"You should be getting ready," Farah told Veera sternly, watching the younger girl as she paced to and fro in front of her tall mirror. "You'll be going soon, won't you?"
"Soon," Veera mumbled. She stopped and peered scrutinizingly at herself in the reflection that she saw, seemingly disgusted at what image was reflected back at her. She bit her lip and ran her thumb over the hem of her dress. "Why?"
"Just asking." Farah stretched on Veera's bed. "To be honest, I still haven't completely wrapped my head around this invitation."
"What's there to wrap around?"
"Uh, gee, I don't know? Maybe that the fucking President asked you out?!" Farah's voice rose octaves higher with every word until her voice cracked at the end. "Does that not seem to be something to be surprised about? And out of everyone that he asked, he asked you?"
"How nice of you." Veera reached behind her back and unzipped the dress. "This doesn't look good. It's too dark - like I'm going to a funeral."
"You've never even been to a funeral." Farah rolled on her back. "And besides, you wear black every night in your moonlit escapades, don't you?"
Veera almost rolled her eyes. "It's not night yet, is it?"
"It will be soon."
"It's 12 pm. There's plenty of time before night comes."
"Speaking of, are you going out tonight?" Farah rolled back on her belly and propped her chin up with her hands in a cup shape. "Void and Spotlight have both been absent for a really long time. Only Infinite's been in the picture."
"Do you think I haven't noticed that prick?" Veera gestured to the mute TV that scrolled from picture to picture in front of both of them. The channel played a video taken from someone's phone about the most recent attack on Liquizel. Infinite was dancing around the villain, who seemed to be able to multiply itself. His mouth was moving, but Veera didn't care what he was saying.
"He's a handsome prick, though," Farah said with pointed, suggestive eyebrows.
Veera scoffed. "Not to me," she said. "He's as annoying as..." she hesitated.
"As?" Farah asked.
Veera averted her eyes and stared at the ground. Her lips thinned tightly, and Farah understood.
"Ah, I got it." She reached for the remote and switched the TV off. "He's not that good to look at anyway."
"Changing sides already?" Veera smirked.
"I was never on his side, to begin with." Farah laughed. "You know I'm all about the villains."
"Yeah, I know." Veera took out a frilly blouse from her closet. "Will this be good?"
"With some jeans? Sure. Ooh! Or maybe leggings...Nah, jeans are better," Farah decided.
Veera slipped the blouse on and lifted her legs up one at a time and gripped Farah's shoulders as the other girl bent down to help her put her pants on.
"I wish you could come with me." Veera rubbed her elbow. "Or better yet, I wish I wasn't so impulsive and had said no instead."
"Why? Don't you want to spread your wings some more?" Farah asked.
"Yes, but...I'm starting to regret it now." Veera bit her lip and twirled a strand of her hair. "It was one of those bouncing ideas that just starts a fire in you, you know? One that makes you feel so fucking confident until the day actually comes and now..."
"Now you feel like pissing your pants?"
"Yeah, something like that."
Farah smiled and pushed herself up from Veera's baby purple sheets. She put both her hands on her best friend's shoulders and squeezed them confidently.
"Veera, you will be fine," she assured her. "Just go with Izayah Stall. Meet the cast, look around, and take notes. Then come home. If something happens - which I doubt will since Izayah is the president and has bodyguards with him - then call me. Make up some stupid excuse and I'll back it up for you."
"What if someone looks at me?" Veera whispered, as if ashamed to vocalize her fears. "Or says something about me?"
"Then you look them in the eye and ask them to repeat it," Farah said. "Come on, girl! You've got to stick up for yourself. Whatever they say, let them say! People will talk. All that matters is that you know who to listen to."
"Oh. Okay, I guess," Veera mumbled. Farah removed her hands and Veera grabbed her phone. It buzzed before she put it in her bag - a text from Izayah's secretary about the meet-up plans.
"You know, I would also be surprised that you're going on a date with the President, who just casually walked into your school last week," Farah commented dryly. "But since this is Liquizel, the capitol of Liquiord, aka, the small-ass country that makes no fucking sense, then I'm not very shocked at this whole...arrangement we have right now."
"It's not a date," Veera said sternly. "I don't know why he asked me out of everyone; or why he was even talking to me in the first place. Maybe he just wants to get to know me better as Jordan's teacher?"
"That's plausible," Farah agreed. "But...to be fair...he is single and handsome."
"God, you think every single guy with money is handsome, Farah." Veera grinned.
