...is this the real life?

MT: “hahaha, as poetic as that sounds, well, writing that would technically be lying, and that is a nono in this line of work, so I can’t really write that word by word. So I said I will try to make it look like it was years ago, without actually saying it. Hopefully they’ll buy it and you won’t have to worry about a thing. It did sound pretty literary tho. Have you ever considered becoming a writer or journalist yourself? Your blog posts were beautifully written. If you’re looking for any extracurriculars or job experience outside of the academy you might consider doing an internship with us. We could definitely benefit from 1. Having an insider to keep us updated on this case 2. Having an art critic correspondent who is currently within the hub of what is considered valid and trendy. It would be very valuable if you wanted to go into art critique later.”

C: “Are you completely, absolutely certain, that it won’t be traced back to me? Isn’t it too soon? Couldn’t it wait for some weeks, lie low, get me settled, let me gain the confidence of key people inside, like Mme Bechard, so that it won’t raise suspicions when it hits?

MT: “Nah, it will be fine! And the sooner the better for everybody. This is a big issue with big players involved. If this leaks it could cause trouble for us, or worse, another paper could get hold of the story and publish it first, or be carrying out their own investigation and publish it first, then ours would be irrelevant. No, definitely the sooner the better.”

C: “But.. but.. What if…?”

MT: “Hey, don’t worry about it! There is no mention of your name or even gender. Also, the lady said that asking those kinds of questions is standard procedure, so it could be any kid with a famous sounding name. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll try to make it sound like this was years ago, and that somebody finally got the courage to come forth and expose the truth. Does that sound better?”

The day before the term started...

C: “Hey, Mr. Thompson, thanks for meeting me in person.”

Mr. Thompson: “Of course, Ms. Physallis. It’s been a pleasure working with you so far. Did you read the draft I sent you? 

C: *nervously* “...yeah… about that...”

MT: *goes on without noticing* “My editor is quite happy with it, but there are still some details that can be polished. I really do think this article will cause an impact. I became interested in the whole affair when my brother was rejected as well, you see. That was years ago, and my brother gave up on his dream to become an artist because of the rejection. He was convinced that everything they said in his interview was real, that his art wasn’t good enough and he wasn’t worth the investment, and no one could convince him otherwise. He threw all his stuff away and now works as a banker, but you can see he is truly unhappy. Then I heard of similar cases through acquaintances and started to look into it. And I was determined to one day find the proof that would give justice to my brother. I’ve been following the blogs for years, but nothing was worth looking into. All of them looked the same… and then I found you, mentioning that they had asked about your family name. I knew it was the beginning of something good. And here we are! Ready to publish within the week! Isn’t it exciting? It’s gonna be my first big piece as well! I can smell the promotion in the air!”

R: “Hey, we should probably head back, grab some great canapes and another drink. We could even try to put in practice your famous Presence Switch, to test if I can still pull it off with my… excess punk-rock.”

N: “Sure. Maybe you can even run a covert mission spying in the bathrooms to see if there is gossip about us going around..”

*They start to head in*

N: “Hey, before we go back in… I know we’re both that kind of people, and we’ve been throwing labels around playfully … but if you haven’t realised yet…. I’m going to say it now... I feel like I’ve known you forever, and luck or destiny or whatever is out there has been quite fickle in bringing us together under the strangest of circumstances… and I’ve never depended on anyone before, not even on Mother, because, well, you’ve met her. And yet, after such a short while, I’ve found that I now depend on you for so much… and you have not let me down, unlike so many others… what I’m trying to say, in a very convoluted manner and blabbering on like an idiot because for some reason you make all my training in public speaking worth absolutely shit… is that I love you. And I don’t expect you to say it back. But I just have to take this off my chest. I love you and I want nothing more than for us to move in together away from any controlling influences and keep working on this amazing team we have going on and take the world by storm. *sigh* Again, you don’t have to say anything. Just think about it.”

