Painful Smiles

Mr. Louis sighed, ‘I just gave an intro’. Michael looked at him blankly. His father knew he didn’t understand.

‘What I did now was your job. You’d have to report every 4pm to answer the queries and l check the market flow for the day. I just did a role play for you now. Didn’t you get it?’ Mr. Louis sounded offended.

‘Wh-What?’ Michael mumbled in a low voice. That’s his job? All those?

‘Yeah, you heard me’ his father nodded. ‘And I hope you’ve digested everything you’ll say in the speech. It’s important you make a good impression, I’m their boss but I can’t force my decision on them. They’d have to accept you as their director. Don’t embarrass both of us’.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

Michael swallowed hard. He shouldn’t have made that deal. Those women there, those guys with their huge abs, they’d squish him if he tried bossing them. What an executive director he’d be?

‘You know, if you really want to see that girl in the next five years, you’ll take our deal serious’ his dad smirked.

Why was this sounding like he’s going through all the pain for a girl? Michael sighed. Even if the girl is the one who saved his life and gave him a reason to live.

‘Don’t punish me, you should be thankful for that girl. She saved your only heir l and without a heir, you know those women would throw themselves at you, if they aren’t throwing already. Also, your directors would plot against you as you have no heir… ‘ Michael said.

‘Then since you know you’re my only heir, why put me through all the trouble?’ Mr Louis interrupted, his voice asking coldly.

Michael gulped down saliva again before answering, ‘Nevertheless, I’m doing all this for me and the deal. Ill take the offer of being your director for the next five years. We’ll see how it goes’ he quickly left to recite his speech again.

Mr. Louis smirked, he won again. He’d be having a good son for the next five years. He hoped the five years will go a little slower.

Claudia stared at the bag. Her mother had bought some new bags for their junior year. Clara had snatched the golden brown and had ran upstairs with it.

Even though, her mother had tagged ‘Claudia’ on it. It was an attempt to annoy her, she’d ignore rather. She had a path to follow. Life would be fairer to her someday.

Clara didn’t expect Claudia to ignore her.

‘Take it, I give you, beggar!’ Claudia spat and took the other blue one to her room. Clara stood there with the bag, the fun was having Claudia shout and beg her, perhaps call her parents. Was she going to be ignoring her?

Mr. Larabee ran down the stairs with a box. ‘Girls, girls, girls’ he sang excitedly. Clara jumped down the stairs at once and ran to her father in embrace. She went back on seeing the box and her eyes shone expectedly.

Claudia sluggishly came down few minutes later. ‘This is the best thing that happened to me in centuries. Like, well, its never happened before, but it feels so great. Having a mini-me!’ he jumped around like Clara would.

Claudia got the message and went back upstairs, she had been noticing it anyways.

‘Hey, come back. Dad hasn’t broken the news yet’ Clara called her back. Claudia waved and continued her way back upstairs.

‘Oh, she’s not interested in the good news. Well, let’s unfold the magic box shall we?’ Mr. Larabee grinned as he brought unfolded the box, he brought out some baby clothes from it.

Claudia’s eyes dimmed abit. The whole excitement were about some baby clothes? Or she didn’t get it?

‘Oh, and so I won’t look like a bad daughter who doesn’t feel a thing about your super excited mode, congratulations to you’ Claudia came back to say then went back up without getting a response. ‘Yeah, yeah, thank you’ her father sang.

Clara looked at her dad. What was the excitement and congratulations about? She then looked up the stairs that were still echoing Claudia’s footsteps. What was with her twin acting badass and nonchalant?

‘Okay, I don’t get it’ she told her father. He sighed before sitting with the box on his thighs.

From his explanation, Clara realized that her mum was two weeks pregnant. She didn’t understand how her father was so confident it would be a ‘mini-him’ but all the same she hoped for a little brother.

Sisters are overrated. Her mother would be staying at the hospital for a while. Her mother’s pregnancy was always a bit complicated, even at the first stages.

‘Wow, is she sure it’s a boy?’ Clara asked to be sure. Her father frowned slightly, ‘It has to be’.

Clara gave him a face. What’s even with him being excited over a ‘mini-him’. Wasn’t the kids he had enough already?

She left him and went back to her room. Her door was stuck on something and she smiled when she was what it was. The pink teddy.

It was always finding its way to her door, like it wanted to escape. Escape her. And maybe go to Claudia. ‘You’re mine, Mrs. Pinky bear’ she picked her and slumped in her bed.

Life would be boring now her mother would be staying at the hospital. And her father would be ranting about his upcoming baby. And Clara would be badassing all holidays and perhaps into junior year.

She stood up abruptly ‘She’s just being badass cause she saved some prince from dying and even got to write him a letter’ she rolled her eyes.

Well she’s going to be the overall princess around here. Whether anyone saved a prince or not.

She began packing up her toys in her bag. She’d make sure she gets ‘Most popular girl’ by her senior year.

Make some badass records that’ll live on. It’s her set goal. Though five years seemed like a long time. But it’s her set goal. Five years should hurry come.