🎲🎲🎲 More than a game 🎲🎲🎲
→→→ Jilting the tits ←←←
🀄 Book eleven 🀄
💜 Iris’s standpoint 💜
I covered my eyes with my hands in fright, hiding my face from everyone. After school, Hans and the girls; Hailey, Lee and Silvia took me to a salon to get my hair and nails done. The friseur was a really nice man, he wasn’t g@y but he acted like a girl. He pampered me, washing the dye off, redoing it and polishing my hairs. I had pretty nails, not long but very beautiful natural nails and slender f!ngersbut he still fixed artificial ones for me so it would be longer. After four hours of sweating and whimpering while he encouraged me and Hans holding my hand while Lee sang over and over again. Hailey and Silvia only fought over cute boys they were checking out on
the internet.
Everyone was complimenting my look but I refused to show them my face or look at myself in the mirror. I was panicking that I would look horrible. ‘Can you guys excuse me with her? There’s something I nee-d to do,’ I heard Hans tell them.
‘Why should we leave? Is she going to give you a b!owjob?’ Silvia giggled. Lee laughed and made a su-cking sound.
‘Holy Mary!’ Hailey exclaimed. ‘You are both corrupt. Good thing my mouth is still a v!rg!nand pure…’ Lee snorted.
‘So says the girl I caught giving M…mmph mmph!’ Lee muffled. Hailey must have covered her mouth.
‘Giving who what?’ Hans asked with a growl.
‘Nob©dy, nob©dy at all…’
‘She gave… Mmph,’ Lee muffled again.
‘I believe this nice gentleman just told us to get lost,’ Hailey said with sharply. ‘Let’s get lost together. Everyone, get lost.’ I heard Silvia and the friseur laugh as they left. Hans sighed heavily. Almost immediately, I felt him grip my arms delicately, my b©dy tensing up instantly. My heart began to palpitate with fear, shivering for reason I was yet to un-derstand.
‘Don’t be scared Iris, it’s just me.’
‘I know. What if I…’
‘No what if’s, you’re going to love your new look, drop your hands and see yourself.’ Hans insisted.
‘I can’t,’
‘So what are you gonna do? Hide your face for the rest of your life?’ He sniggered. ‘pu-ll your hands down, plea-se, for me?’
‘No,’ I whined. He was sliding his hands down mine, causing bu-tterflies to flutter in my stomach. Something wasn’t right with the way I was feeling, it was odd. I g@sped when his nose suddenly pressed against my ear, taking a de-ep wheeze of my scent. His h0t breath washed over my ear, s£nding more shock waves throu-gh my b©dy and scattering my bu-tterflies.
‘Iris,’ he whispered huskily, gripping my elbows with a sort of rou-ghness that made a sound vibr@te in my che-st. ‘Let me see your beautiful face,’ I couldn’t feel my own b©dy, it was like I was dazed. He lowered my hands down by pu-lling my elbows, removing my hands from my eyes. ‘There, now open your eyes and look at yourself.’
‘I…’
‘Sh sh shh,’ he shushed, sliding his hands away from my elbows and gr-abbing my h!ps. ‘Come on, look in the mirror, see me,’
‘Hans,’ my voice c@m£ out low and weird, he k!$$£d my ear-lobe. I was both stunned, excited and… How do I feel? ‘What are you doing?’ He caught my ear-lobe between his teeth and scR@p£d it gently, swiping his ton-gue over the scr@p£ as his hand glided down my h!ps.
‘If you want me to st©p, open your eyes and admire yourself,’ I snapped my eyes open, not wanting what he was doing. I had never felt like that before, never in my life. It was like he turned on or off a bu-tton inside of me. He chuckled and stepped away from me, my hands flew to my che-st as I tried to stable my thumping heart. ‘Look at yourself,’ I rolled my eyes to the mirror. A scream left my mouth when I saw myself
‘Hans! What have you done to me!’
‘Calm down, you look…’
‘Awful! Awful!’ I shouted. Hilary – the friseur – darkened the purple of my hair, made it a hue of eggplant and gr@p£ purple. The ti-ps of my hair was highlighted with bright red, carefully and properly mixed and there was a long red streak at the left side of my hair, the only p@rt with glitter. I can’t fully explain the hair but it did look amazing and made me more beautiful.
‘But not like Violet,’ Violet who was standing behind Hans said with contempt.
‘I don’t like it Hans, I don’t like it.’
‘I know you don’t like it because it is a new change for you, but I want to as-sure you that you look even more beautiful with this colour.’
‘My last hair looked better, felt better,’ I sobbe-d. ‘Why are you trying so ha-rd to make people hate me? You don’t know how it feels to be…’
‘You’re right,’ he shook his head. ‘I don’t know how it feels, I have never felt rejection or hate or whatever you are going throu-gh, but I know that hiding un-der someone’s shadow will never make it better. Take Ivan for example, he had been envying me for years, trying to f0rç£ himself to be like me. He have been trying so much he stole my girlfriends, wore ten times anything I wore, even my cars. What I’m trying to say is that being like her isn’t very good, you’ll kill yourself.’
