Heir: Hey ya'll! Back for the sequel now, are ya? That's great! Now…it's my turn!
CHAPTER TWO
"Introducing…Vannah Zima!" Lilly unfurled the curtain and grinned, looking upon her latest creation. Miley and Vicky were sitting on the bed, and smiled as she showed them the canvas. On it were drawn a set of clothes, hair, accessories, shoes, and other things they might need for the creation of 'Vannah Zima'.
"What do you think for this outfit for Vegas?" Lilly pointed at the outfit she had drawn. It was a set of black combat boots, a blood red tank top adorned with a dragon curling around the shoulders and waist, a pair of imitation torn jeans underneath a jeans mini-skirt, and a large 'peace' necklace. "We'll keep your hair colour, but straighten it and add these!" Lilly produced a small plastic box holding various extension colours.
Vicky jumped up and hugged her. "This is all so amazing!" She pulled away and hugged Miley as well, laughing happily. "If my friend Daniela was here, she'd be so happy! She is one of your biggest fans!"
Miley hugged Vicky back and laughed. "You are one of a kind, Vicky…one of a kind."
"I know!" Vicky clicked her fingers and hopped around the room, humming a song loudly. "I'm so glad Dad had a meeting up here!"
"What's the meeting about anyways?" Lilly asked, sitting next to her girlfriend.
"Oh, something about publishing his books worldwide." Vicky paused and went to her bag in a corner of the room. "I almost forgot! These are for you!" She brought out four books, handing two each to the girls. One of them was A Historical Guide to Malta by Vincent Zammit and the other was 42 by Robert Zammit.
"No way!" Lilly shrieked happily, pointing repeatedly at the latter. "Your brother's a writer?"
"Yep! Those are forty-two of his best poems, one for every week of the year!" Vicky proudly grinned, running a hand through her hair.
"Girls! Dinner!"
"Coming Daddy!" Miley shot up and led her friends to the kitchen. Vincent Zammit was at the table already, having changed into more comfortable clothing, and chatting to Jackson about the History of his homeland. Lilly caught snatches of 'Knights of St John' and 'Great Siege' in the words.
"What's for dinner?" Lilly asked.
"Chicken curry," Robbie Ray answered.
"Sweet!" Lilly sat and shoveled the food into her mouth. "Mr Stewart, you're a great cook!"
"I must say I agree." Vincent smiled, tasting the food. "Job well done."
"Thank you, kindly."
"These are my best friends!" Vicky held the laptop firmly in place and flicked through the pictures. Oliver had also come over to say hello to his old friend, and see what pictures she had to show them.
"School finished for good last May. Me and my friends were sad to separate but we're going to the same Junior College, St Aloysius." Vicky made the picture full screen and pointed at the various people in the photo. "This is the day we won the Annual Ninth Grade Basketball Tournament. That's Stephanie, that's Chanelle, Martina, Thea, Kim, Suzanne, Michelle, Luisa, Emily, Maria…" Victoria stopped and grinned. "We're great friends. All of us are." She moved from picture to picture, pointing out the various people in it.
"You're a big class."
"Twenty-four with the teacher." Victoria shrugged. "It's normal in Malta." She closed the laptop and smiled. "I'm going to the Alps in a few weeks to meet up with my friends. Dad's already talked to your Dad. I'm staying here 'till then and you guys are coming with me! Suzanne's dad is paying for everything."
"Whoa, back up," Lilly said, holding up a hand. "Did you just say we're going with you to the Swiss Alps… and we don't have to pay for it?!" Vicky giggled.
"That's right… if you want to, that is." Lilly turned slowly to look at Miley, smiles slowly spreading across both their faces.
"Pinch me," Lilly said to Miley.
"What for?" Miley responded.
"I need to make sure I'm not dreaming," Lilly deadpanned. Miley laughed out loud and pulled Lilly to her. She turned to look at Vicky.
"Count us in, Vicky… we'd love to go the Alps with you!" Vicky squealed and launched herself into an embrace with her American best friends.
"You guys are the best!" she gushed.
"So are you," Miley said with heartfelt honesty. Oliver grinned at the display of affection between the girls and looked back at Vicky's laptop.
"You know, your friends are cute…" he began.
"Forget it, Oliver. You have Joanie, remember?" Lilly reminded him.
Oliver sighed and nodded. "Nothing wrong in looking at another girl now, is there?"
Far away, on sunny Malta, a group of teenagers sat on the beach, laughing loudly at some joke. The group of twenty two cheered as one of them brought up the subject of their ninth grade basketball game victory. A large number punched the air happily. One particular girl - a tall, lanky brunette – looked at her group of friends. At school, they were known as the 'Chicaz', and they had stuck together through everything. She leaned back against the wall and poked a particular girl in the shoulder.
"Hey Tina. Remember Vic?"
The girl she had poked grinned and looked at her. "Yeah, I remember. The videos she made…I miss her…"
"You're seeing her in two weeks!" the girl sitting beside her remarked, grinning. "You're lucky, I'd say!"
One of the girls nearby looked over at them. "Yeah! You're lucky!" The girl managed to catch a glimpse at the sky and smiled. She was probably one of the only people who knew her best friend's secret…"I wonder…how she's doing…"
"A toast to our friend!" a girl shouted out. The others cheered, laughing again. "A toast!"