"That is not true!" Farah snapped, her cheeks strawberry red. "I can't say that someone is attractive?"
"He's a bit too old for my type," Veera said. She tucked her phone and tossed Farah her car keys. "But if you like him, I can always let him know and set you both up on a date?"
"Get lost!" Farah swatted her shoulder. "He's cute, but I could never handle the stress of being the President's wife. Can you imagine how much work you'd have to do?"
"A lot of publicity stuff, I'd imagine," Veera said. "Not to mention the scandals and bodyguards and paparazzi."
"Damn, no way am I dating that guy," Farah said. "But if you want him, he's all yours."
"Nope." Veera held Farah's hand as she slowly bent her knees a bit and slid into the passenger side of the car. "But for a guy who gets everything that he wants, I would have thought he'd be your type."
"What is he, a billionaire?"
"Should make that much money."
"Probably. Boss Baby Billionaire?"
"Boss Baby Billionaire?"
"He's a Boss. He gets everything he wants like a Baby. And he's loaded! So, Boss Baby Billionaire."
"...Let's just get this day over with." Veera laughed.
Farah chuckled. "Okay, so not Stall. What about Night?"
"Vincent Night?"
"Yeah. He's hot as hell."
Veera smiled. "Okay, I have to agree with you on that. He is pretty good-looking."
"And you get to meet him!" Farah squealed and pulled into the road. "You're so lucky, Veera! Take a pic with him, okay?"
"What? No, I don't do pictures and you know it," Veera snapped. She rubbed her neck. "It makes my double chin look bigger."
"You barely have a double chin!" Farah chided. "Just get an autograph or something. His movies are bangers!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll see," Veera muttered. "I'll also get to see the real Vincent Night, you know. Not the ones we see in movies. He could be a brat for all we know."
"Well." Farah grinned and pulled into the dark alley where they were supposed to wait for Izayah's bodyguards. "Looks like you're going to find out pretty soon."
~***~
"Spotlight's been absent for quite some time, hasn't he?" Izayah's British accent was in full swing that day. While Veera hadn't noticed it that much at the meetings, it was very heavy and very clear as they maneuvered through the hustle and bustle of stage crews and side actors, and other workers carrying props as they set up the scene.
"He has." Veera's stomach chilled at the memory of her enemy. "I wonder where he's been."
"Probably busy," Izayah said. "Although he's never been absent for this long. Void too. Do you think he's caught her?"
"Maybe." Veera shrugged. She glanced at the scene, where some of the men were helping the leading lady with her position on the makeshift balcony. "Is that April Moon?"
"Yeah." Izayah glanced briefly at her, then looked back to Veera. "She's playing the female lead."
"She's so beautiful!" Veera sighed. "I wish I could be as pretty as her, sometimes."
"You are beautiful too," Izayah said.
"Um, thank you." Veera gave him a tight smile. She was never a fan of compliments, mostly because they were usually ones out of pity, and always about her looks. "Oh! Look! It's Grace Hemler!"
"Hi!" The blonde, gray-eyed actress walked over to them. She shook Izayah's hand and then Veera's. "Welcome to the set, Mr. President!"
"Thank you," Izayah said cordially, hardly sparing Grace Hemler a glance. His eyes searched for his bodyguards; the two men that Veera could feel laughing at her with their eyes as they stood stoically behind Izayah. "This is Miss. Veera Solace. She's a teacher at Liquizel Elementary and I've invited her to come and look at the set with me."
"Oh! Do you like acting?" Grace beamed at Veera, and her welcoming smile made the latter girl loosen her stiff, barricade-like shoulders.
"It's not bad." Veera tried to play it cool, but excitement brimmed her body like a rattling jar. "I was always intrigued by the foley art, though."
"That's so much fun! But that's post-production," Grace said. "Although, I think we have one of our foley artists on set today."
"What for?" Veera asked.
Grace shrugged. "I'm not sure. I'd have to ask the director - James Hendrix."
Veera gasped. "James Hendrix!? The James Hendrix! Wow...he's my favorite director!"
Izayah grinned. "I didn't know that. Now I'm even more glad I asked you to come along with me."
"Thank you!" Veera beamed up at him, and for a moment Izayah's smile faltered, but it was so quick that one could blink and the smile would still be there.
"You're most very welcome," he replied.
"Oh, this is my co-star, April Moon." Grace gestured to the pink, pixie-haired girl with purple eyes that approached them.
"Hello, Mr. President!" April Moon eagerly shook Izayah's thin hand, lingering a moment as his thin, vine-like fingers were laced around hers. She then regarded Veera with a nod. "Miss."
