Chapter 14: Her Spec.
Vanessa woke up full of life, with vigor coursing through her than it had ever done in the past few months. Her happiness stemmed from being elevated from an ordinary working-class lady to doing the job of her dreams, fashion designing, in the most prominent fashion company, Moore Apparel.
Her happiness might seem a tad bit overboard, but after several years of wiping tables and serving hot and greasy menus from the hours of 6 am to 11 pm in different restaurants and diners, all the while holding up jaw breaking grins and trying not to physically assault slime customers who were inclined to groping just for mere tips, one would understand this was indeed a breakthrough for her, and by all means something worth celebrating.
She whistled as she waltzed around the room while preparing for work.
"I knew you would get this job, but right now, I'm so happy I can sing an opera." Sophia chirped as she joined her sister in the glide.
"Then sing, little sister." Vanessa lilted as she held Sophia's hand and twirled her around, making Sophia giggle.
"I'm so happy you finally got a job deserving of your brilliance." Sophia cheered.
"Me too." She replied.
"Okay, that's enough. You're going to be late for school." Vanessa announced as she brought the dance to a quick halt. Sophia was slightly disappointed, but she nodded and quickly slipped on her uniform while Vanessa rummaged through her wardrobe.
Sophia paused and turned to her sister when she remembered an important information she hadn't asked. Her eyes suddenly began to gleam with alarming curiosity. "Did you see your boss?" She inquired. "I mean the CEO of Moore's Apparel." She detailed when she saw the confusion in Vanessa's eyes.
"I saw his picture in a magazine, and sis, he's so fine!!" She dreamily stressed and squealed like a fangirl while Vanessa blankly stared at her.
People had always said raising an adolescent came with a lot of pressure not only for the children involved but also for the guardians. Vanessa didn't believe it until now. She didn't know if it was okay to be calm about her sixteen-year-old sister's giddiness over a full-grown man. A man that had for a moment stopped her cold.
Vanessa's mind suddenly wandered to those moments in the lobby where she had seen him.
His thick, dark hair curled softly around his ears, perfectly straight and prominent nose, strong jaws that revealed nothing but masculine defiance, and a pair of chestnut brown, or maybe chocolate brown eyes that fluttered at her with disdain as they inspected her.
The rude indignation that tipped up his brows as he observed her in appraisal revealed the full effect of his arrogance even before his full, wide lips — which she found a little maddening, muttered out his first set of words, 'What's going on here?'.
He reeked of deference and self-importance like he knew he'd rather be anywhere else than in the lobby of his company attending to an infuriated wannabe staff. The man was attractive, just like her sister had said. If she must say, he was her spec.
'Wait! Her spec?'
Vanessa quickly shook off her dreamy and distracted thoughts of him and guiltily focused on her sister. "No talk about men. Get ready for school." She chided and hurriedly turned away to get herself ready for work.
"Spec, really?" She muttered under her breath.
Silence reigned in the room as they went about getting ready for the day until Vanessa spoke up. "About the school trip you talked about, how much is it?" Vanessa inquired.
"Forget about it. I'm not going anymore." Sophia casually replied.
Vanessa paused and turned to her. "Why?"
"Nothing." She shrugged. "I just don't think it's necessary."
"How?" Vanessa asked, her eyes intently narrowing at the girl. Sophia could feel her sister's boring gaze on her, so she stopped packing her bag and turned toward her.
"Firstly, I don't think it's necessary as the principal is just a butt licker. He's obviously doing this for those fancy parents with their pearls and heels who walk as if they're gliding on the moon. Like who goes that far for some stupid trip?" She hissed irritably.
"And secondly?" Vanessa asked while she folded her hand across her chest and keenly fixed her intent gaze on Sophia.
Sophia sighed. "Secondly, it's so expensive. Why would I want to pay five hundred dollars for some dumb trip that might not benefit me? There are industries in this city we can visit and learn a lot from, but no, they want to go somewhere far and fancy where they could do other things rather than the so-called field trip." She rambled while Vanessa knowingly nodded.
"So the problem is the money?" She asked. Of course, she knew that was the problem.
"It's not just that." Sophia refuted.
"Then what is it?" Vanessa raised a brow at her, urging her to give a response.
Sophia sighed and lowered her head. "Fine, it's the money." She admitted.
"You are going."
"No, I'm not." Sophia quickly refused. "Five hundred dollars is a lot of money, maybe not to them, but it is to us. You just paid those mobs, and you still haven't told me where you got that huge amount of money. If you borrowed it, then we have to pay it back. I can skip this trip. It won't affect my grades."
Vanessa didn't know what to say, especially with the determination that glittered in her sister's eyes. She dropped the things in her hand and walked over to Sophia. She pulled her in for a hug.
"You don't have to be so mature, Sophia. Let me take care of you. You've done enough by gaining a scholarship that has saved us the stress of your tuition, but don't deny yourself the things you'd need."
"But-"
"Shh.." Vanessa hushed her as she stroked her hair. She partially pulled away and cupped Sophia's cheeks.
"I'll take care of us. You believe me, right?" She asked while Sophia nodded. Vanessa smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Then don't worry about money. I have a good job now, and that means things like this would never be an issue for us again." And there would be more from this deal she had made to cater for them properly, Vanessa added in her mind.
"Come on, give me a smile." She gently pinched her chin as she smiled sweetly at her. Though Sophia still wasn't fully convinced, she couldn't help but return her sister's smile. Vanessa was doing more than enough. She played the role of being a father, mother, and sister, and all she could do was make her worry less about her.
"Thank you, Van."
"Thank you too." She smiled. "Now go eat breakfast. It's on the table." She ordered, and the girl readily left.
Vanessa watched her leave for the sitting room, and the moment she left, her smile faltered. Her eyes darted towards the calendar. It has been seven days already since the insemination. Was she pregnant yet?
She picked up her phone and quickly googled it. A lot of information popped up, but none was conclusive. She slowly reached for her stomach.
The doctor had asked her to return in ten days, but ten days was too much. She wanted to know if it worked because if it didn't, she'd have to wait another month, which would delay her next pay. She desperately needed the money.
Opening her bag, she brought out a pregnancy test kit she had gotten at the pharmacy the previous day. She hurried toward the bathroom so that she could do the test before Sophia would be done with her breakfast.
She followed the instructions inscribed on the pack. She tapped her feet anxiously as she waited for the result. Vanessa could almost hear her heartbeat with every millisecond that passed.
The few seconds at which she waited felt like an eternity, and several issues of concern popped up in her mind. Questions she had been too busy to think about until now.
How was she going to explain her situation to Sophia? And how was this going to affect her, especially in school among her peers? She was her guardian, and she was supposed to be her role model, but now she didn't know if she could still be that to her if she showed up with an unexplained pregnancy.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone