Friday 8th July, 11:20
Chardonnay's POV
"I don't know how he got a photo of me at the party!" I protested. "I didn't steal the watch."
I felt like no matter what I said, Katana wouldn't believe my innocence anymore.
"Don't worry, I wont tell anyone about it, yet," began Katana, "but tonight, when the truth comes out, it'll be curtains for you."
Storming off, Katana left me alone to suffocate in my own misery. Kehlani came over to me with a handful of dresses. My mind was spinning rapidly, attempting to picture how my prom night would end whilst Kehlani rambled on about the different features on each dress.
"So what's your opinion on this red one?" inquired Kehlani, stuffing a red mermaid dress in my face. "Chardonnay?"
Scrutinising my face, Kehlani noticed I wasn't paying attention. I could only focus on how Katana could make the 'curtains of my life' close if Anna didn't tell the truth. I wasn't even 100% sure if Anna put the watch in my bag that day but if I had to guess who set me up, it would be her. I shouldn't only be concerned about Anna though, someone had posted me on their Snapchat story.
Enervated, I offered Kehlani a polite smile as Eva and Yasmin came over. They both had Quiz shopping bags in their hands; a subtle reminder I still needed to buy a dress.
"I'm going to go out of the store for a bit," I mumbled, turning away.
I walked out of the store, back to the seating area. Following behind me, Eva plopped down next to me, studying my fallen face.
"What's wrong?" asked Eva quietly.
"Nothing... just that nobody seems to believe my innocence."
"About what?"
"That I didn't steal the watch," I huffed, burying my face in my hands. "I now slave away my days doing admin for Jasiah."
"Listen, fuck Jasiah! We're gonna get you out of this."
I glanced up at Eva. "I just don't understand why he'd make me his secretary. Shouldn't he kill me or something if I was really guilty."
"He clearly had a thing for you that night at the party and maybe he wants to believe you're innocent but has no proof."
"Why can't he just take my word?"
"Probably because history is repeating itself so I guess it's harder... I shouldn't tell you this but his last girlfriend set him up," whispered Eva, leaning closer to me. "She stole his chain and said he left it at her house."
"Then what happened?"
"Jasiah went to her free yard and up into her room but as he picked up his chain, he got jumped by two of his opps - Astackz and ZK."
I froze. "Did you just say ZK?"
"Yeah why?"
"Someone on Snapchat called ZK posted a photo of me from the party saying I stole Jasiah's watch."
"Well then, all the more reason for us to go to prom and clear your name," grinned Eva, squeezing my hand.
I grinned back at her shyly. I almost felt a wave of sympathy crash inside me for Jasiah but I couldn't allow myself to feel sorry for him. He shouldn't be making me do unpaid admin work in order to prove I never stole his watch. Although, everything could change if we were able to find out who set me up. Everything would depend on tonight.
A few moments later, Yasmin, Katana and Kehlani stood in front of us.
Yaz folded her arms. "Chardonnay, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm fine."
"Alright," replied Yaz with a disbelieving look in her eyes. "Did you see anything you like in Quiz?"
"The dresses were alright, I'm just not feeling them like that."
"I mean Eva found her dress in there but Yaz and I just bought purses and heels," shrugged Kehlani. "Their dresses don't have enough sparkle."
Rolling her eyes, Katana began to walk away. "If I'm gonna be chilling with little kids, I might as well dress like I'm grown."
"Hey, we're not little kids and where are you going?" asked Eva, standing up.
"House of CB bro," called Katana before she disappeared down the descending escalator.
"Hmm, we might as well check TKMaxx," suggested Yaz.
The three of us nodded in agreement, it wouldn't hurt to check TKMaxx. It was like a treasure chest. You could find unique labels and designer clothes in the clothing section for really good prices. However, you could never expect what to find. Hopefully, they had some stunning dresses left for me, Yaz and Kehlani.
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Eventually we entered into TKMaxx, which wasn't far away from House of CB, and rushed to the dress section. It was almost midday and time was running out for me to start getting ready.
"Eva help Chardonnay find a dress," began Yasmin. "Kehlani and I still need to find ours."
Eva agreed to help me and started sorting through dresses at the other side of the aisle.
"Shit!" hissed Kehlani, staring at her phone.
I walked over to her but she shoved me away, shaking her head. Confused, I looked down at her phone. She was on FaceTime to her brother - Jasiah Clarke. Kehlani mouthed to me: I accidentally accepted his call.
"What the fuck do you want? I'm busy," sighed Kehlani.
