"I look like such a basic bitch in this magazine," Bee was waving a fashion magazine with a disappointed face. Sam sat there thinking how she had never imagined anyone complaining to her about looking 'basic' in the cover page of a popular fashion magazine.
Currently, the three of them had ended up resting at Hailey's house, which is a three storey building, looking strangely way too humble for a residence housing someone who is Beckham's Mayor, Mr. Gabriel Cooper, Hailey's dad. Mr. Cooper had been living in Beckham for more than a decade now but his family had always lived in Chicago- atleast that was what Sam had heard from her uncle. Sam didn't know exactly what she had expected but unlike Hailey, her parents were strangely 'normal'. Mrs. Cooper had looked like an ordinary, older, more sane and rational version of Hailey. She had seemed delighted that her daughter had brought home 'friends' after a long time and had asked if they would like some snacks.
"I will have a Chocolate Cookie Crumble Crème Frappuccino please!'' had said Bee, as if Mrs. Cooper was some Starbucks Employee.
"What?'' Mrs. Cooper had looked a bit confused.
"Nothing, Mrs. Cooper, we don't need anything but we will let you know if we want snacks!" Sam had promptly said, trying to control the damage, "Thank you for asking though, you are such a kind person and I hope you don't mind but I have to say you have a lovely home!''
"Such a nice kid," said Mrs. Cooper patting Sam's cheeks, "It's almost unbelievable how someone like my daughter made friends with you. I hope she's not blackmailing you or something like that." Atleast Mrs. Cooper seemed to be aware of her daughter's eccentric attitudes...
Now the three of them were hanging out in Hailey's room. Sam was blankly staring at her phone. There was a new message which had popped up on the screen of her phone. It showed ''500 dollars have been credited to your bank account." Bee had kept her promise. She had really deposited a handsome of money in Sam's account for some insignificant reason. She was like a female Mr. Beast.
Is earning money this easy or should I be concerned?- Sam wondered to herself. More importantly, should she feel bad because she was taking money from Bee like this? There was so many things Sam was confused about it made her head feel heavy and overloaded.
Hailey sat beside her with an invitation card, "Isn't that girl's name Annabeth Cruz? Her parents are gonna open a shelter for abandoned trans kids in next few months," she handed the enveloped card, "There's a fundraising event they are holding this weekend. Our family received an invitation."
"Mine as well," said Bee, "If my sister shows up they'll probably receive more donations but Agnes will probably be busy shooting the new series 'Friends of Dorothy'. She'll have to pay me handsomely to have me show up in her stead." Bee chatted good-naturedly.
The reality started sinking in Sam slowly. The way Bee talked about a nation-wide famous woman, Agnes Audrey, and the way Hailey was so unbothered with the fact they were actually talking with a kid from a Hollywood famous family, made Sam think how OUT OF PLACE she was.
It turned out Hailey and Bee sort of knew eachother from childhood. It was something to do with Coopers being one of the oldest benefactors of Agnes Audrey. This was the reason behind why Hailey had asked Sam to take her to Beatrice Audrey. It wasn't because, like most of the kids, she just wanted to catch the glimpse of famous Beatrice Audrey. It was because she wanted to catch up with her old friend. For past few years Hailey had been living in Chicago while Bee had to travel all over Europe with her mother. They probably hadn't seen eachother for quite awhile, however they had kept in touch through the social media.
It was raining hard outside. The sun had set earlier than it should have because of the gloomy weather.
They heard the doorbell ringing. Hailey stood up, "The pizza's probably here, I hope none of you are allergic to cheese, or meat, or pizza....."
Sam started googling Agnes Audrey. She realized she had already seen dozens of her works. She just hadn't known her name. Bee sort of looked like her sister. The lush brown hair, the hazel eyes, and full lips- the Audrey sisters were one of those people who were bound to be attractive due to their genes. Because their mother, Agatha Audrey, was also a very attractive woman. But unlike Bee, Agnes had sharp eyes and cat-like face. Sam realized most of the time Agnes plays roles of gray characters or antagonists. Agnes had such villain~ish charm about herself that she was bound to get famous with a face like that.
Hailey suddenly rushed back into the room. She was sweating. She glanced at Sam and Sam raised her eyebrows, "What's the matter?'' She asked. Hailey looked a bit shaken.
"Uhh, Bee, can you get the door?'' Hailey asked. Bee didn't stop flipping through the fashion-magazine, "No, why should I?''
"I don't have any handcash on me.''
"Pay them online!"
"My account kinda got frozen," Hailey sounded apologetic. There was something very suspicious about her. It was the first time she sounded soft and... civil.
Unlike Sam, Bee hadn't noticed the subtle changes in Hailey's voice. Hence she stood up and started trudging towards the door, "Fine, I'm craving pizza anyway!''
