what's with her?

The driver left their premises and Victoria saw three other men, coming out from the van, opening the boot, and bringing out goods that seemed to be house furniture.

"what is all this? Do you know these people? What are they doing right in front of my house?" Victoria questioned Carl feeling obnoxious.

"Victoria I called them. I asked one of my employees in New York to send me some stuff that'll benefit every one of us... and I know I should've asked you first but I did not want to take the risk of you declining so I went further…" Carl said, scratching his head.

"I don't understand what you're saying?" Victoria asked with a confused look on her face.

Also, she noticed that some of the goods the three men brought out from the boot of the van were two foams. A big wide one that four people could comfortably sleep on and a smaller one.

Victoria's jaw dropped in amazement. She was shocked and overwhelmed when she saw it.

The men brought a nice portable couch, carpet, and other furniture meant for a house. They also brought out some wood and logs for construction.

"Please accept this little gift from me to..."

Victoria jumped to hug Carl out of excitement before he could complete his sentence.

"…thank you! thank you so much! How am I ever going to repay you for your kind act" she said expressing so much gratitude in Carl's embrace.

Meanwhile, Anne and Clara came outside the house to see for themselves what the fuzz was all about.

As soon as Anne got outside, she was in a daze with her lips slightly parted, seeing both Victoria and Carl hug. She was stunned to see them in that manner. Although It was just a friendly hug, still Anne found it weird.

'are they this close?' Anne asked herself inwardly.

She saw the stuff the men were bringing out from the van and she already figured out that it was Carl who must've sent the goods.

Right now, her mind wasn't on the goods, it was on Carl and Victoria. Victoria was becoming too close to Carl for her liking.

As soon as Victoria realized that she was hugging Carl, she quickly let go of him, feeling embarrassed to have jumped on Carl's body like that.

"Ahem" Victoria cleared her throat awkwardly, whereas Carl didn't mind at all. He knew she was just too excited.

Anne rolled her eyes "I'm out for a walk," She said coldly as she storms off without looking at anyone.

"what's with her?" Carl sincerely asked Victoria

"I… I don't know" Victoria said feeling a little stressed out about Anne's childish behavior.

'Why is she getting mad for no reason?' Victoria wondered, not having a clue why.

"Mom look at that big bed" Clara said to Victoria, in a high-pitched voice, pointing at the bed.

"I can see that" Victoria chuckled.

"Carl, first, you helped us clean our dairy farm, you cooked a nice meal for us, now this? This is too much…

I don't know what I and my daughter did to deserve this good treatment from you. I don't know if I... If we can accept such gifts from you" Victoria said to Carl almost tearing up out of joy.

"Please accept it, I like to see all of you happy and comfortable," Carl grinned, feeling really happy for putting a smile on Victoria's face.

One of Carl's hobbies is putting a smile on people's faces and making people around him happy.

The men from the van started arranging the hardwoods they brought for reconstructing the house.

"We have to take out everything from inside the house first," Carl said.

"yes, that's not a problem there are not many things inside so we can do that in less than ten minutes" Victoria replied.

Carl and Victoria with the help of the men brought out everything inside the house and the men started reconstructing the house immediately.

"Words can't express how grateful and happy I am for this Carl," Victoria said to Carl smiling.

"ugh! You've said so many thank you already" Carl chuckled.

"...and before you'll know it they'll be through with reconstructing the house. I just want it to look more firm, strong, new, and most of all, comfortable." He said.

"you're truly a blessing to our family... I wish you didn't have to leave tomorrow" Victoria said and Carl gave a faint smile.

***********

It was fifteen minutes to 7 o'clock in the evening and Kim and Treasure were outside a nightclub.

Treasure was so uncomfortable with the place and anyone could tell by how she was shivering in fear whereas, her brother Kim was carefree, smoking weed.

Treasure's eyes rover around the place and her eyes met some set of young ladies who were half naked making out with men twice their age.

She quickly looked away and saw a young girl who seemed to be her age mate, immensely smoking. The young girl was just on a red bra and jean shorts.

"Why did you bring me here?" Treasure whispered to Kim with gritted teeth.

"Hey sis, you gotta chill out. Remember you wanted a part-time job right?" Kim said puffing out smoke from his mouth.

"Yes, but that doesn't answer my question," she said.

"Treasure geez!! don't act dumb okay? you're going to be working here... Now come with me!" he said

"what? No, I can't go in there" she said, shaking her head aggressively.

Kim dropped the weed he was smoking on the ground and stomped on it to put out the light.

"Treasure, listen to me. I am your brother and the only family you have right now. Do you think for a second that I'm going to hurt you?" Kim said to Treasure looking deep into her eyes and Treasure shook her head.

