Highstrung Robot

Chapter Four: Dangling by a String

"Jake, I--" Suddenly all of the women stood up in their chairs, gathering together. The blonde lady from earlier waved Addie over, hollering at the both of them, "Adélaïde, allez! Vous avez plus que le temps de vous déranger plus tard!"

Addie blushed, standing up and shouting back at her, "Soyez là dans une seconde!"

Jake leaned his head around Addie, glaring at the woman before looking back at Addie with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I can't do that. You're not going on the team."

Addie bit back tears before turning away from him. "See you later." She coldly said before walking over to the group of ladies, all of them heading into one of the parlor rooms.

He sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Great. Just great." He ran a hand through his hair roughly, not making any move to get up and gather in a group with the other men.

In the parlor room, the women all sat on satin couches and chairs, a big tea set on the coffee table. Of course the blonde woman lead the conversation, taking the first opportunity she had to talk about Adelaide.

"Alors, qui était ce jeune homme d'avant?" (Who was that young man from earlier?) She smirked at her, giving her a suggestive look.

"C'est mon ami. Son nom est Jake." (He's my friend. His name is Jake.) She simply replied, taking a small sip of her tea.

The ladies dropped the conversation for a while, talking about various things such as their adorable children and perfect lives. Addie sat there the whole time in disinterest, just putting on a fake smile when needed. Then the conversation turned to a whole issue solving scenario, but not for issues that even mattered.

"Oh, Adelaide, chérie, au sujet de ces pilules de reflux." (Oh, Adelaide dear, about those reflux pills.) The woman walked over to her and put a few in her hand, giving her a smile that made Addie want to slit her throat right then and there. "Je suis sûr que ceux qui viendront dans maniable pour séduire votre partenaire. Je ne pense pas qu'il trouve de petites cochonnes grasses attrayantes!" (I'm sure those will come in handy for seducing your partner. I don't think he finds fat little piggies attractive!) She cackled as she went back over to her seat, Addie clenching the pills in her fist.

"Adélaïde, n'est-ce pas?" (Adelaide, was it?) Another lady piped up, grabbing her attention. "Vous devez prendre soin de vos taches sombres mieux! Je peux les remarquer sur tout votre visage!" (You have to take care of your dark spots better! I can notice them all over your face!)

She clenched her fists even tighter, fuming so much you could almost see the steam coming out of her ears. Yet she still didn't say a word.

"What are you talking about, Minette?" The blonde lady said, now in English. She looked over at Addie who still had her head down, secretly listening into the conversation. "Nobody that hideous could ever be fixed."

Adelaide suddenly stood up, her head raised to the crowd. "Pardonnez-moi, je dois me retirer pour la nuit. Merci pour l'entreprise." (Please pardon me, I must retire for the night. Thank you for the company.)

Addie promptly walked out of the room and stepped out into the hall where the men were discussing their plans. She looked out at all of them, her eyes red and puffy. They stopped their conversation and looked at her, as she let out a broken, "...Jake. Let's go."

Jake instantly looked up at her, jumping up and from his chair and running over to her. "Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" He grabbed her shoulders looking at her with extreme concern.

"Not here." She whispered, looking at all of the men who had resumed their conversation. "Not now."

He gave her a baffled look but nodded, wrapped his arm around her and walked out of the room without saying a word to any of the men. Once they reached the big room that everyone was originally gathered in, he stopped walking and looked down at her. "What happened?" He asked softly, worry all throughout his voice.