From Chex: I'm terribly sorry for the delay in updating. That's really all I can say. Of course there's reason, but I won't waste time giving excuses. So please enjoy the chapter.
"That'll be $2537.87, ma'am." The ding of the register was music to the ears of the red-haired former heiress. After making her dramatic exit off of Morbucks property, her stiletto-heeled feet had led her to the only familiar place of solace that could possibly placate her at a time like this.
The mall.
Only the sound of registers ringing up her endless purchases could comfort her now. She momentarily found calm in the idea of adding to her endless list of material possessions. For as long as she had known, they had been her only consolation in times of distress. Distress usually being hair-emergencies, a tear in the expensive fabric of some article of clothing, or, in her early years, rejection from the Powerpuffs.
Old habits had led her to Diamonique, her current favorite store. She was a frequent customer, seeing as few others could afford to shop there. They sold everything from golden hair accessories to rhinestone room decor. A single hair-clip never cost less than a hundred bucks and the word 'Sale' didn't exist in the vicinity of the store. Princess spent more in that store in a matter of a week than most people made in a year.
Princess dug around briefly in the small space of her gold clutch and pulled out a platinum credit card. She flung it at the clerk who fumbled to catch it. She tapped her hot pink nails against the counter, looking at the bags she had accumulated. Upon her arrival at the store, she had still been in somewhat of a frenzy, grabbing blindly at anything that caught her eye, not always bothering to check if it was in her size or even what it was, and generally flinging clothes everywhere.
After a minute, her gaze turned towards the clerk. A petite girl in glasses who was repeatedly swiping the card and looking pensive. "What's taking so long?" Princess snapped. The girl jumped, dropping the card and then bending down to retrieve it. Princess rolled her eyes impatiently. "Hurry it up! God, what the hell are you getting paid for? You're so useless."
The girl burned red, shamefully. "I-I'm s-s-sorry, but...well, the thing is, um..."
"Spit it out! I haven't got all day. Some people have lives to get back to. Not that you'd know anything about that," she sneered, flipping her curls and glaring hard at the girl. Taking obvious pleasure in watching her squirm.
"I-I'm sorry. Y-You're card isn't going through. Sorry," she added again, as though she were somehow to blame for this.
"What?! What do you mean it's not going through?!" Princess shrieked, her voice going up an octave. Her eyes flashed dangerously and in that instant she once again flooded with fury. "Move you idiot! You probably did something wrong." Grabbing the clerk by the sleeve of her polo shirt, Princess shoved her aside violently and stepped behind the register as she fled.
Snatching up the card, she swiped it. Instantly the breath flew out of her in one loud gasp. She growled and swiped it again. And again. And again. Each time the same words appearing on the tiny screen before her.
Invalid.
He...He...HE CANCELED MY CREDIT CARD!! Her eyes widened and she began to shake violently, an unpredictable mix of fear and fury. She pulled out her wallet, tossing every credit card she had (twelve) onto the counter. Each read the same. Invalid. Invalid. Invalid. Invalid.
"That bastard! He can't do this to me!" She screamed as she tossed the last useless card over her shoulder.
"Excuse me, Miss." A bony, but firm hand laid itself on her shoulder. She whirled around to face a tall, rib-thin woman in a serious-looking blue suit. Her eyes were a pale grey and narrowed at Princess, unperturbed by whatever fit she appeared to be having. "May I ask what you are doing?"
Irrational, Princess blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "He canceled my card!"
"Yes, well," the woman drawled, clearly unimpressed with this response. "I understand that you've been harassing my employees." Behind her, the flustered clerk girl peeked out.
"What? But I--"
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"WHAT?! D-Do you know who I am?!" Princess jabbed a finger at herself. "I'm Princess! You can't throw me out! Do you know who my da--..." The words remained unsaid on her lips.
The woman rose a thin brow, unfazed by her outburst. "Am I going to have to call security?"
"S-She's crazy, ma'am. I told you she was." The small girl stared at her fearfully.
Princess froze. Crazy? She was making a spectacle of herself. Her father's news had completely unhinged her and now she was making a complete and utter fool of herself.
In her younger years, she'd grudgingly admit, she'd been prone to fits and temper tantrums. But she had outgrown them. Occasionally, yes, she'd get upset, scream and shout. But always in the privacy of her own home with only her servants as witnesses. It had been years since she'd had a real fit like this. And in public! What had she been thinking?
Without another word, she stalked out of the store, urging herself to maintain control. To appear normal. Because if there was anything, anything at all that she would fight to protect more than her lifestyle, it was her reputation.
