February 16, 2012
The girl with the light cherry blonde hair softly strummed on her guitar as she wrote notes down on a piece of paper. "I hope Gisella doesn't mind another sad song," she said to herself, "Only 16 bands are left in the competition." Rosa stood up and crossed off the 16 bands that didn't make it to the next round. "Looks like our next competition is the Calaveras. Sounds like a latino group." Rosa sighed and sat back down on her bed. "Great, Latino music always has this flair to it." She crumpled up the paper and threw it against the wall near the trashcan. "A sad song isn't going to do it this round." She sighed again and laid down on her bed. The salmon pink walls that surrounded her felt more like the cold bars of a jail cell than the warm safety of a bedroom.
"Madam Rosa Valkyne," said a feminine voice entering her room, "Mistress and Master Valkyne wish to see you."
"Great, just what I needed," Rosa mumbled. She walked over to her makeup table and applied enough to cover her bruises and disguise her black eye. The woman bowed as Rosa left her room and followed her out. Rosa walked down the halls, greetings the maids and servants bustling through out the mansion. She begrudginly entered the large dining room and approached her mother and father at the far end of the dining table.
"Well, you certainly took your sweet time getting here," Rosa's father, James, said, taking a sip of whiskey.
"You know we don't tolerate not being punctual," Rosa's mother, Frida, said, sipping some red wine.
"Yes Mother, yes Father." Rosa said, looking down at the floor, "What did you want? I have school work to begin to finish."
Frida glared at Rosa with a burning hatred. "How dare you question us?"
"I'm sorry Mother!" Rosa stammered.
"You had better be," James said, drinking more whiskey.
"Now then," Frida said calmly, "How are things with these Bad Good Girls?"
"Terrible," Rosa said, "The drummer, that Jamaican girl Larissa, quit."
"And the vocalist, Gisella?" her mother asked.
"She's being stubborn," Rosa reported.
Frida poured some some more red wine and softly drank it. "Stubborn how?"
"She keeps trying to be the leader, but I won't let someone like her push me aside," Rosa lied.
"Good," James said, now starting to slur his words, "It's be a shame if she decided to ever come over here and ruin this lovely situation we have, wouldn't it?"
"Yes," Rosa replied, "It would be. Do not worry, there is no risk of that happening."
"Good, good," Frida said, sipping some more red wine, "That car of yours is still in the way."
"Well, there's no room in the garage and no other place to put it!" Rosa exclaimed, but quickly covered her mouth as her father glared at her.
He quickly downed the last drop of whiskey in his glass and chucked it at Rosa. She managed to duck out of the way to avoid a hit to the face, but it skimmed past her skull, causing her to wince in pain. "Don't you raise that voice of yours at us!"
"Yes Mother, Yes Father," Rosa timidly said.
James brought another servant over, who had another glass of whiskey already prepared. "Well!? You want another blow to the skull!?" he yelled.
"No Mother! No Father!" Rosa quickly stammered.
"Then get going!" Rosa quickly scrambled out of the dining hall and slammed the doors behind her. She stumbled to her room and locked the door. She breathed heavily and slumped down to the floor, tears streaming down her face. Rosa let out a soft sob and rested her head on her knees in the fetal position.
February 22, 2012
"Looks like Gisella and the princess managed to make it to the next round without me, mon," Larissa said, chopping up some carrots.
"Yeah, but only by a very slim margin," Naomi mentioned, looking at her phone, "The song would have sounded better with some sort of drums."
"It's going to take more than that to convince me to go back, mon," Larissa said, switching from carrots to tomatoes.
"Look, I know you want to punish that pompous little light cherry blonde haired girl," Naomi said, sipping some Mexican Oasis, "but it's not right to make Gisella suffer. What would Ivanna think?"
Larissa stopped chopping and placed her hands on the edge of the grill. She stared down at the floor and was speechless for a few minutes. "Ivanna, what would you think, mon?"
"Larissa," Naomi said softly, "You need to talk to Gisella about this."
"No I don't, mon!" Larissa exclaimed, still not looking up from the floor. She panted heavily and sweat was beginning to form on her brow. She wiped it away and continued to look down. "Gisella... she understands."
