The next day, Liz avoided to run into Wilbur Robinson systematically. During the recess, she went to the school library and spent her time searching for relaxation strategies so she could quickly regain control over her magnetic powers in an emergency.
Yoga, meditation, autogenic training, breathing exercises...
She sighed and rubbed her forehead, while she stared a little helplessly at the large number of search results. What Liz needed was a quick, effective solution. If she would get stuck to the lockers again, she would not have time for long minutes of breathing exercises or meditation.
"Hey," a familiar voice behind her said suddenly, "What are you doing?"
Liz jerked around a little frightened. It was Violet. She leaned on the table and looked puzzled Liz's research.
"Is this for the essay in biology class?" Vi asked skeptically.
"Uh ..." Liz started completely dumbfounded. Everything went so fast that she did not know how to react. She hadn't expected Violet to be here, let alone to have to justify for her research to increase control of her super powers. Because Liz was an honest person, usually, she really had difficulties to come up with a plausible lie. She looked helplessly back and forth between Violet and the screen, her mind raced to find an excuse.
"Yepp" was everything she finally said, "And what are you doing here?" She added promptly to change the subject, as she switched off the computer.
"Oh," Violet drawled, folding her arms and sat on the edge of the table, "I was looking for some material for the presentation in history class"
"And, did you find something?" Liz asked, and suddenly felt very tired. She had difficulty suppressing a yawn. In reply to her question Violet only pulled a book out of her bag and showed it to Liz. It had the title: Dawn of the Modern Age. Liz nodded to confirm and then rubbed her tired eyes.
"What's the matter?" Violet asked, curious. For Liz it sounded as if Vi was insinuating something. But that had to be Liz's imagination. Vi could impossibly know about her magnetic forces.
Oh great, she couldn't tell Violet that she had spent half the night again to practice her new skills. Until today she had manipulated every single metal object at home. Then suddenly an unpleasant thought crossed her mind, that made her goose bumps.
"My mother comes home today..." she said breathlessly. It wasn't the answer to Vi's question - Liz had already forgotten about that - but a horrified realisation. That meant she would still have to enable all twisted metal objects back to their original condition!
"Oh dear," Violet began with a wink, "I would have nightmares too"
"Huh?" Liz asked. She hadn't heard what Vi had said. She had looked at the large clock in the library and figured out how much time still remained to restore everything, before her mother arrived. As Vi gave her a questioning and a little suspicious look (at least it seemed like that to Liz), she tried to pull herself together. She looked down at the floor as she spoke.
"Oh, um, I ... I just slept really bad ... I had to think about Pete the whole night... "she lied. She carefully lifted her eyes to see if Vi believed this lie. Apparently it worked. Vi looked down at her pityingly.
"Have you talked to him?"
"Not yet .." Liz admitted truthfully. She had completely forgotten about this problem! Oh great, one more thing she had to take care of. Her mood worsened, but as always, she did not show it.
"Well, I think" began Vi, while she gently put a hand on Liz' back, "Now would be the perfect opportunity." She added with a wink. Liz looked at her friend questioningly. Vi pointed with her eyes in a particular direction. Liz followed the gaze and saw Pete at a table on the other side of the library.
"Come on," Violet whispered encouraging and pushed her gently. Liz sighed, annoyed. She had no desire to deal with it now, after all, she had much more serious problems to care about. On the other hand ... if she would do it now, it would be over finally... But she didn't want to!
She looked annoyed at Vi from the corner of her eye. Vi returned the glance with an encouraging smile.
"I'm right behind you," she whispered enthusiastically.
Liz sighed and drooped for a moment, unmotivated. Then she stood up and looked at Vi again. Vi grinned and crossed her fingers.
Liz then turned around and walked right up to the brunette boy. Because she approached him from behind, Pete didn't see her coming.
"Hey ..." Liz started. Pete looked up surprised, but when he saw her, his expression changed, however. He looked moping. He looked down to his books again.
"Hey ..." he then replied with quite annoyed undertone.
Liz had to suppress an angry snort. That was silly. She had decided after all to apologize for her behavior. There was no need to play a huff now. She took a deep breath, to avoid to get too excited, otherwise she would have gotten the heavy metal bust of the founder of the city into her face, which stood not far away on a pedestal.
"I'm really sorry, Pete ..." she said softly, and she meant it.
"What exactly? That you dumped me, that you slammed the door in my face, that you ignored me or that you sweared at me?" Pete asked spitefully. And so it started again. Liz was so annoyed that she had to bite her tongue. She took a deep breath before continuing.
