Twisted Strings [MONSTER EDITING - Read at your own risk]

A Little Subtle

''Uncle Max has a minivan.'' Rhodes pointed out. The minivan had been with Dad, like an old friend, since his days as an Indie band member, and it needed a paintjob. Also, since we always had kids on board, Dad's speed was slower than a snail's.

''My name is Violet, is it hard to pronounce?''

''Violet,'' She said pointedly, ''we're almost here.''

Blissfully, we arrived before she could do further damage to my guts. I did feel like puking, even Rhodes seemed bleak, his smile was absolutely fake. I got off the car and slammed the door behind me. My hair was a mess, so I ran my fingers through them.

Lana was already walking inside the dingy looking clothing store. The sign board was missing letters and all I could make out was an S and two E's. The shop was tiny, painted with dark green paint and the double-glazed windows were outlined with maroon-red panes. The glass was so dirty, you could hardly peek inside, apparently someone wasn't too keen on cleaning.

I shot Rhodes a glare before going on, ''You are such an asshole.''

''It rubbed off you,'' he shot back and I poked out my tongue at him. Pretty childish of us to throw insults like this, but I was angry. ''On the side note, I have a feeling she's good at this stuff. Her mom was an outfit manager for Camie Lenzo.'' I had no idea who the hell that was, but Rhodes acted like Camie Whatever was his next door neighbor.

''Sure, sure. Why don't you move next to her house now and be her best friend?'' I muttered under my breath and he rolled his eyes,

''Sure, sure.'' He replied, mimicking me.

The shop smelled like cigar and it was cramped with clothing stands, shelves lined the walls and an old woman the age of my Grandma sat at the counter. Her hawk like eyes shifted to us and she blew a puff of smoke in the air,

''Good day lads, what would you require?'' She asked in a breezy tone, like she had jumped from a historic novel about the French Revolution. Lana seemed to be familiar with her,

''We'll look ourselves, Gran.'' My jaw dropped open.

''Please don't ask; 'You have a Grandmother?', or I'm friend-divorcing you.'' Rhodes muttered in my ear. I shot him a heated look and stomped away from him, to examine the clothes.

''Did you bring us here as a business tactic?'' I demanded from Lana. She stood by one stand, where glittery shirts hung. Blue, Black, Red, Green – they had all colors.

''Of course, why else would I have bothered.'' She replied casually. I glared at her back as she moved to another side. I touched the shirts and realized they were good enough, in terms of quality. They were also flashy, and I imagined myself wearing them for the performance.

''How about this?'' I asked to no one in particular,

Lana glanced back and grabbed my hand, leading me away, ''Too flashy, too obvious. Come here.''

I was thrown back by her suddenly pulling me, but judging from her words, it did seem like she knew what she was doing. She took out a form fitting bright red tank top from the bottom of the stand and handed it to me. I held up the shirt and grinned. It was simple but sexy and I liked it. Better than I would have expected.

I cleared my throat when Lana smirked and gave me an all-knowing look, ''Cat got your tongue?''

''Whatever, I'll need a skirt-''

''You're not an elementary kid, Princess. Oops, I meant Violet.'' She made her way to the end of the aisle, and glanced around, searching for something. I trailed behind her and examined the shirt against my torso, using a slim mirror that hung on the wall.

Lana joined me and showed me a white coat and matching shorts, smiling slyly like a cat. The coat was adorned with silver buttons and on the back, a little bit glitter was sprinkled.

''What's the point of the shirt if I'm wearing a coat?'' I grumbled,

''Idiot! You want to show them, but you'll only show them enough. Not too much. It must be subtle, leaving them curious. Making them want to know.'' She replied in a clipped tone, sounding like a fashion expert. I had to admit, her words made sense and the outfit she chose looked amazing.

''Try it on, I'll help Sullivan.''

Rhodes was scratching his head and talking to her Grandma, looking a little forlorn. I grinned as I placed the coat and the shirt against me, feeling excited. The anger I had earlier was forgotten momentarily.  

**

NOTE: The monster editing is going on well, I realized that in the first draft, Violet's Mom is dead while in this edited version she's alive and kicking. I REALLY REALLY apologize for the massive confusion that might ensue, I should have rewritten the whole book before uploading the chapters. Just bear with me a little longer, I'm trying to edit the book as fast as possible. And I'm sure that the edited chapter are MUCH better than the unedited ones.