"I don't know who the fuck you think you're talking to so drop the attitude. Man's just tryna see if his sister is safe after her little escape routine," explained Jasiah.
"I'm fine."
"Cool so who you with?"
"My friends."
"So why did you sneak out if you're just meeting friends? Katana, Eva and Yasmin aren't picking up either."
"I dunno, we're just shopping in Stratford."
"Have you spoken to Chardonnay today?" asked Jasiah. "She's very late for work."
"No, I haven't."
"I can't tell if you're lying but make sure you come home be-"
Kehlani switched off her data, turning off the Facetime call.
"What was that about? You snuck out?" asked Eva, who stood behind me.
"Something like that because I'd have a curfew to come back by and that wouldn't work since prom finishes late and then there's the after party."
"There's an after party?" I questioned.
"Yeah," laughed Eva. "That's where the real fun happens."
Horrified, I turned away. I not only had to survive prom but also the after party. How was I going to pull this off? Surely, it couldn't be too late to do a U-turn and go back to my original plan of curling up on the sofa with food and an army of books?
"Would you wear something silver?" asked Yasmin.
I shrugged. "Depends."
"What about some Atelier Versace?"
Yasmin held up a long sleeve gown in front of me. The sheer sequinned gown dazzled in front of me as I admired the beading and thigh high slits.
"Yes!" I squealed. "How much is it?"
"Hmm, the original price is £5,000," began Yasmin as she twisted the tag in between her fingers, "but TKMaxx is selling it for £900."
Instantly, Eva and Kehlani came over to us, admiring the dress.
"This is your dress, it would suit you," beamed Eva. "You should buy it."
"Are you crazy? This dress is too expensive."
"Well, you can never fault my fashion sense," sighed Yasmin. "I'll go pay for mine and I'll come back to help you look, we could even go check House of CB too."
Rolling her eyes, Kehlani snatched my dress out of Yasmin's hands. "That's why you should work smarter not harder."
"Hey, what are you doing? That's Chardonnay's dress."
"I'm going to the changing room," called Kehlani. "I need to try them on."
My eyes stared daggers into her back as I watched her sashay away. She not only had my dress in my hand but also two other dresses. I couldn't believe it.
"I don't understand why she would do that," complained Eva. "There's lots of dresses to choose from."
Ten minutes later, I saw Kehlani pop out of the dressing room talking to the staff member, who was managing the changing rooms. She handed over my Versace dress with a yellow dress to the staff member and walked away with another dress to the till, without casting a glance towards us. I exchanged glances with Eva and Yasmin, confused. The staff member began to walk to us with the dresses in her hands, in order to hang it back up, whilst Kehlani was paying for her dress at the till. Then my phone vibrated in my jeans. I pulled out my phone to see a text message from Kehlani. Reluctantly, I opened it as Eva and Yasmin crowded around to see the text.
Kehlani
Looks like there's been a price reduction on Versace.
Act normal ygm
Hesitantly, I picked up the Versace dress. The designer label had gone but in its place was a £75 tag.
"What the-"
Yasmin elbowed me. "Well, you should definitely buy the dress and look for shoes with me."
I turned around to see Kehlani walk out of the store. Then, I received another text.
Kehlani
Stop staring at me and hurry tf up
Acting bare booky like the security guard won't clock you kmt
"Alright, to the shoes section," grinned Eva, trying not to laugh.
Soon after, we began searching the shoe section for heels. Yasmin was lucky enough to find a pair of embellished heels in her size.
"It doesn't look like we're going to find your heels here Chardonnay," sighed Eva. "There's not a lot of size 8 or 9 heels."
I shrugged. "At least I have my dress, I could just wear some black and white Jordan trainers."
"You're so funny," chuckled Yasmin. "Don't worry we'll find you some heels. Heels are everywhere."
I frowned. I wouldn't mind wearing trainers, they were comfy but it looked like Yasmin would have none of it. Sifting through pairs of trainers, flat shoes and heels on the shelves, I began to lose hope in finding heels in this store.
"Looks like you're going to have an angel theme this year," grinned Eva, holding up Sophia Webster heels. "It's even in your size."
Carefully, I slid on the stiletto heels, entranced by the three-dimensional butterfly wings detail on the back. Yasmin bent down and adjusted the heel for me.
"How much is it?" I asked timidly.
"£20," smiled Yasmin. "Go find a purse. Eva and I are going to the till."
