Talented Me! 09

"Why you- Wilona!" Adi shouted out. Her brows wrinkled deep in anger and her face scrunched up. She stared in loathe at the person who dared to lie to her. No one lies to her! Her body was taut like a bow ready to shoot; she was the definition of furious.

Wilona, at the sight of Adi's anger, flinched. She took a step back in fear before composing herself. She wanted to be brave, to no longer be trapped under Adi's hands. This was not the time to back down.

Wilona took a deep breath before looking directly into Adi's eyes. Determined eyes met angered eyes.

"I-" Wilona's words barely escaped, before she stopped.

A hard yank pulled her and she stumbled to run. At the turn, she could only give Adi a fleeting glance.

Daisy, since the confrontation, already prepared to escape. The moment she concluded Adi was brinking on violence, she pulled Wilona and ran. Who cares if they call her a coward! At least being a coward makes you alive!

With Wilona in tow, Daisy dashed out of the mall. Their bags rustled against one another in the air, and their hair flew in the wind becoming a turbulent mess. Once outside, they finally stopped gasping for breath.

Wilona had one hand in Daisy's grasp and the other on her knees. She was huffing and puffing zealously pulling in air. Out of nowhere, she heard a muffled laugh before it erupted into a laughter bomb. The parking lot was filled with the loud sound of Daisy's laughter. She bent over covering her stomach and continued laughing out loud.

"That was exciting!" Daisy's laughter brought the widest grin to her mouth. Her hands opened up towards the sky before screaming out in excitement. Daisy's mirthful spirit unlocked several spins of glee from her. Jumping up and down and twirling, she couldn't stop herself from expressing her delight.

"I almost had a heart attack!" Wilona couldn't help but exclaim. But she, too, started to giggle. Her laughter, like the bells, twinkled against Daisy's energetic one.

The two friends continued to be silly in the parking lot before walking to Wilona's house. Jokes and giggles could be heard in hush whispers as the girls struggled to keep their laughter at bay. Each of their hands had several bags hanging off of them, and they would justle with every movement. Against the blank night, their giggles and spontaneous laughter were bright.

Daisy pulled her eyebrows up and scrunched her face. She lowered the sides of her mouth before mimicking the voice of Adi.

"I'm Adi - a grump face. Grumpy grumpy grumpy meanie," her impression, albeit a poor one, resembled Adi a fair bit. She purposely lowered her voice and walked with heavy steps.

Wilona, looking at Daisy's cheeky grin, laughed. She pulled out her ring of keys unlocking the door. Bending down, she ushered "Adi" in.

"Welcome, Lady Adi," lifting her head, she revealed a cheeky grin of her own. "Adi" hmphed before lifting her head high and walking into the house. The moment she stepped in, she looked back at Wilona and giggled.

Daisy placed her shoes by the front door curiously peeking around. The house was small and quaint but had a warm feeling - like home. On the nearby cabinet, there were picture frames of all kinds carefully placed. Casually picking one up, she saw a family of 4.

"This you?" Daisy turned to Wilona pointing at the picture. Wilona walked up before carefully taking the frame out of her hands. Deeply, she stared at the picture and lightly rubbed the frame.

"Yes," Wilona whispered before pointing at every person, "This is my brother, and that's my father. My mother and I are here."

How nostalgic. This was the last time they had ever been able to get together. It was a warm summer evening and her parents took her to D**ney World, the place of dreams. Of course, she had the most fun a 10-year-old could ever dream of. After that, both her parents and her brother were too busy. Every day and every night, they would tire themselves out working hours upon hours to provide even just another meal on the table. There wasn't time to relax, not to mention go out on a trip.

Wilona caressed the picture slowly reminiscing of their time together. It was so long ago, but it was the fondest memory she found herself dreaming of constantly. The laugher, the music, the smiles - now, they were just a memory, a dream of the past.

Daisy hummed in response before looking around the house. She looked at the bags in her hands and passed a glance at Wilona's bags.

"Where's your room?" Daisy asked before jokingly saying, "My arms are falling off."

Wilona snapped out of her daze and led Daisy to her room. Once inside, Wilona couldn't help but blush. Her room probably couldn't compare to Daisy's. It was small and common with little accessories or decorations. Even with one person inside her room, it was cramp, not to mention 2 people and several bags.

"Here, you can sit here." Wilona pointed to her bed. She then rushed out of her room and came back with refreshments cradled in her hands. Letting Daisy choose her favorite, Wilona flurried around her room trying to find something they could do.

Idle chatter filled the small room, and finally, Daisy prompted Wilona to have a mini fashion show. Only after Daisy filled Wilona heaps of compliments did she really start to try on the clothes.

The first outfit was a simple light blue A-line dress. It had no embellishments but its own color. The dress fell down to Wilona's knees scrapping it every time she moved. Her hair gently swayed to the side as she moved, shadowing her figure. It was just a dress, but on Wilona, it was something more. It added another veil of softness to Wilona. Wilona looked peaceful and elegant, like an orchid.