"Does she, Larissa?" Naomi asked, "Gisella's trying to make amends between all of you and trying to make everything go smoothly. Yet, you and Rosa can't even be in the same room for five minutes without getting at each other's neck!"
"You don't understand, mon!" Larissa yelled. She panted and continued looking at the ground. "You don't understand."
"Then make me understand, Larissa," Naomi said, grabbing onto Larissa's right wrist, "I want to help you."
Larissa gulped and looked up at Naomi. "Thank you, mon," she stuttered. She went to hug her friend, but recoiled after realizing the grill was still on. "I'm alright, I'm alright." Naomi breathed a sigh of relief and began to listen intently to Larissa's tale. "Ever since that day I told you about when I first met Rosa, things have just been hell with her, mon. She always seemed to go out of her way to make us miserable."
"What are some examples?" Naomi asked.
Larissa stabbed the counter with her knife and looked at Naomi. "Two years ago, she tried to sabotage a health inspection that the Five Point Dine was undergoing, mon."
"Sabotage?" Naomi asked in surprise, "How so?"
"Oh, the usual kind of health inspection sabotage, mon," Larissa said, "Bugs in the food, unclean work stations, bad work ethics. However, as you can see, the Five Point Dine is still up and running."
"What else did she do?"
"About four years ago, Ivanna told me that Rosa hired a fake soccer coach to utterly humiliate Gisella at one of her games, mon," Larissa said, "Poor Gisella didn't have the courage to play soccer again for long time, and once she did, Gisella had her accident that broke her leg."
"Poor Gisella indeed," Naomi said.
"To top it all off, she even tried to have Ivanna's jacket stolen, mon!" Larissa exclaimed, "Rosa is nothing but a low down little prick!"
March 2, 2012
"Hey!" Gisella called out, walking up on crutches to the woman with the light cherry blonde hair, "Rosa!"
Rosa turned around to see Gisella, but then quickly turned back around. "What do you want, Gisella?"
Gisella caught up to her and coughed a few times before responding, Ivanna's jacket gently swaying in the breeze, "I want to help you."
"Help me?" Rosa stuttered, "What could you possibly help me with, cripple?" Gisella was clearly hurt by the remark, but shrugged it off with a few coughs. "Don't you get me sick now! I don't want any of your germs to get me infected!"
"Relax, Rosa," Gisella said, "I'm on my way now to get my medical report."
"Good," Rosa said, a bit less arrogant and more sympathetic, "We need you at full health if we want to win."
Gisella smiled and nudged Rosa in the side. "You see, I knew there was a friend in there somewhere, or atleast not full jerk." Rosa's face got flustered, but she didn't say anything. Gisella's phone began to ring, but Gisella ignored it. "Aren't you going to get that?"
"Whoever it is, it's not important right now," Gisella said, silencing her phone. "Look, Rosa," Gisella said, getting in front of Rosa, "I know what I saw last month."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Rosa stuttered.
"Rosa," Gisella said in a hushed tone, "I know about your bruises."
"What are you talking about? I don't have any bruises." Rosa stammered, clearly nervous.
"You don't have to hide them around me," Gisella said in a calm voice.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Rosa exclaimed, turning around and walking a few feet, "Stop trying to be my friend!" Rosa was trying hard to fight back tears, clenching her fist and looking down at the ground.
"Look," Gisella said, getting in front of Rosa again, "I don't know what your problem with other people trying to be friends to you is, but you're going to have to deal with it one way or another!" Gisella coughed a few more times before turning back to Rosa. "I'm going to be your friend one way or another, got it?"
"I don't need or want you as a friend," Rosa exclaimed, turing around. Gisella sighed and positioned herself in front of Rosa again.
"Rosa, if someone is physically abusing you, it takes a toll on your mental status as well," Gisella explained.
"What are you saying?" Rosa stammered, even more nervous than before.
"I think that this physical abuse that you're taking and clearly not reporting to anyone is the reason why you're such a jerk," Gisella said, coughing a few more times.
"What? That's..." Rosa's eyes darted around and she began to sweat. "Actually pretty smart and accurate," Rosa mumbled under her breath.
"Rosa, I want you to know that my house, or Isabella's, is a safe place. Please, once you start to open up, everything will be that much easier on you," Gisella explained.
