Fifteen: Free Fallin'

Chapter 35: 1950

Caleb hadn't said anything since she got back. He was still at a loss for words, but he was thankful that the girls were all in a tizzy talking about the other dresses some of the other women were wearing.

The emcee got on stage with a portrait of some kind and began the bidding. "That's beautiful." Stefan said looking at the piece of art. "That's 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' by Hieronymus Bosch. It's definitely not an original, but a close replica." Daisy offered barely looking at the painting. "Can you draw that?" She eyed him suspiciously. "Maybe. Why?"

He reached for her hand. "My birthday is in two months and I'd really like it if you would draw that for me." Daisy rolled her eyes but agreed. "I want a painting too," Tyler offered with a smile. "Our birthdays are only a week apart." Daisy shook her head but agreed. The painting sold for $10,000.

"These white people just be throwing away money," Preston said shocked as another sculpture no bigger than a dinner plate sold for $8,000. The auction seemed to go by fast and they were finally on their last item.

It was almost 11 pm and Aria still wanted them to do something fun and together before they changed back to regular college freshman. The final piece of art was the heavy hitter and sold for $20,000. Aria was motioning for them to get ready to leave when the emcee made an announcement.

"It has come to my attention that the services of our entertainment tonight as been requested to be bid on." They all looked around confused. "Ms. Aria Caldwell, can you please come to the front." Aria looked scared and Caleb didn't like that. "It's okay Aria, we're right here." Sophia Kate offered.

She walked up to the stage with a small anxious smile on her face. "Next month is Parents Weekend and a lot of the founding families have events that would go the extra mile if your vocal entertainment were utilized. If it's okay with you they'd like to bid on which founding family could have your vocal talents at their event."

Aria felt weird about the request. She didn't like the idea of a Black woman being bid on. As she was about to decline her eyes came directly in line with Madame Boudreaux. Even though she wore her signature shades, Aria knew she was demanding she not embarrass her. "What happens to the money?" The crowd laughed as if it was some funny joke. "Why that goes to you, dear."

Aria shook her head. "Oh, I couldn't keep that." A round of laughter erupted as if she had said the funniest thing. "You can do whatever you wish with it, dearie. Now are you willing to perform for one of the founding families during an event on Parents Weekend?" Aria looked at her friends and saw a mix of faces. She looked back at Madame Boudreaux and saw a slight grin on her face. She nodded her head in agreement much to the emcee's delight.

"Okay, for the vocal talent of Ms. Aria Caldwell we'll start the bidding at $5,000." Aria's eyes bugged out. She didn't think they would keep the same stringent bid on her measly self. "$5,000!" An older woman called out and was immediately outbid by a gentleman behind her. The bids went on like this until they got to $18,000 and Aria was sure she would faint.

"$25,000." The crowd gasped and Aria blanched when she saw who made the bid. It was the same guy that grabbed her in the gardens. He's a member of a founding family. "Going once, going twice," the emcee smiled like a Cheshire cat. "Sold to Mr. Thomas Day."

Aria looked to Caleb who seemed to be fuming. She wanted to go to him, but she knew she needed to take care of this. She walked off the stage and straight towards Thomas. "Hi Thomas, I'm Aria and I hope that I can assist in making your family's event a success." He smiled at her, but not as lecherously as before.

"Please call me Tommy. My Dad is Thomas." She nodded. "Our event has a time machine theme, so I think you singing a mix of classics and current songs will be a great hit. Everyone has been asked to come dressed from their favorite decade, but it's not a requirement. It's a few hours long, so you'll need to do some costume changes to cover as many decades as possible."