---

Making her way to the elevator, Sora waved at Howie again.  “Hey!”

The man chuckled.  “Didn’t I just say goodbye to you an hour or two ago?!  And aren’t you looking pretty?  It’s great to see you smiling again.”

“Aww, thanks!  Just going to run down to the c-corner store and grab a steak to cook on the grill!  Want me to pick you up one, too?”

“If you’re offering, I won’t turn down a steak!”

“Sounds good,” she grinned, getting into the elevator.

He pressed the button for the lobby, leaning against the side as they dropped floors.  “Oh, before I forget, the meds, eh, med—singular, heh—it’s in the morning with Ron.  We’re supposed to alternate your other ones every second day to start with.”

“Normal t-time?”

“Yup.”

“Okay…  Man,” she ran her fingers through her still slightly damp hair, “it’s gonna be so nice when I don’t need to take any of this crap.”

“I hear you!  Let’s just…”

“I k-know.  I know.  Haaa,”  Sora let out a sigh.  “Temper my expectations.”

Going silent for a second while folding his arms and staring at her, Sora glanced at her front with a frown.

“Is there… something on my dress?”

“No.  No…  I’m just happy seeing you excited to go out.  It’s been a while since you’ve worn something like that or your jewelry.”

“Yeah, well… I didn’t want my nice clothes to get ripped or my jewelry stolen and pawned off.  Umm… any barbecue sauce?  Actually, instead, why don’t I find some good steak, that would be good.  You can take it home just before Ron trades out for the night.”

“Heh, whatever you want, and you know I’m not… picky.”

She gave a short sigh upon seeing the dark rings under his eyes.  “It must be tough since Ray and Ireen got new jobs.  Never liked them anyway, but yeah…  Must suck for Ron and you having to work such crazy hours until they find a replacement.”

Howie eased around his tight neck with a low chuckle.  “It’s been a bit rough, and standing around in an elevator all day can kill my legs—especially when you can’t sit down in case one of the VIPs come in, but, heh, you make it worthwhile!”

“S-Stop it!”  Sora giggled, playfully punching his shoulder as the doors opened to the lobby.  “Gah, and I can’t w-wait until this s-stupid stutter is gone!”

“I know how much it bothers you, but it can be super cute!”

She exited, giving him a doubtful backward glance as he waved her off.

“Mhm…”

Pushing her purse strap up, she sighed and returned passing greetings to the veteran staff.  Stepping outside, the blazing Miami sun kissed her skin and she released a pleasant, unbridled purr upon smelling the nearby ocean breeze.

Okay!  Know what, I should grab some cash for Frank!  He did scare off Hannah and Lori, she thought while proceeding to the two-story corner store that carried just about anything she generally needed.

A smile brightened her lips as she relived the look on the blonde’s face when the big, 205-centimeter-tall, bear-like man’s eyes settled on her.  It’s not often people stick up for me.

Holding her wrist behind her back as she basked in the Miami Beach's vivid energy, attitude changed, it was great to see packs of tourists and locals dressed in bikinis and beachwear.

Sora could have picked out a good, summer hat after seeing a few women with various shades of the covering, but then again, she could also play her butchered hair off as a fashion statement.  Few people noticed her, far more busy going about their day.

Taking another deep breath to flavor the refreshing scent of palm trees and the salty ocean wind of her home, Sora giggled as she saw a car driving down the street, missing most of its parts, a mattress tied to the hood.

Good ol’ Miami…  Never a dull moment in the city of entertainment and insanity.

She didn’t rush to the corner store, but, eventually, the large windows and stucco came into view.

Sora made it to the corner store without issue; the two-story building was spackled white and locally owned.  It was the closest market to the hotel, so she visited it regularly for anything she needed.

Catching her reflection in the glass as she neared, a small frown came on.  She had liked her long hair, despite what other girls said about its copper color.

“Well, it will be back in a few months,” she sighed, reshaping it for a second before entering the store; once inside, she did her typical scan for any of Kari’s girls.

Not many kids from her school lived in the busy heart of Miami Beach’s ritzy district, considering there were few actual living areas since most of the housing in this area was dedicated to expensive hotels for tourists.

It wasn’t uncommon for the high school girls to cruise around the place, but only Lori was psychotic enough to try something in such a public area and away from Kari’s little bubble.