Rosa glanced at Gisella's smile, then turned away. "It's too complicated for you to understand." She turned her back to Gisella. "Believe me, I want to tell you," Rosa mumbled. She clenched her fist and stared down at the ground. "But I just can't. I can't ri-"
*WHUMPF*
"Gisella?" Rosa quickly turned around, only to see Gisella collapsed in a heap on the ground. "Gisella!" Rosa fumbled into her purse and opened up her phone. "Hello, 911? I'm on Europeo Lane of Globellum University. I was with this woman, Gisella Rumanti, when she just collapsed on the ground. She's not responding and she barely has a pulse. I can hardly feel her breathing. I need help, fast!"
March 3, 2012
"Hey, I'm here for Gisella Rumanti," Isabella said out of breath to the receptionist, "Which waiting room?" The receptionist pointed in the direction of a waiting room that was empty except for another receptionist and a woman with light cherry blonde hair. The first receptionist gave Isabella a sticker that said "VISITOR" and sent her on her way. Isabella thanked the woman and went to join Rosa.
Rosa held her head in her hands as she stared down at the ground. She had Ivanna's jacket draped around her while her expression was wide eyed. She panted heavily as panic began to fill her mind. The thought of Gisella possibly dying tugged at her heartstrings, which were still tangled up from Ivanna's death. Despite not letting anyone know it, Ivanna and Rosa were actually very close. They would meet and often have coffee when Rosa's parents weren't demanding she was home. When Ivanna died, Rosa was severely hurt, but when Gisella offered her Ivanna's position in the Bad Good Girls, Rosa was awestruck. Now, Gisella lay dying on a medical bed somewhere in this expansive hospital
"Rosa!" Isabella yelled, snapping Rosa out of her tormenting thoughts.
"Isabella," Rosa stammered, "when did you get here?"
"Just now," Isabella said, taking a seat next to Rosa, "I'm surprised to see you here."
Rosa chuckled, but her face still showed terror and anxiety. "There's a lot of surprising things about me."
"How long has she been here?" Isabella asked.
"About 22 hours now."
"How long have you been here?"
"About 22 hours now," Rosa replied.
"Wait, seriously?" Isabella asked in surprise, "You willingly stayed at a nearly empty waiting room for almost an entire day just to know how Gisella's doing?" Rosa nodded to her, not caring right now about putting up her prim and proper masquerade. "Wow, I'd expect something like that from Larissa, but not you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rosa asked, still filled with anxiety.
"Well, it's not like you and Gisella are on the best of terms," Isabella pointed out, "Speaking of which, where is Larissa? I'm surprised she's not here."
"She won't pick up her phone. I tried," Rosa said.
"Well, maybe it's because it's you calling," Isabella said, whipping out her phone. She dialed Larissa's number and waited for a response. "Huh, she's not picking up for me either." Isabella tried again, but she got Larissa's voicemail again. "Strange."
Rosa was about to say more, but a doctor came from the hospital wing out to the two girls. Isabella and Rosa quickly stood up and walked over to the doctor.
"Ah, Doctor Octavio," Isabella said, "You're the doctor for Gisella?"
"Yes, I am," Doctor Octavio said calmly, "She's stable." Both girls breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "However..."
"Oh dear, I was worried about that," Isabella said.
"Her lungs were infected months ago with a potentially fatal bacteria."
"Fatal?" Rosa stuttered.
"Yes. We've done all we can. It's up to Gisella's body and fate now." Rosa looked down at the ground at the news.
"Why is it every time that someone comes to you for urgent medical attention, it's always up to fate with their lives hanging on by a thread?" Isabella asked, but Doctor Octavio shrugged.
"Hanging on by a thread," Rosa mumbled to herself.
March 5, 2012
"...And we're hanging onto life by the thread of fate," sang the woman with the light cherry blonde hair. The empty makeshift stage echoed with the sound of Rosa's guitar reverberating off the walls and abandoned instruments.
"That's a wrap," Isabella said in a melancholy tone. She walked over to her computer and began to upload the song to the website.
"Gisella..." Rosa softly said, though it echoed through the mic.
"Didn't know you were worried about her," Isabella said. Rosa would have came up with a snarky comback, but she was too heartbroken to even speak. "I'm worried about her too, Rosa."
