23 - Frozen Out
A swipe of the card and then… Error. Weiss wiped the magnetic strip off and tried it again. Again, another error. She tried again only to get the same result. On the fifth time, the cashier spoke up. "Do you have any other forms of payment? Cash, a different card?"
Weiss dug through her wallet but came up empty. Anxiety built up and twisted her stomach as she looked up to the cashier again, but Blake stepped in. "Here," she said and handed a couple of lien over to cover the shorter girl's meal. As the two left the counter with cafeteria trays in hand Blake nodded to a free table for them to sit at.
"I'm so sorry. I don't understand. That card shouldn't be anywhere near its limit. I've only used it for food and things for class," Weiss mumbled and dug her phone out to check her account.
"Don't worry about it. It might just be a mix up at the bank. It's happened to me before. All you need to do is call and they can sort it out." Blake shrugged and took a sip from her tea before taking a bite of her sandwich. When she looked up at Weiss she could tell something was wrong, though. "Hey, uh, Weiss?"
"It's saying that my account is closed…" Her words were a low mumble that left Blake concerned. "Can you watch my stuff? I'm going to go call," Weiss said and got up from the table.
"It's probably quieter out the side entrance. I'll be here." Blake watched her leave and pulled her book out of her bag to continue reading while she ate and waited. She didn't make it more than a couple of pages when she saw Weiss rush back to the table and sit down, crumpling forward, hands over her face, face pressed to her knees.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Blake got up and went to the other side of the table to sit next to her. "What is it?" She placed a hand on Weiss' back and rubbed softly.
"I-" Weiss started, voice muffled. "I have nothing. Less than nothing," she mumbled. Blake wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but she could wager a guess. Weiss' shoulders shook as she started to cry. "My account is in the negative, my card has been canceled, I don't know what to do."
"Well, didn't Winter say this could happen? You should try calling her," Blake reassured Weiss. "I know you probably don't want to, but she'd be able to help."
Weiss was quiet and didn't look up, staying leaned over against her knees. People around the cafeteria looked over at the girl crying in her knees, but most didn't pay the sight more than a second glance, the sight of someone upset not being an uncommon thing as the semester progressed.
"Why don't we head back to my room for now? Reese is there, but she won't mind. I'll pack up what I can here and we can head back there." Blake leaned down and smiled, rubbing Weiss' back more.
Weiss turned her head to look at Blake and wiped at her eyes before nodding.
"Drink your water, though. Don't want to get a headache," she reminded Weiss and pulled her up to give her a hug. Weiss nodded and took the bottle, unscrewing the cap, and drinking half of it down. "We'll get this figured out." Weiss took slow and deep breaths to calm herself while Blake wrapped the rest of her sandwich and cookie in napkins to tuck in her bag. She did the same for Weiss' bagel.
"Thank you," Weiss spoke quietly and wiped at her eyes. The redness from her cheeks was already fading as she caught her breath.
"Don't worry about it. Come on," Bake reassured Weiss and placed a hand on her back to guide her.
Weiss flopped back on Blake's bed as Blake closed the door behind them. She managed to calm some on the walk back with extra help from Blake making sure she didn't walk headfirst into anything.
"You two are back early," Reese commented, looking up from her laptop and immediately turning the volume down of the music she was listening to. "If you two need some privacy, I can turn the other way or something," she teased while raising an eyebrow. "Find some more appropriate music even."
"No, nothing like that," Blake chuckled and shook her head.
"Ugh," Weiss groaned at Reese's comment, rolling on her side. "No."
Blake walked around to sit next to Weiss on her bed. "You're going to need to call Winter."
"There has to be a way to… do this without doing that," Weiss mumbled and turned to look up at Blake.
"Question," Reese spoke up. "Winter as in Winter Schnee?"
Blake raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"
"You might want to read this, then." Reese waved the two over but only Blake got up to see. Weiss rolled her head to look at the two on the other side of the room. "Went up a little bit ago, apparently. Totally wasn't snooping on your family, Weiss, but sorta was because you're dating my roommate."
"We're not dating!" Weiss protested.
"Uh-huh, whatever. But, seems your dad has pushed all the other Schnees out of the Schnee company or something. Media has been in a tizzy about it."
Weiss propped herself up on her elbows and looked over at Reese and Blake with a confused expression and started to dig her phone out of her pocket. "I should…" Blake nodded and took a seat next to Reese. The two watched with growing interest as Weiss sat up fully and dialed Winter's number. When she got an answer, she stood up and started to pace in circles while she talked.
"What do you mean, I'm not allowed on company property anymore?" Winter demanded from the parking garage gate operator.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Schnee, but word just came down this morning. The notice was here when I got to my post." The man's expression held a mix of confusion and fear as he answered Winter. "I'm really sorry, but I can't let you in."
Winter pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Not your fault. Shouldn't have yelled," she spoke quietly. When she opened her eyes again reached for her phone. No new messages. Strange. "May I ask who isn't allowed in anymore?"
The operator paused while he turned to check the official order again. "Namely… You, Mrs. Schnee, and young Miss Schnee."
Winter listened and slowly nodded along. "I thought so. Thank you." She put her car in reverse to back away from the garage and leave. "I have a few calls to make," she mumbled.
"Good day, Ms. Schnee," the operator called out to her with a wave as she left. She waved back as she left.
Winter didn't make it more than two blocks before her phone rang. She glanced to see who was calling figuring it would be her mother but saw it was Weiss and hit accept to send it to the car's audio. "Hey Weiss," she said calmly, accelerating to shoot through a yellow light.
"What's going on? I find out from the news that you and mother were pushed out of the company, and my accounts are all a mess, and… What did father do?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'm heading back to the family home to talk with mother. I can't even get in the office right now. You, mother, and I are all not allowed on the premises anymore according to a company memo." Winter rolled to a stop at the following traffic light and impatiently tapped her fingers on the steering wheel for it to turn green again.
