READ BETWEEN THE LINES

A/N

Hey, it's me. (That was weird, I know. Pardon me) Well, I'm so excited about this book and you will be too eventually, hopefully. *shakes feet in anxiety* Anyways, welcome to READ BETWEEN THE LINES!!! This chapter is purposely lengthy, but the subsequent chapters should be shorter cos I've got school and all. Please, leave a vote, comment and share. Love y'all.

I've heard and even sympathized with a lot of life philosophies but one remains undefeated in my mind.

Life is not fair.

Why? I can't say for sure but I know that motherfucker is just not fair.

That would have to be the only reason my favourite popstar was coming to town for a tour after I'd been cut off from my financial supply a few days ago. Yeah, ya girl was hella broke.

"Allie, are you sure it's this month?" I hope she'll say she made a mistake and we can have a good laugh about it all.

"Yes. On the 28th." Nice way to crush my hopes.

I switch the phone from my left ear to the right. "And you're sure it's our city?"

Her sigh wafts from the speaker. "Yes, Phoenix. Damian is coming here for his tour at the end of the month."

Despite her obvious irritation, I still press further. "And it's a paid tour?" Allison's squawks makes me pull the phone away for a few seconds till she calms down. "Shut the fuck up, okay? It's not my fault I'm being grounded at this particular moment."

"What did you even do?"

"Nothing." She remains silent and I know she probably has her brows up in skepticism. I switch up my talk a little bit. "Well, nothing much."

"Mhmmm." Damn, she knows me too well.

I roll my eyes before fessing up. "Okay, okay, okay. I might have said some terrible things to my cousin during Thanksgiving dinner. In my defence, she started running her mouth first. Besides, I wasn't even that rude."

Allie giggled and my lips twitched at the ends in repressed humor. "Oh really? Tell me the not-so-rude things you said to her."

"That she's ugly, she stank and she's so dumb, her baby daddy had to leave." I still think the last one's true though. Erica was a really dumb 20 year old. Identifying as her cousin is the second most embarrassing thing in life, right next to having diarrhea in school.

Normally, Allison was the worst person to tell a joke in a quiet class cos she'd do her monstrous jackass laugh there and eventually make y'all get the detention slip. Now imagine when she got amused in the comfort and privacy of her home. There was no stopping her. I don't even try to, I just let her do whatever.

"Bet you felt real smug after telling her those things."

I fight back a smile. "As hell. But my mom? She wasn't feeling it one bit. She made me apologize. Verbally and officially."

"Huh?"

I pick at the chipped nail polish on my big toe. When did I last get a pedicure? Must have been really long since I couldn't remember. "Yeah. She made me say sorry to Erica and aunt Cher. Then I also had to write an apology letter and post it to them." Allie chokes on her own laugh and I roll my eyes. Classic Allison ting. "I'm fucking serious. I deadass had to sign at the bottom of the note. And just when I thought it was all over, boom! She cuts me off from every allowance for the next 6 months."

I can imagine my friend banging her fists on her bed in hilarity. To be honest, I'd probably have the exact same reaction if I wasn't the one who experienced that mortification. "Wow, that's fucked up."

"You don't say." I deadpan and redirect my focus back to the underlying situation. "How much does the ticket cost?"

"Uhmm, regular seats cost about $1500 but you wouldn't want that, trust me. The VIP tickets means you get to stay close to the stage. Close to Damian. And they cost $4500." A strangled sound leaves my throat. "Plus a meet-and-greet with him backstage, that'll cost you an extra $1000. So in total, $5500."

"The fuck?"

Allie let out a deep sigh. "I know. That's half price for a whole motherfucking birkin bag but Damian is so worth it."

I don't give a fuck about birkin bags and all those type of shit but for Allison, a birkin bag was the solution to world hunger. "You've paid already?"

"Yeah, just before I called."

For the twentieth time in the hour, I ponder on the unfairness of life. Why now? "Bitch, I'm broke. Like the only money I got to my name at the moment is $380." Her gasp was so loud, it's a mystery my phone screen didn't crack. "Yeah, $380. You might have to pay for me and I'll refund you in 6 months."