Rosa wiped away a tear from her cheek and reapplied her make up to cover her bruise. "Poor Gisella. She should have gone straight to the doctor instead of arguing with me," Rosa sniffled. She kept her hands on the mic and stared down at the floor, her light cherry blonde hair flowing gently over her eyes.
"Rosa, you can't blame yourself. Honestly, Gisella should have gone back to the doctors days ago," Isabella said, trying to comfort Rosa.
"It's my fault," Rosa said, tears starting to form in her eyes again, "I'm nothing but a worthless failure."
"Rosa, no you aren't," Isabella argued.
"Yes I am," Rosa cried, a tear rolling down her face. This time, she didn't bother to reapply her make up, just letting her bruises show through.
Isabella gasped when she saw it, but Rosa didn't care. "Gisella was right," Isabella said, "You are bruised."
"These," Rosa said, looking up at Isabella, "are nothing, compared to the hellish nightmare I endure at home."
"Rosa," Isabella started, but she trailed off into silence.
"I really don't want to talk about it," Rosa said, tears still running down her face.
"I understand," Isabella said in a calm and soft voice.
The two of them were quiet, except for the occasional gasping of Rosa from her tears. Isabella typed away on the keyboard while Rosa just stood at the mic, not moving. "Isabella," Rosa said, bring Isabella out from her thoughts, "how did you and Ivanna meet Gisella?"
"Well," Isabella began, "Ivanna knew Gisella a lot longer than I did. I was starting to begin my company when Ivanna told me about Gisella. Ivanna met Gisella at a soccer practice, kind of. Gisella was practicing some moves when she kicked a ball that accidentally hit the side of the goal. It bounced off and pegged Ivanna square in the side of the head. Gisella was worried, but Ivanna assured her she was alright. The two of them began talking and before long, they were good friends. Ivanna actually introduced Gisella to Larissa."
"Really?" Rosa asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Isabella said.
Rosa looked down at the floor and spoke softly, "Larissa."
March 12, 2012
"It's about damn time I got a working phone, mon," Larissa said on her way back from the mall. She fiddled with the buttons, checking out all the new features.
"I still can't believe your old one broke that easily," Naomi said, walking next to Larissa.
"It was bound to happen eventually, mon," Larissa pointed out.
"Yeah," Naomi said, "but I didn't expect it to break like that."
"Guess that old phone wasn't made to deal with that kind of temperature, mon," Larissa said.
"Well next time, don't do that with that many lobsters!" Naomi exclaimed, but Larissa quickly covered Naomi's mouth.
Larissa glanced around and said, in a hushed tone, "Now, no more speaking of that incident again, mon. I got all the apple cores cleared away and that investor is convinced he didn't see anything. Naomi nodded and Larissa removed her hand.
"Ugh, your hands still smell like frosting," Naomi said, sneezing into a tissue.
"Anyways, mon," Larissa said, continuing their walk, "I lost quite a bit of my previous data, mon."
"What did you lose?" Naomi asked, catching up to Larissa's side.
"Well, nothing too important, mon. I lost a bunch of old photos I planned to delete anyways and any record of anyone who tried to call me in the past few weeks," Larissa said, still pressing buttons, "How is my camera less complex than this thing?"
Naomi shrugged and twirled a pencil in her fingers like Larissa would her knife. "Think Gisella or Isabella tried to call you?"
"Probably, but it was anything really important, Gisella would have just came to me, mon," Larissa said.
"What about Isabella? Did she come to you at all?" Naomi asked.
"She was out of town and was only back for a few days, mon. I think she left on the sixth," Larissa mentioned. She dialed Gisella and put her phone up to her ear. "Huh, she's not picking up."
"Maybe her phone's dead, or she's just busy, you know, working for the band?" Naomi said, not-so-subtlety trying to persuade Larissa to rejoin the band.
"Maybe, I'm not sure, mon," Larissa sighed after another failed attempt to call Gisella, "I still can't stand that princess."
"You need to learn how to get along with her," Naomi said sternly, "What would Ivanna think about you just abandoning the band?"
"I didn't abandon the band, mon!" Larissa exclaimed, "I abandoned that princess! There's a difference." With that, Larissa shut her front door behind her and locked it.
"Larissa!" Naomi called out, "Come on, open up the door, now." There was a pause before Larissa unlocked the door. "Thank you."
