Chapter: Four
Chapter Title: The Friendship of The Painter and A Whore
Summary: Imagine if Les Miserables is set in the modern times and every character was living an ordinary life. Now imagine their lives with some amusing moments and my Les Mis characters that involves of pranks, jokes, the occasional quarrels and perhaps...a little bit of romance?
Author's Notes: Welcome back reader! Nice to see you again, I hope you would excuse the delay but I was horribly, terribly attacked with writer's block, so here it is! The fourth chapter, I hope you would enjoy it.
Chapter Four: The Friendship of The Painter and A Whore
Sillette was in the park, busy writing something on her notepad. It was a letter to thank her adoptive family for sending her to college, that family of hers mostly consists of the prostitutes at the pier and the pimp. Somehow, she's gotten attached to them and they've gotten attached to her; for many years she's been with them working with them, selling her body for at least some dollars and now they've decided it's time for her to go to college after finishing in a public school with high honors and little problems.
Dear Family,
Good news, I have now settled in and am starting to cope with my living arrangements. I have landed a job as a waitress and am going to send you money every week to help you guys out, moreover I have also made acquaintances with the sister of a doctor so maybe I could help you out more than I thought I could. Also, I'll be visiting you guys every Saturday to help out however much I can.
*Attached to the letter is a picture of me and my new roommate Matilde Antoinette Rousseou
Love Always,
Sillette (Your youngest Lovely Lady)
Sillette stopped writing, folded the piece of paper up and slid it into an envelope with information as to where it will be sent. She didn't really need to find a mailman, she always gets someone to send the letter for her and right now, she has the right person in mind. She met him in the streets during a rainy day, his name is Gavroche.
"Just Gavroche...Nothing more." He would say every time they would meet and she would ask for his last name all over again.
She stood up and started walking towards the abandoned building where he and two other boys live. Having reached there she knocked on the door despite its crumbling, rotting state. And soon, out came the young blonde with his hair all over his dirty face. She smiled and ruffled his hair while the boy grimaced at her actions.
"Gavroche, would you mind doing something for me?" she asked, the boy nodded as the two younger boys appeared behind him.
"Of course, anything..." he paused and added, "For a price."
"Ten dollars for sending this letter." she said handing him the envelope "And fifteen dollars for the postage, transportation and service." she added handing him twenty-five dollars before adding another five to it, "And five dollars to keep quiet about the payments."
Gavroche nodded and pocketed the money, beckoning to the boys, the three ran off to the pier. Sillette smiled and began walking back toward the park when she saw another college student sitting in front of a lake, the student seemed to be setting up something. Sillette being a curious girl, decided to find out who it is and began walking toward the student. She stopped and recognized her to be the friend of a daughter of an army officer, she was also a patient at the local therapist for her self blaming issues and her hallucinations...
Now, Sillette was never one to talk to other people but she decided to just talk to the girl. She slowly approached the girl and tapped her on the shoulder, the girl turned around abruptly, her eyes wide with fear and her face paling immediately. When she saw Sillette, she calmed down and began taking deep shaky breaths.
"It's just you..." she mumbled as she went back to setting up, what appears to be, painting materials.
Sillette watched with interest as the girl slowly began painting something on a canvas which was set on the floor. She realized that the painting was that of a lake but what surprised and frightened her was that all over the pictures were blurred creatures, mostly shadows and frightening monsters. Sillette looked at the artist who was painting with glazed eyes and went back to look at the painting.
"This...is an...interesting piece." She said smiling nervously. The artist stopped painting and set her brush down before looking at her.
"My monsters are interesting?" she asked slowly, somehow when Sillette heard that she felt like she said the wrong thing.
"N-no...what I meant was the painting itself...how the um...brush strokes are made and how well the colors blend." Sillette said hurriedly trying to backtrack on what she had said earlier.
The girl nodded before scribbling her signature on it and carefully setting it on an easel, this action confused Sillette. The girl packed her brushed and paints away before turning to Sillette and smiling faintly.
"My name is Marie Angelique Bourbon...what's yours?" she asked. Assuming you're real and not another monster that is. she thought to herself as she fiddled with a brooch on her shirt.
"My name is Sillette..." she paused before grinning and adding, "Just Sillette."
Angelique nodded before looking at the painting and back at the lake again, she stood up and looked over at the far side of the lake, Sillette followed her gaze before noticing that she wasn't really looking at anything. She stood up and approached Angelique and set her hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Is there something wrong?" she asked softly after seeing the discomfort in her new friend's face.
She nodded quickly before rushing to her easel and touching the canvas, she sighed and grabbed her things and rushed to Sillette and pulled her friend away from the lake.
This action frightened and confused Sillette, when they were quite far from the lake she turned to face the painter and asked, "What's wrong?" Sillette asked, Angelique shook her head and just slumped on the ground as if all strength was drained of her. She pointed somewhere to the lake and Sillette followed with her gaze, she saw nothing.
"I'm sorry, I-I don't understand." Sillette told Angelique, Angelique looked at her frustratedly.
"Don't you see them? They're right there trying to lure us in the lake..." Angelique said, her voice becoming panicky as she pointed once again to the lake.
Sillette just nodded, she did not know how to react to this person's hallucinations but she has to know if she takes medications.
"Angelique, would you tell me if you take medicines?" she asked, Angelique nodded and pointed to her bag.
"The doctors say that it will help take the monsters away." she laughed bitterly before shaking her head. "They only disappear to come back with a vengeance." she said shuddering.
Sillette nodded and went to the bag of her art materials and began rummaging through it, soon she took out a bottle of pills and handed them to Angelique, after taking them the girl looked at her curiously before sighing in relief.
"I'm safe...for now..." she whispered to herself.
Angelique decided to thank her new friend by means of celebration, in a bar called The La Musain. Besides the gallery and the art museum it was one of her favourite places, mostly because she can paint there all she wants. She stood up and took her things and slung the bag around her neck and took the painting and slid it into a briefcase, she then stopped to look at her new friend and held her hand out.
"Um...if you're not busy would you like to come with me? I know a place we could get a few drinks and maybe meet some guys..." Angelique said, mumbling at the last part a soft pink rising to her tanned skin. She must admit, she is a romantic that hides her passion but she would never tell anyone of her desires, not even her best friend of two years, Constanze.
Sillette cringed at the second offer before shrugging and taking Angelique's hand, "The drinks I will have but not the men." she muttered as she stood up and fixed her dress.
When they arrived at the bar Angelique was not surprised to learn from the bartender that the second floor was once again rented out for a meeting. It has been happening these past months now and she can't really complain about it because she isn't even going to go there in the first place, asking about the second floor just became a habit for her. Sitting on a bar stool, she turned to her friend who was sitting uncomfortably beside a drunk man named Grantaire. She smiled reassuringly at her friend, despite feeling the medicine start to wear off and the monsters slowly start appearing all over again.
"So...what will you have?" she asked, her friend shrugged before looking at the wide variety of liqour.
"Water?" she said shrugging, Angelique laughed before turning to the bartender and ordering two Bloody Marys.
"This one's on me Sillette." she said smiling weakly as she felt a monster breathing down her back.
Sillette can't help but feel happy to finally have someone be her friend. After all, she had never made friends before in her life and this was a first for her. But somehow as she took the drink from her friend, she felt that something was not only wrong with her friend's mind but somehow in her glazed eyes which seemed to never focus on anything...almost as if she cannot see what's in front of her...