"He can't do that though, can he? I thought mother was owner, too."
"Strictly speaking, he can to a degree. Mother is still co-owner on paper so she can't be fully ousted, but we'll see. But, your accounts are closed? Are you alright?" She tapped the wheel faster as the cross-traffic light turned yellow and red. When hers turned green she hit the gas and took off toward the highway.
"My card's been canceled and my account is in the negative."
"So, you have no money. Perfect." Winter smacked her wheel and growled. "Means I'm probably locked out of some of the accounts, too. He can't touch my personal accounts, so I'll transfer some to you in a bit. Are you okay right now, though?" She repeated the question, checking on her sister.
"I- Um, yeah. I have some food in my room for right now, and I'm at Blake's at the moment. But what are we going to do?"
"Alright. Good. I'll call you back after I talk with mother. Let us figure this out but call me if anything comes up or anything changes."
"Thank you, Winter," Weiss spoke softly and it brought a smile to Winter's face. It was a tone she hadn't used with her in a long time and she could picture the expression on her face.
"Of course. You're my sister. Someone has to look out for you in this family," Winter chuckled. "Anyway, hanging up now. Call you in a bit."
Weiss hung up her phone and tossed it onto Blake's bed before stepping towards it and falling face-first onto it, careful to avoid her phone. "No clue what father did this time, but Winter said she's coming by after she talks with mother." Her words were muffled by blankets as she was still face down, but she adjusted and turned her head to face Reese and Blake.
"They'll get it taken care of, I'm sure," Blake spoke.
Reese was the only one with a look of concern on her face. "Is she coming here? Should we, I don't know, clean up a bit or something?"
Blake turned her head to look at the girl next to her and laughed. "No, we're fine."
"I'll go meet her outside if she does. Besides, my room is like a hundred times worse," Weiss groaned and rolled to her back.
Blake leaned in to whisper to Reese, "It's true." Weiss heard it and rolled her head to the side and looked at Blake with a scowl. "What? You just said it."
"You're right," Weiss admitted and turned back to stare at the ceiling.
Blake shook her head and got up from Reese's bed and went to the small coffee maker to run hot water through for tea. "Anyone want any tea? Reese? Weiss?"
"Nah, I'm good," Reese answered and held up her can of soda in a cheers motion.
Weiss propped herself up on her elbows and looked over to Blake. "I'd like that, thank you."
Blake grabbed a box of vanilla mint tea and stuck a bag into each of the two mugs she pulled out. "You should probably eat your bagel," Blake reminded Weiss. "I'm assuming you didn't have anything earlier."
"Just a bagel? Screw that, let's get pizza," Reese chimed in and started pulling up the website to order online from. She wanted to at least try and help the situation but not knowing Weiss well enough she didn't know how. Food felt like a solid choice for trying to cheer her up. She looked up from her laptop to see Blake and Weiss both looking at her. "What? Like you guys haven't had pizza for-" she stopped to look at the time in the corner of her screen. "Late-ish breakfast before. Early lunch? Whatever. They're open and we're having pizza."
Weiss snorted and started to laugh. "Pizza does sound better than a bagel."
Reese raised her eyebrows and looked at Blake. "See?"
Blake rolled her eyes with a shrug.
Winter sat across from her mother in the Schnee mansion's parlor. A cup of coffee in her hands while she waited for her mother to reply.
"I don't know what his plan is, but I'm already working on it."
"Working on it?" Winter questioned.
"Yes. Working on it," Willow said flatly before taking a sip from her own coffee.
"Would you care to elaborate, or am I to be left in the dark with this?"
Willow sighed. "Unfortunately you're going to have to wait for specifics, but trust me when I say that you and your sister will be fine. Your father may have locked me out of the main family accounts, but he forgets that he married into this family, not the other way around," she said with a smile.
Winter could only smirk at that comment. She didn't anticipate her mother keeping secrets like that.
"I'll move some things around this evening so your sister will have her allowance. You'll let Weiss know?"
"I will. But there's still the issue of the company."
Willow set her cup on a saucer and set them both on a side table. "Your father, I'm afraid, received some unfortunate news from his doctors and has been acting… brashly. A few of the investors have learned of this and we are taking care of this. Alright?"
Winter finished her coffee and set the cup aside while she processed the news. She had suspected that was the case, but knowing her mother and some of the investors were working on things was a mild reassurance. Only mild. The issue of cleaning up whatever messes Jacques was currently making was going to be a nightmare to deal with. She took a breath and sighed. "Alright. Anyway, mother, I should get going. I told Weiss I would keep her informed about what was happening."
"Of course, dear. It's always nice to have a visit from you. Be careful out there."
Winter smiled and bowed her head with a smile before she left. Out in her car, Winter grumbled to herself about everything. Seeing her mother was always a game of pleasantries. While her father was insufferable, there really was a reason the two worked so well together for years and years and why the company had grown to be as large as it did under them. Keeping on her mother's good side was the smart decision. Winter put her car in drive and by the time she was leaving the driveway, she was dialing Weiss.
"Winter?"
"Weiss, I just left mother's. It seems father got some… unfortunate news about his condition and panicked."
Weiss remained quiet.
"Anyway, mother said she's going to 'move some things around' in a bit and give you your allowance back. But, we both know mother, so let me know if your account is still in the negative."
"Alright," Weiss spoke softly. "Thank you."
"Was there anything else? If not, I am long overdue for a session at the gym. Found this new place that some of the local leagues use when-"
"Winter!"
"Right, right. Boxing's not your- anyway, be safe, tell Blake 'hi' for me, and you can always reach me if you need anything."