claudia//7:30 a.m
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I arose from my bed. The soft golden glow of the sun on my face. I could smell the blueberry pancakes. I could hear people's laughter tickling my ears. A pure bliss of happiness erupted through me.
I heard two knocks on the door.
"Come in." I say quietly, hoping who ever was knocking heard me. I naturally have a quiet voice.
"Claudia, honey why aren't you dressed?" She says in her thick Spanish accent.
That was my mom. Her name is Violet. I would say her full name but that would take hundreds of pages to write.
"I just got up." I say politely. She shakes her head and bickers under her breath in Spanish.
"What am I going to do with you? The costumers were asking for you. Since you always greet them at the door when they're arriving." The last bit she says in a more saltier way, with her eyes narrowed down at me. She stood in her signature move. Her right hand on the hip and those intimidating soft brown eyes.
"I'm sorry. I was just caught up with all my homework." I wiggle my toes on my soft white rug and hope she doesn't say anything else triggering.
She intakes a small breath and smiles.
"It's fine, just get ready and be downstairs. I have to go before your brother scares the costumers off." She runs out the door with her black curls swaying back and forth against her back.
I walk over to my mirror, observing my reflection and grasp my comb as I run it through my bangs. I take out my bun from the other night and watch my brown locks fall upon my shoulders.
I didn't necessarily change, that's too much work. I had on my comfortable sports bra and soft shorts. I looked around my bedroom and saw my red jacket folded on my dresser.
I am not confident enough to go out with a sports bra and shorts around lots of people. I'd rather let someone kill me and bury me in a hole. Maybe, that's a little too sinister. But you get the point. When I was younger, I was more on the heavier side and yes I have lost all the weight with loads of work. But I'm still insecure about my body.
I quickly slip on the red jacket, which was somewhat big on me. I zipped it up halfway, because downstairs is pretty hot, due to all the baking.
I place my hand on my gold rose necklace, mentally and physically preparing myself for socializing with people. I quietly turn the knob of my door and peek down stairs. It was full, as usual.
A swift thin air of love and humbleness filled the air in this small bakery. I walk into the kitchen and see my mom stress fully taking out some cupcakes. A smile spreads onto my face and I run to her grabbing the tray of cupcakes.
"Oh, thank you sweetie. It seems like we get more and more people each day." I've never seen her more happier and it truly fills me with joy.
She takes the tray from me and smiles.
"Please do me a favor and check on the costumers to see if they need anything, Luliana is still asleep and your brother is taking orders, please make sure he's not goofing off."
I bobble my head and run into the small bakery.
"Giovanni." He obviously doesn't hear me since he's too busy flirting with the pretty blonde who comes to make out with him in his bedroom.
Giovanni, he is hard to explain. Let's begin with his hair. It's was a beautiful brown color, and it still somewhat is, only that he ruined it by putting blonde highlights in his hair. He has many tattoos, at least that's what I think is many, might not to be as much to other people. He is a lot to handle, as an example his common mood swings, his over protection on me.
"Giovanni!!" I say a bit louder. He clenches his jaw and glances over his shoulder to look at me with his dark brown eyes.
"What? Can't you see I'm busy here?" He replies annoyed.
I inhale a deep breath and glance at the quote my mom has written on the chalk board.
Always be humble and caring, love each and everyone, even the ones who push your buttons. - Mom
"I understand. I am sorry that I interrupted you. But it would be nice if instead of talking to this pretty girl, you could check on the costumers to see if they need anything."
He looks at me and pats my head, with a forced smile displayed on his lips.
"Sure thing, anything for my little sister."
He walks off to a table and I could already hear the girls giggles. My mom appears next to me and places a hand on my shoulder.
"Can you please display these cupcakes on the third row, please?" I grab ahold of the tray and place it on the marbled counter.
"Of course." She smiles and goes back into the kitchen. I grab the tray and get on my knees. I slide the glass door open and start placing cupcakes in order.