"Errrr, that's going to be a little problem cos I'm broke myself. I don't get any money till next month. And the tour is this month."

"Oh no." I walk into my walk-in closet and glance around. What the fuck can I sell to get the ticket money? One time in seventh grade, a guy in my class was selling his fairly used sneakers and I think he sold each for $40. At that rate, I'd have to sell close to 150 pairs to pay for the ticket. And after that, then what? I'd have to spend the rest of my life walking around barefoot. I love Damian, but not to that extent. "Damn, what the fuck am I supposed to do now?"

Allie hums in thought and I impatiently wait for her to come up with something. "You might have to work for the meantime."

"Work?" Sounds like a foreign language to me.

"Yeah, you know, you offer certain services to a company and they pay you at the end of the week or something. It's a straightforward concept, really."

I'm too worked up to blast her for the sarcastic explanation. "Get serious. This is not a fucking joke, give me a logical advice."

"It is a logical advice, the logical advice actually. People work when they run out of money, that's the way life is. Not everyone's fortunate enough to have rich ass parents that'll cater to their every need, both necessary and unnecessary."

I am slightly offended by her snarkiness but then, she isn't completely wrong. My parents (actually, my dad) always get me every single thing I need, even the stupidest of things. I travelled alone to Greece during the summer break cos I heard the sunset in the Santorini was lovely. The sunset was so worth it though. I am his only kid, I guess I've earned all those.

"Fuck you!" I grumbled into the reciever. "It's not like you're better anyways. Your parents also spoil you."

I can always imagine her nonchalant shrug. "True. But I've worked before."

The girl staring at me in the mirror has an incredulous expression on her face. What the fuck did she just say? "Bitch, you got fired the fucking next day! I might not know a lot about the corporate world but I'm pretty sure that's a horrible look on your resumé. You're not the sterling example of an employee so you might need to shut the fuck up."

She scoffed. "At least I worked."

"Yeah, for approximately 26 hours."

"Shut the fuck up." She grumbled.

I apologized to her amidst laughter. "So what can I do? Damian is my one true love and I need to see him. Maybe I'd catch his eye while he sings 'Baby, don't go'. And he'll cancel the whole tour and we'll go to Vegas and get married. And we'll-." Allison's loud guffaw cut me off and I had to put a pause on my fantasy to join in.

"Girl!!!!"

"It'll be all fun and jokes til you see me on his next music video." Allie's whoops echoed in my ears. "We're gonna be game. Hugs, kisses and the whole motherfucking shebang. We're gonna live in uptown London and start our own family."

"I thought you didn't really like London."

I nod. "I hate it. But Damian is the catch here."

We both bark out in laughter like the lunatics we really are. "So back to the main thing. You really need to get a job."

My face forms a frown as reality of the whole situation sets in. I really do need to get a job. "How do I go about that? Where the fuck should I even work?"

"Hmmmm. You can go by the mall, there'll be a vacancy in one of the stores there."

The mall? I shake my head, even though she can't possibly see it. "I can't be a fucking sales person."

She screams at someone in the background for a few seconds. Definitely had to be her elder brother, Jerry. The guy's an insufferable prick and makes me exceedingly happy that I'm an only child.

"Why? I'm almost certain nobody in our school goes there, if that's what you're worried about."

I scoff at her insinuation. "I don't give a fuck about someone seeing me, I don't owe nobody shit. The thing is I'm not the friendliest person, I'll suck as a sales rep."

"Ohhhhh, that's true." She chuckles a little. "I forgot that you're not a people's person."

"Yeah." I am not a people's person at all. I barely have any friends aside from Allison. Allison and I go way back, since second grade. I didn't like her then, but being the frisky kid she was, she didn't let my surly behavior dissuade her from pursuing my friendship. I think I just got used to her eventually. She's the third best thing that has happened to me, after vintage cars and Damian.

"Well, I could teach you how to be nice."

I roll my eyes and leave the walk-in closet. "I'll pass. You're not nice either plus your grades are horrible, you can't teach me shit. I should be the one teaching you."

