Chapter 1: The Start
(Emily's POV)
"Well gee mom thanks. I haven't seen my own brother in four years, and I'm stuck here watching over the stupid company." I barked sarcastically. My mother had just told me that I was not going with them to pick my brother, Devan, up from his school England. He was turning eighteen in several days and was going to inherit the family business, Mikoro Industries, in some family thing.
"Well, you better feel grateful. If it had been my choice, I would have sent you to that darn boarding school just to get rid of you. I would have happily give you up for-"
I cut her off knowing exactly what she was about to say. It was her favorite argument every time we fought, which was obviously often. "Don't you dare say his name. Most of my life you have compared me to that... that jerk. Just get it through your thick skulls that I'm not like him. You can just keep dreaming of that. I am my own person. I will live my life my way! Now I believe you and father have a plane to catch." With that I turned on my heel and left for my room.
I couldn't believe this. Today, I could be leaving and going to see my older brother for the first time in four years, but here I was being ordered me stay home and watch the family business. No, they just want to leave you at home and needed a reason. They could give less a care if you actually did anything at MI. A little voice in my head nagged. It did hurt knowing I had only seen my brother through the few pictures he sent in the mail, and here I was being benched at home while they went on a family trip to see him. My brother was the only person I considered a 'friend'. I have never trusted people other then him when I had a problem or just needed someone. This was partly because I thought most people were just stupid and not worth the time, but most of it was part of a series of lessons my father had given me through the years. "Friends are for the weak." He would say, "They only become a way for your enemies to get to you and use you. No one can be trusted." This one lesson was taught to me over and over when I was little, causing me to just be like that no matter how much I had come to dislike my parents. I paused at the foyer entry way and turned to yell at the two standing there with that same stupid stoic face one last time, "You two care soooo much for that darn company, it's going to end up killing you someday."
With that, I stormed down the hallway that led to my room. I paused to watch out of one of the hall windows as my parents departed from the Mikoro Manor and left for the airport to go get Devan in England. I felt the anger and stress pulsating in my heart and soul and decided to release this in my normal way...
The pain continued to engulf my body as I persisted my actions. Each movement caused more pain, but I just ignored it. I put all my sorrows, pain, and anger in each move of my body. My breathing hyphened and my heart and blood raced as I began to feel just piece by piece my stress go away. I continued to dance to my heart's content in the empty ballroom with the music just pouring out of the small CD player. Each move I did was something I did on the spot. No learned routines. Suddenly, I heard the song that spoke to my soul. The lyrics matched what I felt so well. This song plunged me deeper into my own world as I danced to 'Numb' by Linkin Park
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
[Chorus]
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I've become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
Can't you see that you're smothering me
Holding too tightly afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
And every second I waste is more than I can take
[Chorus]
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I've become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
And I know
I may end up failing too
But I know
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you
[Chorus]
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I've become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
[Chorus]
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
I pushed myself my hardest as the song continued. I made up the whole routine right there on the spot ignoring my body pleading for me to stop. As the final seconds played, my body just gave out from under me forcing me to fall to the floor. I forced myself up remembering how much my mother hated my dancing. She enrolled me in ballet when I was little and I loved it. I continued feeling my mother must have felt proud of me for once in my life seeing I was excelling in the thing that she did all her own life. But as I began to get older, my style changed into one my mother didn't approve. My mother was a real traditionalist when it came to dance, so when my form and dive started to incorporate modern and hip hop touches, she pulled all support to my lessons and stopped coming to any of my performances. As much as it hurt, I pushed on using my own allowance and even getting a small job to help pay for my own classes. I had found something to love in life and was going to pursue it as far as I could despite any issues my parents had with it. Of course, I learned first hand that there were things I wanted that I'd never get knowing it would require my parents' consent.