"Claudia!" I felt a small tug on my jacket. Looking over my shoulder, I see her rosy cheeks with white frosting on them.
"Lulu." I embrace her with a hug. She quickly pulls back from me and jumps around, like her normal self.
I grab the small rag on the counter and wipe the frosting off her small cheeks. She giggles and shoves my hand, running away to Giovanni. I take a deep breath and stand up.
Luliana (Lulu) is my five year old sister. Lulu has a strong passion for unicorns and lives in her own fantasy world. She's sweet and cares about everyone. She's like an identical little me, only with lighter brown hair.
"Claudia go to the market and ask Mr. Alfonso if he's getting fresh eggs this morning!" I hear pans drop, her loud groan following after.
I walk over to the door and begin walking out, till I'm tugged back into the bakery.
"Where are you going?" Gio says, not letting go of my arm.
"I'm going to the market, let go of me." I say annoyed, trying to tug my arm away from him.
"To do what?"
"I'm going to ask Mr. Alfonso if he's getting fresh eggs today." He lets go of me, still looking at me.
"You can go ask mom." I say, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Whatever. But I'm going with you. Or else you aren't going." I groan loudly and look over at my mom. She smiles, mouthing with her lips to go with him.
"Fine, whatever." I open the door and begin walking down the sidewalk.
"Wait for me! You have to stay right next to me. Just imagine what could've happened, if I didn't come fast enough, some guy would've kidnapped you. Just look at those guys over there looking at you like if you were their next prey." He blabs on I just mute him out, continuing to walk down the sidewalk.
"And that's why you should always wait for me." He finishes.
"Shut up." I say and push him aside as I walk into the market. Once I stepped foot into the market, I could smell the fresh tortillas and sweet bread in the air.
"Claudia!" I feel arms quickly wrap around my waist.
"Guess."
I hum under my breath, thinking.
"You're Brandon." His soft laugh escapes from his mouth and he turns me around.
Brandon is a great friend of mine. He's always very sassy, dirty minded and says anything that's on his mind, not caring about the consequences. His hair is black and it's bouncy it's always so perfect. Whenever you see him he will always has an art piece displayed on his face. Which I still have yet to learn from him.
"How'd you know?!" I smile and pull away from his hold.
"Well I can smell a chocolate chip cookie and you always buy me one. So I knew it was you." He smiles and hands me the bag, with the cookie in it.
"Thank you, Brandon. You don't need to buy me cookies. I have to eat cookies everyday at home." He laughs and looks behind me.
"Where is Gio, it's surprising not seeing him right next to you, especially in public places." He jokes, poking my shoulder.
"He's probably flirting with some girl."
"He should be with me." Brandon says as a smile spreads onto his face.
"He is disgusting. He flirts with every girl and that's not even an exaggeration! Plus, you're too hot for him." He laughs, then stares at me.
"But he is so damn hot." He looks over at my brother with dreamy eyes. I look over at Gio and admire him as he stalls over to a small brunette with his signature smile spread onto his face.
"You can do so much better Brandon. I mean, what about William? He confessed his love for you and you totally rejected him, which still till this day I don't get why, you've been obsessed with him since like 7th grade." He sighs and rolls his eyes, he looks down at his ripped pants.
"William was a total snake. He only wanted to be with me for the popularity."
"Okay, but still you can do much better than my brother. He is rude, over protective and so possessive. I would never date anybody like that." He looks at me, with his eyebrow raised, a small smirk growing onto his face.
"Come on, you are lying! That's totally so sexy. It's like your own little 50 Shades Of Grey." I playfully push his shoulder, shaking my head.
"Oh, and talking about sexy." Brandon whispers, nudging me. I furrow my eyebrows, turning around. I felt like my heart dropped to the floor. It was him.
Cameron Alexander Dallas
"Oh my gosh, you so have droll dripping out of your mouth right now." I turned around, looking at Brandon.