The girl with the light cherry blonde hair softly strummed on her guitar as she wrote notes down on a piece of paper. "I hope Gisella doesn't mind another sad song," she said to herself, "Only 16 bands are left in the competition." Rosa stood up and crossed off the 16 bands that didn't make it to the next round. "Looks like our next competition is the Calaveras. Sounds like a latino group." Rosa sighed and sat back down on her bed. "Great, Latino music always has this flair to it." She crumpled up the paper and threw it against the wall near the trashcan. "A sad song isn't going to do it this round." She sighed again and laid down on her bed. The salmon pink walls that surrounded her felt more like the cold bars of a jail cell than the warm safety of a bedroom.
"Madam Rosa Valkyne," said a feminine voice entering her room, "Mistress and Master Valkyne wish to see you."
"Great, just what I needed," Rosa mumbled. She walked over to her makeup table and applied enough to cover her bruises and disguise her black eye. The woman bowed as Rosa left her room and followed her out. Rosa walked down the halls, greetings the maids and servants bustling through out the mansion. She begrudginly entered the large dining room and approached her mother and father at the far end of the dining table.
"Well, you certainly took your sweet time getting here," Rosa's father, James, said, taking a sip of whiskey.
"You know we don't tolerate not being punctual," Rosa's mother, Frida, said, sipping some red wine.
"Yes Mother, yes Father." Rosa said, looking down at the floor, "What did you want? I have school work to begin to finish."
Frida glared at Rosa with a burning hatred. "How dare you question us?"
"I'm sorry Mother!" Rosa stammered.
"You had better be," James said, drinking more whiskey.
"Now then," Frida said calmly, "How are things with these Bad Good Girls?"
"Terrible," Rosa said, "The drummer, that Jamaican girl Larissa, quit."
"And the vocalist, Gisella?" her mother asked.
"She's being stubborn," Rosa reported.
Frida poured some some more red wine and softly drank it. "Stubborn how?"
"She keeps trying to be the leader, but I won't let someone like her push me aside," Rosa lied.
"Good," James said, now starting to slur his words, "It's be a shame if she decided to ever come over here and ruin this lovely situation we have, wouldn't it?"
"Yes," Rosa replied, "It would be. Do not worry, there is no risk of that happening."
"Good, good," Frida said, sipping some more red wine, "That car of yours is still in the way."
"Well, there's no room in the garage and no other place to put it!" Rosa exclaimed, but quickly covered her mouth as her father glared at her.
He quickly downed the last drop of whiskey in his glass and chucked it at Rosa. She managed to duck out of the way to avoid a hit to the face, but it skimmed past her skull, causing her to wince in pain. "Don't you raise that voice of yours at us!"
"Yes Mother, Yes Father," Rosa timidly said.
James brought another servant over, who had another glass of whiskey already prepared. "Well!? You want another blow to the skull!?" he yelled.
"No Mother! No Father!" Rosa quickly stammered.
"Then get going!" Rosa quickly scrambled out of the dining hall and slammed the doors behind her. She stumbled to her room and locked the door. She breathed heavily and slumped down to the floor, tears streaming down her face. Rosa let out a soft sob and rested her head on her knees in the fetal position.
February 22, 2012
"Looks like Gisella and the princess managed to make it to the next round without me, mon," Larissa said, chopping up some carrots.
"Yeah, but only by a very slim margin," Naomi mentioned, looking at her phone, "The song would have sounded better with some sort of drums."
"It's going to take more than that to convince me to go back, mon," Larissa said, switching from carrots to tomatoes.
"Look, I know you want to punish that pompous little light cherry blonde haired girl," Naomi said, sipping some Mexican Oasis, "but it's not right to make Gisella suffer. What would Ivanna think?"
Larissa stopped chopping and placed her hands on the edge of the grill. She stared down at the floor and was speechless for a few minutes. "Ivanna, what would you think, mon?"
"Larissa," Naomi said softly, "You need to talk to Gisella about this."
"No I don't, mon!" Larissa exclaimed, still not looking up from the floor. She panted heavily and sweat was beginning to form on her brow. She wiped it away and continued to look down. "Gisella... she understands."