R: *quietly* “Ok… I’ll think about it.” *smiles shyly and kisses his cheek sweetly*

----------

♬ ♪ ♫ These noisy voices, phony They say I'm not really for you 'Cause I slept around before you And I had fun, but now I am done So put your arms around me And I'll put away the snowflakes And you'll be my only, only And no three-to-five, you're doing life, so

Please don't knock over my heart 'Cause my heart is full of you Yeah, my heart is full of you I don't worry 'bout tomorrow 'Cause my heart is full of you Yeah, my heart is full of you

Ah, ooh ooh ooh ooh Woah hungry arms Woah, the hungry arms Give me all the love After a while I fanned the fire Then I knew that you were wild I think that the time is now I think that the time is now, so

Please don't knock over my heart 'Cause my heart is full of you Yeah, my heart is full of you I don't worry 'bout tomorrow 'Cause my heart is full of you Yeah, my heart is full of you ♬ ♪ ♫

R:  “...which is why now I must do things MY way, no matter what others think…including my mum. She’s bound to think I’m a disappointment for entering the circes she fled… well I’ve sort of always been the disappointing child anyways… I know they tried to hide it, and they were always really supportive, and encouraging  and lenient in my other, eh, particular interests… but you could always tell… that Cerise was the one who took most after both of them... being book-smart was what truly had weight in that house, bunch of nerds... and well, I felt like I didn’t really belong...”

N: “...sometimes I look at you and wonder how can it be that we are so different in so many ways, and basically the same in so many others. Well, you and I can fund the support group for “Disappointing children who will never live to their parents expectations”.”

R:  “hahaha. Don’t forget about our other support group for Windenburg isolated kids. - Hi, my name is Rowan, and my parents raised me in the most boring corner of the known world, where my family was really bad at hiding they pitied me for not being quite … well, my gifted twin sister.- ”

R:  “Ok, duly noted. Tune down on the punk when required. Don’t worry, I’ll live. Also, yikes, those are bound to be complicated, especially if my grandparents are gonna be there as well…”

N: “...wow, I forgot about that…we need to plan ahead for that too… so how are you guys doing? Have you gotten to know them a bit? I’ve always really admired them. Amos especially, since he is a self-made man. Conqueror of his own empire. Well, they were never poor to start with, I know, because your family comes from a long line of famous doctors and pharmacists, I don’t know if you knew. Doesn’t surprise me at all that your mum went into the sciences. But he was still the genius who had the vision, transformed the industry…”

R:  “Yeah, I’ve been over a couple of times after leaving yours. Mostly to have tea with Grandma Silvia…. and while yes, she’s been teaching me tips and tricks to navigate the upper circles, just like you have, well… we’ve been talking about my mother mostly. It’s been refreshing to get to know this other side of her, back when she was also a teenage rebel and a bit of a mess… I totally get why she did what she did, and how she ended up where she’s now…”

N: “...are you planning to take the opportunities that your mother wasted? Because being a Physallis could offer you SO many opportunities, both within the political sphere and the business circles… not that I wouldn’t encourage you to join your family’s trade… but, you know, at this point I don’t think I could survive at work without you…”

R:  “Awww… of course you would… you were doing so good before me… and yes, now you are doing amazing with me, and one day Imma be giving you a run for your money competing for the top spots and it’s gonna be everybody for themselves buddy hahaha... but don’t worry, I ain’t leaving ya, just yet. I’m really liking what we are building together. 

R:  “Wow! That sounds definitely useful. Tell me more, oh master. Your humble student listens…”

N: “Well, dear student of mine… it would help to keep a dress code that can both stand out and blend in if the situation requires it. In your case tonight, my love, you are definitely prepared for the first… but not quite for the second…”

R:  “What… is it too low cut? Or too short? I didn’t wear heels because I wasn’t sure how long I was gonna be on them, and those things hurt. You know I’m a comfy kind of girl...”

R: “Thanks for thinking about the practice thing… although it doesn’t seem too difficult so far, to be honest. I think I’m getting the hang of navigating the waiters to get the best canapes and discreetly trip the ogling girls behind your back…”

N: “That was you?! Great job! Well, you definitely have that part down (and yes, the waiter navigation is key, took me a while to realize). Keeping stalkers and potential saboteurs at bay is always a team effort, which is why, if you attend alone, you might want to pay a waiter or security guard to keep an eye, if you didn’t bring your own personnel, of course. But mostly, it's about drinking enough to make the whole affair tolerable but not too much to make a scene. And the juicy gossip, obviously.”

R: “hahaha indeed! Is that what these events are all about? Drink & gossip? I think I can manage that alright…”

N: “Sounds simple, but it isn’t. What you definitely need to nail is what I call “turning on and off the Presence Switch ”.

R:  “I’m sorry, the what?”

Nigel’s surprise night out date… ended up being a brand launch cocktail for one of the newest sponsors for their party. According to him: no big deal. According to Rowan: the best party ever! After a while, they decided to head to the rooftop to get some air.

N: “So, what do you think of it? I’m sorry it isn’t truly romantic or actually going out to party to unwind…”

R: “Oh don’t worry about that! I’m loving it! And I AM unwinding! Food is great, booze is great, music is great and company? The best *winks*  I’m also really pleased you are living up to your promises… and this definitely beats watching a movie.”