She gasps and then scowls. "I resent that. My grades are okay, not everyone's going to be a genius like you. And contrary to what you think, I am a very friendly person."

"If that sails your boat, alrighty."

She scowls again. "Anyways I just thought of something, since you can't work in the mall."

I perk up instantly. "What's that?"

"You can be a tutor. A paid tutor. Didn't Principal Greens tell your mom about that in sophomore year?"

My eyes narrow as I try to think. My mom told me about it and I laughed it off. It sounded like crap then. Still does actually, but it's a better evil than a sales person. "Yeah. That could actually work. But what if all the slots are filled? Then what?"

Allie makes a sound of disbelief. "Yeah, right. Cos being a tutor is the most appetizing job for a highschooler." She laughs at her sarcasm. "I'm pretty sure all the available slots from last year are still open."

After a few minutes, I finally agree to go to Principal Greens and apply for the tutor job. Hopefully I'll end up with someone who's half decent with academics and I won't have to do too much. "Alright, I'mma apply tomorrow. I'll see you then."

My mom's voice drifts from upstairs and the wheels in my head starts reeling. What if I act like I'm genuinely repentant and she revokes her punishment? My heart races as I realize it could actually work. With the new surge of hope, I run downstairs.

"Baby dragon!" I scowl at my dad's nickname for me. I used to like it when I was way younger but now, it's a no-no. I'm a motherfucking grown lady, that nickname has to go but my dad is stubborn like that.

"Phoenix?" My mom looks at me with raised brows and my confidence deflates a little. Damn, what was my plan again? Yeah, convince mom that I'm truly sorry. I can do it!

"Mom, you got a minute?" She closes her laptop, takes off her glasses and pats the seat beside her.

"Uhmmm, I want to apologise about Thanksgiving dinner. Uh I know you were really mad about what happened and thinking back at it, I realize I was wrong and now I regret those vile things I said that night."

"Hmmmm." Her poker face makes me shift uncomfortably in the seat. What the fuck was going through her head? "Okay?"

This will be harder than I thought. "Well, uh, I think Erica is going through a lot as a single mom and I think she's doing really great. I have no right at all to gloat at the expense of her self-esteem."

Instinctively, I look across at my dad and it looks like he's fighting off laughter. The man's definitely not feeding into my bullshit one bit. His reaction almost makes me break character and I quickly look away. Yeah, back to mom.

"So I'm deeply and really ashamed of myself for not supporting my older cousin as she's going through a very tumultuous season in her life." The next words that left my mouth tasted like bile. Utterly disgusting. "Erica is amazing and I should actually aspire to have such determination and positive outlook towards life."

Never in my life have I thought such words would leave my lips about Erica. Sigh. Things we do for love. Damian, I love you!

"Oh really?" I can't decipher the look on her face and I start to sweat buckets from my armpits. "What made you decide that? Cos you were screaming blue murder when I asked you to write the apology notes to Cher and her daughter." Point of correction, she didn't 'ask' me, she forced me to write the letters. But that's all in the past.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking these past few days."

She put her glasses back on and shrugged before taking her laptop. "Well, I'm glad. It's alright, we all make mistakes. Realizing our mistakes is the most important thing and I'm happy you have."

"Yeah, me too." Barf.

She hammers on the keyboard for a few seconds while I wait with bated breath. "Maybe you can go over to their house next week to talk it out with Erica." I remain silent because no way in hell is that going to happen. "It's alright. I forgive you, sweetie."

My heart soars in happiness at her words. Oh Damian, here I come! And I didn't even have to do that weird tutor job for it, I don't have an IQ of 206 for nothing. I'm hella smart. "Thank you very much."

She beckons on me to bring my head closer and pecks my cheek when I'm close enough. "Of course, you're my only baby after all."

More happiness in my soul. "So this means I'm no longer grounded?"

"Of course." Hallelujah!!! "Not."

Everything comes to an instant stop. She said what? "What?"

"You're still grounded, baby. I understand your story but you'll still have to face the consequences of your unruly actions and words." I swear there's a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Unless you weren't even sorry and just wanted to get off the hook easily?"