Luckily, she didn’t find anyone she knew, and it seemed shockingly bare for its location and the time of the day.  There were only a few packs of people she could see, and most appeared to be tourists.

A man and woman in their forties, apparently on vacation, were recording each other with their phones and speaking French; Sora picked up on a few words but didn’t pay them more than a passing glance.

The middle school girl killing time in the unique clothing section near the front left stole her eyes for a moment, yet it was the two girls around her age, partially hidden to the side of an aisle browsing food, that kept her focus as she proceeded to the ATM.

She took them as tourists by the very unusual sing-songy language they spoke that Sora couldn’t place, and the blonde certainly made them stand out; she was about the same size as Kari and perhaps even more toned.

The short girl—around ten centimeters less than Sora—looked Korean, if she had to take a guess.  She had silky, raven-black hair, a thin body, somewhat tan skin, and stern eyes that were a clouded, topaz hue.

A hand on her hip as she pointed at various items with a slightly exasperated tone, she wore tight, black jeans and a close-fitting, white and black split shirt; Sora couldn’t figure out how she wasn’t burning up with the humidity and heat outside.  Slightly jealous, Sora noticed that she didn’t seem to wear nor need makeup.

Sora’s hands hesitated at her purse as the Korean cut off before shifting her posture to stare right at her, and caused her to fixate on the slitted contact lenses she wore.

Weird… but it is Miami.

Extracting her wallet from within her purse, a shiver ran down Sora’s spine as a sense of danger cascaded through her bones; turning back to the pair, the air in her lungs froze.

The Korean’s eyes flashed crimson, an intense glare locking Sora in place, yet the pressure collapsed when the blonde put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, muttering something in their odd language that made the shorter girl’s brow furrow and take a second look at her.

A few more words passed between them before the Korean grunted and walked around the corner, leaving the blonde to smile and wave at her as if nothing had happened.

Releasing an uneven stream of air, Sora blinked a few times while rubbing her dry throat.  No one else seemed to notice the rapid exchange, but Sora wasn’t sure if part of it had been her meds making her see things.  Ever since she’d started taking pills, she did occasionally hear voices and imagine things that weren’t there, but nothing that intense.

It almost felt like…  Kari can sometimes give me that feeling.

A shiver ran through her body again as she shook her head and rubbed her temple.  Just chill…  Damn.

She did a double-take on the blonde, who did notice her gaze and wave, working through very broken and incorrect English.  “Sal-u… citations…”

“Yeah… hey,” she muttered, scanning her appearance.

The girl’s beach-golden hair was intertwined in a soft, fishtail braid that hung below her shoulder blades, her glittering, bright-blue irises holding a curiosity in everything she examined.  Her brown, leather bandeau bikini seemed to be made of actual animal hide that was stitched together, and around her neck was the most beautiful gold-twined laced necklace she’d ever seen.

Sora traced the twined, aureate threads of the ornament that played around each other in a diamond design of a gem-encrusted eye, some kind of radiant ivory jewel the size of a golf ball with a void-like core, with silver spikes on the top and bottom of the center-piece connecting it to the golden twine.

She must have come from a phenomenally wealthy family to wear something like that around, and Sora couldn’t help but notice the contrast in her wild-looking attire—including the leather wrap around her feet and shins—to the stunning showpiece.

Shaking her head and discounting her previous experience to one of her somewhat infrequent episodes, Sora returned a weak smile and gesture before returning to her business.

I gotta get off these meds…

Sora shot one last look back, leaning to the side a bit to stare down the aisle to confirm if the Korean girl’s eyes were still glowing red, but it just got her a dull look from the raven-haired girl with her slit-contact yellow eyes.  It had been her imagination.

Stupid pills.

Scratching her elbow with agitation, Sora tried to filter out the loud French tourists’ conversation in the back and got her card out to access her checking account that her dad regularly allocated funds to for her every-day-use.

Hmm… $93,234 available…  I’ve been using more than I generally do on Lori’s stupid perfume collection.  I must have bought almost every damn brand in that ridiculous chic store she always has me go to…  Well, that ends now!

Extracting $100 in twenty-dollar bills with a huff, she placed them in her purse and glanced over at the clothing section, where the middle school girl was browsing swimsuits.  Continuing to look around, the summer hats nearby caught her interest.

