It was funny how such a good day could turn into a bad one. And it took just a second. Or maybe just a text.
It all started that afternoon, after detention. Maya drove me to Mr. Dean's country house, which was the venue for the ball. She had already bought the paint we decided on, and the ladders and brushes and everything were present too.
"Maya," I said, turning to her slowly. "Bless your soul."
Maya winked. "I could use some blessings right about now." She said, looking up at the huge walls. "This is gonna take a whole week to paint."
"Then we better get started."
The workers and staff helped; even Mr. Dean showed up just as we had begun opening the cans of paint.
"Hey girls," he said to us. "I received the designs this morning and I must say, you two have quite the creative minds."
He was wearing a suite like always - one that screamed Armani. His salt and pepper hair was cut short and he was wearing his thick-framed glasses.
"It was all Kylie." Said Maya as she ripped open the packaging of one the paint brushes.
I got up from where I was kneeling on the ground. "I hope you'll find the time to come, Mr. Dean." It was rare that I was ever this polite. He was just a good guy. And I loved his children; the twins were the sweetest kids on Earth, albeit the fact that they were so naughty sometimes.
"Definitely." He answered. "Cammie and Cody miss you. You should come over some time."
I said I would, and then he left, saying he would leave us alone to finish the job.
Ha, the job hadn't even started.
After opening the huge cans of maroon coloured paint, we set to work. I did the wall to the far right, the one that would hold the ivy and mosses that creep up to the faux balcony, a very Romeo and Juliet style.
It was fun, honestly. Maya and I turned into a competition - see who could paint the fastest. But even then, it was going to take all night.
Which was why I was glad when Chase and Daniel showed up.
Chase gave me a small smile. "You've been working really hard." He said, pointing to my shirt.
It was covered in paint stains.
Way to make an impression, Kylie. Great job.
"The paintbrushes and rolling-thingy are by the corner." I said, pointing to where various items were strewn on the ground.
"Rolling-thingy?"
I glared at Chase. "Yes, you blonde bimbo, it's what you use to roll paint on the walls."
"Blonde bimbo." Muttered Daniel, biting his lip in an attempt to stop the laughter.
Chase crossed his arms. "I'm pretty sure it's not called a rolling-thingy."
"Does it matter?"
"Yes. Very."
"Here's the problem, I don't care."
"You cared enough to call me a blonde. I'm not even blonde. My hair's medium brown."
"Whatever you have to tell yourself." I said, picking up my huge brush again and returning to the wall.
Daniel got one of the spare brushes and headed off to where Maya was, smiling when he saw her. "Need help?" I asked him say.
"Yeah," she replied.
Meanwhile, Chase got the roller and asked me which paint to use on the adjacent wall. I pointed to the last bucket, and he set to work.
It was somehow soothing the way the paint covered the wall. From white to a dark matte, a complete transition. When I was done halfway, I got the ladder and climbed up with the paint bucket besides me, and managed to get most of the places. I wasn't tall, but I wasn't short either, and somehow I managed.
Well, almost.
Up to the end, I kneeled down to get some more paint, and it was almost too close. I lost my footing and the next thing I knew, I was falling mid-air.
And right into the arms of my savior.
Ha. I wish.
I fell on my butt and the impact with the floor caused me to groan in pain and double over.
Chase pursed his lips, but even then he couldn't stop laughing. It came loud and clear to my poor ears, and I wished he had fell off that damned ladder.
But then again, he probably wasn't as clumsy as me.
"Are you okay?" Asked Maya, rushing over. She and Daniel helped me up and she put her arm around me for support.
"Fine." I muttered. I looked up at my wall and sure enough, there was this little untainted area.
"I'll get it." Offered Chase as a way of apologizing.
"I'll hope you fall so I can laugh." I called to him.
He chuckled as he climbed up the steps and completed the wall.
I was almost tempted to shake the ladder so he could lose his centre of balance. It would serve him right.
"Guys, there's no paint left." Called Maya.
"Didn't you get all the cans?" I asked her.
"No, I couldn't carry it all, even in that trolley." Chase climbed down the steps and came over to where we were.
I checked the time. 6.30. Was it better to just come tomorrow and do it, or finish it now...?
"I'll get the rest." Shrugged Chase. "Where's the storeroom?"
"The shop is just off the street."
"Right. The shop." He replied awkwardly.
"Kylie can show you." Said Maya. She turned to me. "You and Chase can go get the paint and I can finish up hanging the ivy once the walls have dried."
I narrowed my eyes. She was right; and I couldn't trust the boys being here on their own.
"Fine." I said. "How many cans?"
"Three."
I went to the little table we had placed on the side and got my purse and my jacket, walking down the hallway with Chase behind me.
I decided to take the back entrance, which was closer in the sense that it didn't have a huge grass lawn that we would have to cross if we had gone out the front.
The air was chilly as the sun had already set, so I zipped up my jacket.
"And you own this place?" Asked Chase. His voice was a deep drawl from behind me, and I could hear his feet shuffling.
"No, my dad's friend owns it." I waited for him to catch up so we could fall in step together.
Even though it wasn't that late, this part of town was completely empty. It was on the outskirts, and most people tended to stay within downtown city limits at night because of the increased crime rate.
"Your dad, he's... Zachary Brian, yeah?"
I shoved my hands into my pockets. Was it just a curious question, or did he hate my dad like the rest of the population?