‘But…’
‘I love you better this way,’ he c@m£ to me again and held my shoulders. ‘Look at yourself very well and think about what you really want, what you ever wanted.’
I looked down at my feet, my eyes watering. ‘All I ever wanted was for mom and dad to take me out too, not be ashamed of me. All I wanted was to be loved as me, be treated like their daughter too. I never liked the way they were always talking about Violet and comparing us, never enjoyed being locked up in the basement while they laughed, watched TV and sle-pt upstairs. I didn’t like having a nagging nanny remind me of why no one likes me, I didn’t like the fact that I was banned from everything.
“Don’t let her watch TV, she might see something that will make her more crazy.” “Don’t let her out, people might see and realise she’s insane, I have a reputation and a career to protect.” I can’t repeat all. I wasn’t allowed to go near Violet, I would stain her with imperfections. I was treated like a disease, a plague,’ I bur-st into tears, covering my face as I cried into it.
‘Open up to me Iris, tell me everything,’ he whispered, wra-pping his hands around my w@!st. I rest the back of my head on his shoulder, face still buried in my palms.
‘Don’t tell him anything,’ Joe commanded coldly. ‘If you tell him the truth, he’ll run off like the others.’
‘There was never a others in the first place,’ Violet laughed mockingly.
‘Don’t tell him anything Iris, except if you want him to leave.’ Joe said ominously. I didn’t want him to leave, didn’t want Lee and the others to hate me. Telling him would be wrong. I dropped my hands and smiled brightly, I wasn’t going to tell him.
‘Okay, let’s forget about why you are like this, let’s talk about you being different. Remember you made a deal, see how people react to your new look and see if they hate you or not.’
‘One day, right?’
‘Two,’ he corrected. I took in a de-ep breath, I can survive two days of hate.
‘Don’t fall for it, wash it off immediately,’ Violet hissed out her command.
‘You look beautiful Iris, and very soon you will drop all dyes and be the you were born to be,’ Hans crooned as he wiped off my tears with his handkerchief. ‘And I want to as-sure you that I will be here for you no matter what your invincible friends say. I’m not going anywhere Iris, not when I still breathe.’
I turned around and hvgged him, encircling his w@!st as my head rest on his ha-rd che-st. ‘Promise?’ He pushed away the strands of hair covering my face, tucking them behind my ears. I felt something cold on my head, pushing my hair back. ‘This hairband is a promise. Whenever you hear them telling you otherwise, t©uçh it and you will remember my promise to never leave you. The color is black, it would blend well with anything you wear so you won’t have to take it off.’
‘What if I nee-d to wash my hair?’ I asked with a tiny voice.
‘I thought about that,’ he pushed me away a little and took my right hand, sli-pped a charm br@celet onto it. I could see little pieces of diamonds in the br@celet, very beautiful and shinning. ‘You don’t have to take it off, it can stay there for as long as you want it. Whenever you feel lonely and frustrated, just t©uçh either of both to remind you of my promise.’
I sniffed. ‘Thank you,’ I sobbe-d, hvgging him again. His hand reached up to the back of my head, holding it ti-ght as his hand went around my shoulders.
‘Just promise me you will fight them, don’t let them get to you, okay?’ I nodded, stuffing my face into his shi-t. I could hear his heartbeat, the slow heaving of his che-st and gush of blood. I clenched my hands ti-ghter around his w@!st, embr@cing the warm feeling the hvg was giving me.
‘Ahem, cough cough cough,’ Lee coughed. I flin-ched and tried to separate myself but I couldn’t, Hans wouldn’t let go.
‘Don’t bother about her, pretend like there is no one else here but you and me.’
‘As your what?’ Hailey snorted. ‘Shift,’ Hans was pu-ll-ed away by Lee and easily tossed on the floor. I chuckled and crossed my hands behind my back, watching him pout cutely. ‘My turn,’ Hailey hvgged me, Lee joined, hvgging us. It was warm and different, homely and friendly.
When we pu-ll-ed away from each other, I saw a trinket on my n£¢k, a beautiful one. I t©uçhed it and looked at the girls with mouth slightly p@rted. ‘Friendsh!pjewel,’ Hailey said with a very wi-de grin, raising her own trinket. Lee raised hers too. Mine had little black stones, Hailey’s orange and Lee’s autumn and red. ‘Don’t ever take it off.’
‘Why?’
‘Because it is the symbol of our everlasting friendsh!p, if you can keep up.’
‘I can,’ I said excitedly. ‘Thank you, my bffs,’ I giggled.
I have best friends! Can you imagine it? Me!
‘Now, for the final initiation,’ Silvia said, waving the signature wristband and ring. She threw it towards Hailey who caught it easily.
‘re-ady best?’ Lee asked, pla-yfully interlocking our arms like she was going to walk me down the aisle.
‘Wacko,’ I laughed. Hailey held her head up like a priest.