I have a spot for a new hat… after Hannah took my black one last week.

She moved to the area, sliding by the brown-haired girl, and looked between the three available colors; the floppy, tan hat with a big bowknot wrapped around it looked cute and could go with a few outfits.

Taking it off the rack, she jumped as the younger girl touched her back, attempting to scoot by.  “Sorry, but can I…”

“Oh, yeah!  No problem.”

The teen paused about a meter away, studying the item in her hand before looking Sora up and down.  “Umm… super cute clothes, by the way, but… I think you’d look better with long hair.”

Is she trying to compliment or diss me?

“Thanks, uh, I’m going to grow it out again.  That… eh, is a pretty floral pareo.  T-The black with blue and white flowers is nice.  Where did you get it?”

She glanced down with a grimace.  “Ugh… I like my pure white one better with this bathing suit, but I got it for sale online.  Thanks for noticing.”

“Yeah.”

Expecting the conversation to be over, Sora turned away to study the stitching to see if the bow was just wrapped around or sown into the article when the girl chuckled, scrutinizing her again.  “Lori really did a number on your hair; my sister told me about it on the walk home today.  I heard she has something planned for you tomorrow.”

Sora closed her eyes and released the air filling her lungs before turning to the younger girl.  “Figures, and here I thought you were just being awkwardly friendly.  Who’s your sister—Jackie?”

“Amanda.  I heard Kari wants you to leave, so, heh, I guess she won’t be coming home with a bunch of clothes anymore.  To be honest, I was always jealous because she’d always hang it over my head…  But jokes on her; I sometimes steal her clothes!”

Not expecting the snickering girl to make her chuckle, Sora rubbed the back of her neck and shrugged.  “Meh, Amanda’s not that bad, to be honest; she usually lets the others walk all over her.”

“Oh…”  The girl’s smile fell.  “I thought…  Huh.  Anyway, umm… later, rich girl.”

Sora watched her return the tank top she was carrying to the rack before leaving with downcast eyes.

Guess she thought her sister was one of the cool kids…  Not really how it works with Lori in the mix.

Walking to the small fresh-meat section while picking out a mineral water along the way to wash away the bitter taste in her mouth, Sora selected two decently-sized tenderloin cuts and made her way to the front to checkout.

Of the three registers, two were backed up with four people waiting, with the center only having one, and it seemed for good reason: the foreign girls she’d seen before were attempting to check out—at least, it looked like they were trying.

Sora got behind them, a curious smile playing at the corner of her lips as she studied the long horde of miscellaneous goods the pair had placed for purchase; the selection ranged from snacks and sodas to cereals and various types of meat.

Zack, one of the employees Sora had talked with before, had his arms crossed and a matching expression on his face while glaring at the two.

“As I said, it’ll be five-hundred, thirty-three, seventy-two.  Do I need to take off a few items?”

Sora believed she caught their names between the odd language the two spoke; Jin—the Korean girl—appeared to be frustrated with Eyia—the tall, confused blonde—as she attempted to explain something to her.

After a few cryptic phrases, Jin turned back to Zack, and to Sora’s amazement, spoke perfect English; it was so casual that her accent even carried a Miami cadence, utterly deviating from her previous tempo.

“Ugh…  Sorry, we’re new to this place.  Is it possible to barter?”

Zack’s face blanked.  “Is… this a social media video?  You’re joking, right—there’s no hidden camera?”

Jin blinked in bewilderment.  “An online video for amusement?  No…  Is bartering not something done here?  I was sure bottlecaps were a thing here,” she mumbled to herself.

“What… bottlecaps?  Uh, yeah… we only accept cash or credit.”

“What… type of credit?”  Jin pressed, left eyebrow narrowing fishily.

Zack sighed and rubbed between his eyes, repeating, “What type of credit…  Mmmgm…  Mastercard.”

“Ah… those plastic currencies,” she mumbled with a somber nod before turning to the blonde and flipping to the sing-song language on a dime to explain the problem.

Eyia’s eyes brightened with her smile as she held up her left hand, where a golden ring that hadn’t been there previously—Sora was sure—was promptly pulled off and offered to the grinning Korean.