That bastard! That stupid, stupid bastard! Kicked me out, canceled my cards, who the hell does he think he is?! He can't do this to me! He just can't! Muttering angrily to herself, she stormed blindly around the mall, her eyes firmly locked and glaring at some point in the distance. The constant chatter of people around her faded to a distant hum, easily ignored.
"Princess! Hey, Princess!" Her head snapped around quickly, searching for the source of the cry.
Before she even identified her, a brightly dressed girl came running up to her. She had on a hot pink tank top and jean miniskirt. Her hair was a glossy brown and flowed in straight waves past her shoulders. Slightly taller, she smiled down at Princess as though the world itself revolved around her.
"Oh. Hi, Melissa," Princess responded noncommittally, barely batting an eyelash. She continued walking and Melissa, oblivious to her attitude, fell in step beside her.
"Omigod, I can't believe you're here! I totally text you, like, an hour ago. What happened?"
Princess merely shrugged. The comment didn't bother in the least since, even though it wasn't intentional this time, she sometimes took breaks from her cell phone and IM. She liked to leave her 'friends' with the impression that she had better things to do than return their calls and texts, even when it wasn't true.
Melissa, clearly disappointed, tried to appear equally nonchalant. "Oh, well. No big deal." Princess rolled her eyes, silently sneering, Chyea, right. You were probably glued to the phone for the past hour. "Wanna head to Diamonique? I heard they got new diamond cell phone charms!"
Like you can afford them. "Oh, please! That store is so last week. Catch up, Melissa." She didn't bother to hide the sting in her voice. She stormed ahead, making Melissa, who refused to give up, rush to keep up. Normally, this would've amused her, watching her friend trip all over herself just to please her. But she was too far gone to care. The indifference in her voice was clear as day.
Melissa, like everyone else, ignored it for her own sake. Pretending not to be hurt by it. "Oh, yeah. You're totally right."
Aren't I always?
"So did you see what that loser Robin was wearing Friday?"
And just like that, they slipped in to what was commonly referred to as their Ridicule Routine. Gossiping, naturally, was one of her favorite activities, second only to shopping. And it was clearly Melissa's way of trying to save face, protecting herself by tearing down others. A technique so familiar to Princess she could predict a decent gossip session coming before the first question had even left her mouth.
"That color so didn't work for her."
"Like any color would."
"It'd look great on you, though."
"I know."
Melissa flipped her hair over her shoulder, feeling comfortable now that she appeared to be on solid ground with Princess. "So are you gonna come tonight?"
"To what?"
The brunette blushed, trying to hide her disappointment. "My sleepover. Remember? You said you'd try to squeeze it into your schedule last week. All the girls are gonna be there. It starts at eight. You should totally come. If you're not too busy, I mean."
Princess blinked, recognition slowly dawning on her face, quickly replaced by realization. Perfect. I can spend the night at Melissa's and Daddy can go to hell. I so don't need him."Oh, that. Hmm..." She pretended to think it over. "I guess, I mean, I can go to Milan anytime, really. God, it's been so busy this week, with all the travel and stuff. I told you Daddy made me visit with some government guys in England, right? It's so hard having to make time for everyone and everything." Melissa just nodded, as though any of this were familiar to her. "It'll be good for me, ya know, doing something so unimportant for once."
Melissa's eyes lit up, either not recognizing the insult or deciding to ignore it. "So you'll come?"
"Sure, whatever."
Her friend squealed, "Awesome! I'll let everyone know." With that said, she whipped out a rhinestone-covered Blackberry and immediately started texting.
Princess, normally irritated at being ignored, took this opportunity to go over the plans in her head. So I'll stay with Melissa tonight. Daddy should be back to his senses by morning. Just as a smile began to spread across her face, it vanished. Crap. How am I gonna get my stuff? I am so not going home....Guess I'll just have to buy something. The word 'buy' immediately surfaced the all-too-recent memory of her blow-up at Diamonique. As discreetly as possible, she opened her purse and peeked in her wallet. About $600 dollars in cash. Hmm...guess that'll have to be enough until tomorrow. The thought of having to put up with a limited about of money completely pissed her off, but there was no one to run to for more. And certainly no one to vent with.
She'd have to deal. Somehow.
Without a word to Melissa, who was too absorbed in her textsation to notice, Princess left.
From Chex: Well, not much to say about this chapter. It turned out okay, in my opinion. At this point the only real challenge is trying to see how to portray Princess's relation to her friends, which, as to be expected, isn't so great. But I'm not sure how well I played Melissa's character. Not that she's major, but still. Please review because I greatly encourage feedback.