"... I'm sorry that I slammed the door and that I have insulted you. My behavior was not very mature and I want to apologize. I could have handled the situation differently ... "
"Damn right!" Pete said triumphantly, "You were condescending, nasty and arrogant, but I forgive you!" he continued. His expression had suddenly changed completely. His sadness was gone. He stood up and clapped his hands, as if he had finally solved this annoying problem.
"Now everything's good again! I'm no longer mad at you. We could do something together after school." Pete said joyfully, walked past the table towards her.
"Um, well, Pete, I don't know - ..."
"To be honest, I can understand your reaction. I cause this wild passion in women. And actually, it's even a good thing, after all this was our first real fight, but we got through it! Now nothing can stop us." he interrupted her, with a good part of arrogance. As he spoke, he hugged her and then put his arm around her shoulders.
Liz eyelid twitched. She thought it was only a joke, but when she saw his triumphantly, self-confident grin, she had to realize that he was serious!
At that moment, Liz Beckett should have left. She should have left, she should have turned around to just leave the library...
But why should she always be the one who backed down? She had super powers after all! She clenched her fists and looked at the metal bust again. She considered the idea to just attract it with her powers and to smash it against Pete's head.
No ... but she would give him a good piece of her mind.
"Um ..." Liz began uncertainly, "You DO realize that I've dumped you ... don't you?" she asked, and tried to squirm away from under his arm. The tough was really unpleasant.
"Oh, come on, baby! I know that you're not serious!" he said with a casual laugh, as it was merely a harmless joke. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.
That was too much. He did it again! He just didn't take her serious at all! And immediately she felt this vibrating hum in her head again.
"Let me go!" Liz exclaimed angrily and slapped his arm away. Before Pete could say something about it, Liz began to infernally screaming through the library, yelling at Pete in front of about twenty people, "STOP calling me 'baby', you sappy, insensitive, annoying wannabe! I broke up with you! It's over! Let me spell it for you: O-V-E-R! Got it?! We're not a couple more! And we will never be one again! Did you get it now?!"
Pete just looked at her in horror. At that moment, Liz actually looked a little scary. She was half a head taller than him, so she yelled at him from the top down, her face was flushed red and her curls were wildly disheveled around her head. She looked almost like a fury.
"Um, I -" Pete began, but the attempt to justify was nipped in the bud.
"Shut up!" Liz cried, "No discussion! I don't want to hear another word, or I'll freak out!"
"Even more?" Pete asked meekly.
"Aaargh! I can't bear it!" she cried and tore her wild curly hair. At that moment, she was interrupted by a crackling sound, which she heard just at the same moment when the vibration in her head stopped. The bust of the founder of the city simply broke, appearantly without a cause. From that short distraction, Liz anger was gone. She calmed down. It was like she woke up from a dream, and only now she realized that everybody was staring at her. A lot of confused, even frightened faces were among them. Violet also looked as if she had just seen a ghost. For Liz the situation suddenly became really embarrassing and uncomfortable.
"Well, good that we clarified this." She said dryly, as she straightened her clothes and arranged her hair.
"Yepp, that was pretty clear... I think everyone here has understood." Pete replied softly, with a cynical undertone that was clearly meant as criticism. Normally, Liz would have felt sorry for her shouting... but she didn't feel remorse ...
What had become of her?
"So far about handling this peacefully..." she thought ashamed.
"Okay, see ya" She said and left the library, forcing herself to not running too fast.
Once she was out, she heard wild murmurs and whispers behind her. She rolled her eyes.
Oh great, that would be the big story for the next two weeks... since she loved to be the center of attention. She was so annoyed that she did not notice that someone was approaching from behind. Only when Violet tapped her on the shoulder, turned Liz around. When she saw her best friend, Liz slapped her hands over her face.
"What have I just done!" she squeaked.
"Well, that... was ..." began Violet, who was obviously kind of speechless.
"Mean, disgusting, repulsive, degrading - I have to go back and apologize," Liz cried piteously, tearing her blond hair. For a moment she fell back into her old patterns of behavior.
"Fantastic!" Violet cried at once. Liz frowned.
"What ...?" she asked in surprise.
"That was great! Finally you spoke up your mind! That was first class! This is exactly the self-confidence I was talking about!" Vi shouted enthusiastically - for a second though Vi seemed a little doubtful, but maybe Liz just imagining that.
