A Hidden Talent
Prologue-
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Ashlay paced her living room, her feet worn and tired from the apartment searching earlier in the day. Occasionally she glanced over at her wall clock, wondering when her parents would be home. She let out a sigh and dumped herself in one of the plush seats that spotted themselves around her parents living room.
As soon as she did she heard a creak sound from inside the corridor. Instinctually she stood up and brushed down her sleeveless blouse and black skinnies, making sure she was presentable in front of her high expectancy parents.
She watched as her two parents strode in, arm in arm, chattering away happily. They quickly let their eyes graze over Ashlay as they walked past and into the kitchen. Ashlay let out a small smile and lifted her hand in a feeble wave before following them towards their kitchen.
"So, I found an apartment today..." she stated confidently, looking between her tall father and petite mother, both of their heads showing strands of grey as they went with the age.
"Lovely, honey!" her mother exclaimed, clasping her hands together in front of her face as she gave her daughter a sickly sweet smile. "Where?" she asked finally, tilting her head to the side as she gazed at Ashlay uninterestingly.
"In South Auckland..." she trailed off to see her parents faces twist up in disgust.
"We asked you to move out soon but we didn't ask you to find a place with all those wretched..." her father furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to think of a name for the type of 'scum' that lived in the south.
"Mongrels!" her mother cried, throwing her arms in the air. She took a couple steps forward and placed her hands on Ashlay's shoulders.
"For your information, all the people that lived down there were so nice and nothing at all as your Social Club friends tell you!" Ashlay retorted, throwing her mothers hand off of her shoulders and taking a large step back. Her mother looked at her in disgust as her father walked up and wrapped his arms around her mothers waist.
"What type of house did you get? I'm not letting you live in a run down rat motel!" her mother screeched, her face turning crimson with fury. Ashlay's face started to heat up as well as her anger grew towards her mother.
"In fact, mother dear," Ashlay spat the last word as she flared her nostrils and glared at her mother in rage, "It is a lovely two bedroom house! Fully furnished and squeaky clean! Stop thinking that everyone who lives in the south are stereotypical scum! Because they're not! Your just like all those stereotyped Westies, aren't you mother? You always believe what you hear and don't give a shit about anyone else!" Ashlay was screaming at this point. She hated how her mother believed everything she was told. How she was always so gullible about anything.
Ashlay watched as tears fell down her mothers face, watching as her eyes lit up in fury. She also watched as her mother opened her mouth and started bellowing at the top of her voice.
"ASHLAY JAE MAC YOU ARE NOT WELCOME IN THIS HOUSE AGAIN! YOU CAN GO AND LIVE WITH THE FUCKING SCUM DOWN IN THE WEST AND I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU STARTED WEED AGAIN YOUNG MISS! THAT'S THE ONLY HAPPINESS YOU'LL GET FROM LIVING DOWN THERE!" her mother collapsed in her fathers arms, worn out a puffed from all her screaming.
Ashlay prevented herself from tearing up in joy. She smiled sweetly at her mother, knowing she'd get angry with Ashlay's darling act.
"Doesn't bother me," she stated sweetly, letting a smirk tug at the edge of her delicate smile. She watched as her mothers face lit up in anger and was overwhelmed with joy as the satisfaction of nearly giving her mother a heart attack kicked in.
"It'll be better than living up here, anyways!" Ashlay batted her lashes a few types for added darling effect.
"I'll just go pack my bags, shall I?" she asked as she started walking off towards her bedroom. She heard a rush of wind as her mother raced past her and into Ashlay's former bedroom. Soon two suitcases were chucked out the door followed by a duffel bag and a backpack. Ashlay smiled at her mothers haste. She put her innocent act back on as her mother reappeared with a glorious smirk on her face.
"Why thank you, you're too kind!" Ashlay cried happily, picking up her luggage and making her way out to her old, black and dusted BMW parked on the street.
"Never come back again, bitch!" her mother called out behind her. Ashlay shot back a choice finger and bellowed a reply.
"Don't expect me to!" with that, Ashlay chucked her luggage into her trunk and hopped in the drivers seat, about to start the engine when there was a tap at her window. Ashlay looked over across the passenger seat at the sad faced blonde girl who looked back desperately.
Leaning across the seat, Ashlay opened the door for her neighbor, Piper, as shuffled back as she got in, her blonde bun messy and tattered and her face stained by running mascara.
"What happened?" Ashlay asked, lifting her thumb and wiping a tear from her friends face. Piper sniffed and shook her head, shaking away her sadness and faking a smile for the sake of it.
"Nothing," she sighed, twiddling her thumbs together in her lap. She watched out the door at Ashlay's parents arguing at the front door of their house, occasionally pointing over to Ashlay's car to emphasize a point.
"What was that about?" Piper asked, flicking some hair out of her face and jabbing a thumb in the general direction of the married couple. Ashlay sighed and shook her head, revving up the car engine.
"I got a place down in the south and they don't approve," she bluntly replied. Piper nodded in understanding, flicking back some more hair and turning the radio up as Ashlay drive off into the city.
It was a few minutes later when Piper's phone vibrated. She pulled it out and looked at the caller ID, seeing her ex-boyfriends name she swiftly hung up on him and returned her phone to her pocket. This happened for a few more times whilst Piper casually continued to hang up, sometimes not even looking at the number as most of the time it would be either her ex-boyfriend or his slut.
But around the seventh time, Piper was just about to hang up when she did a double take at the ID, seeing it was an unknown number. She hesitated before turning the radio volume down and answering it, earning a strange look from Ashlay.
"Hello?" Piper asked quizzically. There was silence before she repeated, "Hello?"
"Good time of the clock, miss. Are you Piper Herlett?" a gruff, male voice answered back. Piper was alarmed for a second, not expecting this before she nodded, then mentally face palmed herself as she realized whoever they were couldn't see her.
"Yes, yes this is. And who, may I ask, are you?" Piper replied in a sassy tone. There was a chuckle on the other line before the man replied.
"You don't need to know currently, but for now you can call me Cowell. S. Cowell to be exact..."