Flipping around to offer it, she presented the item.  “I am afraid we do not have such plastic credit but might gold be an option?  We have a ring…”

Sora couldn’t help but giggle at the girl’s attempted payment.  “R-Really?  You are t-trying to barter with jewelry!”

Unfortunately, the comment brought everyone’s gaze, eliciting instant regret as Jin’s cheeks reddened, her cold, golden irises darting to her.  “Is that a problem, Little Fox?  I’m not in the mood for tricks.”

Sora’s cheeks flushed as she stepped back, unsure what to say with the questioning stares aimed at her.  Fingers tightening against her purse, Sora hastily shook her head.  “N-No, I’m sorry.  Ugh, that was pretty rude of me.”

I can’t believe I just came out and did that…  Yeah, they’re definitely not from the US, and I made fun of them…  Not cool.  The ‘Little Fox,’ though…  Does she think I’m Native American?

Hot air shot through Jin’s nose as she haughtily tilted her head.  “It was rude, but at least you have the guts to admit it; we are not used to this Miami, so naturally, we’d have trouble.”

Sora took a deep breath to calm her racing heart as a sudden thought drew her away from the conversation.  Wait, is that the inside joke Kari’s group always uses against me?  These girls definitely aren’t with Kari, though…  Is it that I look Native American?

Feeling bad now, she cleared her throat, attempting not to stutter, not that it typically helped.  “Umm… Here, I’ll pay for your stuff as an a-apology.”

Dammit!  It had to be the last word!

Jin’s tight jaw slackened, a suspicious edge narrowing her eyes and bypassing the stutter as if she hadn’t even heard it.  “What… is your game?”

“Heh.  To say sorry and g-get out of here faster,” she laughed, internally cursing again; it always got worse when she was nervous.  “Zack, umm… if you c-could add these to the order…”

Knowing she was good for it, Zack happily snatched her items and scanned them to place them in a separate bag as Sora scooted past the pair to tap her card against the machine.

“And… there.  We good, Z-Zack?”

“Yup.  Receipt, right?”

Sora puffed out a long stream of air.  “You know I n-need it to track my purchases for my dad.”

“Just had to ask,” he said, with a wry grin, handing it to her to place in her receipt pocket.

“Alright, uh…  Want some help carrying some of this out?  Do you have a taxi or car nearby?”

Jin and Eyia looked at each other uncertainly, the Korean mumbling something that the blonde nodded to.  “Eh…  Sure.  I wanted to ask you something anyway.”

“Okay,” Sora shrugged, moving to load the items in the cart, but the super-tall amazon of a girl somehow snatched up most of the plastic straps herself and effortlessly hoisted them over the side.

The Korean rolled her slit golden eyes with a short huff as the blonde shot a victorious smirk in her direction.  “This doesn’t count as a victory,” she grumbled.

“Damn…”  Zack whispered, lifting an eyebrow at the somewhat unreasonable number of items Eyia seemed to effortlessly balance and leave with.  Of course, she was smashing a lot of goods, but it was still more than a little impressive.

“We’re gonna stop off at a sitting area at the nearby park.  You good with that, Little Fox?”  Jin queried with a lifted eyebrow.

“Sure… and, heh, can we drop the L-Little Fox stuff?  My name is S-Sora.”

“Mmmgh…”

A bit put off by the girl’s disinterested grunt, Sora kept her silence as she followed behind them.  Eyia appeared to want to be a little ahead of Jin, and there was an unmistakable rivalry of sorts that was primarily initiated by the blonde.

Their unusual language caught her ears again as they went; she couldn’t place it, and eventually, the question bubbled out of her mouth.

“Uh…  Would you mind telling me where y-you’re from?

Jin huffed, making the bags sway in her hands as she passively scanned the crowds; Eyia drew a ton of attention.  “Nowhere you’d be interested in.”

Not knowing if she was rude or just blunt, she rephrased it.  “I’m just w-wondering what language you’re speaking.  It sounds pretty,” she added, hoping the genuine compliment would break the ice a bit.

“Pretty?”  Jin started chuckling while leering at the proud blonde ahead of them, her head held high.  “Personally, I think it’s pretty lame, and limited, might I add, but what other language would you expect from a blockhead race like Asgardians?”

“Huh…  Like… the m-movies?  Is it a made-up language Eyia created?”

Jin shot her a side-long look.  “How’d you know her name?”

