Moving On

It was already 7 pm when Mrs Daisy got back home. She met her friends, Mrs Jackson and Mrs petkof, sitting with Treasure in between them, they were already on black clothes and each had a white handkerchief that had makeover stains on it. Mrs Daisy's gaze met Treasure's but she looked very blank. Mrs Daisy was taken aback

"Jade?....Catherine? What is going on here? Why are you two here? and what are you both doing with my daughter?"  "calm down Daisy,"  Mrs petkof spoke, "we heard all about it and we decided to come and sympathize with you..Daisy.." "Enough!" Mrs Daisy yelled trying to stop her from spilling too much before Treasure, but she wouldn't listen.

"We understand your grievance Daisy"...came Mrs Jackson...

"we know what it must feel like loosing a loved one. I lost my father in-law to a plane crash three years ago and I felt like a shadow of my own self"...

"Could you two just be quiet?!!".. Mrs Daisy yelled again looking towards Treasure but Mrs petkof feigning tears began to wipe her eyes in her handkerchief.

"Shu.....shu...Daisy, let out your grief, cry on my shoulders" she said walking towards Mrs Daisy, but she yelled again, this time more sternly

"could you two just stop this? Treasure go to your room now!" She commanded. Treasure got up to leave but Mrs Jackson held her...

"no Daisy, you shouldn't yell at her like that knowing she just lost her father" Mrs Jackson blurted out and Mrs Daisy grew in a rage, she pushed off Mrs petkof's arm from around her shoulders and walking to Mrs Jackson, she drew her up with one pull and slapped her hard on the face. Then looking to Treasure, she said

"always listen to mommy's orders, now go upstairs to your room right now!!" Treasure obeyed but she finally understood why her mother had been crying that morning, it was because her dad had died and was never coming back. It had taken Treasure four years since she was six to get her mother to tell her the truth about her father. She still wondered why they were living apart and now that she was planning on getting them back together, her father had left them for good. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she got to her room and she shut the door behind her.

"This is the saddest news ever." she muttered to herself as she sat hard on the floor.

     Meanwhile, Mrs Jackson was still recovering from the shock of  being slapped and Mrs Daisy was busy yelling on top of her voice at the both of them  "what did you two do that for? You have only succeeded in thwarting all of my efforts!"

"but what have we done Daisy?" Mrs petkof asked.

"how dare you spill the news about Marcus' death to Treasure like that? Have you both lost it?" She asked in rage.

"but she ought to know, he was her dad after all."  Mrs petkof argued.

"Just shut up alright!"  Mrs Daisy yelled as a tear rolled down her cheeks. Silence fell. It had been a while since they saw Mrs Daisy cry the way she did. "you two, leave my house this instant, and please don't make me repeat  myself." She walked out on the both of them, heading towards Treasure's room.

        Mrs Daisy suddenly developed cold feet just when she reached Treasure's door...

"Oh lord please help me." she finally said brazing up herself, but when she tried to open the door, she realized it had been locked from inside.

"oh no!" she exclaimed

"don't do this to mommy, Tresh" she yelled. She had begun knocking uncontrollably, drawing the attention of the maidservants around. They rushed to her and understood at once that Treasure had locked herself in. Eden grabbed Mrs Daisy's hand to prevent her from hurting herself.

"please madam get a grip of yourself " she pleaded but Mrs Daisy spoke admits tears

"what if...what if...she...hurts her...herself huh?" The other maidservants surrounded her, some tried to wipe her face with her handkerchief, others tried to hold her to her feet, but Eden spoke calmly

"I know little mistress, madam. She would never do anything to make you worry so much, she might be crying..yes, but I know she'd do nothing more than that, she needs her privacy for now she really loved lord Marcus, it will take her sometime to adjust, but I promise you, I'd make sure we don't let her out of our sight. Go and relax while we take care of things here"

"dinner?... Has she eaten dinner?" Mrs Daisy asked exhausted.

"yes madam, she ate dinner thirty minutes before the arrival of madams petkof and Jackson. "

"Mrs Daisy walked away in the company of three other maids. Eden heaved a sigh of relieve and sat down in front of Treasure's room.

"I will stay here just in case she needs anything, the rest of you can go" she said to the other maids and they left her alone.