"What are you even talking about? It's just Cameron." I say under my breath, with slight annoyance in my tone. I hear his laugh tickle my ears, followed by my own brothers laugh. I dig my nails into my jacket.
Please don't come over here. My subconscious prays.
"Hello, Claudia." I quickly turn around, startled by the deep voice that interrupted my silent prayers. Which obviously didn't work, due to the fact that he was standing right in front of me. Like always I was left wordless, not being able to speak. It was like a small knot in my throat, holding me back from both, breathing and speaking.
"Claudia." I blink, staring at his defined jawline and those soft brown eyes of his. His head tilts to the side, his burning glaze killing me, slowly.
"H-Hi." It came out as a quiet, stutter. Which made me turn red like a tomato.
I quickly cleared my throat. "Sorry, um hi." I say, looking up at his tall form.
He laughed, it was like music to my ears. I did not know how a human being could make me feel this way. I have never felt my heart beat so quickly in a matter of seconds. I had this pure sensation of lust, erupt through my whole body. I hated how, just a look of his could make my body feel unexplained things.
"Claudia, we have to go." Gio says, nudging me to come with him. I broke away from my thoughts, slowly coming back to reality. I am being walked away by my brother, to go back to the small bakery, I love the most.
I look back, he stares straight at me, with a smirk placed onto his full lips. It took loads of strength for me to quickly look away.
"We went to the store to get some information for mom, not for you to flirt with Cameron." Gio blurts out. I roll my eyes, yanking my arm away from him.
"I was not flirting with him. Plus, the first thing you did when you came into the store was flirt."
"But, I wasn't suppose to get the information. I came with you, so you wouldn't have came alone. Which in that case I was just tagging along and you were suppose to do what you were going to-" I cut him off, not wanting to hear him blabber on.
"Okay, whatever I get it." I open the door to the bakery. The first thing I see was my angry mother. I mentally prepared myself for her ranting.
"Claudia and Gio! You two went to the store for almost 30 minutes. I told you to ask a simple question, that takes less than a minute. Tell me how hard that was? I had to call Mr. Alfonso and ask him myself, since you two took so long." She had the left hand on her hip, which meant she wasn't as mad.
"It was Claudia over here flirting with my friend." Gio says smugly, looking over at me. I narrow my eyes at him.
"I was not flirting with him. He said hello. What was I suppose to do, stand there like an idiot and stare at him, not saying anything?"
That's actually exactly what you did. My subconscious mocks.
"Oh please, she was basically a melted Popsicle when they were talking. No not that, a big red apple that's what she looked like."
Lulu sat on the counter, moving her legs back and forth, with a Popsicle in her mouth. When Gio said that she gasped, taking her Popsicle out of her mouth.
"Hey! That's not nice. Mommy I think he should get time out, big time." I look over at Gio, with my arms crossed over my chest.
"Yes I also think that." I say, with my eyebrow raised.
My mom grabs Lulu, placing Lulu on her hip.
"I think Lulu and Claudia are right." Gio looks at her surprised, since he's always treated like a prince.
"That is not fair, it's three against one." Lulu jumps off my mom, attacking Gio. Which wasn't really an attack more like a hug. Gio began tickling her and I just smiled.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, I take it out, looking at the bright screen. It was a message from Brandon.
brandon :) : you totally like him, it is so obvious. 10:35 a.m
me: I don't like him, he's a jerk, do you not remember what he's done to like mostly every girl at school? 10:35 a.m
brandon :) : actually, I don't. please inform me. :)))))) 10:36 a.m
me: shut up, you know what he's done, im not saying the word, it makes me want to kill my self. 10:36 a.m
brandon :) : he has FÛCKED mostly every girl, he's like your brother but worst! that's why they're like what? best dude friends. 10:36 a.m
me: shut up and come to the bakery already. 10:37 a.m
brandon :) : on my way ;) just let me drop off daisy, she's being a cry baby. 10:37 a.m
I laugh, shaking my head. Brandon hates children so much, especially his little sister.