As soon as she stepped out of the room, Hailey started pacing back and forth looking very tensed. No way a pizza delivery guy was giving her such a hard time!
"Who rang the bell?'' Sam narrowed her eyes, "Is it really the pizza delivery guy?''
Hailey looked at her and visibly clamped her mouth shut. At the same time Bee ran back into the room. She looked at Sam, a forced smile playing on her lips, "Oh! I forgot I'm famous! What if the pizza delivery guy gives me a hard time! I don't feel like giving autographs or taking selfies!''
"Both of you are acting unnatural, no way in hell I'm getting the-''
Sam's phone buzzed. She looked down to see another message had popped up on her phone screen.
"100 dollars had been credited to your account."
She looked at Bee who looked at her with her lips pressed, she was holding her phone with both of her hands.
"Bee," Sam sighed, "You need to learn that money can't solve everything-''
Sam's phone buzzed again, "200 dollars had been credited to your account."
"I'll get the door," Sam said and stood up. She felt ashamed that she was being such a slut for money but who isn't?
Hailey's room was on the first floor of the room. As Sam headed downstairs she heard Mrs. Cooper calling Hailey from the kitchen, "Hailey get the door!"
"It's okay, Mrs. Cooper!'' Sam opened the door, "I'll get the door for you!''
Sam suddenly realised why things like peepholes and CCTV Door Cameras exist. They exist to help people avoid the exact situation Sam had willingly walked herself into. Despite the fact both of these things existed upon the front door of Hailey's house, Sam hadn't utilised them as she should have.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Sam looked at the three people standing in the front porch and started backing away a bit. "Thanks for getting the door, Honey!'' Mrs. Cooper was standing right behind her, "Oh Agnes! Emily! To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you today Emily? I was expecting you though, Agnes. Was the traffic kind to you on your way here?''
The three visitors stepped into the house. One man. Two women. The man had a black umbrella which he was holding above the heads of the two women. He was a guy with broad shoulders and a height so majestic even Taylor would look like a ragged doll infront of him. He wore black suit and square sunglasses like some FBI agent.
"Funny seeing you here,'' out of the two women, one was Ms. Hails, the Assistant Teacher who taught English in Sam's class whenever Mr. Patrick, the English Teacher was absent.
"She's also in your class?'' asked Mrs. Cooper. "Both she and your daughter are in my class, Mrs. Cooper," Ms. Hails said, " Both Samantha Lincon and Hailey Cooper are my students."
The way Ms. Hails said their full names Sam had a hunch it wasn't a good sign. Ms. Hails had earlier asked them to meet her at the Teachers' Room but Hailey and Sam had just run away from school. Ofcourse, Ms. Hails wasn't happy about it. "It's such a relief to know that you're watching over these kids," Mrs. Cooper sounded genuine, "I am preparing the dinner, hope you girls don't mind staying over a bit."
"I don't mind," said Ms. Hails.
"I'll stay over and annoy you another time Mrs. Cooper, I'm here to just get my sister," said the third visitor.
Sam had been so much absorbed with the fact that the assistant teacher of her class was glaring daggers at her that she hadn't really noticed the third visitor till then. Suddenly the mascular man in black suit made so much sense. He wasn't any FBI Agent. He was a bodyguard.
Before Sam stood Agnes Audrey. THE AGNES AUDREY! The woman she had been googling just a few minutes ago. Sam couldn't help but be awestruck in the presence of a such a ravishing celebrity. Sam couldn't even focus on what Agnes Audrey was wearing because her face was so attractive she could hardly look away from it. Cameras definitely didn't do justice to her beauty as she looked far more mesmerizing than she did in the pictures.
"My sister," asked Agnes Audrey, "Are you friends with Bee too?''
Okay, just because she's some bigshot doesn't mean I should get cold feet before her- Sam fed herself encouraging lines.
"No,"Sam said, "We just happen to kind of meet accidentally..." Sam tried to avoid suspicious words like 'car's trunk', 'money' when she tried to explain how she had met Bee.
Sam didn't know how she had expected Agnes Audrey to react to what she had just said, but she hadn't certainly expected her to look relieved.
"Good," said the actress, "Mingling with people like you won't do her any good."
It felt like a slap.
Mrs. Cooper promptly said, "She doesn't mean it in a bad way. They have been living a lifestyle which is different from most of us. It can be exhaustive for for people like them to associate with ordinary people like us."
"I don't find associating with you exhaustive Mrs. Cooper," Bee's sister said, "You have been one of my oldest benefactors.."
Thus she passively hinted that she found associating with people like Sam to be exhaustive.