Daisy looked at Wilona with eyes charmed with awe. Wilona was never ugly, but she didn't have that pizzaz. She was a small flower blooming only for the ones who look, and to her fortune, Daisy was the first one to witness Wilona bloom.

"Let me fix your hair," Daisy stood up grabbing a brush on the table. She reached into one of the bags pulling out a pearl hair clip.

Leading Wilona to sit on a chair, Daisy did her magic and transformed Wilona's hair. Her hair was pulled into a loose half do with a glimmering pearl hair clip holding it in place. At the front, Wilona's hair was split into a 3:7 part sweeping to the side like waves. A few bangs hung lazily on top of her forehead brushing against her slender eyebrows. Simple but beautiful.

Daisy pulled out her emergency lipstick and dabbed a few dots on Wilona's lips. Blending it against her natural lips, Wilona's original pale pink lips turned into a soft blush. Her eyes were upturned looking at Daisy, and Wilona looked like an innocent lamb.

"Aren't you the prettiest doll!" Daisy showed Wilona's finished look with her phone. Wilona stared curiously at the person in it. She looked so similar to herself but so different. The girl on the screen was cute and pretty; never did she ever looked like this once.

Pretty dress, hair, and a dash of makeup - this was her but not her.

"This," Wilona slowly whispered, "is me?"

She touched her cheeks and the girl on the screen did the same as well. A tilt of the head and she did the same. No matter what Wilona did, the girl mimicked it as well.

"Of course it is, silly!" Daisy, amused, laughed out loud. Judging by Wilona's reaction, Wilona probably never dolled herself up. What a waste!

For the next hour or two, Daisy had the most fun dressing Wilona. From hair to shoes, Wilona was turned left and right trying on different outfits. A simple casual look, sporty, lively, athletic, cute - every style imaginable! At some point, Daisy opened Wilona's closet and began mix-matching her new clothes to her old clothes.

Wilona, too, had a lot of fun. She learned so many tricks and tips changing her old style into something more trendy. It was still her, but it was an even more vibrant her. She never knew there was such a world, and the entire time, a bright smile hung on her lips. This was what having real friends felt like! Fun, thrilling, and exciting!

The girls had fun the entire time, but soon it got dark, and the moon hung peacefully in the sky. Waving Daisy goodbye, Wilona lazily leaned on the door with a loose smile. In just one night, Wilona changed from being near reclusive to open. Her actions were more carefree, and on the edge of her lips was always a small smile.

Daisy waved energetically at the new Wilona and went home feeling proud. She always knew Wilona had a little her hiding inside, and she was happy she managed to pull it out of her tonight! Daisy felt it was a pat-on-the-back rewarding action, and did just that; she patted herself on the back.

After Daisy's shadow disappeared, Avina let out a tired sigh. Stretching herself up and down, Avina finally let her muscles relax. She knew this feeling anywhere. It was always there after a long day of shopping!

A faint light had shown before 5025 walked out from the shadows. It circled around Avina before rubbing its head on her leg and followed her back to her room.

Avina started picking up various articles of clothes off the floor placing them back in the closest. Lifting a pair of scissors up, Avina cut off the tags from her new clothes. Spreading each one out, Avina smiled brightly.

This princess still has skills! Each one of these fit Wilona perfectly! Simple and clean!

"This reminds me of my world," Avina started chattering. "I loved shopping and trying on the newest trends. Every weekend, I would pull Bea, and we would head to the nearest mall."

Cleaning the room, she couldn't help but reminisce of her life back home, her fun with Bea, and simply, hers. Her life - her own life, not some plot of some book. Or maybe it was a plot, but that was still her life regardless.

"How's Bea? Can you even look at her situation?" Avina couldn't help but ask. She was curious even in the last world. How was Bea? How was her family? How was everyone? Every question swirled in her head at least once, but she had a mission to focus on.

5025 felt sorry, but it could only shake its head. Once the Host signed the contract, it could not disclose any information on their world. Family, friends, anything - it wasn't allowed to speak about it; it was the rules. 5025 wasn't even allowed to know about it either.

Avina was hopeful, but it was immediately dampened upon 5025's shake. Her eyes dimmed before she continued cleaning. It definitely wasn't the first time she was disappointed, but at the very least, this one simple request, couldn't it be done?

5025 looked anxiously at its Host. Its mews were pitiful against the silent night.

"I'm sorry, Host," 5025 started to explain. "I, even I can't look at it."

5025 rushed over to Avina and rubbed against her leg apologetically.

"It's okay, 5025," Avina patted 5025 head. "It's not your fault."

5025 was like any other employee in a system - bottom of the barrel. What it was allowed and not allowed to do, it didn't have a right to reject. Avina understood, but she was sad regardless.