My head suddenly weighed a hundred pounds as I shook it. "Fuck no." I quickly correct myself, my mom hates swear words. "I mean, no. I'm truly sorry."

Mom gives me a knowing smile and jerks her head towards the stairs. "Alright, baby. You might want to head to bed now, tomorrow's Monday and you wouldn't want to be late to school."

I nod and quickly turn before tears of fury flow out of my eyes. The useless lies I had spewed before my mom left a nasty aftertaste in my mouth and I wish I never even came downstairs. "Yeah. Goodnight."

After several minutes of deliberation in my room, I realize I might have to do the tutor thing after all. The jewelries I had were all gifts from my mum and she'll kill me if she discovered I'd sold any. I wonder how many hours a day I'd have to tutor some kid to raise $5500 in approximately 3 weeks. I stayed up till midnight doing several financial calculations in my head and only stopped when there was a knock on the door.

"Baby dragon." I'm way too stressed to even glare at the door. "Can I come in?"

"No."

He keeps knocking however, so I eventually give in. He walks with a guilty smile and sighs when he sees my glare. "Baby, don't be mad at me. You know I'd let you off the hook this very second if I could."

That's true though. My dad would burn the whole world down for me, if he needed to. He'd do anything but defy mom's orders. And that's what got me fucked up right now. Still, I try to do whatever I can. "Dad, you know Erica did me dirty first."

He nodded in agreement. "What she said was fucked up."

"So why am I being punished?" I whined.

My dad sits at the head of my king sized bed and I roll away from him. Part of the sulking daughter act. "You know your mom's really fond of Erica. She wants to show her that she's got all the support she needs."

"Oh, so she ain't fond of me? Her own fucking daughter?" I wiped away a non-existent tear from my left eye and sniffed extra loud. That drama class from fifth grade is paying off big right now. "Alright then. No one gives a fuck about Phoenix cos she's responsible, gets good grades and smart enough to not be a teenage mom. Maybe I should get knocked up too, then maybe y'all will show me a little love."

Okay, I might have gone a little overboard with the guilt tripping shit but hell, I am a little desperate, okay? My emotional speech seems to be having the desired effect on my dad cos he reaches forward to pat my head gently.

"You know that's not true. We love you so fucking much. Personally I'd do anything for you."

I sniff again. "Anything except go against mom's orders."

"Yeah."

I glare at him for a few seconds and scoff. "You're supposed to be the head of this family. The man." I point to my chest. "My man."

He chuckled softly under his breath. "Oh no, dragon. I'm her man and I can't go against her especially when it comes to training you. I'm sorry, baby. But on the bright side, 6 months comes so fast. I'd know, look at you. I gave birth to you, then closed my eyes for 5 seconds, and boom, you're already 18."

He tugs at my cheeks like a big ol teddy bear and I wrestle him for a few seconds before we both slump on my bed, laughing. In my opinion, my dad and I had the weirdest but sweetest dynamic and I wouldn't trade it for nothing in the world.

"As a reward for your patience, I'll get you a Lamborghini Miura at the end of your six months punishment. Oliver told me about it. It's the 1966 model, you'll love it. It's in the green color right now but I could get it refurbished and painted matte black for you." I stare at him with wide eyes, that car has always been my dream car. It'll cost him major money, at least 2 million dollars. Alas, a silver lining….

But still. "Thanks dad, but Damian won't be here next 6 months." I mumbled.

"Damian?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, he's coming to town for his tour this month. Tickets and everything cost $5500. Allie already bought hers."

My dad's face has a genuine look of sadness on it, I almost feel pity for him. He knows how much I love Damian and would really love to get me the ticket. "I'm sorry, baby."

"It's fine. I'll get a job and make some money."

He looks conflicted for a moment before nodding. "Break a leg, sweetie. I know you'll do great."

He gives me a goodnight kiss on my forehead and heads to the door. "Please turn off the lights before you leave."

All alone in the darkness, I start to check the possibility of my plan.

Can I actually make $5500 by the end of the month?

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