"I must admit, Pete has even deserved that a little. If that's the only way he understands, it's his own fault. Now don't look at me like that! That was great -... a little too loud maybe, but still great. I'll give you a B-plus! "
"Violet ..." Liz began incredulously, then grabbed her best friend by the shoulders, "You're my friend! You should stop me from such things, or at least say that I made a mistake! Why didn't you stop me?!"
"Why? Finally you start to speak up for yourself! I'm the last one who will keep you from that... "
"I always talk for myself .." Liz replied meekly.
"Yes, IF you ever talk!" Violet said, and gave Liz jesting poke in the side. Liz was not amused and gave Violet a disgruntled look. Vi returned the look with a provoking smile.
"See? That's exactly what I mean! Usually you had never dared to look at me like this – or at somebody else for that matter" Vi said, but you could hear, however, that she wasn't quite serious.
"Also, I didn't intervene, because I actually was afraid you'd bite off my head," she added a little theatrical. Now Liz had to smile.
"So, you mean I should not apologize to him... again," she stated doubtfully, after a pause.
"Oh, nonsense. I saw how he behaved ... well, you have disgraced him to the bone in front of hundreds of people, but he clearly provoked it... "
"So ... embarrassing" Liz muttered, who only now became aware of the consequences of her behavior.
"Oh, come on," Vi said encouraging, "If you ask me, it's the best thing that happened to you!"
Liz actually got a fright, her mouth was completely dry, and her hands began to sweat. Vi couldn't know about what happened in the magnetic power plant! That was impossible!
"What do you mean?" Liz asked the dark-haired girl next to her breathlessly.
"Well ..." began Vi drawlingly, since for her the matter she was talking about seemed pretty obvious, "The thing with Pete. You're a lot more confident since then."
"Right..." Liz started, thinking about it, "Maybe ..."
The bell rang. The two girls walked back to their classes.
Back in the penthouse.
Liz had spent two hours trying to free all the metal objects from all bumps and deformations - with varying degrees of success ... hopefully her mother wouldn't notice. And if her mother noticed something, Liz would blame it on the broken robot ...
"Lizzy, Lizzy, Lizzy" Liz scolded herself, "Lying seems to be your new hobby lately."
She was in such a hurry that she was in a sweat. She was just about to turn the last spoon back into its original form with her magnetic power, when she heard the front door. Her heart made a startled jump! She threw the spoon in the drawer and slammed it shut. She listened attentively for a few seconds to make sure she was not mistaken. But, clearly, she heard her mother put the key in the turquoise bowl, that stood on the dresser next to the door. Liz straightened her hair, and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Then she put on her "nice-daughter-face" and hoped her mother wouldn't be suspicious.
She found her mother in the hallway. The small, accurately dressed woman, named Rachel, seemed disoriented, she was wearing her fur coat over her arm and looked around, as if she didn't know where to put it, though the hat stand was directly beside her. She was used that the robot did these kind of things.
"Where is NILES," was the first thing she asked her daughter, instead of cheerfully greating her, after all it was the first time she saw her daughter since two weeks. But Liz was prepared for that question.
"He's broken," she explained while she took off her mother's fur coat and hung it over the hat stand.
"Broken?" Rachel asked horrified. How could it be that one of her luxury goods could be possibly defect?
"He had a malfunction and smashed hard against the wall. See?" Liz said as they entered the living room. The robot still lay with total damage at the same place on the ground since Sunday.
"Why didn't you call the repair service?" Her mother bleated.
"It was late last night and I forgot this morning before school..." Liz justified. Rachel kept a close eye on her. Liz swallowed. Did her mother see that she was lying?
"Honey," Rachel began with a motherly tone, without looking at her, however. She rummaged in her purse as she spoke, "When will you finally learn that you will never be somebody in this world, as long as you push your problems aside, rather than solving them," she criticized. Liz couldn't even tell you how many times she had heard this already.
"Sorry ..." Liz muttered sheepishly.
"Well, then I'ss fix it" said Rachel expertly. She took the phone and called the repair service. Thus she was busy for a few minutes. Liz, meanwhile, remained standing in the center of the living room, feeling a little insecure. Each time her parents were there, Liz felt like a foreign particle in the apartment, like it wasn't her home, but like she was just a part of the inventory from which you did not know where you should place it exactly ...
After a seemingly eternity Rachel finally put down the phone and turned back to her daughter.
"So! I hope that you were not so careless with your training" said her mother critically. Liz swallowed hard, hoping that her mother did not see the cold sweat of fear, which began to form on her forehead. Liz had totally forgotten about the training the last days. And tomorrow was the tournament!
