A Web Of Lies

Chapter 4 - The perfect outfit

Autumn walked outside the school gates and headed straight for the school parking. She smiled in relief when she finally saw the familiar and comforting face of David. "Oh David, where have you been? And who is this poor substitute of yours?",inquired Autumn impatiently as the man she pointed at stood silently with a sullen expression on his face.
"I'm so sorry, Autumn. I was extremely busy in preparation for your birthday. I hope John here hasn't given you too much of a hard time", answered David. "Too much of a hard time would be a great understatement. You shouldn't have left me all alone on my birthday. That's my parents' job.",lashed out Autumn. "Now, come on Autumn. You shouldn't judge your parents too harshly. I'm sure they were in very unavoidable circumstances. After you left, they promised me that they would make up for the lost day some other time. Besides I have something that'll cheer you up", tried David.
"If it's one more yacht, save it", said Autumn still not convinced. "No, it's something much better. Me and your brother planned it together", said David cheerily. He opened the back door and her brother Alex jumped out of it. "Happy Birthday!!!",he yelled, handing a her a big, beautifully wrapped box. "What's this?", asked Autumn taking in the box which seemed to move at its own will. Autumn curiously lifted the box cover to find an adorable little spaniel puppy inside. "Awwwww", she squealed. "You really know how to fix my mood don't you.", she said happily lifting the puppy into her arms. David and Alex smiled.
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When Autumn reached her house, she found it in its default state, peaceful but eerily quiet. There was no sign of her earlier commotion. The remains of her keychain were swept away and the keys was boxed and placed on her bedroom vanity along with a long letter penned on fancy paper, full of hollow excuses, Autumn was sure. She didn't bother to read it.
Another new addition to her bedroom, was an elaborate gown with accompanying accessories laid out on the bed. One more letter from her parents lay alongside it explaining that it was her mother's choice for the evening party. Note writing was her parents preferred way of communication with their daughter. Autumn shoved both the notes and the clothing into a corner of the bed and jumped into bed herself. She looked at her new pet and wondered what she would name him. After a series of long considerations, she settled on 'Cookie' owing to his chocolate brown fur. Feeling her stomach rumble, she realized she hadn't eaten in hours. She picked Cookie up and went to the dining halls to satiate her hunger. This time, it wasn't the main hall but rather the comparatively smaller dining hall. However, 'smaller' was a deceiving adjective for the dining hall which was the size of many people's entire apartments. Reaching the dining halls, she found that her brother had decided to have lunch in his own room. Unwilling to eat lunch all alone, she invited David to join him who turned red and refused, claiming it was extremely improper for the staff members to dine at the dining halls. But after a good minute of glaring from Autumn, he was left with no choice but to sit with her even amidst the disapproving glances from the other staff.
"So, what are you going to be wearing today", asked David. Autumn was getting rather sick of the stupid question. "How'd you know I wasn't going to wear my mom's pick?, she asked back. "Well, under the given circumstances, I figured......", answered David. "Well you figure rightly cause I'm actually not going to be wearing that. But the problem now is what on Earth am I supposed to wear?", groaned Autumn. "Well you'll be happy to know that I have just the fix. I knew something like this was going to happen so I went out this morning to Galleria and the lady who knew you there helped me pick out this gorgeous green gown with crystals and stuff and I have it on hold. If you like, you can go pick it up",said David. "What would I do without you?", said Autumn gratefully.
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The loud lyrics of some trendy song that Zab had chosen as Autumn's ringtone woke her up. It took her a couple of minutes to reorient herself to her surroundings. She looked at the phone to see three missed calls from Zabella. She sat up at once and called her back.
"Oh my god, why don't you pick up your phone? I tried you like a million times. Did you forget about picking outfits and stuff?", screamed Zabella at the top of her voice.
Sure that she had lost hearing in her left ear, Autumn held the phone at a safe distance whimpered something about meeting her in ten minutes at the Starbucks.
"Well, you better hurry",came Zab's deafeningly loud answer.
Autumn stumbled around the room getting dressed, called David to accompany her and left her house in a clumsy hurry.
David drove her at top speed to the Starbucks and she jumped out in relief. "There you are AT LAS", cried Zabella impatiently.
"God Zab, maybe tone it down a bit", said Autumn evidently embarrassed with all the attention they were attracting.
"We've got to hurry if we want to make it in time for your party.",said Zabella hardly toning it down. "Yeah lets go", said Autumn and both of them jumped into her car. "You're so lucky to always get this cute driver. Which agency can I hire the cutie  from" asked Zab, winking at tag the rear view mirror. "You can't. He works full time for our family. And we shouldn't lose focus right now", said Autumn cautiously.

The car stopped at the entrance of Galleria. "Autumn you do know that this is a luxury boutique right?", asked Zabella, the concern in her voice visible.
"Yes, but I've been here before, you can always find a couple things on discount if you search hard enough", assured Autumn. Zabella didn't look entirely convinced.
They entered the fancy store and started to look around. While Zabella took her sweet time wandering around her dreamland, it only took Autumn a couple of minutes to identify the dress on hold and she quickly got hold of it. "I'm just gonna try this on Zab and you can tell me what you think.", said Autumn swiftly. When she stepped out of the dressing room, Zab, David and the store assistant seemed speechless.
Not surprisingly, Zab broke the silence by loudly announcing, "you look like an angel, so beautiful." Autumn blushed. "Not even your flat chest can't make that unflattering",Zab giggled. Autumn muttered inaudibly under her breath. "How much is it?", inquired Zab. Autumn looked at the price tag that read 3000 dollars. "300",she said. "That's a little expensive, but totally worth this beauty", said Zab. Autumn handed her card to David and walked out of the store with Zabella.
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed that. Vote and comment!!!!