Chapter 2: Breakfast Sucks
Fifty-six.
This was the fifty-sixth time that Venus Stinx had the same recurring dream again. Something about her parents leaving away on a business trip, and her being awfully too young to understand any of it. The pattern of events never seemed to alter. Certain parts of the dream did appear blurrier with every occurrence. One thing was for sure, it always left a numbing migraine in the poor lady’s head.
Or that could be the result of last night’s dinner and drinking escapade. Oh well, not like it mattered to Venus.
“Siri, time check please,”
“7:45AM, Ms. Stinx,”
7:45AM, Venus mused. Didn’t seem too bad, feeling herself slowly submerging back into slumber. It would’ve been such a shame if Venus didn’t catch a few more Zzzs in this comfortable sweater weather. Tugging the quilt over her shoulders, her head lolling away.
“Today is Monday, and it is 7:45AM,”
Sometimes Siri should learn to read the room and quieten down. Visualizations started playing beneath her eyelids - pink limousines, a sea of Dior, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent exclusive seasonal outfits that were tailored made to complement Venus’s slender yet curvy silhouette, topped with a nice glass of sparkling pink champagne from Monet’s. And maybe the visualizations were too specific… Oh right, Venus had a shopping spree just last weekend.
Somewhere at the back of Venus’s head, there was a chatter and whispers about a deadline. What deadline could possibly be more important than Venus’ reliving her shopping fantasy?
“I’m late for Javerson’s class!” Venus screamed.
She thread the heavy quilt away like it burnt her skin icy cold. Sprinting into the washroom, Venus cussed fervently like a rotten sailor. How could she, the great Venus Stinx, fall to the clutches of a snuggle temperament? There was a live rock and roll concert with screamos and guitar solos ringing against her thick skull. It was impossible to go through the day with a freaking concert in your head.
Yet Venus managed to fly through her entire skin routine. Next, was conquering her long tangled brown hair. Maybe it would’ve been faster if Venus could just find her trusty pair of scissors—
“Venus? Are you awake, dear?” Externally, Venus groaned, hopefully her voice was loud enough as it was.
Internally, she completely forgot that today she wasn’t alone at home. Venus flung an oversized pastel pink pullover and looped her legs into a pair of ripped denim. Where was her book bag for school…
“Hurry downstairs, I’ve prepared breakfast for you!” The same muffled feminine voice called out. Venus grunted, finally finding her Louis Vuitton Speedy Bag and stuffing her feet into a pair of fluffy Ugg sandals.
Mornings like these were the kind that Venus wished she had a reliable mom to wake up too. Or a strict-ass dad that would unhesitatingly pour cold water all over her. Some kind of mechanic that could whip her into shape, mould her into a “better lady for tomorrow”. But nope. All she got in the past fifteen years were built up clumsy tendencies, barely enough independence spirit and bad habits. Waking up late had been cultivated in her bones, and that was without saying about her microwave diets too.
“Goodness gracious, are you running late again dear?” A soothing voice calls out from below.
Venus grunted again, focusing on skipping a few steps down the staircase. Left foot down two steps. Right foot down two steps. Left. Right. Left. Right. A list sprung up in her head as she mentally went through it. Sketchbook, check. Stationery, check. Leftover fabric, check. Project… Binded with a plastic file, it consisted of 20 pages worth of detailed fashion planning, material budget, venue and campaign execution. Plus original outfit design sketches for the project. The binded file should be in her bag, but—
“It’s right here, Ms. Venus,” Venus looked up and met eye to eye with the binded plastic file she was pondering about.
As she lifted her sight higher, she didn't see her parents. Instead, it was a plump woman in her mid-thirties with frizzled orange hair and huge brown eyes that was begging to properly fix Venus’s messed-up hair. Occasionally she would wear a brown skort and funny graphic tees that Venus suspected belongs to her sons. But today, the woman had on a checkered dress and an apron with cursive letters, “Best Baker in Town!’. Her fashion sense did need a lot of help. But Venus could never have the heart to tell her so.
“Don’t forget your breakfast too,” The lady said sternly, hands resting on her hips.
Venus mumbled a thanks and took a seat by the island top. By that time, a blinding ray of sunlight filled the modern penthouse apartment, too bright for Venus’s liking. While she was pondering hard to decide whether or not to ring up her personal interior designer for heavy curtains, a slight cough broke her train of thoughts.
“You look like a train wreck, darling. Want some paracetamol?” She commented, already disappearing into the kitchen to get the right remedy for Venus.
Venus sighed. As much as she detested the sunrays (and the never ending rock concert), there was something awfully magical about the skyscrapers from her apartment windows. Standing tall beside the Centrale, they glittered under the morning light. Strong. Pretty. Majestic. Up from the 35th floor, having breakfast against a city-line was everyone’s Manhattan dream. To Venus, the view was mundane, plain-looking. What was so good about staying at The Centrale anyways? It was overpriced, there was too much space for one person and well, an excessive contribution to the economy.
“Your parents insisted you stay here, it’s the nearest to your college anyways,” The lady explained, causing the tips of Venus’s ears to turn pink in fluster. Venus couldn’t have anticipated such a topic at this time of the morning. In fact, she could never have anticipated this topic to come up at all.