"Of course not, Mom ..." she lied.
"Very good," Rachel said satisfied, clapping her hands, so the many rings clacked against each other, then she was rummaging in her her purse again, "I came the entire way to make sure that you give your best. With less I won't be satisfied." She continued as she took out her lipstick from her purse. Liz thought that it almost sounded like a threat for some reason.
Rachel moved her back to Liz, while she looked into a small pocket mirror, putting on some lipstick.
"Well ... since the robot is busted, we'll have to order something over the room service - but no carbohydrates for you before the tournament. A salad will be enough." Rachel said, as she was done with caring for her appearance and picked up the phone to call the room service.
Meanwhile Liz was lost in thought. And she made a decision.
She had a problem. I big one, she admitted. What had happened to her back in the power plant was not normal - she might be seriously hurt without realising it. Maybe her brain had been damaged, hence her weird behaviour lately... First the thing in the power plant, then on the road, in the kitchen and the thing Pete... that was all very worrying. She couldn't participate in a competition in this state. She needed help. And who could she trust more than their parents ... her mother? But how should Liz tell her about?
Liz took a deep breath. She would do, what she had done all her life: she would tell the truth. She didn't know, however, where to begin.
"Mama ... because of the competition..." she murmured uncertainly.
"God, speak up, kid! Nobody understands you!" said Rachel, while she got up and positioned herself in front of a mirror in the hallway. There she began to take off her earrings and her hair band. Liz followed her, playing around with her fingers uncertainly.
"You're gonna be qualified for the national finals! I'm so excited!" Rachel exulted.
That didn't make it easier for Liz.
"Well..." Liz continued hesitantly, "You know, I need to talk to you ..."
"Why? Don't you feel well?" Rachel asked immediately, incredulous, and drew an eyebrow skeptically. For some reason it bugged Liz that her mother reacted so irritable. Wasn't a mother supposed to listen and to care when her daughter wanted to have a serious talk?
"I'm doing well, relatively ... Mom, on the weekend, something happened ... "
Now even Rachel realized the bitter seriousness in Liz's voice. She paused with arranging her hair and turned towards her daughter. Liz had to breathe for a moment, but Rachel did not have a lot of patience.
"What happened? Tell me! Don't make it so exciting!"
"So, I was at the movies -" Liz began, but she wouldn't get a chance to talk.
"Have you been there with a boy?" asked her mother as if this was a crime.
"Wha-" began Liz completely puzzled, "That has nothing to do with this!"
"Oh, that has a lot to do with it, young lady! You know well that you're not allowed to go out with boys when we are not here! Boys just turn your head so you lose your sense for waht really matters! So, you were there with a boy?" Rachel grumbled.
"Yes, but that's not the point. After that - "
"That IS the point! Oh, wait until your father hears about that. You're in big trouble! We trusted you and you deceive is so shamelessly! What have I done wrong!" Rachel wailed as she came back into the living room and sat down on the couch melodramatically. Liz knew this performance to be sufficiently, so she was not impressed. Actually the fact that her mother still thought this number would work was quite surprising. And also the fact that she refused to listen to her. So Liz decided to make it very simple for her mom:
"Mom, I have a problem! When I wanted to go home from the cinema - "
"You have a problem indeed, young lady! Let's see what your father thinks about that!" Rachel said, as she picked up the phone to call Richard, Liz' father.
Liz tried to stay calm, by quickly going through all the facts: well, her mother had been on the road all day, she had not eaten anything, she was exhausted and when she comes home, she learns that her robot is broken. No wonder she's cranky. Maybe tonight was a bad time. Maybe Liz should try a different approach. Tomorrow morning, when her mother had slept and had breakfast, Liz would talk to her. On the other hand, Liz wanted it to be over as soon as possible.
"Mom, I don't think I want to go to the tournament tomorrow." She said cautiously.
Rachel paused with dialing and gave Liz an aghast look. Then she suddenly stood up and walked through the room, waving her arms wildly.
"That is certainly this boy's fault, right?! What were you thinking?! Do you prefer to meet with your admirers, instead to make me proud? Your future is at stake!"
She was again excessively exaggeraing. Slowly Liz was annoyed.
"I don't plan to go out with any boys, Mom!" Liz exclaimed over the noise of her mother's shouts. Once she had finished, Rachel stopped and acted as if nothing had happened.
"That's just fine. So you go to the tournament?" she asked, but her tone made clear that there was only one right answer.
