ten days and it’s important that we attend. We are commoners and our only chance at a good life is if we finish college and get a good job with a decent pay. Because of this situation that we’re in, I don’t know how I’m going to continue my education.”
Heather raised an eyebrow. “That’s all? I thought it was something big.”
“Do you mind if we went to college?”
“You can’t go to college. You’ll draw attention to yourself. I don’t trust you or your friend to not do something stupid. So you can’t go.” She said sternly.
I was saddened and didn’t know what to do. “But it’s important for us. When we get out of here, how are we supposed to support ourselves with no degree?”
“That’s not a problem. Just give me the names of your colleges and I’ll send someone to talk to them. You’ll receive online lectures and you’ll just have to appear for exams. For the exams, I’ll let you go to college. For the duration of your stay here, I’ll make sure your bills, rents and college fees and stuff are paid for. I’ll also ensure that you get a good job wherever you two want. You’ll have to study hard for it though. I don’t want you two depending on me for jobs after you get out of this. If you’re worthy of it, I’ll make sure you get the best.”
Our eyes brightened and you could practically see the gratitude we had for Heather.
“Thank you so much, Heather.” We said in sync.
“Now if you two have finished lamenting to me about your sad lives, I’d like to go and start getting ready for the date. Keeping someone waiting is one of my pet peeves so I wouldn’t want anyone to go through that.”
“Okay, but one thing more. What if Juliet decides to not return at all. Then what will happen?” Olivia asked and I wanted to punch her for asking this.
Heather stopped short and directed her hard gaze at us. It made me gulp in fear. “She will return. If not, I’ll step in and convince her to to return. Now you two should really leave.”
“Okay and I’m sorry,” Olivia apologized but Heather didn’t respond.
“Why did you have to ask her that? Are you stupid?” I reprehended her in the car and she cringed back in the corner.
“I had to ask. We can’t be kept in the dark for too long.”
“She was mad.”
“She’ll get over it. She doesn’t strike me as that type of a girl to hold grudges for too long.”
“But still. It was obviously a sensitive topic for her.”
“Okay, okay. I won’t ask ever. Now let’s concentrate on making Charlotte cancel her plans, shall we?”
***
“She’s inside her room, right?” I asked, just to be sure.
“Yes,” Olivia whispered back. “I saw her going in. She’s definitely inside.”
“Okay, you start first. One, two, three, go!”
Olivia cleared her throat before addressing me in a high pitched voice, enough for Charlotte to hear us. “Juliet, hey.”
“Hi, Olivia,” I said, just as loudly. We were right outside Alistair and Charlotte’s room. Olivia had seen her go inside and we thought it was the perfect opportunity.
“So it’s your birthday in a few days. Are you excited?”
“Honestly, no. I mean why should I celebrate me inching one year closer to my death?”
“Hey, you shouldn’t look at things that way. You’re going to turn twenty! Do you have any plans on that day?”
“No, I don’t want to do anything on my birthday. Just ice cream and a few gifts will do. I don’t see what the fuss is over a birthday. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“But I heard you liked extravagant birthday parties!” We were talking loudly so that she could hear us.
“Yes, I liked. Past tense. I hate it now. Birthday parties are overrated. I’d want my birthday to be like any other day.”
“So you’d absolutely hate it if we were to throw the biggest birthday party ever for you?” Olivia asked even louder and muffled a cough after.
“Totally. I’d hate it so much I wouldn’t even stay for five minutes.”
“Whoa, okay.”
“Why do you ask? It’s not like anyone has planned something like that for me. Thank God.”
“Yeah, no one has,” Olivia stressed on the words to sound unsure.
“Good, I’ll see you later. Bye.”
“Okay, bye.”
I stomped down the hallway exaggeratedly to make it sound like I was leaving. I heard the room door open shortly after I was out of sight from there.
I made my way to my room to wait for Olivia. There was no doubt that Charlotte had heard us. Now she would cancel the party and I’d be relieved.
After a few minutes, Olivia entered the room with a grin.
“She canceled everything?” I asked excitedly.
“Yes, she did. She totally bought it but she’s still baffled as to why you suddenly hate parties so much but she didn’t question much and just thanked me for letting her know.”
I sighed in relief. “Good. One problem solved.”