~*~Flashback~*~
I stretched waiting for my turn to audition. Only a week prior, my dance instructor walked in while I was just dancing around before my lessons. I had never just let loose in front of him before, so he was surprised at the sight and suggested I move on to the next level, a professional school. He asked my mother about it, and of course she didn't approve. She said with what I was dancing like would just bring more bad rep for the family, and she had a reputation to keep. I didn't want to listen to her, so I talked to Devan about it. He told me that I was good and needed to go.
"Miss Mikoro. Miss Emily Mikoro. You're up next" a voice called from the other side of the room.
I stood up onto my feet grabbing my CD as I walked to the staging area. I felt my nerves start kicking in. I had always heard of the difficulty of this audition and had no reason to get my hopes high. I heard as the music of the girl in front of me played in the next room. The music stopped and a few moments passed by until I heard the turning of the doorknob. Out came a girl who looked older than me by a few years. She seemed to be disappointed, but trudged away. I, unsure what to do, just stood at the doorway.
"You can come in now miss." a woman's voice spoke from within the room.
I was taken out of my mind state and walked into the room. It was a fairly empty auditorium. The only seats occupied, belonged to three people whom seemed to be judges. I walked into the room slowly unsure what to do. I saw the CD player and just went with the flow of things. I slipped my CD in the player and set it on delay so I could get in a good spot. Within seconds, the music started to play. I heard as the electric guitar started its beat. The song was 'One Step Closer' By Linkin Park. I performed my routine feeling as the words of the song played on my heart.
I myself felt one step from breaking under the pressure of my parents and all the things I had gone through. The hate. The negativity. The arguing. The yelling. It had all snowballed out of control after we got news of the death of a close family friend's son a year ago. I had only met Noah a couple times when his dad brought him to New York with him while on business with my father. Maybe he had been one of the few kids I met through my parents I actually enjoyed talking to. He was nice, sweet, and a near opposite to our fathers. He had even seen me dance and seemed to like it., so when I heard of his accident it rocked me a little. I didn't quite understand why Noah's death would upset my parents so much. That day, something changed in our house. My parents suddenly started these lessons and classes telling me I had to prepare to 'take care of yourself' now.
My eyes closed as I entered that true place in my mind where I just let myself loose and this was my utopia. I continued on with the complex moves and combinations of twists that just seemed to flow with the music in my ears. My soul hyphened as the part came where the lead singer was just singing to shut up. I imagined it as if I were saying those words to my parents to all those who hurt me in the past. Then the song came near it's end. The words. 'and I'm about ta..' gave me the que to start the final spin. I spun my fastest, then suddenly I heard the work 'Break' symbolizing the time where I just fell to the ground breathing hard and coming out of my state of subconsciousness. I was completely brought out of my trance by the sound of clapping. I looked up to see all three judges on their feet in a standing ovation. I stood up to my feet and gave a look like deer in headlights.
"That was amazing miss." One of the judges commented.
"Yes..Yes... I fully agree. Very original style and choreography." The other spoke up.
"You came up with that by yourself?" The third asked.
"Y-yes..." I told them softly.
"You know some of the things you just did in that routine aren't usually taught to children your age correct?" The second asked interested.
"Y-yes sir.." I nodded.
"And you hope to dance as a career? There's nothing else you're interested in at your age?" The first questioned.
"N-no nothing else. I love dance." I replied.
"Well then," The third looked over at the other two who seemed to nod at her before she looked back at me, "Welcome to SAB Miss Mikoro."
My heart skipped a beat. I had actually done it. I had passed an audition to the School of American Ballet. A smile.. a genuine smile crossed my face, but I suddenly realized that despite how much I would want this, it could never come true. I had only done this to please my instructor and laugh when I told him I had failed. I never actually thought I'd make it this far. My mother would never sign off on me doing this.
"I'm so sorry... but I cannot accept." I mummered at the brink of tears.
The main judge looked surprised. "If it's money, we can surly look into a possible scholarship.."
"No it's not money. I just know I will never get the parental permission for me to go. I'm sorry to have wasted your time." I quickly left with the tears streaming down my face.