“Umm… I guessed based on what sounded like names from your c-conversation?”

“Humph.  Are you being facetious?  Typical foxes,” she huffed, rolling her eyes.

“F-Facetious?  No.  I don’t know if you’re being serious or not.”  She repositioned her hands around the bags to readjust the hat on her head.  “I just wanted to help a bit since you aren’t from here, but now you’re being rude.”

Eyia shot a questioning look back at them for Jin to groan, “Freaking Asgardians…  Haaa.  Fine.”

She motioned for them to stop off at a park beach table that led to the sandy shore to their far left.  “We can wait here; Eyia wanted to thank you personally for paying for our stuff.  Although… I still expect the guy to run after us and accuse us of having false plastic money.”

“Wow, uh…  I guess you don’t have a lot of t-trust for people,” Sora hummed, more interested in their past than put off by the comment—she could relate, in a way—everyone was always looking for handouts from her or expecting things.

Setting everything down, Sora was a little taken aback when Eyia stepped up and hugged her, practically squeezing the air out of her and lifting her off the ground.

“I—s-ooo—salu-tation!”  she brokenly cheered.  The crushing embrace was as if she’d been put inside a vice-grip.  “Feed—nice!”

“You’re hopeless…”  Jin moaned, a palm to her shaking forehead as she seemed to instruct the blonde to set her down.

“Haaa!  I—ack…  She’s so… s-strong!”  Sora cried, choking with tears in her eyes as she bent over to wheeze and try to fill her compressed lungs again.

The confused blonde gave the bored and frustrated Korean a worried look, speaking more gibberish for her to return it.

“Eyia says she’s sorry.  She hasn’t met many people… like, ever… in her life, so… yeah.”

“N-No problem…  Ack…  Umm—j-just give me a sec…”

The blonde hovered nearby, shooting questions at Jin as Sora recovered, and, after several seconds, they all sat down.

“I-I’m fine now…  Wow, but that’s… insane.  How often does she w-work out?”

“Irrelevant.  Anyway,” Jin bypassed, taking out some salt and vinegar chips to start sampling their food, “what’s up with you?”

“What do you mean?  Do you, umm, not like Japanese people or something?”

“Huh?  No.  That made no sense; why would I hate someone Japanese?  Humph, these chips, though, are… interesting.”

Eyia took a handful to chow on before chattering with the Korean.  Sora didn’t know what was even happening anymore, but it tickled a bit of fascination inside her.  Even for Miami, these two were pretty weird, and she’d seen some odd foreigners.

After a few back and forths with the blonde, Jin seemed to give up.

“Haaa…  Alright, I guess you’re a different kind of fox, Sora…  I suppose you’re not too bad.”

“Thanks?  Umm, by the way,” she whispered, now truly curious about her characterization, “why do you keep calling me a fox?”

“Why would I…”  Jin seemed totally at a loss for words as she scratched her forehead before glancing at Eyia to make a few comments; the blonde shot her the same bewildered expression as Jin hummed and leaned forward to scrutinize her.  “You don’t believe you’re a fox?”

“No?”  Sora questioned, wondering if this was some kind of furry test as her focus wandered between the two girls.  “Should… I?”

“Hmm.  Weird…”

“Right?  Uh… why would I, heh, be a fox?  D-Do you think I’m a furry?  Because… I’m not—not that there’s anything wrong with that!”

Worried she might have crossed a line, Sora’s attention moved to study the pile of meats in one of their bags, “You, umm…  Do you have a place to store the meat?”

Jin’s serious expression broke into a short snort as she jabbed a thumb at Eyia, now happily scarfing down fruits without a care in the world.  “Got it covered.  Eh… so, names are a good start, I suppose…”

Running her fingers through her silky-smooth, raven locks, she brushed them back before giving her a half-smile.  “My name is Jin-Kyong, and this is Eyia…  Sorry about her speech.  Ugh… I’ve been trying to teach her how to roll English off the tongue, but—ugh… alright, Sora; I suppose I have been a bit rude.  Water under the bridge,” she casually waved off.

Breaking away from her previous topic, the girl leaned to the side and looked away as she spoke.  “Thank you for the food.  Oh, but you can call me Jin, since we’re in America,” she mumbled before saying something in that strange language and nudging the blonde next to her.