"My step-dad." I corrected. "And if you're asking, then I presume you don't have a very good image of him." I said blatantly. That is what I tended to do everytime somebody asked me about him. He was hailed as an upper-class business super-hero, but when it came to the general public, well, he wasn't the greatest.
We passed a bunch of shops that were getting ready to close for the night. Man, I hoped the paint supply store would be still open, or this whole would be pointless.
"Merely curious." Said Chase, raising his hands in surrender. His shoulders rose and fell. "But I guess nobody can blame him. We gotta do what we gotta do."
I turned and looked at him. Surprisingly, I smiled.
"Nobody's ever commented like that before."
"Really?" He shrugged.
Really.
Usually people would just throw me a glare or two. It was better in school, where mostly everybody knew me since kindergarten, or around adults since they were mostly upper-class like my dad and held the same values - the top of them being able to make the most money.
"I can't say I agree with the things he does, but he's my dad, you know?"
"I get it." He replies. It was kind of like having an alcoholic father, or a father that smoked excessively. You weren't bothered unless he did it around you. And besides, my dad loved me and I knew that. So why in the world would I hate him?
Be angry at him sometimes? Of course. But hate was too much of a strong word. Especially after everything he had done to keep our family together.
We finally arrived at the store, just as it was about to close.
"Hey, Mrs. Gillian." I smiled at her. She wrapped her coat around herself as she made her way out of the store.
"Didn't think you'd show up." She said with her hands on her hips. "Been waiting an hour."
"Sorry." I said as she opened the door to her store again. She switched on the lights and entered.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Initially I thought it would be either Maya or one of my parents, so I took it out of the pocket of my jeans.
It was a text message, but the contact didn't have a name.
I opened it to find a link to some local news website. Looking up, I saw that Mrs. Gillian and Chase were loading the paint buckets into a makeshift cart, so I backed up a little against the wall and opened the link.
Local hero, or Villain?
Local Businessman and Celebrity Zachary Brian makes another business decision - and this time, it's at the cost of the working class.
On Tuesday, September the 8th, Zachary Brian, CEO of the biggest industrial company in the state, led a press conference to announce the motive behind his latest project. The conference was anticipated by many media groups and channels just as much as the general public, who wanted to understand the reasons behind this project.
Due to start in two months, it will focus on a new set of factories being dedicated to iron and steelworks, and is supposedly going to boost the economy and income of the state.
But at a price. The land needed to build such a huge factory would certainly not come at a low price. Isues include moral, ethical and environmental problems, one of the main being the abolishment of hundreds of houses and old apartment complexes which are famous for their strong working-class communities.
"My family and I have nowhere to go." Told one such worker to an interviewer. "My wife's pregnant with our second child. I've lost my job. We barely have anything as it is, and now we've lost our home too."
With the odds stacked against them, these people are desperate for new jobs. And maybe they would be provided with some in the so-called new industry, but that would take no less that five years to complete.
Some citizens are taking to online polls and forums to discuss their views. Environmentalists are more concerned with the dangers to the local wildlife, with average citizens questioning how the government could allow such an act.
But with the recession in its due arrival, politicians are glad there's a new aspect of the economy to fall back and rely on.
State Governer Dagner's conference will be held tomorrow and is expected to give a much broader explanation of recent events. This will be streamed live and broadcasted on our news channel.
I took a shaky breath. No wonder crime rates in our city were so high - it's because people were turning to robberies and illegal ways of earning money because of the lack of jobs.
Really, dad? Tearing down the place where 40% of potential workers live?
That was almost half the city's workforce.
Chase called my name, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"You plan to stay here tonight, kid?" Asked Mrs. Gillian. The keys jiggled in her hand. "Not the best idea."
I apologized and followed the two out of the store. Chase dragged the cart behind him.
"Is there anything extra I have to pay for?" I asked her.
"Everything's been paid for in advance, dear." She replied, ushering us out.
"Goodnight, loves." Said Mrs. Gillian. She locked up the store and turned on her heel, heading in the opposite direction.
I tucked the loose hair from my ponytail behind my ear and fiddled with my fingers nervously.
What about that worker, the one with the child on the way? Would he find some place good, or would he have to rely on shelters and welfare?
"You look troubled." Chase noted, eyeing the phone in my hand. "Somebody accidently send you a diçk pic or something?"
I looked down at the phone, wanting to throw it on the pavement and stamp on it like a child. Instead, I put it back in my pocket.
"Is sex all you think about?"
"Technically I was thinking of the human anatomy." He replied. Noticing my troubled frown, he nudged me. "Did someone die?"
"No." I sighed. I bit my lip. "Did you hear about the whole steelworks and iron industry thing?"
His eyebrows pull together. "Yeah." He replies. "It's supposed to be huge, isn't it?"
I shrugged. I didn't care. "Do you really think it's just another scheme to keep the upper-class in control of the economy?"
He pursed his lips. "Honestly... yeah, I do. Not that my opinion matters because I just moved here and everything, but it seems to be a big deal."
It was. Kind of.
I suddenly had an idea, and it made me feel a whole lot better about myself.
"Are you free tomorrow night?"
He smirked. "I like where this is going."
"It's not what you think." I said in a hurry, too excited to think of a comeback.
"Does it involve like, working and stuff?"
"Probably some research."
"Great." He muttered under his breath.
"So you in?"
He scratched his head in contemplation. "I guess."