Nevertheless, Venus forced herself to reply as neutral as possible. “If they care, they’ll be here right now Amey,” And Venus was thankful she was here right now, because these freshly baked bagels smelled amazing. It wouldn’t hurt if Javerson could wait a tad longer anyways.
Amey sighs, wiping her hands across her “Best Baker in Town!” top and down to the hem of her dress. Talking about Mr. and Mrs. Stinx was the same as entering a war zone. Apart from being Venus’s sole caretaker, Amey was considered a close family friend. Claimed that she knew Mrs. Stinx during their high school days. When Amey had lost her husband, it was Mr. and Mrs. Stinx who offered to help her out with her issues. Now, Amey’s sons were away in a local boarding school, she owned a bakery along fifth avenue street called, “Amey’s” and a stable income from taking care of a brat named Venus.
Of course, don’t get it wrong. Venus was eternally grateful for Amey. She was the only one that Venus had. After all, her parents were just as good as dead.
“Time to get ready, you’re running late,” Amey stated, calmly ignoring Venus’s remark.
Venus rolled her eyes, shoving the binded plastic file into her Louis Vuitton Speedy bag. Even though she loves Amey to bits, the caretaker could be kinda overbearing. Especially on week mornings and while Venus was running late. Again.
Ignoring Amey’s statement, her long manicure fingers tapped along the keypad. While the phone rang, Venus could visibly hear the soft crunching of pills and tap water running.
“Jasper, where are you?”
“Turning into the lobby, miss,” a male voice responded, with a rather noisy background of honks and profanities spewed by fellow New Yorkers. She heard the same male voice screaming back, before a roar of engine overpowered her eardrums.
A soft tug caught Venus’s attention, and her sight trailed to the counter top. A petri dish of crushed up pills powder and a cup of water. She nodded and mouthed out her thanks to Amey, setting the phone to loudspeaker instead. Amey took her phone, eyes coated with worry while Venus consumed the powder pill and water. In one shot, Venus somewhat felt better. Well, the rock concert was still rocking away within the cages of her brain.
“I’m sorry about that, will be reaching in five,” Jasper said, the usual traffic din fading away into the background, followed by a soft beep.
Venus smiled. Jasper happened to be another familiar face that she grew up with. Just like Amey, Jasper happened to be Mr. Stinx’s business partner’s son. Only a few years older (and definitely charming, more so than the dorky college boys that Venus was stuck with), Jasper stayed with Venus. He was hired by her parents to become her part-time chauffeur while pursuing an internship in their huge corporation. His family was beyond relief that their only son was learning well in the comforts of Manhattan, New York.
Before she left her apartment for the day, Venus casted a glance back at Amey. The caretaker wasn’t looking at her, however she sat uncharacteristically still. Her eyes glimmered with a shine of something unrecognizable, and Venus felt her insides twisted. She had never seen Amey looking this… depressed before. Usually after a mere mention of her parents, Amey would always bounce back on her feet with as much prep as a highschool cheerleader. Now, she looked like she was having an internal war with herself. The wrinkles on her facial features only made her appear ten years older than she really was. Seeing how Amey didn’t look young and bubbly made Venus awfully worried. Was there something going on that Venus didn’t know about…?
“Hey, Amey. You okay?” Venus called out, watching the mysterious look switch away to smiley eyes instead.
Amey turned her head towards the young Stinx, the worry still lingering in her huge caramel brown eyes. “Yeah I’m alright,” Amey replied with a forced smile. Her hands twitched against the hem of her apron - a bad habit that she had whenever it came down to keeping secrets.
Venus cluck her tongue in disbelief. Throughout all these years, Venus knew the lady like the back of her hand. She knew whenever Amey was tired, or when she stayed up all night binge watching Twilight movies, swollen red eyes and puffy dark under eyes. She knew when Amey was experiencing cramps, and had Venus to take care of her for a change. Venus knew everything about Amey, as if she was like a mother to her. But the Amey that stood before her, was uncharacteristically silent and solemn. Completely a different side to her that Venus had never seen before in her 22 years.
“Is there something you wanted to tell me—” Before Venus could complete her sentence, her phone blared throughout the apartment with the caller ID, “Jasper” flashing across her screen.
“You better go along, dear. I’m rather terribly busy today,” Amey reassured, gently pushing Venus out of her own house.
The door slammed shut as Venus yelped out of the house quicker than quicksand. Questions swirled in her head, in the midst of the muffled rock concert happening in her head. Venus was trying hard to understand why Amey was being… not Amey-like. Despite it being over a decade, Amey never fails to remind the young Stinx about her parents. Between both of them, Amey was the one with the positive mindset. Always retelling her tales so that Venus would always be reminded of how wonderful her parents were.
Although, as Venus stared at the door, she was sure her parents hated the idea of being anywhere near her. For all she knew, they were probably somewhere in the Amazon’s. Either playing Tarzan and Jane, or probably dead for god knows how long. But the look in Amey’s eyes left a heavy feeling in Venus.
“Terribly busy my ass,” Venus muttered, throwing her Louis Vuitton bag over her shoulders as she trudged towards the awaiting lift.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone