EIGHTY-ONE

AT THE CLEAR OPAL ROOFTOP: THE HANDOVER DINNER.

Many guests attended the event at the de Milo Children's Hospital, and the minister of health was there as well. Before any guest had arrived, Shimmer pulled Iris aside and warned her in a very stern voice, "Don't do or say anything to any of my guests! They are all MY guests! In fact, I would be glad if you just sit and not talk to anyone, you hear me? You aren't supposed to be here anyway, so your presence is a favour from me! No-one wants to hear your opinions! I expect you to sit in a corner and mind your business. If I see you talking to any of my guests, for whatever reason, then you can kiss this job goodbye. I don't care how many years you have served me; you will still go! Understood?"

Iris fearfully nodded her head, failing to understand where it was all coming from. She badly wanted to ask what she had done to deserve such a lecture, but she dared not.

The guests started to trickle in, some of them coming in way earlier than the starting time. Most of them were the same people who had attended the handover ceremony at the hospital. Some of them, especially the ladies, who earlier on had been dressed in exquisite formal wear, appeared again, now dressed to kill, in their evening gowns.

Shimmer and Raelynn were really anxious to see what Anisha would wear, because they refused to believe that she could look more beautiful than she did at the dinner table. Raelynn had bought another dress, which was very beautiful, and got tongues wagging when she entered the room. The glare of publicity was hers, and she enjoyed it exclusively.

However, it did not last as long as both Shimmer and Raelynn would have wanted, for in a moment, all eyes shifted to the entrance, and at the door entered Dylan with none other than her; the hated girl, Anisha Meyerton. Feeling like a shadow yet again, Raelynn was greatly infuriated.

The guests started to talk about Anisha.

"Who is that girl?" one lady asked no one in particular.

"Look at that girl. Could that be the future daughter in law of the de Milos?"

"Isn't Dylan's girlfriend Harper?" one whispered.

"Harper? Which world are you living in? They broke up ages ago!"

"Who is that beautiful goddess? Is that a real person? She looks like a magazine picture." One lady failed to keep her voice low, and she said the words loud and clear.

The men as well, including those who had brought along partners, could not help but steal glances at the angel who walked with Dylan.

Shimmer hated to admit it, but Anisha looked way more beautiful than how she had looked at the family dinner.

Dylan was introducing Anisha as "my friend", and almost everyone present was guessing that she was probably more than just a friend. If stares could kill, Anisha would have just collapsed and died, because many single ladies eyed her with eyes full of jealous and rage. Many of them had come with the intention of catching Dylan's eye, yet they found him already clutched to a woman who was no match to them.

As Dylan was laughing with an old friend, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Harper standing there, smiling at him.

"Harper! Why are you here?" Dylan could not hide his shock.

"Is that a good way of greeting a woman you once loved?" Harper used her most seductive voice.

When Anisha heard those words, she turned to scrutinize the woman, and her eyes were filled with jealous. She ended up telling herself that she had no reason to; because Dylan and herself were just friends.

"Who invited you?", Dylan asked.

"I'm here; that's what is important." She continued.

"Oh" was all Dylan could say.

"Can I talk to you in private, please?" Harper tried to pull Dylan away, but the latter did not move. He stared Harper in the eye and said, "say what you have to say here".

Anisha felt great joy welling up inside of her, and the frown that appeared on Harper' face made Anisha even much more happy.

Harper turned around and left with, "If you don't make an effort to find me, you shall never know what great news I intend to tell you!"

"I'm coming back now," Dylan excused himself and left Anisha. A bit hurt, Anisha thought that Dylan was going to follow after Harper, so she kept staring at him, and was very happy when she saw him going towards his mother.

Shimmer was laughing with her friends when Dylan came to her, "excuse me mum, just a moment."

"Of course!" she beamed with joy, and excused herself.

"Mum! Did you have to invite Harper? I know that you did!" he spoke in rage.

"Why not? She's the girl you once loved. She has every right to be here." Shimmer smiled.

"I don't love her anymore, mum. You didn't have to do that…"

While they spoke, Iris, who all along had been keeping an eye on Shimmer, with no valid reason, but just because she felt like Shimmer was up to no good, saw Shimmer raise her head and secretly winked at Raelynn. Raelynn nodded softly and hurriedly left the group of girls that she had been chatting with.

Shimmer continued to talk to Dylan, and even when Dylan mentioned that he wanted to go back to his friends, Shimmer delayed him. She spoke a lot about the importance of being good friends with one's ex, and she went on to narrate what a good girl Harper was.

"She comes from a rich family, she is a very decent girl. I like her a lot,"

"I know, mum", Dylan was becoming impatient, for he wanted to leave and go back to be with Anisha.

On the other side of the rooftop, Iris watched as Raelynn held up her long dress and rushed towards Anisha with great determination. She saw her chatting happily to Anisha, and although Raelynn was smiling sweetly, Iris could not believe that she meant any good. She kept watching them closely.

After a while, a waiter served them some drinks and they started walking towards the stairs that led from the rooftop to the entrance of the manor.

To Iris' surprise, Anisha walked side by side with Raelynn, as if they were great friends. Sensing that something was terribly amiss, Iris walked briskly towards the other side of the rooftop, so that she could use the other stairs which led into the manor. On her way, she bumped into a young man who also seemed to be in a hurry. She stared at him and realised that his face was familiar. He was the same waiter who had served the drinks to Raelynn and Anisha. But besides that, Iris believed that she had met him at another time, before the evening of the dinner.

"Miss Iris", the man smiled.

"You know me? Sorry but I have failed to recognise you", Iris responded, wishing for the conversation to end soon, so that she could rush to check on Anisha.

"I have seen you many times at the hospital when you come in with the de Milos. Everyone knows you, Miss Iris." The man smiled.

"Oh, I see", Iris smiled. "Nice to meet you So you're a waiter, and you see me at the hospital? Hmm? Your name is?"

"I'm Logan. I'm a cleaner at the hospital, but today I am a waiter; just for the extra cash."

"Oh, I see. Logan? You're in which department? Which hospital? Roderick Eye Centre?"

"No. I am at the private hospital." The man replied.

"Ok", Iris said as she was already beginning to run down the stairs.

She was surprised to see the man following her.

"Where are you going?.", she asked suspiciously.

" I need to use the restroom."

"There are restrooms at the rooftop", Iris said sternly. She felt a deep dislike for the young man.

The young man simply grinned. Ignoring him, Iris ran down the stairs and when she was down, she could not see anyone. She wished she had Anisha's number, so that she could call her, but she did not have it.

Quickly she removed her high heels and ran down the stairs to the seventh floor. Quickly, the lady scanned over the CCTV footage, and sure enough, she saw Anisha and Raelynn disappearing into a room in the sixth floor. It was a bedroom which Dylan used when he was still a child. Sensing a lot of danger, but unable to pinpoint where the danger was, Iris decided to trust her instinct. Not wanting to be seen, in case she ended up losing her job, the elderly woman avoided the elevator and ran up the stairs until she reached the mansion rooftop. She scanned the place urgently for Dylan, but there was no sign of him anywhere.