rebel child.

From where she stood, she still could see their beady little eyes through their mask, burning through her dress as if they were ready to pounce any second they found her alone. Anais was infamous for wounding herself in all sorts of trouble. Within the span of an hour, she managed to enter the ballroom, catch the attention of a tall stranger, talk to said stranger, then realize they were danger -- and not the kind she oh-so-loved -- after they kept insisting she was their wife behind the mask. She knew she had to get away that instant. In her beautiful tight dress with a decolette that left close-to-nothing to the imagination, she frantically shimmied legs as she wove through the crowd, only to end up bumping chest first into yet another masked person. Deciding they had a pair of eyes that could be trusted, she stopped in front of them. “There’s a creep who can’t stop looking at me like a... like a creep.” In her distress, her French accent grew thicker than she usually liked it to be. “Pretend you and I are engaging in the best conversation of your entire life, and I’ll owe you any reasonable thing you want.”

“Aw, if that was an attempt at humiliating me, Savoy, it isn’t working. Try telling that to an ugly virgin next time, and you just might make them cry.” The facilitating agent approached her to hand her a pistol --  a nice 9mm, which was great for practicing beginners since it had mild recoil. “In case you were wondering, you were the drunk I was talking about. That anecdote you told me? Really tugged at my heartstrings. If you were a little less drunk and obnoxious, I would have invited you over for pity sex. You sure do look like you need it. But that’s all in the past now.” The agent was still by her side, as he was teaching her how to properly load her bullets. He seemed to remain to his business, but she was sure he was listening intently, helping himself to his own amusement. Anais didn’t mind -- in fact, she found it delightful to have a witness.

Anais may not look like it, but she had a black belt in judo. Her agent had her sent over to the shooting range right after she slayed her first sparring session. Upon reaching the facility, she was surprised to see Leon was already there. She greeted the facilitating agent, then proceeded to occupy the booth right beside her friend’s. “You know, I met this insanely drunk man at the bar last night.” She slid on her goggles. “He told me he had a properly functioning penis, and would very much like to demonstrate it for me.”

The nonchalant mention of something so personal took her off guard. She’d known Leon since she was a teenager, but they haven’t been exactly close. Heck, she was sure they hated each other since they were both too hellbent on being on top of the class. “Your father hits you? But all you’ve ever been was a straitlaced stick-in-the-ass goody-two-shoes -- not that I care enough to read reports about you.” There was genuine empathy in her tone. Where in fresh hell did that come from? “From how I see it, the only problematic thing about you is you drink too much. Lay off the alcohol, dude -- I’m pretty sure you’re already a dead candidate for erectile dysfunction by now.” And she was back to insulting him, just like the universe intended. When he couldn’t get her name right, she furrowed her brows. “Renee? Who the fuck’s Renee?” Laughter poured smooth as honey past her lips. She couldn’t help it. “The shit’s for making my parents know I exist. So far, my plan’s working like a dream.” She figured he was so drunk she could tell him she fucked a horse, and he wouldn’t remember a thing. Anais thought she could really use a person to confide in nowadays. If she told drunk Leon her troubles, she could lighten her chest, and wouldn’t have to suffer any untoward consequences. 

Anais had a pretty productive day. She spent her morning swimming in the pool, her midday maxing out one of her many credits cards at the mall, and finally, her afternoon just lounging on the shore with a good book as her companion. The night whispered she go to the bar, and so she followed it without question. She saw Leon’s stupid face as soon as she got there, and if she were seeing correctly, he was raising his drink to a post. She would have taken footage of that, had they not confiscated her phone. She slid on the stool beside him so he’d be facing an actual person instead of a post. “I’m your mom, Leon. Why are you drinking yourself numb alone? I didn’t raise you for nine months inside my womb just to give the world another disappointment.”

        “shit.” the profanity came sharp and unabashed from her lips as she occupied the stool beside teddy. “and here i thought i’d look alright just by piling a load of concealer under my eyes.” anais absolutely loathed flying -- it didn’t sit well with her stomach and bones -- and so her sixteen-hour-flight from monaco to the isle of kings was arduous for her. she waived for the bartender. “hi, i’ll have whatever she’s having, please.” as she spoke, she sounded as if she’d given up on the world. she rested her forehead on the counter. “i feel like my head’s about to break into two,” she grumbled. only then did she realize she was being rude. “i’m sorry, how are you? how’s gabe?” she dated teddy’s brother for a good year, but she broke things between them the moment she felt much too comfortable and safe in his arms. anais feared commitment that much, and poor gabe was heartbroken for months.