Fiddling a little with her necklace, the tall girl looked unsure how to answer but eventually fumbled through a response.  “M-My—na—mmgm… name is Eyia?”

She struggled to work the words around her tongue, making Jin’s lips tighten.

“Yeah…  As you can see, it’s a work in progress.”

The raven-haired girl swapped to ‘Asgardian’ to talk to Eyia again, and Sora heard her focalize on the word is.

Swallowing and clearing her throat, Eyia put on an expression that said she was ready for battle, “My… name—is—Eyia!”

Sora couldn’t help but smile a little.  She’s actually super cute.

The Korean started teaching the other girl something else soon after, giving her a thumbs up to show she’d done well as they opened some soda and took a sip.  Jin immediately shut her mouth, smacked her lips, and looked down at the bottle in disbelief.

Her focus darted to Sora, down at the item, at Eyia, who was already chugging the liquid, and to end the entertaining show, Jin followed suit, finishing it in one go before pointing at the label in wonder.

“This can’t be… orange!?”

“Eh…  yeah?”

“For real?  Wow…  That’s actually pretty magical, all things considered.”

Magical…  I wouldn’t go that far, but okay.

“Uh…  Can I ask where did you guys come from now?  Out of the country, I assume, since you seem so excited to be in America?”

Examining another bottle of soda, Jin popped her tongue against the roof of her mouth a few times.  “I came from Tibet, I guess you could say, and Eyia… from some island off Norway.  I met her when exploring—what flavor is this one?”

It must have been a pretty remote island, and I guess reading English is hard for her, but damn, vocal-wise, she’s perfect.

Sora sat back and crossed her legs, beginning to enjoy the conversation after the bizarre start.  “What are you two doing in the United States?  It’s grape flavored, by the way.”

“Meh.  Just traveling.  Eyia wanted to see a sunny place, and this was near, so we came here.  That’s that.  This is supposed to taste like a grape?  Well, it doesn’t.”

Intrigued, Sora shrugged, “Yeah, I guess it kind of doesn’t.  Where did you learn to speak English so fluently, and how do you not have any money if you are traveling abroad; are you traveling with your parents?”

Jin’s brow creased at her questions.  “I speak every language…  And definitely not with my parents.”  Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at Sora.  “But you should know I can speak anything?”

Sucking in her lower lip for a moment before releasing it, Sora pushed her hat up with a frown.  “Huh?  Why would I know that?  Besides, isn’t it impossible to speak every language?  You’re joking, right?”

Jin sat back with a thoughtful hum, the bottle lip tapping against her mouth as she thought.  “You think we’re speaking a made-up language?”

Forcing a smile, Sora chuckled.  “I suppose all languages are kind of made up, to be fair.”

“Heh…  I guess Asgardian isn’t the most common language around this area, and it is a little less refined than Olympian, I suppose, but it gets the job done… barely.”

Sora shook her head in bewilderment.  “Asgardian…  L-Like the movies?  I-I thought I heard wrong…”

Jin looked over at Eyia and scratched her head before struggling to speak again, but the Korean cut her off.  “Anyways.  It’s been great talking with you, Sora, and thanks for the food, but we really should get going.”

She spoke to Eyia again as the blonde gathered up all the bags, and just before leaving, Eyia waved, all the goods swinging in a frenzy before practically screaming, “Salutations!”

Returning it with a strained smile and wave, Jin chuckled before correcting the apparent Asgardian girl—Sora would have bet on Amazon first—and she couldn’t help but giggle at hearing the Korean focalize on goodbye between the strange phrases.

Eyia flushed and waved again, voice dropping octaves.  “Goodbye, Sora.”

“Ooh!”  Sora clapped.  “Impressive, Eyia; that was s-super clear!”

Jin made a dismissive gesture.  “Yeah, yeah.  Later, Sora.  We’ll probably see each other sometime in the next few days.  At least, I expect we will.”

With pursed lips, Sora watched them go without pushing the topic.

We’ll see each other again in the next few days?  I must have heard that from the pills…

She blinked, and they were gone, making her internally panic for a second.  “No…  Please, don’t say I just had a conversation with…  Ugh…”

Not wanting to think about it, Sora clung to the idea it must have been real; after all, she had the receipt, so maybe they actually left at some point, and she just kept hearing the voices, but that still didn’t make sense, she hadn’t had an episode that bad before.

