Chapter Two: The good life.
The next morning, after Blair had left for school, and Eleanor was away at another business meeting, Hanna grabbed a quick breakfast and went for a walk on the crowded streets of New York City. It was a chilly February morning, which made her glad she had worn a jacket over her short sleeved shirt, but regretful that she had worn a skirt and boots. She crossed her arms over her chest for a moment as a cold burst of wind blew past her. She pushed a strand of brown hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. She felt the sudden urge for a warm drink, so she found her way back to the coffee shop she had passed by at the beginning of her walk. Once inside, she ordered a large hot chocolate, and handed the young cashier a five dollar bill. Once she received her change and her hot cocoa, she thanked him, stuffed the money in her pocket and took a sip of the drink as she continued her walk. She decided to go see a movie to waste a couple of hours.
An hour and a half later, she tossed her half empty soda and popcorn in the outside trashcan as she left the theater. The cliché horror flick had left her a bit bored, and she still had an hour to spare before school was let out and she would possibly be running into Blair or Serena.
"Hold me down, sweet and low, little girl,
Hold me down, sweet and low, I will carry you home,"
She hummed along with the music for a moment before realizing it was her cell phone ringing. Feeling silly, she quickly pulled it out of her pocket and answered it.
"Hello?" She leaned against the side of a building while she was on the phone so that she could hear properly.
It was Eleanor. "Hanna, there are a few things I would like to talk to you about. How soon can you be home?" She sounded a bit impatient.
"Um.. Ten minutes, maybe?" She guessed, hoping that she could get a cab so that she wouldn't have to walk all the way back to her new home.
"Alright. See you soon." The line went dead.
The ride back to the Waldorf home took exactly thirteen minutes, and the entire time, she kept wondering what her aunt wanted to speak with her about.
She got out of the cab, paid the man, and approached the house. As she walked into the house, she saw Derota tidying up around downstairs. "Do you know where Eleanor is?"
Derota nodded and pointed down the hall. "She is in her office, Miss Hanna. She told me to send you there once you arrived."
"Thanks." Hanna murmured as she walked down the hall and into a large room. She found her aunt sitting at a large oak desk, typing away on a fancy desktop computer. "Hey," She said, tapping on the doorframe as she came inside.
"Oh, hello, Hanna. Sit down, please." She said, looking up from the monitor and gesturing towards a chair. "How are you adjusting to your new life here?" She asked, rolling her chair away from the computer screen so that she could look at Hanna face to face.
"Pretty well, I guess. Today I just took a walk around the nearby town, just to get to know the place. I think I'm getting to like New York," She said with a little smile.
Eleanor smiled a bit. "Well we're very happy to have you here, Blair and I. You're family, after all."
Hanna wished Eleanor would get to the point already. She forced a smile and nodded. "Thank you for having me here."
Eleanor cleared her throat, and, just as if she had been reading her niece's mind, she spoke again. "Well, since you will be living here for a number of months, I thought it fit that I give you an allowance. You will notice I'm not here very much, but Derota will always be here to prepare your meals, and Rossleton will be able to drive you anywhere you wish." She pulled her purse out from behind the desk and dug through it until she pulled out a thin piece of plastic and handed it to Hanna. "I trust you will not overuse this. I thought maybe Blair could help you go shopping today, so that you can find some new clothes, and whatever else you need to make your stay here more comfortable."
Hanna stared down at the credit card, something she had never had before. She was a bit shocked; She had never been that close to her aunt, and here she is giving her a credit card to go shopping with. "Wow… thank you." Her smile was genuine as she slipped the card into her own purse.
Eleanor nodded. "You're welcome. I need to get back to work now, so you're free to wait upstairs until Blair gets here. Although… she may not come home immediately, so here is her cell phone number, just in case." She scribbled down a number on a stray piece of paper on her desk and handed it to her.
Hanna thanked her and left the room. She programmed the number into her phone and then slipped it back into her pocket. She headed upstairs to her room and waited around a couple minutes. She was anxious to get out and go to the mall, and christen her brand new credit card. She was laying on her bed, her legs hanging over the edge, as she heard voices downstairs, and then footsteps leading upstairs. There was a light knock at her door and then it swung open, revealing a less annoyed looking as usual, Blair Waldorf, Serena at her side.
Hanna pulled herself up so that she was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Hey, Blair," She said. "Serena."
"Mom asked me to spend the day with you, show you around, go shopping. I agreed to go, but only because you're family, and you're so obviously in need of some fashion help." Blair said, smirking a bit.
Hanna rolled her eyes. "Thanks…?"
"I'll be right back. Going to change out of this hideous uniform. Meet me downstairs and then we'll get Rossleton to drive us." She said before leaving the room.
Hanna hopped off the bed and walked with Serena down the stairs. They waited by the door, and a couple minutes later, Blair approached them. "Rossleton is waiting outside. Let's go." She walked quickly out the door. Serena and Hanna exchanged glances before they followed after her to the limousine.
The ride was excruciatingly boring, at least for Hanna. Blair and Serena were chatting away about the things they would buy at the mall, and other tidbits that were uninteresting to Hanna. For the most part of the ride, Her attention was focused outside the limousine window, staring at the large buildings as they passed. She caught the end of their conversation as she decided to listen in.
Blair groaned a bit and let her head fall back on the headrest of the seat. "Ugh. I just hope Chuck doesn't show. It's just like him to go to my favorite clothing boutique and ruin it for me." Hanna didn't know who Chuck was. Maybe an ex-boyfriend? Whoever it was, she pitied the poor soul for having to put up with this girl.
When Hanna glanced up, she saw Serena roll her eyes. The vehicle came to a halt, and the driver stepped out and opened Blair's door. They climbed out that end of the limo and stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of a very large building. "Thank you, Rossleton. I will call when we need you to pick us up," Blair said. The man nodded and got back into the limousine, driving off.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Blair said, pulling her Prada bag up onto her shoulder as she led them into a store.
During the following hour, they had been in five different stores. Hanna had a shopping bag on one arm, and two on the other. She had been shopping before, but never like this. She didn't have to worry about how much she spent, and it felt great; she couldn't wait to make use of the gorgeous clothes she had picked out. They stopped by one more store, buying a couple items, and then Blair called Rossleton to pick them up.
They were standing outside a Starbucks when he arrived. Hanna took a sip of her vanilla frappe, and, as she let Rossleton take their shopping bags for them and let them into the limousine, she smiled to herself. I could get used to this.