Absolut Style

Introduction

I need to give special thanks to all the friends who helped me with this story. I huge thanks to @scooby-snacks for all the patience and persistence, kisses to the lovely @styles_orama who gifted me the title, the awesome Monet for the amazing cover, @ciaoniccie for her brainstorming ideas and the beautiful Rita, Marinella and Chryso for trying to inspire me . My other sisters have been the biggest support and the best friends ever...thanks guys. Please comment and vote. This will be one hell of a journey!
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"Pain in the ass" that's what my brother Chris calls me. "Rebel without a cause" that's what my dad calls me. Mom calls me "unconventional" but I'm just Ella, a twenty year old
girl with the same hopes and ambitions as any other my age I suppose or maybe just a little bit unconventional...maybe just a tiny bit.

Leaving my parents' house and staying away on my own was something I always dreamed of regardless of the great relationship we had. Well, we did have our conflicts related to my studies but other than that we were fine.

My parents wanted me to study Marketing and Finance so my afternoons as a high school kid were filled with extra lessons as they thought it was never too early to prepare for the future competition. I studied Maths, Statistics, Accounting/Book-keeping and languages. They wanted me to embark on the Business and Finance world unable to accept that what they wanted was not at all what I wanted...so when they realized that I never applied for such a position but instead I got accepted at one of the best universities of the country to study English and Journalism they were stunned to say the least. We didn't argue...there was no fighting, shouting or any other sort of quarrelling. They didn't deny me the right to study what I wanted but my dad was firm on one thing. I was to support myself financially throughout my studies as he had already invested a lot of money on another field and wasn't willing on spending another dime in something he thought was pointless, something that wouldn't help me make a living blah blah blah...parents' stuff you know how it is.

I didn't cry nor begged, too proud for anything of the sort. So I had to work and study at the same time. Having received a scholarship meant that first I had to keep it, second I had to find a job that would allow me to have time to study but also cover my expenses...all of my expenses. When the opportunity presented itself I got a job at a club usually filled with uni students called "Shadows". I worked there four times a week and made enough money to cover rent, food, bills and I was provided extra money from management to cover clothes and shoes at reasonable prices of course. I also made a lot from tips almost as much as my paycheck. It was a win-win situation: time to study- money to cover everyday costs. Actually I made enough not to stay in the dorm but I was able to rent a flat outside campus.

Chrys was a bonus! I had placed an ad for a flat mate and almost gave up until she appeared. After being asked if I ate cat meat, if it was OK to smoke weed inside the flat, if it was OK to be paid the rent in alternative ways, If it was OK to pay the first month rent after six months as they were expecting the grandmother to die... let's just say I was so happily relieved when Chrys arrived for the interview and had her sign a lease shortly. She was a student at the university studying archaeology which earned her the nickname Lara Croft as she was beautiful with long brown hair and brown eyes. She was by no means the next Angelina but she was beautiful in her own way. She came from money but didn't flaunt it around something that I deeply respected and we soon became friends not just flat mates thus the bonus of the whole situation.

Life was pretty simple. I was a uni students in the mornings, worked at "Shadows" four nights a week, shared a flat with Chrys and made friends with Ed the ginger-haired lunatic who worked with me at the club and had the hots for Chrys. He would try to impress her whenever she was around but make a complete fool of himself in the process as he was unbelievably clumsy and not good with words at all.

My classmates were decent- most of them at least- apart from a couple of girls who were on everybody's case- and the professors were well-mannered yet demanding. They gave us pretty straightforward work to do and insisted we honour the deadlines. And that is when it happened, the assignment that would change my life as I knew it ...