N: “ haha, I’m glad, I was originally going to pass on this, and thought you might find it too much of a hassle to get ready without notice, but I thought you would like some practice before one of the more formal events we will be organizing in the future, or before you have to accompany me to one of mother’s events…”

C: “So I need to impress him… without throwing Rowan under the bus. Sounds like mission impossible...cause Rowan IS the bus...”

L: “...What do you mean? You’re cute! And you’re an artist! Didn’t you say before you finally got into the SMH Academy? That’s impressive!”

C: “Well, using… my new found family influences. So it doesn’t count. Even if I will try to make it right and use this as a way to fight inequality and expose the nepotism inside the system. In his world everybody gets their way that way…”

L: “...Well, you found the loophole in a corrupt system. And you plan to bring them down, which is doubly impressive, and brave, at least in my book.”

C: “Yeah, well, that’s maybe enough for your book, but in the real world it means I’m gonna be competing against Miss I-can-talk-you-into-anything-and-make-you-think-it’s-your-fault-in-the-end Bombshell Physallis. She’s been talking her way in and out trouble like a pro for years. Also, have you seen her? She’s so gorgeous, and confident, and eloquent… and even if she’s not book-smart, she’s light years ahead of me in social intelligence…in conclusion: she’s everything I pretend to be…. but I’m not….”

L: *smiles sadly* “...you know, I think the first thing you need to do, before anything else, is start to truly believe in yourself, respect yourself for who you are and for what you do have. If you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you gonna love somebody else, imma right?”

C: “Ok, so, here’s the thing. I’m pretty sure like, the WEEK before she met Nigel she was totally into this guy Merlin. They knew each other from a while back and reunited here and hit it off and he was helping her through her whole existential crisis, and then she spent some nights over at his place... and you could just FEEL that it was more than a hookup. Like they had something deep going on. I mean, he wrote her a freaking song! And a good one, at that! She can’t have possibly moved on that quickly from all that! And a few days later I was super suspicious when she told me that she had asked her TRAINER on a date, after only having JUST met him. And then the NEXT day they’re officially a couple? Like, woah! I know my sister… and something is definitely up. And I don’t want to think ill of her...although with Ro it's mostly a case of ‘Think the worst and you won’t be far from the truth.’ *sigh*...I kinda think she might be using him…and secretly still is into this Merlin guy”

L: “... well,  then he’s fair game, ain’t he?”

C: “What?!”

L: “So, whatcha plan to do about this whole thing?

C: “What do you mean? I can’t do anything about it. It’s their life. They’re the ones dating and working together. If that’s how they want to build their career and reputation… It’s their choice. I have a pact with Rowan that we won’t interfere with each other’s life choices. Just offer support. And I can’t third wheel them! No way. They’re… very physical. I barely survived last time.”

L: “Well, it clearly bothers you. The feeling excluded I mean. If you still don’t have the confidence to go talk to Nigel, you should at least talk to Rowan and ask to spend more time together…”

C: “...That part doesn’t bother me as much. I love her, but we’ve always been completely independent. We don’t have to become best pals out of nowhere. And Nigel… well….”

L: “OMM… he wasn’t just your childhood friend… he was just first crush, wasn’t he? And you still like him, don’t ya?”

C: “...I’m a terrible person, aren’t I?”

L: “...for crushing on your sister’s boyfriend, when he was YOUR friend and crush first? Hell no girl! You’re human! Sometimes you just can’t help it! Hell, I’ve been there! Heidi’s first boyfriend was a boy from MY class, who was the cutest thing ever (well, he ended up being a douchebag...but that’s another story) We were like 12-13 at the time at the time, before she moved to Windenburg. And I was FUMING. Sometimes I think she only dated him to make me jealous, not because she actually liked him…”

C: *cringes* “..well… to be completely honest… I’m not 100% sure that Rowan is also 100% into Nigel either…”

C: * raises finger and babbles noiselessly for some seconds* “...a bit of both I guess? I hadn’t thought about it like that, to be honest. Like yeah, I know I haven’t been the most social flatmate lately because of the academy thing...and now that I’m gonna be a little less stressed I was looking forward to exploring the city with Rowan like we’d planned….and now it seems she’s gonna be more preoccupied in both climbing the ladder and her BOSS.  And, don’t get the wrong idea, I love my sister, but also like, out of ALL people, the ONLY person I’ve had a real connection to, the one I could totally be reconnecting with and making amazing art and totally helping him reconnect with his old self… is now under her terrible influence and eating out of my sister’s palm like a…. Ughhhh! WHY IS IT ALL SO COMPLICATED AND CONFUSING?!!!”