          The next day, both Eden and Treasure had not slept at all throughout the night. Eden, for the reason of being able to hear when Treasure calls out to her and Treasure, with the hope of seeing her dad in the skies, they both had their hopes dashed as morning came and what they had expected, eluded them. Eden called out to Treasure but she didn't reply so Eden gently grabbed the door knob and pushing it gently, she realized the door was open, so she walked in and found Treasure silently playing with her teddy bears.

"umm...ma'am, would you like breakfast in bed?" Eden asked a bit scared of the worst should Treasure decide not to eat.

"No, I will eat with my mom, prepare the dinning table, let it be only mom's favourites" she said finally turning her gaze to Eden. Eden was more than glad, she hurried out of the room, down the stairs to the kitchen. She joined the cooks and gave them the menu for that day. Surprisedly, the cooks stared at eachother.

"madam said she'd be skipping breakfast but we should prepare Treasure's favourite"

"no,...." Eden argued..

"this is a new order, prepare madam's favourite and serve breakfast for two immediately." She said leaving to get Treasure's uniform from the laundry.

         It took only thirty minutes to prepare and breakfast for the two. Maidservants were sent to get both Mrs Daisy and Treasure. Mrs Daisy had refused to eat breakfast, but when she was told that Treasure was already waiting at the table, she hurried there.

           The dinning room of the Marcus' was a magnificent one. Its chandelier hung six feet from the centre of the table and three feet from the centre of the table to the floor. The dinning table was made of cobalt blue glass, the cutleries were arranged according to their makes and colours, the washing sink had a unique gold colour and the floors were made of black marbles. The dinning room carried a peculiar fragrance of rose, and the table was almost covered with different sizes of dishes, containing fruits of different types and sizes, some sliced open, others still whole. A tray of vanilla cake and another filled with candies, was placed opposite each other. So many wine glasses and champagne flutes were arranged in their sizes, and an ice bucket was filled with bottled wines of different brands. Various food trolleys bearing different types of food were arranged at a corner with six servants standing beside them. At the very edge of the dinning table, sat a chubby girl in a green and light cream school uniform bearing a badge with two masks, one smiling and the other sad, a mickey mouse designed hair band stood on her hair that had been packed up into a pony tail. It fell right back behind her and rested on her waist. Treasure inherited both the colour, length and texture of her philippino mom's hair but not her skin tone, for she was coloured, almost like her dad.

       Mrs Daisy met her daughter playing with one of the live flowers in the vase, her dish and cutleries waiting to be used. Mrs Daisy could not hold back her ecstasy. She smiled warmly, watching her daughter's cheerful face that she forgot to sit down.

"Good morning mom" Treasure greeted trying to divert her mother's attention. "Please sit down, its your favourite food, you'd love it" she said again gesturing to a chair. Mrs Daisy sat down on the seat nearest to Treasure. The servants began to serve them breakfast immediately and while eating, Mrs Daisy kept staring at her daughter observing her countenance at intervals, but Treasure was expressionless.

        At the end of their breakfast, Mrs Daisy passed Treasure her dessert and watched her eat with joy in her heart. She was glad that Treasure was already getting over her father's death. she appreciated the fact that her daughter had taken after her dad's stiff, but warm and loving heart, and she admired Treasure's bravery

      "Tresh?"... She called smiling

"yes mom" Treasure replied

"um...would you like to go shopping with me later today?... maybe after school hours, I could come pick you up myself, and we could both have lots of fun, what do you think princess?" She asked stretching her hand over Treasure's...

"would have loved to mom, but I've got a lot to cover up for skipping school yesterday, I was hoping I'd be able to catch up on them later today, thanks anyways" She replied smiling. Mrs Daisy was excited that Treasure finally wanted to return to her normal life.

"ok dear, that's a wonderful thing to do." She replied and Treasure faced her dessert. Mrs Daisy's cellphone rang and taking it, Barrister Malcolm, the family lawyer spoke

     "Mrs Daisy, I got your message yesterday but I had so much on my hands to attend to at that time, so I couldn't give you a proper reply, but they have been duly managed and I'm sorry for the inconveniences. Nevertheless, I will make sure I reach out to them, but bear in mind that your house will be their meeting place, is that ok by you?" He asked. Mrs Daisy was lost in thoughts. She had never imagined that she'd host Marcus' ex_wives and his girlfriends with their children in her own house. Her mansion had a lot of rooms to accommodate a lot of people, but it was a different case if they weren't those that hated or chastised her.

      "Mrs Daisy? "Mr Malcolm called hoping she was still on the receiving end of the phone.