"Ohh who are you texting, huh?" I roll my eyes and kick Gio away from me.
"Do you have a boyfriend I don't know about?" He pokes my sides, making me laugh as I jerk away from him.
"No I don't and I'm texting Brandon, he's coming over." I say jumping off the counter I was sitting on.
"No he can't come. I'm inviting my friends over."
"Um, yes he can come. You and your friends always hangout downstairs, so Brandon and I won't bother you, because we'll be in my room."
He rolls his eyes and grabs an apple from the bowl of fruits placed on the counter.
"Whatever, just don't come downstairs. Like at all. I don't want my friends looking at you." I stare at him.
"Why does it matter if they look at me. It's not like they're-"
He places a finger on my lips.
"Hush, I don't even want to hear what you were going to say. Go upstairs, cha cha." I shove his finger away and go up the stairs.
I quickly reply to Brandon once I'm up the stairs.
brandon :) : forgot my mom is going on a date with number twenty-nine.
10:40 a.m
me: well isn't that such a surprise:) & omg try to come here quick as possible, gio is inviting his dumb friends. 10:41 a.m
brandon :) : ooo sure will do, im trying to see some sexy pieces of pie tonight, we are totally stalking them. ;) 10:41 a.m
me: no we aren't, now stop texting me while you're driving. 10:41 a.m
He reads the message and doesn't reply. I smile and place my phone in the pockets of my jacket.
"Claudia, come down stairs and help your brother!"
So you're telling me, I just went up a whole flight of stairs for nothing. I groan out loudly, which I knew my mom hated.
"What does he need help with? I'm sure he can do it himself." I whine, looking down at her, from the top of the stairs.
"I said come downstairs and help your brother." I sigh, walking down the stairs. It was a painful task, but I got through it.
"What do you want?" I say, staring at him. He smiles and hands me 5 boxes of pizza. I gasp, nearly almost falling on the ground. You might think I am over exaggerating but, I haven't worked out in almost, I don't even know; trillions of years.
"Oh come on you weakling." I narrow my eyes at him, quickly walking to the counter and placing down the pizzas.
"Come on in guys!"
Oh god. I stand there, gripping the pizzas tightly. What if he is right there. I'm just standing here like a complete noodle head.
"Claudia, you can leave now." Gio says smugly. I turn around, grabbing onto the edge up the counter, while I look at him directly, not making eye contact with any of the boys surrounding him.
Words that I would regret much later on, were about to spill from my mouth, but Brandon walks in, making a scene like he always does.
"Hello baby." Brandon coos, he pushes some boys to the side, walking over to me as he attacks me with a huge hug. He pinches my side in between the hug and I laugh, pushing him away.
"Oh, great. Your boyfriend is here, you can go upstairs now." Gio says with a smile.
"Her boyfriend?" Cameron looks at me, while he runs his long fingers through his hair. A small grin appearing onto his lips.
Cameron laughs under his breath, shaking his head slightly in the process of him laughing.
"That's cute." He mutters. I could feel Brandon getting angrier, second by second.
"But aren't you like gay?" Cameron asks, with a cute smile on his face. That's when Brandon erupts, like a small volcano.
to be continued.. :)
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hi guys!! i hope you enjoyed this chapter. sorry if you didn't (: please make sure to vote if you liked it. 5 reads and i will carry on with this story.
also, happy martin luther king jr. day !!
- I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
poem of the day:
did you think i was a city
big enough for a weekend getaway
i am the town surrounding it
the one you've never heard of
but always pass through
there are no neon lights here
no skyscrapers or statues
but there is thunder
for i make bridges tremble
i am not street meat i am homemade jam
thick enough to cut the sweetest
thing your lips will touch
i am not police sirens
i am the crackle of a fireplace
i'd burn you and you still
couldn't take your eyes off me
cause i'd look so beautiful doing it
you'd blush
i am not a hotel room i am home
i am not whiskey that you want
i am the water you need
don't come here with expectations.
- milk and honey ( rupi kaur)
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