"No," Liz began, but before Rachel could start shouting again, Liz added loudly but calmly: "It would mean a lot if we would just spend a nice day together. We could look at the old photo albums, or we take a walk on the lakeside, or we - " was she again interrupted harshly.
"You gotta be kidding, right?!" Her mother said with a monotone voice. Liz was silent. She had wished for a more seinsitive reaction. She didn't quite know how to respond.
"Well -" she began with a hoarse voice.
"I totally didn't come all the way to waste my time with old photos or any lakes - there I couldn have stayed in the office," her mother said blankly, and a bit annoyed.
"But Mom, I gotta talk to you -" Liz started again. And again was interrupted by her mother.
"It's not good that you're alone so much, you seem effete."
Slowly Liz became furious. She pushed her lower lip forward, offended, and and folded her arms. When her mother wouldn't let her speak anyway, then she she wouldn't say anything at all. Rachel looked at her thoughtfully for a while, then started walking around Liz. For some reason it reminded Liz in a vulture, circling over a carcass.
"Nobody has ever won a contest by looking at their baby photos, my dear. You won't be anything in the world, if you don't provide effort. Effort! Do you understand? Hard work, sweat and tears. Only then you will succeed! Only then you will have a happy and fulfilling life."
Liz groaned inwardly. How often did she have to listen to this preach in her live already. She used to believe in it, but now she began to doubt whether the equation success = happiness was true. Her mother had a lot of success, but she neither seemed happy nor satisfied.
"You'll do your best." Her mother concluded emphatically.
"I always give my best," Liz said firmly.
"Good, sweety, then lets keep it that way." Rachel replied. For her, the conversation was over. She turned around and began to check mail from the last few days. Liz felt helpless. It felt like she was in deep water up to her neck. She was a free human beeing, with her own dreams and goals - could her mother take this away by just turning her back to her? What power had her mother aynway? Liz was able to control magnetism! Her mother couldn't beat that!
"I won't participate at this tournament!" Liz began abruptly. Her mother was startled. For a moment she looked at her daughter carefully, then she said sternly:
"Yes, you will!"
"You can't force me!" Liz said determined, and suddenly this humming in her head started again.
"Oh, I can't? Are you sure?" Rachel asked sarcastically, with a very sugary sweet voice that could make you scared. She stood up and smiled dagerously at Liz. "You will go to that contest. Or do you think your fancy life here is for nothing? No more money, no more penthouse apartment, no car, no robot bulters that will make your life as pleasant as possible... "
First Liz was puzzled, then she became livid! Her mother actually believed that Liz put so much emphasis on luxury? The buzzing in her head was deafening right now, she barely heard her own voice, when she cried:
"I give shit on this fucking money and the apartment!"
Therefore she recieved a slap in the face. It wasn't the pain that surprised her, rather than the fact that Rachel hit her in the face at all. For some reason, Liz wasn't even angry, she only felt pity and compassion. At the same moment the hum disappeared and made way for the clarity. Suddenly nothing was impossible, everything was so easy, everything suddenly seemed meaningless.
"Never dare to speak with me in that tone!" her mother said quietly, but dangerously, "And now go to your room."
At that moment it clicked.
Liz didn'tt know what had changed, but she could clearly feel that at this very moment the situation had changed. Until today she had always done what ever her parents had dictated her to do, she had tried to be a good daughter -
"You are nothing without effort" ...
Defining a person solely on their effort was humiliating. Liz was more than just an athlete, more than just a doll you could show off with.
Liz turned around, but she didn't go to her room. In her mind everything fit together now, like the pieces of a puzzle. Now she could see everything so clearly. Lost in thought she took an apple from the crystal fruit bowl and threw it playfully from one hand to the other.
"Now I finally understand how things work here ..." she began softly, "I'll do what you say and I get clothes, food, a place to sleep ... everything I need to survive. Assuming I provide effort."
"Is that so hard to understand?" Rachel said, who stood there with folded arms and kept a close eye on her daughter.
"You do not contradict me, then?" Liz asked diplomatically.
"Why should I?" Rachel asked impatiently. Her gaze darkened.
"It's simple: Do you know what this is called? Slavery." Liz had stopped and returned the gaze just as dark.
"Didn't I tell you to go to your room?"
"Or else what? Won't you allow me to go to the tournament then? That would be a shame, I wanted to go there so badly!..." Liz said sarcastically. Her voice was different than usual, dissolved, free, and was filled with a powerful silence, and her eyes - maybe her mother realized at that moment that she no longer had control over her, otherwise Liz could not explain her fearful glance.