~*~End of Flashback~*~
I was right that day. When my mother got wind of my acceptance she denied the possibility of me going to SAB. She gave the excuse that I was far too young, and I had a family to keep with. I knew that was not true at all. SAB trained kids starting at six years old and those my age went to the professional vocational program, and there was no family to keep up with. We barely talked as it was. Since that day, my mother and I talked even less then we used to. I would only talk to her when she would ask me a direct question or I was forced to by my father.
I sat there on the ground thinking about my life. The only true thing that kept me going was my older brother, Devan. He was the exact opposite of our parents. I was always number one in his life. Whenever our parents gave me a hard time, he would always make me see what a good person I really was. He's the one who told me to keep dancing even after our mother pretty much ruined my career. I looked at the clock and read four in the afternoon. I took a towel and wiped the sweat and tears from my face and returned to my room. After taking a quick shower, I decided to lay down for awhile. I was awoken by my cell phone going off at around six.
"What is it?" I asked rather harshly.
"Miss Mikoro, you are needed at Mikoro Industries right away.." came a frightened voice.
"I'll be there in half an hour." I growled now awoken from my slumber.
I changed into one of the ugly suits my mother had me wear any time I left the house for anything business. I was tempted to wear something totally different, but I knew even if she wasn't there my so called 'advisers' were, and they would rat me out in a heartbeat, just to please my excuse of a mother. I made it to MI quickly thinking it was something dire, but they just had some big client that was persistent about meeting one of the family before he would do any dealing.
I did some other work around the office, so my mother couldn't come back and say I was lazy the whole time. I didn't arrive home until about eleven. I changed out of those awful clothes and into some comfortable attire and went downstairs. I decided to take a little run before going to bed. Taking my normal running route, I did a few laps in the backyard garden. As upset as being left behind made me, I knew Devan would be home eventually. The plan was after the short family vacation, they would bring him home to finalize his taking over MI. That's all I could think about now. I would finally get to see my brother and tell him about how much I had missed him.
I went back inside and fixed myself a drink to cool me down. I was about half way done when the phone rang. I set my drink down onto the counter and grabbed the cordless phone wondering who could be calling at this hour.
''Mikoro..'' I spoke up answering the caller.
''Hello...'' Came a soft voice I didn't know, ''Is this Emily? Emily Mikoro'' They asked. '
'Yes it is... who are you?'' I asked as I started getting suspicious.
''I'm sorry miss, but I'm Dr. Mussolini of the London Coroner's Office.''
''Coroner's Office? Is some sick joke?'' I asked as my voice became cold and demanding.
''You might want to sit down miss if you are not already..'' He told me as if ignoring my question.
''No! What the hell is going on...'' I asked now yelling.
''I must inform you that the plane carrying your parents and brother crashed earlier today soon after take off. All people on board didn't make it.'' He answered sounding sorry.
''Wh-what do you mean...'' I asked calming down slightly.
''Miss Mikoro... they're dead... they're all dead.''
I felt my knees weaken and grasped onto the edge of the counter. ''What...'' I asked again with tears forming in my eyes.
"Miss, as of 2:31 this afternoon you became the soul survivor of your family. I am truly sorry...'' he told me.
I just took the phone from my ear pressing the 'end' button trying to take in the past few moments. I brought my fingertips to my eyes and brought them out to see the clear wet substance that was wiped from my eye. It was a tear, a sign of true weakness. Who was I crying for? Was I sad about my parents' departure that much, or was it Devan? Tears filled my eyes as my knees went completely weak sending me to the floor. There was no one in the house to hear me cry or to see my tears. Like the man said, I was the only person in my family anymore. What was I going to do? I would have to take over MI even if I were only sixteen.
It was then I remembered the last words I had even spoken to my parents... You two care soooo much for that darn company, it's going to end up killing you someday.
