𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢 𝐜𝐫𝐲 [ 𝘫. 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘴 ]

4, les farces

a/n: this chapter is like a calm before the storm

"Maman! I'm home!" Eponine called out upon entering the family home. Her mum peeked into the hallway from the living room. "Hey sweetie, could you boil some water in the kettle? Béatrice is coming over for tea."

Eponine nodded. "Of course I can, mum." She left for the kitchen, and found a wide array of petit fours on the table. Or what used to be a wide array. Some of the little plates were empty, and covered in crumbles. She heard a light giggle from beneath the table. The little monster.

"Coco, did you eat the petit fours?" Eponine asked with a playful, threatening voice. "No!" Colette screamed, followed by a giggle. "Yes you did, you little monster!"

Colette shrieked when Eponine poked her sides, and scrambled away from the table. She cackled loudly when she escaped the kitchen to find shelter in her room.

Eponine heard the front door open, signalling that Béatrice had arrived. In the hallway, she heard her mother chatter excitedly. She hadn't seen her best friend since they were nineteen, and now they were married and had children. It must be odd to see eachother like that. She wondered when she would see her friends from back home in London again. Would it be when they too were married or had kids? It seemed so far away.

"Eponine!" her mother called. "Come meet Béatrice!"

She stepped out of the kitchen and shuffled over to the living room. Sat on the sofa was a woman with short brown hair and a strong jaw. She was gorgeous. Béatrice immediately stood up to greet Eponine.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, dear. I've heard so much about you from your mother." she said excitedly. "Oh you're so pretty!" she gushed, touching Eponine's hair. Eponine's face flushed, and she shyly smiled. "Thank you, Béatrice." Béatrice swatted her hand, to say it was nothing.

"Next time I come over I'll take my son and husband along, so we can introduce our families! My son is your age, Eponine. You'll get along great!" Béatrice gushed. "He can be a little mean, but he has a good heart."

"I'm sure we'll be great friends," Eponine agreed. Béatrice smiled.

"Run along, dear. Béa and I have a lot to catch up on." her mother said. Eponine nodded, and headed to her room. In the summer, she'd redecorated her entire room. In her dorm at the boarding school, drastic room changes weren't allowed. But here, she could customise it however she pleased.

So, her entire room was decked out in dark green and wine red decorations. Her walls were covered in a green wallpaper with golden flowers and birds, with brown skirting halfway. A ceiling-high bookcase covered the left side or her room, filled to the brim with music theory, history and romance books. On the wall left of the bookcase stood/hung her instruments. She played a total of five instruments; transverse flute, clarinet, violin, cello and guitar. She'd mastered two of them, and was on the way to mastering her third.

Her room was bright, and felt like a warm autumn hug. Clutter laid all over the place, and she'd covered her walls in paintings and photos. Trinkets piled up on her desk. She tried her best to keep it neat, but one way or another her room always ended up look like she stuffed her grandma's entire inheritance into it.

. . .

Today, the tests the class had previously taken were handed out. Eponine scored a 17 on average, which she was glad about. She'd been scared of her Latin grade, given this was her first Latin class ever. So when she saw a red 17 marked on her paper, she felt overjoyed.

Behind her, Dupin tried to get her attention. "Psst! Van Doren!" he tapped her shoulder. "Hey, psst?"

"What do you want, Dupin?" she sighed annoyedly. "I need you to help me study. I got a six!" he whispered alarmedly.