"Yes, I don't mind" she finally spoke,

" its all for Marcus' sake" she said trying to hide her emotions.

"okay then, the will of your late husband will also be read in your house after the funeral, a year should be okay. Any updates from the police yet?...He asked with concern...

"no...not yet, but hopefully" Mrs Daisy replied.

"ok then, when you do, don't hesitate to tell me." Barrister Malcolm said

    Mrs Daisy looked at Treasure and remembering that she had confiscated all of her gadgets, she quickly called pascal and asked him to give them back.

        Treasure got out of the car after the driver held the car door open for her, she looked at the building of her luxurious school and was at last, happy she had left the mansion premises.

"At last, something to distract me from dad's death, Mrs Camilla Brunet would be glad to see me". She said to herself. She had taken just a step when Vanessa and Lexi, her friends came running to her. When they had gotten to where Treasure stood transfixed, they both lowered their heads in sympathy.

    "We are sorry about your dad Treasure..."They said simultaneously. "It's fine" she replied hoping they'd change the topic, but Vanessa continued,

"my dad also thinks its murder Treasure, but he's a bit confused how Mr Donald could disappear without a trace. The police are still investigating so you need not worry Treasure, I know they'd find the murderer...ok?"

      "Thanks, where's Jake and Romane?" Treasure asked.

"Oh, they are both in the class, we'd take you to them." Lexi said smiling as she took Treasure's back pack from her.

    Treasure attended one of the best schools for kids whose parents were affluent. Residing in Coventry, a city in central England, Treasure was enrolled into Pattison school on her own decision. Mrs Daisy had wanted her to finish middle school as well as college and university in Bristol, west England where they had resided, but Treasure had refused to be a boarder there.  However, Treasure, after so much persuasions from her mom, decided that after her eighth year in Pattison school, she'd leave Coventry back to Bristol for her highschool and university education. She knew she was going to miss her friends with whom she had spent eight years and counting with, right from preschool till now that she had just entered middle school. At first when she heard that her Dad still lived in Bristol, she had wanted to go back there to school, so she could have an excuse to visit him as she wished, but then, her mother had refused to leave Coventry, almost shattering her dreams. Luckily, Mr Marcus had also been living in Coventry because of his business and only returned to Bristol when he felt like it. Treasure had been so happy when she heard the news, and had forced her mom to enroll her in Pattison school there in Coventry, but now she had realized that it was all a waste of time, for her dad had died and schooling in Coventry or Bristol didn't matter anymore.

     Treasure had been lost in her own thoughts,

"I'm really loosing my mind, I need to calm down now" she said as she  walked to her locker. She met Vanessa, Jake, Romane and Lexi waiting for her. They smiled as she approached. The fragrance of Amber elixir, Treasure's favourite perfume filled the air.

       "wow!!!".., Jake exclaimed rubbing his nose. The others chuckled while Treasure managed a smile. She took her bag from Vanessa and from inside it, brought out her mathematics and English literature textbooks she had taken home to study and placed them back into her locker.

"what subject do we have now" she asked no one in particular, but Lexi quickly answered.

"we've got History, and music, that's for me later today."

"Thanks." Treasure replied

       "we 'ave balle practice later today Treasure. Mrs Camilla Brunet kept asking after you yesterday" 

"I see"...Treasure replied not looking in her direction. Jake and Romane, like they had been trying in vain not to say a word about Treasure's dad, finally blurted out.

    "we are sorry about your dad Treasure"...

"Thanks... Treasure replied indifferently, and turning to Jake, she said

     " thanks to your mom I found out about my father's death. Jake just stared in confusion.

"what does she mean he asked himself.

        Class was the same as ever just that everyone kept looking at Treasure and whispering between themselves, some came out straight and sympathized with her, others looked on unsure of what to say. She continued praying for the speed of time so she could just get out of their sight and spare her ears the condolences.

         "Its 2 pm Treasure, let's 'urry or we'd be late for practice." Romane said packing up her books. Treasure walked with her to the locker room and then to the changing room. "Oh, I ate more zan enough food at ze cafeteria Treasure, I hope I'd not be kicked out of practice today" Romane said holding her stomach. Treasure didn't say a word, she patted Romane on her shoulders and continued adjusting her tights, then her leggings and her leg warmers.

     "Are you ready?" Treasure finally asked, "yes, let's go" Romane replied brushing her leotard with her fingers.