"This is Veera Solace," Izayah introduced, somewhat irritably. "She's a teacher at Liquizel Elementary and is joining me today."
"Nice to meet you." April shook Veera's hand with less visible strength as she did to Izayah's.
"Nice to meet you too!" Veera said, loosening her grip on April when she realized that the actress had craned away from her. Purple, metallic eyes scanned her from head to toe and Veera shifted uncomfortably on her feet.
"You'll have to meet Vincent when he's done preparing for the scene!" Grace interrupted the tension enthusiastically. "He'd love to meet both of you."
"Especially you, Mr. President," April added. She narrowed her eyes in Veera's direction. "However, I wasn't aware that you were bringing a plus one."
"I'm not a plus one!" Veera clarified quickly. "I'm just...joining, I guess?"
"Yes," Izayah said smoothly. "We are not...on a date."
"Oh." Grace seemed a little disheartened. "I see..."
"Hemler! Moon!" A male's voice called from an unknown location. "Get back on the set! We're about to start scene five!"
"Oops! We should get going!" Grace blushed and shook both Veera and Izayah's hands again. "It was nice meeting you both!"
"Yes. It was nice," April added, calmly looking at both of them with a tiny smile. "I hope to see you soon."
"You too!" Veera said as enthusiastically as she could, while inside her brain she was shredding idolized posters of April Moon.
Izayah scoffed. "Actresses. You'd think they'd be more humble, especially those that come from a common background."
"Not all of them are like that," Veera said. The bright sun enveloped her scalp and dug into her flesh, burning her.
"Do you need to sit?" Izayah noticed her wince. "Should we go in the shade? Hey!" He snapped his fingers and both his bodyguards straightened. "Get a chair for her and bring it into the shade! Now!"
"Yes, sir," both men said, swiftly moving through the bustling crowd to complete his demand.
"I'm fine, Izayah," Veera tried to assure him as he led her gently to the shade by her arm. "I don't need to sit."
"You will sit," Izayah said firmly. His hand lingered on her arm before he held her by her back. "Look at your legs. They're wobbling."
"They'll be fine. I won't fall." At least, I hope not.
Izayah clicked his tongue. "Stubborn, aren't you?" He teased.
"Quite," Veera agreed with an impish grin. While waiting for the bodyguards to return, since she realized that Izayah wouldn't let her go until she rested for a while, Veera studied the messy set full of people strapped with camera gear bags and dressed in colorful clothes. Some had spray bottles to cool themselves down in the scalding heat and others paced the beige cobblestone underneath them to burn off some steam, although it seemed futile to do so in the sun. The set was a café that Veera had seen and that Farah often frequented after work. The crew had decorated it with lights and some fake flowers along with a large, cartoonish-like tower, but apart from that, it hadn't changed much. Veera only felt sorry for the cast as they had to endure the take in their thick, skin-tight clothes.
Well, I feel sorry for almost everybody, Veera glared at April Moon, who fanned herself with one of the props in such a way that it blew her hair like the women in a shampoo commercial.
The pretty women in the shampoo commercials. Veera sighed. Why couldn't she be as pretty as them, she wondered.
In the shade, Veera felt her power stir in her veins like cold water. She clenched her hands and hid them behind her back. In her jeans pocket, which she realized with burning cheeks that she had forgotten to wash the week before, she felt the outline of the Badel sticker that she had found in the hallway during the shelter-in-place.
Damn, just another mystery that'll have to wait for now, Veera cursed.
Izayah seemed to read her mind. "Did they ever find anything about the shelter in place at the school?" He asked. "We got a letter about a boy from the opposing academy that wasn't supposed to be in the building but was in there any way...?"
"Oh, that's what we got too!" Veera said. Could it have been that boy? Can't have...he's too young to work for them...unless... again, her stomach grew chilly.
"Hm, that's kids these days, I suppose." Izayah sighed. "I keep telling the council we have to work on school security. You don't know who could get in and out..."
But as the sun rose high in the sky, creating a spotlight on the ground for the well-dressed, handsome young man that walked towards them, silencing those around him to nothing more than an intelligible murmur, Veera tuned Izayah out in favor of staring unabashedly at the actor that approached her with a toothpaste commercial smile.
Namely, Vincent Night.
~***~
Hey guys!
What did you think of this chapter? About Veera and Izayah? Veera and Vincent Night? What will she say to him? And what is Badel?
Hope you guys enjoyed and don't forget to vote/comment!
- Sunny