Did my saying those horrible words cause that plane to go down taking my family with it? Was I now the reason I was alone in this world. My only friend was now gone. For one of the first and few times, my tears were flowing out of my eyes. These tears were for my parents and my brother. My parents and I never truly got along, but they were still my parents, and my brother was my only friend. Why was this happening? I kept wishing... wishing that all this was a horrible nightmare. I just wanted to wake up... It wasn't just a nightmare and I knew it. I was now alone in this world. No one to care about me and no one remained that I could care about. I was in a daze not sure what I was doing. The next thing I could recall was the sound of my phone and sitting up in my bed to answer it...
'Hello...'' I groaned wiping the sleep from my eyes.
''Miss Mikoro! I have been trying to reach you all morning... are you alright... I am sooo sorry...'' came the voice of my father's secretary.
''Huh?'' I questioned before recalling last night. My heart sank again trying to grasp the fact that I was now alone.
''Emily, are you there?'' Jasmine's voice questioned.
''Yes...'' I softly replied.
''Emily... If you need any help or just someone to talk to I'm all ears..'' she told me. That's when my defenses sprung in.
''I will be just fine..'' I scoffed hanging up the phone.
What was happening to me? Why was I getting emotional? I was raised to never be affected by such events for death is a part of life... that's what everyone must succumb to. I got out of bed, took a shower, ate, and went to work. MI could not run itself, and I was the only one to take care of it now. The first thing I did was to fire those so called 'advisors' of my mother's and had someone remove the things from my parents' offices. I brought my own things to the office and did the basics of a day. Many just looked at me oddly as they saw me working as I was. For to me, nothing happened... or that's what I wanted to portray while inside I was shattered and trying to find a way to mend the broken pieces.
As I did work, I also did the mess of preparing the large funeral for my mother, father, and brother. I didn't think I could survive three different funerals, so I would hold one funeral in attempts to ease the pain. I also had a long discussion with the family lawyer about the reading of my parents' will tomorrow in the case of burial requests. I just sighed as I looked upon the stack of papers that needed to be tended to. I was in for a long night of filing...
I finally had the liberty to return home at about one in the morning with the will reading at seven. I could deal with only four hours of sleep. I readied for bed, set my alarm clock, and fell asleep.
I was awoken by my blasting alarm clocks. Hesitantly, I opened my eyes groaning as I did so. It was now five fifteen, and I had to get ready for the reading. I, reluctantly, got up and stopped that annoying beeping of my alarm clock across the room. I slipped into the shower and dressed in a long form-fitting black gown that reached my ankles. It didn't have sleeves but a strap went behind my neck making it backless. I put on some simple black heels to complete to outfit. I pulled some of my hair in a pony tail leaving the rest plain. Lastly, I applied light make-up and labeled myself presentable.
I walked down to the first floor study at a quarter before seven. There were already people in the room. Some I recognized as business associates of my parents, and others I did not. The room seemed to suddenly go silent when they saw me enter the doorway. I walked up and took a seat up front not speaking to anyone. After a few awkward seconds, the chatting continued. Most of it was business men striking deals, or setting meetings with one another. I just sat in the elegant way that I was taught in early childhood and didn't say a word. I watched the guests from the corner of your eye studying their mannerisms. None I trusted or liked. To me, business men were just vultures waiting to find that half dead carcass to feed upon.
Only one of them stuck out from the rest ,mainly due to his apparent age. As I waited for the lawyer to show up, a young man about seventeen or so walked into the room. He wore navy dress slacks and suit coat with light blue button up shirt. He was tall especially seeing he looked foreign. Japanese? Maybe seeing my father too was Japanese, it made since that he'd have partners on that side of the world. He looked somewhat attractive, but I tossed that thought out of my mind. He had to be one of the business men's sons, and he would be here only to learn from his old man the tools of the trade, or probably to seduce me as a grieving daughter and sister in attempts to grasp Mikoro Industries. That was one thing I was never going to let happen. I put on that emotionless mask I always wore around men like these, and didn't dare speak. I wasn't going to let them have a chance at gold digging from my family anymore...