Maybe it was a good thing that Agnes Audrey was speaking her mind out so clearly. Sam knew that she didn't really have any right to be mad at her. But she did feel a bit hurt.
"Bee's upstairs with Hailey," Sam said. "Show me the way," ordered Agnes, "Hurry up." She looked so unapologetic about the way she was acting Sam realized Agnes wasn't even aware of how rude she was being right now.
But still, she was Bee's sister. Sam had known Bee for only and hour or two, but she had ended up liking her a lot despite her Throw-money-at-every-problem attitude. "Let me show you the way," Mrs. Cooper volunteered. "It's fine, Mrs. Cooper, I was gonna leave so I should go upstairs and take my bag anyway," Sam smiled at Mrs. Cooper. Mrs. Cooper gave her an apologetic smile, "Thank you, darling."
Sam climbed the stairs with Agnes Audrey and her bodyguard following her closely behind. Agnes didn't look as much attractive as she had looked when Sam had first laid her eyes on her. Ms. Hails stayed downstairs chatting with Hailey's mother.
In their Freshman year, when Vivek and Sam had gone to the spring dance Vivek had adviced Sam, "You look dashing but just don't speak. If you don't speak you'll get loads of girls."
Sam had been so angry with Vivek that day she had barely held herself back from tearing off her cousin's hair. But now Sam knew some people really should keep their mouth shut if they wanted to look pretty and admirable. Agnes Audrey's attitude was, by far, winning her the race of 'The shittiest person in Beckham this week', and yes she had already topped over even Annabeth Cruz.
The door leading into Hailey's room was locked from inside. As if things couldn't get any worse...
Sam knocked on the door, "Hailey? Bee?'' she started panicking, "Bee open the door your sister is here!''
And she looks like she's gonna eat me alive!
But Bee didn't open the door. Sam's phone buzzed again. She stole a glance at it to see fifty dollars had been deposited in her account again. Dammit Bee!
"So it was the money," Sam looked up to see Agnes Audrey looking at her with a face tinted with disgust and hatred, ''Jason, hand me over my purse."
"Ms. Audrey," Sam felt her throat getting dry, "I know how this looks, I'll return all the money she has sent me."
"Oh no, keep them," Agnes Audrey sounded strangely polite as she said those cold words, "And here's a blank cheque. Steer clear off of Bee from now on." She waved the blank cheque at Sam.
The door bursted open. Bee was standing before them, "Fuck off Agnes." Sam had a hunch she was evesdropping till now from the other side of the door, "Go show off your riches somewhere else!"
"Oh sister dearest," Agnes smiled, "Mom is worried sick, let us go home. I can understand you being friends with the Cooper's daughter but I can't let you hang out with just anybody."
"Agnes, stop. I'm not going home."
The doorbell rang again. Sam heard Mrs. Cooper calling her, "Samantha honey, your brother is here to get you!''
Vivek? He's here?! How did he know where Sam was. Sam ran downstairs leaving the bickering Audrey sisters on the first floor.
Vivek was really standing by the door. He was wearing the Beckham School's Track Club's Jersey and his hair pulled back and tied into a pony tail, his forhead glistened with sweat, "How did you end up at the Mayor's house?'' he asked, panting.
Vivek must have jogged all the way from school to here as some form of 'practice' for his Marathon instead of being a rational human being and just calling a uber.
"How did you know I was here?''
"You were late so Dad asked me to call your friend. She told me you were at Mr. Cooper's house."
"Friend? What friend?''
"That Cruz lass! Now let's go!"
"Wait, Annabeth told you that I was here?'' Sam asked again, something didn't feel right. Vivek nodded, "She told you left with the Mayor's kid."
"What else did she say?''
"Nothing, why? Oh by the way, she got a pretty bad cut on her lips and her nose also looked bloated," Vivek said, "Maybe you should check up on her."
"Listen here you dipshit!'' Sam hissed in low voice, "Annabeth isn't my friend. Neither is Nick nor Taylor. Never call them asking about me."
Vivek was quiet for a second. And then he mused, "So you are really getting bullied by them. The rumours are true.."
"Bullied? She's getting bullied?'' it was Ms. Hails, she came walking to them, Mrs. Cooper was standing just behind her. Sam felt her ears getting hot.
"Good evening Ms. Hails," Vivek nodded at their assistant teacher and then greeted Mrs. Cooper, "Thanks for looking after my brat cousin."
"Let's go, Viv," Sam started pushing her cousin out of the door, "I'll get the car keys." Sam didn't really want the whole town to know she was being bullied by her old friends.
"TAKE ME WITH YOU!''
All of them looked up to see Bee running down the stairs with Sam's backpack, "Let me stay at your place!''
