Flavio Tornatore's Bunga Bunga Party

As soon as we emerged from behind the hedge we were cornered by my in-laws, who seemingly had stood by the entrance, guarding it, but not daring to venture inside.

"What on Earth are you doing, constantly sneaking off into the maze. People are saying you're having sex there." Ms Smithwright cursed us out.

"That's because we spread the rumour." Bryce said smugly, there was a cheeky grin at the corner of his lips.

She crinkled her nose.

"Sometimes I can't tell if it's just typical strange teen boy behaviour, or if you and your brother deviate from the norm."

Definitely the latter.

"Why were you looking for us?"

"Uncle Jeffrey, no relation, wanted to talk to you."

"Do I have to? That guy is a creep." Bryce moaned.

"Be polite darling, he actually seemed keen to fund your business idea. Said he was happy to see you have a drive which is unfortunately lacking in most kids your age."

Bryce sighed. "So he doesn't actually believe in me, he just wants to throw money at it. Mom, this sounds like he's trying to get out of paying his taxes."

"So what? Be his tax haven then."

"You're whoring me out?"

"It's for your own good. You wanted investors."

"Yes, real ones. That care for the concept."

His father stepped in.

"Business is a tough world. You can't be successful if you're being wide eyed and ethical like this. You gotta take every opportunity that is handed to you. I would have never become a billionaire if it wasn't for nepotism."

What a flex.

"You're right. Business is a transaction. What does he want from me in return?" Bryce challenged him.

"You will never know if you don't talk to him."

Bryce was shaking his head in frustration.

"You just don't get it."

"No, we don't." His mother answered for the both of them.

He sighed. "Where is he at anyway?"

"Look for the girl with the shortest skirt and you will find him trying to peak up it." His father suggested.

I had yet to meet him but this Uncle Jeffrey sounded like a class act.

Bryce scanned the surrounding area.

"I can't spot him. He's probably hiding in the women's bathroom."

Someone had spotted Bryce though, their eyes briefly made contact, though he looked desperate to deflect her glance. She came strutting up to us nonetheless.

"Wyatt, Heidi, how are you?" The tall icy blonde greeted them in a stoic, disinterested voice.

I could tell she had a pronounced Russian accent.

"Hello Melania, what brings you here?" My mother in law replied dismissively.

"I was invited." She said horsely. The was an ounce of irritation to be heard. "I brought Margot." She said gesturing at the toddler dressed in an inhumanly clean looking white sailor suit. If I hadn't been so sure Margot was a girl's name I would have guessed this was a boy. It was hard to tell with kids that age though.

Nobody reacted so Melania added "Thought we might come over and say hi to her Papa."

So this was Wyatt's half-sister then. The little one was adorable, She melted my heart the first time she laid her big brown doe eyes on me. She looked like a cross between a younger Wyatt, and a different familiar face, one that I could not quite pinpoint as of yet. I could not help but feel a bond with her.

"We're not really family, you're just the mistress I couldn't talk into the abortion." Wyatt's Dad cackled. The rest of us exchanged a look of disgust as he was laughing for an uncomfortably long time at his own joke.

Melania was the first to speak, as the rest of were still recovering from the shock.

"You are not funny." She said coldly. He thick accent made it sound like a threat.

"Dad! That's my sister!" Bryce exclaimed. "Your daughter." He reminded him.

"What? She only speaks French."

"Wyatt, don't disrespect women like that." His ex-wife reprimanded him. It took me a moment to register that it was less likely that her disinterest in her children's identity had reached the peak where she fused them into one, but rather Wyatt had been named after his father.

I should have known this. It had probably even been written in the map Bryce had prepared for me. I had to make more of an effort to get to know this family. Right now, all I knew about them was their secrets.

"That's not the only reason you shouldn't be saying stuff like that!" Bryce schooled him.

He received a proud pat on the shoulder from his mother.

"At least I can live in the comfort that you will make one lucky lady very happy one day, darling." She said and kissed his cheek. I think it went over everyone's head but I noticed him flinch.

"It's all in good fun. We are a family, we should be cracking jokes at each other's expense. Come on, Kai, you thought it was funny, right?" He asked me gleefully.

Everyone's attention was on me now. I hated being addressed directly. I had not set out to attend this mixer to talk back to my father in-law, but at the same time did not want to encourage his boomer humour. I decided the most diplomatic thing would be to wordlessly shake my head.

He just shrugged. "Though crowd."

"It is Margot's birthday today." Melania stated. "I sent you an invitation a month ago."

He daughter was cowering behind her, thin little hands tugging at her skirt. Melania absentmindedly stroked her short brown hair, not taking her eyes of the man she was glaring at.

"Oh, it was today was it?"

"I already moved the party to tomorrow since I knew you would be busy today."

"Tomorrow is tricky. Just tell her it's next weekend, kid's can't tell time."

"She knows when her birthday is. She's been talking about it non stop. Mostly about how happy she is to see her father again." Melania pleaded, desperation seeping through her cool voice.

"Can't do tomorrow, Mel. I'm sorry. Why don't you contact my secretary, and she can arrange for Margot to come along for the family Sailing trip in the Maldives."

"She can't swim yet."

"We are not going swimming. Just sunbathing."

Melania turned her attention to Bryce and I.

"Will you two come? It will give you a chance to get to know your sister."

I hardly wanted to spend my first free day in weeks attending a toddlers birthday party. I had satisfied my non-existent craving of parties and social gatherings for the time being. However, Melania had welcomed me into the family. Despite the fact that I barely qualified as an in-law she wanted me present. How could I not feel charmed?

Bryce nodded. "Of course. We will drop by right?"

"Sure." I agreed.

"Thank you, Bryce. And you too Kai. I had a sense you are a good kid."