"Does she, Larissa?" Naomi asked, "Gisella's trying to make amends between all of you and trying to make everything go smoothly. Yet, you and Rosa can't even be in the same room for five minutes without getting at each other's neck!"
"You don't understand, mon!" Larissa yelled. She panted and continued looking at the ground. "You don't understand."
"Then make me understand, Larissa," Naomi said, grabbing onto Larissa's right wrist, "I want to help you."
Larissa gulped and looked up at Naomi. "Thank you, mon," she stuttered. She went to hug her friend, but recoiled after realizing the grill was still on. "I'm alright, I'm alright." Naomi breathed a sigh of relief and began to listen intently to Larissa's tale. "Ever since that day I told you about when I first met Rosa, things have just been hell with her, mon. She always seemed to go out of her way to make us miserable."
"What are some examples?" Naomi asked.
Larissa stabbed the counter with her knife and looked at Naomi. "Two years ago, she tried to sabotage a health inspection that the Five Point Dine was undergoing, mon."
"Sabotage?" Naomi asked in surprise, "How so?"
"Oh, the usual kind of health inspection sabotage, mon," Larissa said, "Bugs in the food, unclean work stations, bad work ethics. However, as you can see, the Five Point Dine is still up and running."
"What else did she do?"
"About four years ago, Ivanna told me that Rosa hired a fake soccer coach to utterly humiliate Gisella at one of her games, mon," Larissa said, "Poor Gisella didn't have the courage to play soccer again for long time, and once she did, Gisella had her accident that broke her leg."
"Poor Gisella indeed," Naomi said.
"To top it all off, she even tried to have Ivanna's jacket stolen, mon!" Larissa exclaimed, "Rosa is nothing but a low down little prick!"
March 2, 2012
"Hey!" Gisella called out, walking up on crutches to the woman with the light cherry blonde hair, "Rosa!"
Rosa turned around to see Gisella, but then quickly turned back around. "What do you want, Gisella?"
Gisella caught up to her and coughed a few times before responding, Ivanna's jacket gently swaying in the breeze, "I want to help you."
"Help me?" Rosa stuttered, "What could you possibly help me with, cripple?" Gisella was clearly hurt by the remark, but shrugged it off with a few coughs. "Don't you get me sick now! I don't want any of your germs to get me infected!"
"Relax, Rosa," Gisella said, "I'm on my way now to get my medical report."
"Good," Rosa said, a bit less arrogant and more sympathetic, "We need you at full health if we want to win."
Gisella smiled and nudged Rosa in the side. "You see, I knew there was a friend in there somewhere, or atleast not full jerk." Rosa's face got flustered, but she didn't say anything. Gisella's phone began to ring, but Gisella ignored it. "Aren't you going to get that?"
"Whoever it is, it's not important right now," Gisella said, silencing her phone. "Look, Rosa," Gisella said, getting in front of Rosa, "I know what I saw last month."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Rosa stuttered.
"Rosa," Gisella said in a hushed tone, "I know about your bruises."
"What are you talking about? I don't have any bruises." Rosa stammered, clearly nervous.
"You don't have to hide them around me," Gisella said in a calm voice.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Rosa exclaimed, turning around and walking a few feet, "Stop trying to be my friend!" Rosa was trying hard to fight back tears, clenching her fist and looking down at the ground.
"Look," Gisella said, getting in front of Rosa again, "I don't know what your problem with other people trying to be friends to you is, but you're going to have to deal with it one way or another!" Gisella coughed a few more times before turning back to Rosa. "I'm going to be your friend one way or another, got it?"
"I don't need or want you as a friend," Rosa exclaimed, turing around. Gisella sighed and positioned herself in front of Rosa again.
"Rosa, if someone is physically abusing you, it takes a toll on your mental status as well," Gisella explained.
"What are you saying?" Rosa stammered, even more nervous than before.
"I think that this physical abuse that you're taking and clearly not reporting to anyone is the reason why you're such a jerk," Gisella said, coughing a few more times.
"What? That's..." Rosa's eyes darted around and she began to sweat. "Actually pretty smart and accurate," Rosa mumbled under her breath.
"Rosa, I want you to know that my house, or Isabella's, is a safe place. Please, once you start to open up, everything will be that much easier on you," Gisella explained.