‘Do you, Iris Hathaway, take Hadley Paige Kendrick to be your lovely wedded wife?’ I laughed and pushed Lee away as she laughed too. ‘Let’s be serious. I here by crown you one of the queens of Dark Empire, high ranked cheerleader.’ She wore me the wristband on my left hand and the ring on my right.
‘Applause,’ they all cl@pped. I took a bow and win-ked at Hans who rolled his eyes.
‘Guess what I stole,’ Lee said in a singsong, waving a credit card.
‘Did you steal Jet’s credit card again?’ Hans sighed.
‘No, I stole Billy’s this time.’
‘Yes! Let’s go shopping!’ Hailey squealed.
‘And spend the rest of our week in jail,’ I said with simulated enthusiasm.
‘Don’t worry, he can’t do anything.’
~
~
~
‘Hi mom,’ I said enthusiastically, skipping into her ward. She looked at me quizzically, her mouth falling open. ‘What do you think?’ I twirled for her. ‘Love my new look?’
‘It’s beautiful, very beautiful… Gorgeous! How…how…’
‘It’s p@rt of the initiation to the cheerleaders, I’m to wear red, autumn, black and orange for one month. I’m going to change my dress code, change… Look at my nails, you like it?’
‘I love it, very colorful,’
‘Thank you.’ I said sheepishly.
‘You look really happy,’
‘Yes, Hans and his siblings made my day. I have best friends now *mom, Hailey and Lee gave me a bff trinket, see?’ I showed her the trinket. ‘And they also promise to be my friend for the rest our lives if I can keep up. ~They gave me this…’ I sh* owed her my ring and wristband. ‘I’m an official member now. You should have seen the way they welcomed me, all cheering and applauding. I actually thought they woul~ d treat me bad but they haven’t so far ~. At the cafeteria, oh my mom! It was hilarious! I laughed so ha-rd my stomach ached badly. Then after our loud laughing, Hans f0rç£d me to sit on his l@ps and fed me in~ front of everyone…’ I giggled and covered my face. ‘It was so embarras-sing but nice and sweet, we haven’t k!$$£d yet but I feel like we are going to soon. Look what Hans gave me, pretty hairband and charm br@celet, just for me…’ She g@sped and took my hand.
‘It has diamond,’
‘I know!’ I skrie-ked and laughed. ‘He said that as long as I have this on me, he will never leave me no matter what. Mother,’ I gr@bb£d her hands ti-ghtly, eyes glinting with joy. ‘Someone promised me he would never leave, three people promised to be with me even though I’m crazy. I love this color mom, I love it. When I was wearing purple, nob©dy promised to stay, no one. Immediately this red c@m£ on, three people now wants to be my friend for life. Isn’t that wonderful?!’
‘Yes, it is, it is,’ she cried. ‘I’m so glad to see you smiling, don’t ever st©p. If you keep smiling like this, I will keep fighting ha-rder to stay alive for you, I promise you.’ I hvgged her, so many good things in one day.
After talking and eating with her, I changed in the hospital, ma-king sure I wore my pink scarf to match my pink trainers. I went to work, afraid of people’s reactions but surprisingly, I received nice comments. Many told me about how they were tired of seeing me with purple related colors and was glad to see me in something different and better. I later left for my second job as a delivery girl. Much more people complimented and talked to me. Maybe because I was acting more genial and enthusiastic. The energy I dragged from the school followed me everywhere I went to.
I skipped out of the elevator, going to the house I was to deliver the pizza, de-ep fried lobster and sushi salad. I looked at the doors until I got to the ap@rtment I was looking for. I pressed the doorbell, swaying back to forth on the ti-p of my toes. ‘Who’s that?’ A de-ep voice gro-an ed.
‘Delivery for…’ I looked at the notepad to re-ad the name of the person. ‘Shadrach Michaelson,’
‘Open the door and bring it in.’ I opened the door, balancing the heavy boxes in my hands. I walked in, welcomed by cigarette and beer stench. I coughed a little, walking straight to the table. I dropped the boxes and coughed again.
‘I’ll nee-d you to…’ I froze when I saw Ivan sitting in the midst of the smoking men, him smoking too. He coughed, shocked by my pres£nce. I scoffed. ‘Can I have my money and go?’
‘This isn’t what it looks like Iris,’
‘What? You drinking and smoking, how is it my business? Just pay me my money so I’ll leave.’
‘Wow, what a pretty br@celet you have there, let me see,’ one of the men said. I glanced at the money on the table and then the open door. I quic-kly collected the money and ran out of the ap@rtment, running straight to the elevator. ‘Hey come back here with that br@celet!’ I frantically pressed the stupid bu-tton but it wouldn’t press.
I looked behind me, they were coming for my special br@celet. I took a turn and headed to the stairs, sprinting as fast as I could. I ran down the stairs with fear as they pursued me. I ran into the lobby and out of the building, running straight to my scooter. I started my scooter and drove off, that was close. I’ll nee-d to keep my br@celet un-der my wristband. No one is going to take it, my friendsh!pbr@celet.
To be continued