AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“There’s going to be doctors, lawyers, bankers, CEOs, celebrities. If you still can’t find a man then, girl, it’s you,” she explains, leading me into the hall outside my room. Her long legs prove their use as she strides down the passageway and toward the last door on the right. Her room. “I’ll loan you something. You’re petite, but we’ll make it work. It’s official. No going back, Lyra.”
I try and fight her for a couple footsteps. We pass Taviar in the hall. He frowns at me and says, “Lyra, where are you going?”
“Jael’s taking me to a party?” I answer in question form.
His frown only deepens more in confusion before Jael pulls me away.
We disappear into her room. Over the next hour, I sway in a pot-induced mellow mood, Jael fussing over me like I’m a doll.
It doesn’t fully register until we hit the building elevator and I catch my reflection in the glass.
I’ve been done up in a sexy, deep-plunging mini dress that shows plenty of thigh and hugs my ass. Sky-high heels I can barely walk in are strapped to my feet, and I’m caked in more make up than I’ve ever worn in my life.
I barely recognize myself.
Jael seems to love it, smirking as she spies me admiring myself. “You’re a ten in that dress, Lyra. Tonight’ll be good for you. You’ll see.”
I sure hope so.
2Lyra
Get Into It (Yuh) - Doja Cat
“You’re an asset,” Jael says in the Uber ride to the party. “If you remember one thing from tonight, remember that. You’ve got value.”
Night has fallen, filling the backseat of the car with shadows. In contrast, the streets couldn’t glitter more. I sit as a shapeless figure in the dark, peering out the window like a tourist.
Never mind that I’ve lived in Easton my whole life. But the Easton I know—that I’m familiar with—is nothing like this.
From either side, I’m inundated with the dizzying spectacle of the rich and famous. Luxury hotels, designer boutiques, swanky bars and restaurants that look too expensive to breathe the air of, let alone set foot inside. Massive fountains and marble statues backlit by LED lights and wide sidewalks where spoiled passersby lazily stroll. Men in tailored suits stepping out of their million-dollar sports cars. The gazelle-like models on their arms fling their long hair over their shoulders and strut as if photographed on a runway in Paris.
They just might be. A gaggle of photographers flock toward the entrance of a restaurant called Arcadia—apparently, some A-List starlet just arrived with her handlers in tow.
Everything seems to sparkle here. The personification of opulence. I can taste the money in the air, practically see the endless void of bank accounts stacked with millions.Billions.
What am I doing here?!
“Did you hear me, Lyra?” Jael asks.
“Hmmm?”
“You realize this could be your big break?”
“Value? Big break? Huh?”
Jael laughs with a roll of her eyes. “Let me break it down. Real short and simple for your high ass. Nobody gives a fuck if you can play the piano like Van Gogh or whatever.”
That snaps me out of my reverie.
“Van Gogh? Van Gogh didn’t play the piano. He literally cut off his own ear. Which would be the worst thing a musician could do.”
“Whatever! You get my point. Nobody gives a fuck about you playing the piano like some famous dead guy. All the talent in the world doesn’t mean squat unless you’ve got the right connections. Get it?”
I don’t answer her. I’ve once again become taken with the sights and sounds outside the cramped backseat of the Uber. We’ve turned down Somerset Boulevard, one of the most famous streets in the state. If not country.
My gaze snaps to the Easton Opera House, and my jaw drops open in slow-motion fashion. Chills capture me, making me shudder in my seat.
The moment’s surreal. The historic building comes to life before my eyes. Timeless stone columns and baroque facades with so much detail it’d take hours to study. All crowned by the massive glass dome. A skylight if there ever was one.