"Am I dreaming or is that Beatrice Audrey?'' Vivek asked Sam but Sam couldn't really answer. She noticed Agnes Audrey and her bodyguard running down the stairs right after Bee.
"Jason, grab my sister!'' said Agnes to her bodyguard. Vivek audibly gasped, "Holy Cow, both Audrey sisters?! Sam you lucky doggg!''
"Dude, Bee is running for her life and all you can think-" Sam was so mad at Vivek and at his cheap jokes but she couldn't really cuss because Ms. Hails and Mrs. Cooper were standing just there.
Jason grabbed Bee's wrist and Bee let out an angry scream. Out of nowhere Hailey showed up and gave a battle cry throwing herself at Jason, the bodyguard, "Run Bee, RUN! BE FREE!''
It was an utter chaos. Hailey bit Jason on his palm and he wailed in pain. Bee threw Sam's backpack at Vivek, "THE KEYS ARE IN THE BAG! CAN YOU DRIVE US AWAY FROM HERE?''
"MADAM I WOULD EAT MUD AND DRINK SHIT IF YOU JUST STEP ON ME!'' Vivek was equally dramatic as Bee was. He started running while howling with laughter, "Woohoo baby! Beatrice Audrey in my car! The boyz are gonna be so jealous when they gon' find out!''
While Jason got busy trying to tackle a feral wild Hailey, Agnes Audrey had nobody else to order around. So she herself ran after Bee. Instinctively, Sam grabbed Agnes Audrey's arm.
Agnes looked back at her, disbelief colouring her face, "The audacity of this b-''
"BEE RUN! DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME!" Sam screamed her heart out, "Vivek will drive you somewhere safe!''
"Goddd I love you so much I can marry you!" said Bee and started running, "I won't ever forget your sacrifices!''
"What do you think you are doing?'' the voice of Agnes Audrey was calm and composed, "How DARE you-"
"I am sorry Ms. Audrey! I'm so so sorry!" Sam grabbed her arm tighter and kept apologizing, she was scared, scared of how Agnes had almost looked like Annabeth Cruz when she had waved the blank cheque infront of Sam's face, how her hazel eyes had looked cold and calculative like Annabeth's green eyes, she was scared how helpless Bee had looked infront of her sister, just like Sam was infront of Annabeth Cruz,"I am sorry but I can't let you go after your sister,'' Sam kept her eyes shut but she didn't let go of Bee's sister.
"Why? I even offered you a blank cheque -"
"Because we are friends!'' Sam said, "I am sorry I am friends with your sister."
Agnes Audrey stopped struggling to break free but Sam still couldn't really trust her. She kept holding Agnes' arm until Jason came and pulled her off of Agnes.
"Fuck you Agnes Audrey! Bee's our friend! Leave her alone!'' Hailey was saying.
"I'm so sorry Ms. Audrey, I'm so sorry," Sam couldn't stop apologizing.
"Let's just go upstairs," Hailey said, she was panting hard, her hair a mess, a few buttons of her shirt was missing, "We don't have to waste our time here," she put a hand on Sam's shoulder.
"Where do you think you are going?'' It was Hailey's mother, for the first time she sounded mad, "What the hell just happened under my roof?''
"Mom-"
"They are our guests, Hailey!'' Mrs. Cooper seemed to be struggling hard to control her temper, "You literally attacked one of them! And who was that kid who took off with Bee?''
"He's my cousin, he probably has taken her to my place," Sam said promptly, "Mrs. Cooper, Bee clearly didn't wanna go home! it's not Hailey's fault."
"Her family is worried sick, they wouldn't even have known where she was had I not given Agnes a call,'' Mrs. Cooper said sternly, "It was self-centred of Bee to take off like that."
Hailey started pulling Sam by her sleeves, "Let's just go, we can't reason with people who refuse to see things from the perspective of others."
"You are not going anywhere," Mrs. Cooper said, "You are going with Agnes and Emily and fetch Bee from your friend's house. Jason! If my daughter bites you again you have my permission to break her nose!"
At some point Sam was sitting in between Ms. Hails and Hailey in the backseat of Agnes Audrey's gorgeous volvo. Agnes herself sat in the front with her bodyguard Jason and was driving the car herself. "It reminds me of the good old days when me, Hailey, Agnes and Beatrice used to hang out at Mrs. Cooper's old studio," Ms. Hails was trying to make small talks, "Remember that Agnes? We were freshmen in Beckham Highschool and Hitler and Bee were in 7 and 8 grades.."
"Oh I remember, Hailey used to follow you around all the time back then," Agnes said, "She was so serious about marrying you or something like that."
Ms. Hails was laughing but Hailey had her face turned away, she was frowning while looking out of the window, "Drop it," she said.
Sam didn't dare to s