I wasn't sure how a pair of heels with intricate details were only £20. However, I wasn't one to complain. Sliding off the heels, I went over to the clutch purse section and picked out a silver, spherical metal bag. The metal cage design reminded me of a Tesco trolley but I couldn't help but fall in love with its uniqueness and it was only £5. I glanced towards the exit as Eva and Yasmin left. I really needed to hurry up.
Jogging over to the next free till, I put the dress, heels and clutch purse in front of the smiling cashier. She scanned the items quickly. When she announced the amount I had to pay, her eyebrows furrowed. Smiling politely, I handed her two £50 notes with a 5p. The cashier popped open till and handed me my bag and receipt. I thanked her and briskly walked towards the door. That 5p plastic bag charge is quite annoying, I thought to myself.
"Excuse me, miss?"
I plugged my headphones in, pretending not to hear. I was nearly at the door.
"Excuse me, miss!"
I turned around. It was the cashier. The security guard glanced to me questioningly. Slowly, I unplugged my earphones and put my phone in my bag. I wasn't sure what she had to say but her manager was storming behind her so I did the only thing left to do. Run.
Sprinting out of the store, I elbowed the security guard out of the way. Everyone's eyes were on me as soon as I dashed out of the store. I could the hear the security guard closing the gap behind me as his footsteps got louder. Unfortunately for him, I was set 1 in PE. Pumping my legs faster, I weaved through the clusters of people. Suddenly, a group of mothers with buggies were in front of me. Skidding to a halt, I rushed over to the other side. Jumping on top of wooden benches, I ran past the mothers, getting further away from the security guard. I was almost near House of CB when I tripped. I felt the air rush past me when my hands slammed down on the floor, preventing my face kissing the floor. Sharp pain shot through my knees. I rolled over to see an elderly woman stare down at me disapprovingly. She had stuck her cane out to trip me up, helping the security get closer to reaching me. But not close enough.
Yasmin and Eva were sitting opposite House of CB and were instantly at my side. Yasmin picked up my bags whilst Eva hauled me to my feet.
"Why are you running?" asked Eva.
"Ask later Eva, we need to run!" shouted Yasmin, tugging us towards the entrance into Westfield shopping centre.
I forced my legs to move. Bolts of pain struck my legs like lightning. Gritting my teeth, I tried to catch up to Yasmin and Eva as they neared the doors of Westfield's entrance. I could feel the security guards finger swipe my back, narrowly missing my hand. I was going to get caught. I passed the shocked faces of Kehlani and Katana as they stood outside of House of CB. I dodged out of their way but the security ploughed right through them.
"Ow!" yelled Kehlani.
"Are you fucking dumb?" screamed Katana. "Nobody steps on my Gucci sliders!"
My hand was on the door handle as I risked a glance over my shoulder. The security guard was only an arm's length away from me. Katana took off one of her sliders, which were previously on her feet, and launched it towards the back of the security guard's head. It connected with perfect accuracy. His head jolted forward, making him lose his balance. It was like watching a house of cards topple over. The security guard face planted onto the ground in front of me. Katana and Kehlani rushed over to me as Katana slid her foot back into her slider. Eva and Yasmin were waiting for me inside by the escalators going down to the train station. We hurried down the escalator and ran into Stratford train station.
We stopped in front the oyster top-up machine because Yasmin needed to add money on her oyster card. Katana kept occasionally glancing around, checking for the security guard.
Katana punched my arm. "You can't go without stealing for one week, nah?"
Yaz rolled her eyes."I dont know why you keep coming for Chardonnay, she paid for the dress, heels and purse."
"So why was he chasing Chardonnay?" asked Katana.
"Kehlani swapped the £900 Versace barcode for a £75 one," muttered Eva. "And Yaz must've changed the label for the £500 Webster heels to £20."
So that's why Yasmin bent down to adjust my heels, she replaced the labels.
"I didn't do anything fam, relax," moaned Yasmin. "We were like her fairy godmothers, giving Chardonnay her dream prom outfit."
Eva rolled eyes whilst Katana cursed in her native language.
"I suppose that explains why there are feds walking towards us," whispered Katana. "Don't look now though."
In unison, we turned to see three policemen walking towards us. Katana kissed her teeth. I wonder how I'd look like in prison clothes or how cute I'd look in my prison mugshot...
- Integrity is priceless, it cannot be bought. Easy to lose, hard to build up.
It's not by force you buy designer. If you can't dRiP in cheap clothes, you lacked the ability to dress well from the start. Let's find out if Chardonnay gets arrested in the next chapter. Don't forget to vote - Jaymunni