Painful Smiles

Clara looked around to be sure no one was at the sitting room. She pushed the door open and slid in. She tiptoed through the dim room and was about scurrying up to her room when the sockets where switched on.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Her heart began thumping as she turned to see who it was. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw her parents with Claudia. Claudia having an evil smirk.

“Where are you coming from?” Mrs. Larabee started. Claudia nodded, it was the typical question and the exact one for that moment.

“Clara honey, no. Just no. I didn’t just see you sneaking inside from God knows where. No, I didn’t” Mr. Larabee gulped as he spoke.

Claudia smirk grew wider.

“Yes, dad. You saw her. Believe your eyes for once” Paul said as he rushed down from downstairs. His father glared.

Paul stood by Claudia’s sides and all the family glared at Clara expecting an answer.

“I didn’t… its not what you think… I just…” Clara stammered but her parents glare didn’t waver. Disappointment filled her father’s eyes. Tears filled hers.

“Then I think we should return to how Claudia got that knife injury, Clara. She said that she caught you sneaking about and you attacked her with a knife. You denied it but look, you actually do sneak out at night” her mother screamed on top of her voice.

Clara shook her head but no words came out. “Yes, and today, Claudia’s wound reopened. How could you put such torment on your own twin, your own blood?” Mr. Larabee chipped in.

Clara’s eyes widened. She never knew the injury reopened. She didn’t cause that. But her parents voice just kept on increasing.

Their voices were going to break the roof soon, Claudia was sure. Their neighbors were out on a business trip or else they’d have called security.

Claudia was impressed her father was reasoning her case for a while. The incident of Clara attacking her with a knife had some explanations.

She had caught Clara sneaking off that night as she was cutting some watermelon to enjoy at night.

Clara had threatened her with the knife to swear to keep it a secret. She wouldn’t have harmed her, Claudia knew her chicken her twin was.

But in an attempt to snatch the knife from Clara, Clara swayed it around and it dived deep into Claudia’s wrist.

Clara had then sneaked out nevertheless and didn’t bother repair her damage by apologies nor medical assistance.

Now it was time for her punishment.

Mr. Larabee walked menacingly towards Clara and a grin spread across Claudia’s face. And it happened, Clara received her first slap from her father.

And then the second. And her father held himself from giving the third.

Honestly, Claudia hadn’t been hit by her father before but the emotional pains she got from him was more than it.

It was their mother that stopped her father from hitting the third one. Clara was already red and she stomped off to her room.

“And who said we were done with you? Come back here!” Mr. Larabee bellowed but she just ran off.

“A nice scolding that was” Paul nudged Claudia. She didn’t really feel good about the hits Clara got but all the same, hope she learnt her lesson.

The next person needing a lesson was that Michael.

“Honestly, I’m not sure how I’ll want to deal with him. I made sure Wright doesn’t overreact so I don’t want to myself” she explained everything to Paul later that day.

“Well, since he’s a rich kid. You could get some financial compensation if you report to the police” he suggested.

“And seen as a beggar who just wanted his money? Clara wouldn’t let it off, she’ll make me look like I needed his money and then I fabricated stories. Whatever I need to do, I need to do it silently but wickedly” she snapped back, totally rejecting the “just report to the police idea”.

The fact he was a rich kid would make it even harder for the law to judge him so she’ll do her thing herself.

“Seems like you have everything planned off. Don’t get hurt. Do what you want then” Paul shrugged and hurriedly changed the topic to something that wasn’t potentially thrilling.

**********

Michael was surely not looking forward to school. Not with the six foot body guard that was set to follow him around.

Still, in her usual manner, Mrs. Peniel screamed for him to wake up and helped him arrange for school.

He couldn’t avoid it. He would just ask for Claudia’s forgiveness. It wasn’t something he does all the time but he would have to eat his pride this time.

And hope her punishment wouldn’t be bad because he was sure that someone with her temper and personality was sure to retaliate.

While planning his apology speech to Claudia, he saw a girl dragging her feet to his school with sloppy shoulders.

“Clara?” it escaped his lips. He could have let her be but he couldn’t?

She was wearing her signature pink elbow length glove though with some rough sneakers which wasn’t really her style.

“Pick her up please” he told his driver. His body guard gave him a side eye but he ignored it. He regretted it later.

It wasn’t Clara but Claudia. He could only wonder why she was wearing an elbow give that looked like Clara’s. But he knew why she should even wear one.

Claudia gave an unsure look to the driver when he asked her gruffly to get in the car. She gave a glare when she spotted Michael in the car’s backseat. A glare that screamed “You! Watch out!”.

“Take your tin can and move before I lose a tyre” she spoke with her glare till on Michael. The driver turned, did he hear right?

Basically all the girls would jump at the chance of driving in the same car with the Bleu Cristal heir. All, except this one spitting threats.

She finally let go of her glare and began leaving. “Make sure that body guard stay close Michael” she laughed as she left.

Michael’s driver turned to him for answers as did his body guard.

“Mistaken identity. Sorry” was the only answer he could mutter.

So he had a bad start, he could forget his apology and think of not getting in her way. Never had a seemingly weak but determined girl given him such shivers.