Rosa glanced at Gisella's smile, then turned away. "It's too complicated for you to understand." She turned her back to Gisella. "Believe me, I want to tell you," Rosa mumbled. She clenched her fist and stared down at the ground. "But I just can't. I can't ri-"
*WHUMPF*
"Gisella?" Rosa quickly turned around, only to see Gisella collapsed in a heap on the ground. "Gisella!" Rosa fumbled into her purse and opened up her phone. "Hello, 911? I'm on Europeo Lane of Globellum University. I was with this woman, Gisella Rumanti, when she just collapsed on the ground. She's not responding and she barely has a pulse. I can hardly feel her breathing. I need help, fast!"
March 3, 2012
"Hey, I'm here for Gisella Rumanti," Isabella said out of breath to the receptionist, "Which waiting room?" The receptionist pointed in the direction of a waiting room that was empty except for another receptionist and a woman with light cherry blonde hair. The first receptionist gave Isabella a sticker that said "VISITOR" and sent her on her way. Isabella thanked the woman and went to join Rosa.
Rosa held her head in her hands as she stared down at the ground. She had Ivanna's jacket draped around her while her expression was wide eyed. She panted heavily as panic began to fill her mind. The thought of Gisella possibly dying tugged at her heartstrings, which were still tangled up from Ivanna's death. Despite not letting anyone know it, Ivanna and Rosa were actually very close. They would meet and often have coffee when Rosa's parents weren't demanding she was home. When Ivanna died, Rosa was severely hurt, but when Gisella offered her Ivanna's position in the Bad Good Girls, Rosa was awestruck. Now, Gisella lay dying on a medical bed somewhere in this expansive hospital
"Rosa!" Isabella yelled, snapping Rosa out of her tormenting thoughts.
"Isabella," Rosa stammered, "when did you get here?"
"Just now," Isabella said, taking a seat next to Rosa, "I'm surprised to see you here."
Rosa chuckled, but her face still showed terror and anxiety. "There's a lot of surprising things about me."
"How long has she been here?" Isabella asked.
"About 22 hours now."
"How long have you been here?"
"About 22 hours now," Rosa replied.
"Wait, seriously?" Isabella asked in surprise, "You willingly stayed at a nearly empty waiting room for almost an entire day just to know how Gisella's doing?" Rosa nodded to her, not caring right now about putting up her prim and proper masquerade. "Wow, I'd expect something like that from Larissa, but not you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rosa asked, still filled with anxiety.
"Well, it's not like you and Gisella are on the best of terms," Isabella pointed out, "Speaking of which, where is Larissa? I'm surprised she's not here."
"She won't pick up her phone. I tried," Rosa said.
"Well, maybe it's because it's you calling," Isabella said, whipping out her phone. She dialed Larissa's number and waited for a response. "Huh, she's not picking up for me either." Isabella tried again, but she got Larissa's voicemail again. "Strange."
Rosa was about to say more, but a doctor came from the hospital wing out to the two girls. Isabella and Rosa quickly stood up and walked over to the doctor.
"Ah, Doctor Octavio," Isabella said, "You're the doctor for Gisella?"
"Yes, I am," Doctor Octavio said calmly, "She's stable." Both girls breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "However..."
"Oh dear, I was worried about that," Isabella said.
"Her lungs were infected months ago with a potentially fatal bacteria."
"Fatal?" Rosa stuttered.
"Yes. We've done all we can. It's up to Gisella's body and fate now." Rosa looked down at the ground at the news.
"Why is it every time that someone comes to you for urgent medical attention, it's always up to fate with their lives hanging on by a thread?" Isabella asked, but Doctor Octavio shrugged.
"Hanging on by a thread," Rosa mumbled to herself.
March 5, 2012
"...And we're hanging onto life by the thread of fate," sang the woman with the light cherry blonde hair. The empty makeshift stage echoed with the sound of Rosa's guitar reverberating off the walls and abandoned instruments.
"That's a wrap," Isabella said in a melancholy tone. She walked over to her computer and began to upload the song to the website.
"Gisella..." Rosa softly said, though it echoed through the mic.
"Didn't know you were worried about her," Isabella said. Rosa would have came up with a snarky comback, but she was too heartbroken to even speak. "I'm worried about her too, Rosa."