"Good!! You just have to trust me and stop whining okay? Now come with me!" Kim said pulling her hand and they went inside the nightclub.

The club was covered with dim red light and there were strippers, shamelessly dancing on a pole. Almost everyone in the club was either smoking, drinking alcohol, or dancing to the loud beat of the club. The club was so jam-packed that if you were not careful, you'll get lost in the crowd.

Kim took Treasure backstage at the nightclub which was less noisy and with a bright light. They saw an old man who was brown-skinned, bald, and with a big tummy standing a few feet away from them.

"Tee, wait here okay? I'll be right back" Kim said to Treasure and he quickly left to meet the old man.

Before Treasure could speak up to tell Kim not to leave her, Kim had already left her presence.

Treasure continued to inhale and exhale deeply to ease her nervousness because of how uncomfortable she was. She has never been in a nightclub before and that alone is making her feel nervous and paranoid.

Treasure wondered what Kim and the old man were talking about so she tried to listen to their conversation due to her curiousness but it was difficult for her to hear a thing they were saying since she was standing a bit far from them.

She slowly scanned the old man with her eyes from head to toe and she noticed how gorky the man was.

The old man should be in his sixties but he was dressed as if he is in his twenties. He was wearing multicolored sneakers, and a two-piece designer sweatshirt and pants.

The old man was stealing glances at Treasure and each time their eyes met, she bowed her head awkwardly, pretending she wasn't staring at him.

Treasure felt so uneasy at how the old man was checking her out. The old man was staring at Treasure with a flirtatious smile on his face, stroking his beard.

He saw that she was a beautiful girl but the clothes she was putting on made her look like a maid. She was wearing a red worn-out sweater and a long, wide skirt.

Nevertheless, Treasure's rag clothes and her nerd glasses couldn't hide her beauty. She has a pretty innocent face that can make one lose their mind.

Treasure gulped as she saw Kim and the old man walking toward her. She knew that they were both talking about her but what now?

"Treasure, I'd like to introduce you to my big pal, AJ. He is the manager of this nightclub, club 21." Kim said to Treasure with a grin.

Treasure bit down her bottom lip. She wasn't feeling safe at all. She wished she could tell Kim to take her out of the place immediately.

"AJ, meet my little sister, Treasure," Kim said to AJ.

AJ stretched forth his hand to shake Treasure who was having a panic attack. She returned the handshake trying to comport herself not to seem scared.

"your brother has told me a lot about you," AJ said to Treasure, staring at her lustfully.

Treasure immediately broke free from the handshake feeling disgusted by how he was staring at her.

"you're right Kim, she's going to be perfect for this job," AJ said smirking.

Treasure could not believe her ears, hearing what AJ said.

'perfect for what job? Has my brother sold me out?' Treasure thought to herself, wondering what AJ meant by that.

'I can't handle being a bartender here, talk more of being a prostitute or a stripper,' she said in her head. She didn't know what to think.

"What Job?" Treasure finally spoke up to Kim, in a shaky voice.

"AJ, could you excuse us for a moment?" Kim said to AJ so he can clarify things to Treasure and AJ left immediately.

"What is the matter with you Kim? Did you bring me here so I could be a cheap, dirty slut or what? If that's your plan then, screw you!" Treasure yelled at Kim with anger.

"Shhh!!" Kim tried to calm Treasure down.

"Not exactly. Actually, I wanted you to be a nightclub singer." Kim clarified.

"What???" Treasure exclaimed.

"yeah! You have an amazing voice Tee, instead of letting it waste, how about you come here during the weekends and sing to these clubbers? Most importantly, that manager over there is going to pay you a lot of money…" Kim said.

"No!" Treasure whispered to herself shaking her head.

"…Treasure listen, he'll pay you a lot of money that'll clear all your debts in school and I don't have to run from the cops anymore for stealing money. Please just think about it." he pleaded with Treasure.

"NO! I can't! won't!" she shook her head aggressively.

"Why can't you? You're not being a stripper or a prostitute, you're only singing beside, you have a good voice. How difficult is that??" Kim said in a husky tone.

"If it's that simple, why don't you do it!?" Treasure said vehemently and angrily left.

"Treasure! Treasure!!" Kim yelled her name but she kept on walking without looking back at Kim.

Kim sighed with his hands on his waist, feeling disappointed. Just then, AJ approached him.

"Did she agree to it?" AJ said to Kim feeling hopeful.

"No, not yet," Kim said and AJ groaned.

"Just give me some time, I know she'll change her mind and come back". Kim said to AJ undoubtedly.

*********