     On their way to their ballet class, passed by Jake and Vanessa who were both hurrying off to their art classes and failed to notice them. "Lexi should be in 'er music class by now, you should 'ave seen 'er yesterday, she played 'er violin so well Mrs Lombardi, 'er music teacher couldn't stop applauding 'er" Romane said smiling. Treasure looked her over... "You talk like you watched her, weren't you at balle practice yesterday?"

"No, Mrs Camilla Brunet canceled ze class, she said she wouldn't teach until you were in attendance, everyone was a bit jealous, especially Claude,..."Romane laughed holding her chest,

"you should 'ave seen 'er face." Treasure giggled and they walked on till they got to the ballet hall. Everyone was already there and as they walked in, Mrs Brunet got up from her seat and called everyone together.

"ok! everyone in your pozeetions quickly!" She said in a loud voice. Treasure felt at home hearing Mrs Brunet's French accented voice again. She took her position at the first roll of  the second column of the room. Her eyes met that of Mrs Brunet who smiled warmly before looking away. Treasure preferred that to numerous condolences and unnecessary apologies.

          "Today"... Mrs Brunet began, "we'd be practising some important moves of ballet dancing, but before zat, 'ow many of you 'ave tried to master zese moves?" she asked smiling, very sure she was confusing them all. Everyone was still silent when Claude, a slender white girl with blond curly hair and a French accent spoke

     "Mrs Brunet, do you mean ze movements you taught us in preschool?" "Yes" Mrs Brunet replied and the other kids heaved a sigh of relieve. Claude stepped to the front of the line and facing them all, she began listing the seven important movements as she did so, she demonstrated them too. "one...plier, which means to bend, two...etendre, which means to stretch, three...relever, which means to rise, four...glisser, which means to glide or slide, five...sauter, which means to jump, Six...elancer, which means to dart, and seven... tourner, which means to turn. She spun around and stood with her feet in a 'v' shape, placing her heels together and her toes apart. Mrs Brunet began an applause and the rest of the kids joined in.

"Tres bien!!! she said. Claude smirked at Treasure in pride as she walked back to the line. Treasure was lost in thoughts and didn't even notice that everyone else had started to imitate Mrs Brunet's ballet moves.

"Miss Marcus?" She called jerking Treasure back to reality. Treasure stared a bit startled, making Claude and her friends to burst out laughing.

"Silence!" Mrs Brunet yelled and the room was quiet again.

"Miss Marcus, go wait in my office, I'd join you in a bit" she said looking at Treasure worriedly. Treasure walked to a corner of the room where a door stood ajar with Mrs Brunet's name crested on it. She sat on the visitors seat opposite that of Mrs Brunet's and observed the others still trying to master the seven ballet movements from a window behind the empty seat.

"No wonder she gets to see our every flaw"... Treasure said still looking out the window. "silly Claude!" Treasure muttered "what a show off!" She said again in disgust.

         Exactly thirty minutes later, Mrs Brunet walked in and Treasure stood on her feet.

"Seet".. Mrs Brunet said. She stared at Treasure for a while before speaking calmly with her usual French accent, "mademoiselle, you must zink pozeetively and towards ze future only or you'd not be proud of yourself later in life. You must know zat zis life is full of ups and downs and ze way we decide to see ze rough moments of eet, will determine how many rosy ones we'd get in our lives" she paused observing Treasure's countenance and noticed she was holding back her tears. She had managed to pretend before her mom and everyone else but she was really loosing her mind. Mrs Brunet stretched out her hand and held Treasure's, and smiling, she said

"in your preschool, you were ze best ballerina, but now, you look like you are heading for a 'eavy weight championship class." She said running her eyes down to Treasure's protruded belly. "mademoiselle,"... She addressed Treasure.

"you 'ave a lot of things to do, I need you to concentrate, I need your devotion, and...she paused, "I need you back in shape! Eat right Treasure, you can fight zis, if you don't start now, eet will be more difficult later, forget about your father's demise and be ze tough girl zat I used to know!" She said, and with the way she mentioned Treasure's dad, Treasure didn't feel upset, instead she felt the need to move on, it should have been the one reminding her fellow ballerinas of those moves, because she had done it better than them at preschool.

"Thank you Mrs Brunet, I'd be mindful of my diet, and I won't let my..my father's death affect me anymore, thank you for your care, I promise I will take my ballet practice seriously from now on"

Mrs Brunet pushed a glass of water to her, "drink up, practice eez over" she said to Treasure.