Rosa wiped away a tear from her cheek and reapplied her make up to cover her bruise. "Poor Gisella. She should have gone straight to the doctor instead of arguing with me," Rosa sniffled. She kept her hands on the mic and stared down at the floor, her light cherry blonde hair flowing gently over her eyes.
"Rosa, you can't blame yourself. Honestly, Gisella should have gone back to the doctors days ago," Isabella said, trying to comfort Rosa.
"It's my fault," Rosa said, tears starting to form in her eyes again, "I'm nothing but a worthless failure."
"Rosa, no you aren't," Isabella argued.
"Yes I am," Rosa cried, a tear rolling down her face. This time, she didn't bother to reapply her make up, just letting her bruises show through.
Isabella gasped when she saw it, but Rosa didn't care. "Gisella was right," Isabella said, "You are bruised."
"These," Rosa said, looking up at Isabella, "are nothing, compared to the hellish nightmare I endure at home."
"Rosa," Isabella started, but she trailed off into silence.
"I really don't want to talk about it," Rosa said, tears still running down her face.
"I understand," Isabella said in a calm and soft voice.
The two of them were quiet, except for the occasional gasping of Rosa from her tears. Isabella typed away on the keyboard while Rosa just stood at the mic, not moving. "Isabella," Rosa said, bring Isabella out from her thoughts, "how did you and Ivanna meet Gisella?"
"Well," Isabella began, "Ivanna knew Gisella a lot longer than I did. I was starting to begin my company when Ivanna told me about Gisella. Ivanna met Gisella at a soccer practice, kind of. Gisella was practicing some moves when she kicked a ball that accidentally hit the side of the goal. It bounced off and pegged Ivanna square in the side of the head. Gisella was worried, but Ivanna assured her she was alright. The two of them began talking and before long, they were good friends. Ivanna actually introduced Gisella to Larissa."
"Really?" Rosa asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Isabella said.
Rosa looked down at the floor and spoke softly, "Larissa."
March 12, 2012
"It's about damn time I got a working phone, mon," Larissa said on her way back from the mall. She fiddled with the buttons, checking out all the new features.
"I still can't believe your old one broke that easily," Naomi said, walking next to Larissa.
"It was bound to happen eventually, mon," Larissa pointed out.
"Yeah," Naomi said, "but I didn't expect it to break like that."
"Guess that old phone wasn't made to deal with that kind of temperature, mon," Larissa said.
"Well next time, don't do that with that many lobsters!" Naomi exclaimed, but Larissa quickly covered Naomi's mouth.
Larissa glanced around and said, in a hushed tone, "Now, no more speaking of that incident again, mon. I got all the apple cores cleared away and that investor is convinced he didn't see anything. Naomi nodded and Larissa removed her hand.
"Ugh, your hands still smell like frosting," Naomi said, sneezing into a tissue.
"Anyways, mon," Larissa said, continuing their walk, "I lost quite a bit of my previous data, mon."
"What did you lose?" Naomi asked, catching up to Larissa's side.
"Well, nothing too important, mon. I lost a bunch of old photos I planned to delete anyways and any record of anyone who tried to call me in the past few weeks," Larissa said, still pressing buttons, "How is my camera less complex than this thing?"
Naomi shrugged and twirled a pencil in her fingers like Larissa would her knife. "Think Gisella or Isabella tried to call you?"
"Probably, but it was anything really important, Gisella would have just came to me, mon," Larissa said.
"What about Isabella? Did she come to you at all?" Naomi asked.
"She was out of town and was only back for a few days, mon. I think she left on the sixth," Larissa mentioned. She dialed Gisella and put her phone up to her ear. "Huh, she's not picking up."
"Maybe her phone's dead, or she's just busy, you know, working for the band?" Naomi said, not-so-subtlety trying to persuade Larissa to rejoin the band.
"Maybe, I'm not sure, mon," Larissa sighed after another failed attempt to call Gisella, "I still can't stand that princess."
"You need to learn how to get along with her," Naomi said sternly, "What would Ivanna think about you just abandoning the band?"
"I didn't abandon the band, mon!" Larissa exclaimed, "I abandoned that princess! There's a difference." With that, Larissa shut her front door behind her and locked it.
"Larissa!" Naomi called out, "Come on, open up the door, now." There was a pause before Larissa unlocked the door. "Thank you."