His ears perked up at the mention of his actual name.

"You're the first person who actually knew it was me."

"How would I not? You are my stepson."

"I think I spotted Uncle Jeffrey, no relation." His mother, the real one, interrupted.

Bryce groaned. "Fine. Kai, come join me. I'm gonna need you there for mental support."

Melania pulled a face as though she had bitten into a salted lemon. "You should stay away from Uncle Jeffrey, no relation. He is pervert." She advised us. "Whatever you do, don't go to his party."

"See, I told you guys!" Bryce insisted.

"He's just seeking guidance from him." His Dad said dismissively.

Bryce rolled his eyes.

He kneed down and tried to give Margot, the only relative that hadn't disappointed him, awkward hug, from which she retreated. What a rejection. He bottled up his sorrow and did not press further.

I took his hand, it was not just for show anymore, it seemed to give him a confidence boost and relax him. Something I could tell he needed. He let me know by gently squeezing it back in appreciation. We were about to walk away, when Melania gripped my sleeve rather suddenly. She looked surprised by her own actions and it took a few moments to gather her thoughts.

"I'm here if you need to talk." She told me in Russian, not that anyone would have remotely cared.

"I appreciate it, but I'm good."

"You can be your honest self, I won't snitch." She assured me, then smiled sadly. "I've been in your shoes."

I nodded and thanked her, glad to not be the only black sheep in the family, but saddened by the prospect of remaining one forever.

"Everyone seems awfully short with her." I remarked to Bryce once we were no longer in hearing range.

"She's a gold digger. That's why."

"How do you know?"

Everyone had been calling me one too, and it was far from the truth.

"My parents hired her as a violin tutor for Wyatt and I. She had good credentials, even had been working for my Dad's old boarding school a few years after he left. You'd think she is used to being around the superrich. But no, she seemed more interested in stealing him away from my mom. Lied about being on birth control and got knocked up. Then tried to pressure him into marrying her. Don't get me wrong, I love Margot, she is sweet kid, and did not ask for any of this, but she is the reason my parent's marriage broke apart."

"How do you know for sure?"

"Know what?"

"That Melania tricked your father. Or that she was the one to seduce him. No offense, but rich and powerful men like him are used to taking what they want, maybe she did not feel like she could say no."

I had seen it time and time again with my grandfather, the way only hired "pretty ladies" and treated his secretaries like his personal wank bank.

"So what? She could have quit. He's a married man! She wrecked our family. Nothing has been the same since she snaked her way in." He spat back. "She's at it again, she's engaged to this American billionaire. He's some sort of Business mogul who has his own reality show. It's super trashy."

I did not entirely agree with his interpretation of events, but held my tongue. Clearly the wound was still fresh and causing him pain. I had no idea what had even compelled me to defend his step mother like that. I barely even knew her. Maybe I felt some solidarity as a fellow outcast.

She certainly seemed to have some wisdom. Uncle Jeffrey, no relation, was what most people would deem, a menace to society. I saw now, why even in a world where everyone wanted everyone else to know how connected they were, people wanted to linguistically distance themselves from him. As predicted, he did end up inviting us to one of his parties. The Italian Prime Minister Tornatore's party to be exact, though he claimed to be handling the guest list. Thankfully Bryce declined.

"We are actually going to be busy with the tournament for the next month."

"No issue. Just come to the one in the Caymen islands. I will ask Ghislaine to arrange some flights for you."

"We will have to see if it fits in our schedule."

"Of course it will." He held his fat stomach and let out an ugly laugh. "Just one question. How old is he?" He asked, once he finally came down, panting cause he needed a breath, whipping his sweat off his forehead but still bringing forth the energy to wink at me. Gross.

"I'm sixteen." I said truthfully, praying it would get us off the hook.

Unfortunately, it only seemed to excite him further.

"Perfect. You must be there! I insist. Your first Bunga Bunga Party. It's all elegant and in good taste!" There was a seedy smile on his ugly face.

"Anyway, Jeffrey, it's been great catching up with you but I believe we are expected to mingle." Bryce said defectively. "Thank you for the invite. We will keep in touch."

"Call me Uncle Jeffrey."

"I'd rather not."

Bryce aggressively put his arm around my shoulder and dragged me away. I shivered. There was something just off about that guy, and Bryce had felt it too.

"Hey, Bring your twink brother." Uncle Jeffrey bellowed after us. "Did I say twink? I meant twin."

-x-x-x-

"What is a Bunga Bunga party?" I asked Bryce, even though deep down I knew I did not want to know any details.

"I have no intention of finding out. It does not sound like the type of event I can do my pitch at, that's for sure."

No, not unless my sense of unease was confirmed and it turned out he had tried to lure us to an MLM meet-up. But that was overly optimistic. Reality could only be worse.

"I just hope we can get out of this one." He sighed.

I had misleadingly thought we already had.

"Is it always like this? Attending parties, getting invited to parties, it feels like it's never ending." I inquired. I knew nothing of life in high society. So far I was not enjoying it one bit.

"Yes. And I'm ready to put an end to this one. Let's fetch my parents. They owe me."

I was happy to ditch this joint. The mood had gotten increasingly heavy. Everything about this felt wrong, not in an overtly scary, but nonetheless uncanny way. I found myself related to Alice being trapped in Wonderland. Ever since we came here we had eyes on us, despite the fact that we were far from the most curious characters at this assembly.

A/N: I know it's kinda short, I split it because the chapter is running a little long. Hope you're still enjoying the intrigue. There will be some twists coming up, so keep on guessing. I don't know much about the world of the super rich, so I had to make stuff up. I was going for a sense of wonder and confusion. With a sprinkle of sexual opportunism.