"If I have to repeat myself-" her mother began, her voice quivering from anger (or fear?), and wide eyes.
"You don't have to..." Liz interrupted, "My ears work very well ..." she ended abruptly and threw the apple playfully towards her mother. Rachel was so surprised that she wasn't able to catch the apple in time. The fruit fell to the ground and rolled over the Carrara marble floor.
"You, on the other hand, should work on your reflexes. Good night." Liz said quietly. Then she turned and went to her room.
That evening Rachel phoned Liz's father Richard. The two rarely talked to each other, only if it couldn't be avoided. Liz could hear her mother up in the office above, how she talked about Liz abnormal behaviour, and with an upset tone Rachel put the blame on the ominous strange boy. Her parents also discussed to Liz send to New York, to a therapist, who would bring back "to normal".
Liz startled when her phone rang suddenly.
Vi stood below the skyscraper and looked up as if she could see Liz from below. They wanted to meet with her. After the incident today, Liz might want to have to talk to someone. Vi had her cell phone at the ear, and waited.
"Hello?" her friend answered. Her voice sounded tired and surprised at the same time, as if she was surprised that someone would call her at all.
"Hey, it's me!" Vi greeted with chattering teeth. The wind had freshened and was blowing chilly and cold around her ears.
"Vi!" Liz exclaimed joyfully, almost relieved.
"Everything okay?" Vi asked anxiously.
"Well..." Liz said in that peculiar tone.
"Is your mom already there?"
"Yep... Vi ... Oh!" Liz cried suddenly, and it sounded very desperate, "We had a fight, because of the tournament tomorrow ... What's wrong with me?"
"Everything is fine with you..." Vi said reassuringly, not knowing what had happened. Liz had never quarreled with anyone - well, that one time today with Pete, but this was hardly a fight. Vi could also understand very well that Liz had to freak out about her parents at some point. On the other hand, these incidents accumulated in dubious frequency. Maybe something was really wrong with Liz ... but at the moment Vi was just trying to calm her best friend.
"Calm down. Sleep over it one night and tomorrow the whole thing looks different."
"Yeah..." Liz sighed in disbelief, then she suddenly asked hopefully, "You'll be there, right?"
It was so sudden that Violet did not know at first what Liz was asking for.
"Um ..."
"For the tournament ..." Liz helped her.
"Of course," said Vi, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. She tried to cheer Liz up after all, "Wilbur we'll be there too!"
Why did she have to say that now?! Vi narrowed her eyes, bit her tongue and slapped her hand against her forehead. She was glad that Liz could not see that.
Liz' voice, however, suddenly changed it's tone. Had she sounded insecure and desperate before, she now sounded softly, almost a bit dreamy.
"Cool ..." was all that Liz whispered into the phone reciever. Violet would have liked to smash the phone against a wall. She bared her teeth and gestured wildly with her hands, to compensate that she could not scream as long as Liz was on the phone.
Vi was really bad mood suddenly. That was stupid! She was mad at Liz, who had a love interest in her best friend, at the same time Vi was mad at herself because she was against it, and she was mad at Wilbur because he was totally clueless about all this! It was just so crazy. When she had calmed down, a cold shiver ran down her spine. Her teeth were shattering.
"What's wrong?" Liz asked.
"It gets pretty cold outside," Vi said through her chattering teeth.
"Where are you?"
"I'm standing right below your window..." Vi admitted, "I wanted to ask you if I could come up, but when your mother is there..." though she didn't finish the sentence, Liz still understood what she meant.
"It's not a good idea to pay me a visit right now, that's true. My mom will only hold a lecture, what a bad influence you are and blah blah blah," Liz added, and Vi thought to hear that Liz was smiling. She sounded much more relaxed now.
Still... these words caused a stab in Vi's heart ... she really was a bad influence, wasn't she? She was dishonest, they had not even decided whether to boycott Wil x Liz or to support it. she was a traitor. Vi startled out of her thoughts, when Liz suddenly screamed.
"Mama!"
"You've got a phone ban!" Vi heard the Rachel's distant vioce through the phone, "Now you've in big trouble!"
"And you've probably never heard of knocking at doors?! Don't you have the slightest respect for my privacy?!" Liz roared.
"Privacy must be earned!"
Then the contact was broken. One of the two must have hung up the reciever. Violet drew back and looked at her futuristic mobile phone in her hand, as it could provide her some sort of explanation. Then she swallowed uncomfortably and put the phone back into her bag. Now she was really cold.
