BAD WINTER ✓

Chapter 3

Kristen buzzed into the Varner home with loads of shopping bags adorning her arms. Ariana walked in after her, a Vanity bag in hand and her phone in the other hand.

"Drop the bags on the floor, the maids will get them," Ariana said with a bored tone, not looking up from her phone.

Kristen, grinning from ear to ear like a maniac, readily dropped the bags. She pulled a strand of her jet black hair behind her ear. She then collapsed into the nearest chair behind her. A maid came in to take their bags upstairs.

Camille came down with a bowl of pop corn. Her shiny red hair was sprawled all over her face. She was wearing a long sleeved button-up shirt on a pair of black jersey shorts. "Hey girls. Welcome back," she greeted. "How did your day go?"

"It was so much fun!" Kristen screamed. "We bought so many cool stuff and ate at the mall. There were so many cute guys around and they all turned to look at us when we passed." She flipped her hair.

"They were looking at us because you wanted to buy every single thing we passed," Ariana muttered. Camille turned in her direction at her remark but pretended like she heard nothing.

Either Kristen heard Ariana's statement and decided to ignore it or she did not hear at all. "You should have been there, Camille, and not spend your days like an old woman."

Camille smiled. "I just don't like being the centre of attraction." She sat down on the caramel colored couch to continue watching the anime series she had left to get more pop corn.

Ariana went to her room to freshen up and Kristen followed suit awhile later. They spent up to an hour in their rooms before coming back down. Ariana came first. She was surprised to see Stan there, chatting with Camille like they had known each other for quite a long time.

"Stan, when did you get back?" she asked her cousin.

"Not too long ago. I just wanted to know if your parents called to ask of me," he replied.

"Nope. They haven't called at all."

"Okay."

She went into the kitchen to get some of the pop corn Camille had taken. "Have you had anything to eat since you came?"

"I shared a little pop corn with Camille," was the reply. She noticed the girl in question blush slightly but chose to ignore it for the moment. She sat down to join them in what they were watching. It turned out that it was Naruto, her favorite. Kristen came down a few minutes later, silent as a dead mouse.

Thank Jah she hasn't said anything yet, Ariana said in thought. She although, noticed that Kristen kept staring at Stanley, which she found unnervingly rude. Stan on his own part must have been uncomfortable because he soon took his leave and went to his room to prepare for his night out.

"Who's that? He is so cute. He sort of looks like you, Ariana. Is he your brother? I thought you were an only child." Kristen's mouth continued to move and spit nonsense for ten fabulous minutes. The sound of her voice was irritating to the other girls.

"He isn't her brother. They're cousins," Camille told her.

The other girl looked like she could kill Camille on the spot. One could literally see the steam coming out from her ears. "How do you know that? Please mind your business."

Camille looked like she was going to tear up any moment. She abruptly stood up from the chair and raced up the stairs. That did it for Ariana. Kristen had been annoying her from day one but that was not reason to be a total bitch to another person. "Are you out of your mind?!" she yelled. The other girl had a shocked expression on her face.

"You're just annoying! What did Camille do to you? Do you have any home training at all are were you just born like this?!" She stormed up to Camille's room. The day before, she had separated the two girls. They each needed their individual privacy.

Ariana went into the room without knocking because she doubted Camille would let her in. She was in for the shock of her life. Stan was there. Stan was there with Camille. Camille was crying on Stan's shoulder. That sure was a shocker.