L: “Welcome to the wondrous and woeful world of love and life!”

Cerise, who had been most definitely NOT spying from the corridor window upstairs as Rowan left the building looking extra gorgeous on the arms of her childhood crush, got served by karma then and there…

L: “Awww, they look so cute together, don’t they?”

C: *jumps a foot in the air and does a jittery little dance* “GEEZ..! I mean hiiiiiiii, Lilit! *super squeaky voice* You totally did NOT almost scare me to death! Wassuuuup? I was totally, casually just standing over here...how long have you been standing there?!” 

L: *raises eyebrow* “Well, I arrived definitely after you’d already started pouting like a kicked kitten and right before you dramatically slid your head against the window like a puppy seeing her family go on vacation without her… wanna talk about it?”

C: *completely shocked that anyone who isn’t related to her wants to know about her feelings * “...ummm, sure?...tea?”

---

C: “...and then he had his private chauffeur take us home. And that was weeks ago. And now they're spending soooo much time together. I mean, they already work together, and she sleeps over there half the week. And now they’re off to a secret date of sorts to celebrate her promotion… it’s like they’ve fusioned… into… Rigel”

R: «What.the.hell.did.just.happen? Holy shit Rowan, you can’t be serious? Again? Fucking again? What is wrong with you? She’s your friend! But most importantly… she’s… she’s… well a SHE! We’re into boys! Like deeeeefinitely into boys. Like, we were definitely not faking liking any of that... But you can’t deny just now we were also most definitely feeling all those teengly feelings we had last time for… NO! Stop it! You can’t be into both! Are you mental?! Can I? Can’t I? Ain’t that like...ubber greedy? On top of how greedy we already are? Holy crap...We really are a hit-on-anything-that-walks-mess...What is wrong with me?»

-----------------

N: “Hello??? Earth to Rowaaaan…!”

R: *jumps a foot in the air* “GEEZ! You almost scared me to death! When the hell did you get here?!” *hugs him to clear her head*

N: “woah! What do you mean? I’ve been waving at you for an entire block, silly! Wow! You really were spaced out… and with a such a dramatic face on as well… I think you might ‘ve been right and I’m both overworking myself AND you by extension... You know what? Forget the movie! We deserve a night out. Hell, YOU most definitely deserve a proper night out, Miss Promotion! And I think I might just have the perfect solution, if you think you can be ready in under an hour…”

R: “Ok, it’s still early, she probs doesn’t get there until…shiiiit…. heeeeey, Miss Wise…!

A: “...I’ve already told you, Rosy Cheeks, the only one who gets to call me Miss Wise and get away with it is Merlin, who, I might add, is still giving you your space, but still asking about you…”

R: “Shite, I keep forgetting. Nigel has been keeping me occupied lately… with work! I swear! I’m working as one of his direct assistants by now and oh boy, he’s giving my mother a run for her money in the workaholic department… sometimes I have to… ehem… distract him so he doesn’t over-work himself…”

A: “Yikes… TMI, Red. Hmmm… sounds to me you might have started to… actually care for Mr. Scrooge?”

R: “...not gonna happen. Also, only Merlin gets to call me Red, Miss Wise.”

A : *laughs* “If you say so… and fine. I´ll keep to Rosy Cheeks then. Or Rowan. But only if you call me Amy.”

R: “...It’s a deal. Hey...ummm… Amy? *cringes* … I was actually heading to the bar to give ya a little something… I saw it the other day, like super randomly, and I thought it would be perfect for you… and the bar! You could use it as an answering machine of sorts or to answer stupid questions you can’t be bothered…  ”

A: *open gift* “Awww, thanks! What do we have he… ohhhhhh! I’ve always wanted one of these! Hey, Ball, does Rosy Cheeks deserve a free cocktail next time she pops by? - Stupid question. Drink a shot for that! - oh.my.maker. THIS IS BRILLIANT! Thank you so much, Rowan! And you def get a free drink AND a shot next time you pop by the bar”

R: “... Holy crap say my name again please Thank YOU! You’re the one who’s brilliant at giving advice and has been keeping my mental sanity these past few weeks! This is just… whatever. It was funny, made me think of you. It’s nothing, really...”*blushes intensely*

A: “Awww… look who’s getting rosy cheeked for real... hey, Ball, does Rosy Cheeks deserve a hug for this amazing gift? - Duh. Now stop wasting time and get another drink!” - Can´t say no to that! Come here!” 

*pulls her into a hug*