Sora groaned while looking up at the still-bright Miami sky.  Just…  Let’s go home, make some steak, and go to bed!  

She saw a few middle school girls walking across the street and a lot of elderly folks—it was Miami, after all—but no one else paid her much mind.  Whatever Lori had planned tomorrow, she’d handle then; it was about time she stood up to the psycho.

I just hope Lori doesn’t stab me by the end of the week; that’d be the worst.

“Mmh…”

Not the worst—stabbing Wendy would be the worst…  No, heh, stabbing both of us and then herself as some kind of insane final revenge would be the worst, she half-jokingly concluded.

She passed security into her hotel lobby and took the elevator up, joking around with Howie about the girls she’d met.

Once inside her penthouse, she kicked off her heels, dropped off her stuff, and got everything ready to grill the steaks.  She followed a recipe to do a 20-minute marinade before throwing it on the heated metal and making dinner for two.

She got done sooner than she thought, blending up some mashed potatoes and using some leftover gravy she’d made.  Cooking was fun to do when she was younger, and it always tasted better when eating with someone else.  Unfortunately, Howie and Ron had practically been her only friends for the last three years.  Once finished, she had Howie go on his 15-minute break to eat inside with her.

After waving the man off to complete his shift in peace, Sora groaned and went to her bedroom to stretch and shed her public attire.

Slipping off her dress and accessories before removing her bra, she put them away and changed into white, silky pajama shorts,  spaghetti-strap shirt, and slippers; it was comfy mode time!

Instead of going to her office to get homework done—because she was out this week—Sora had an enjoyable time flipping through streaming platforms until she found a good show: an Asian Drama, her favorite.  Bundling up in a blanket on the loveseat of the long couches in the theater room, she grabbed some popcorn to finish out the night.

She paused the show halfway through when she heard a ding sound through the overhead speakers, indicating the laundry crew had finished their job, which was earlier than usual, and suddenly Frank’s handsome face popped back into her head.

Crap.  He’d definitely be gone by this hour.  I’ll have to give him the money tomorrow; hopefully he’ll still be working the booth.

She resumed the show, knowing the staff would place it on her desk to put away where she wanted, and once the credits hit, Sora rechecked her phone, but Mary still hadn’t messaged her, spiking her paranoia.

I hope she’s okay.

Feeling the stress,  she changed into her bikini at 8 p.m., ready to contemplate in her personal spa on the deck and unwind.  She pretended to be the steak she’d just marinaded a few hours earlier with an amused smile, allowing the heat to melt her worries away.

Kari’s done with me, and I can finally move on with my life.

She soaked for the healthy side of an hour before cleaning up and jumping in bed, but it didn’t take long for a groan to bubble through her lips.  “How could I forget my phone on the patio…”

Rolling out of bed again, she slunk downstairs to the first level to open the sliding glass door to the strong ocean breeze.  Snatching up the item, she returned upstairs and plopped her butt into bed while shooting her dad a text:

 

I know you won’t get this for a while, and I’m really liking Mary.  Like, you have no idea how much!  I know I said I hated her before, but she actually seems like she wants to help me.  So, about what we talked about a few times…

 

She paused, fingers hovering over the keys.

 

I want to start homeschooling and get away from the public stuff.  I’m sure Mary will agree.  I’m pretty sure she will.  I’ll look up a list possible instructors tomorrow that I can send you, but I know you’ll probably want to find someone you’ll like, too.  I also want Wendy to join me.  I know it’s asking a lot, and I’ll talk to her about it.  I just want things to go back to how they were.

 

She sent it before following it up with another.

 

Love you!  And I hope the big deal goes through!  Things are looking up here, and I can’t wait to see you next week!

 

Scooting to the side of her bed, she smiled and placed it on her wireless charger, so that it wouldn’t be almost dead tomorrow, and nestled underneath her blankets, feeling the bliss of lying in bed after a challenging day filled with emotion.  Not only that, but it was the first night in over three years she hadn’t had to take any pills.

Can I really make this happen in a week?  What’s Lori planning to do tomorrow?

It took over thirty minutes to clear her mind and fall asleep, with her last thoughts being:  Now, nine days until my sixteenth birthday and seven days ‘till dad’s back home.

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