Chapter 52

The next day

Scarlett was sweating, gritting her teeth while being tucked in. She was having a nightmare. The same man (whose memories were erased for her) was stalking while laughing like a madman. She was awfully slow, and he caught her. He threw her and she couldn't do anything. He tore a strip off her skirt and gagged her. He started unbuckling his pants, and she woke up with a jolt. She looked around and sighed in relief when she was on the bed in Anastasia's and her room. The dream felt so real like it had happened to her.

"Feeling any better?" She jumped a bit when a low voice spoke. She turned to the door and sighed in relief when it was just Anastasia. She was leaning against the door frame and was stirring something hot in a cup.

"What happened before?"

"You had a high fever yesterday. Drink this." Anastasia lied and handed her the cup. "Thanks." Scarlett sniffed the vapors. It smelled like lemon tea. The lemon tea was not lemon, it was a potion. The smell was just a charm. Anastasia knew Scarlett would have a nightmare about the memories erased by her stepmother. This was a potion to make them permanently go away. She took a sip. "How do I not recall anything about it?"

"High fevers can erase memories sometimes. Yesterday you nearly passed out at the door. Lifting you was quite a workout."

Scarlett nodded and a few seconds later, she caught on to what Anastasia said. Did she just call her heavy?!

Anastasia burst out laughing while Scarlett puffed her face and turned away in anger. She patted Scarlett's cheeks and squeezed them. "Aww~ I'm sorry. You look so cute when you're mad. Also, it was Hunter who lifted you, not me."

"Really?"

"Yes."

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Graduation day

Anastasia whispered to Scarlett. "Nervous?" She nodded. "I don't know why I feel like I'll screw this up." Anastasia sighed. "All right, Scarlett. I may have known you for not a long time, but you're the smartest, most talented girl I've ever met. You're not going to screw this up."

Scarlett became bright red. The way Anastasia stared into her eyes while cupping her face in her icy hands and giving her a pep talk, a compliment, or both. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawaaaaaaaaah! Her heart literally skipped a beat.

Anastasia, an oblivious idiot, didn't notice as usual and frowned at Scarlett's bright red face. Anastasia placed the back of her hand on Scarlett's forehead to check the temperature. "mm, your face is becoming red. Are you sure you're okay? Are you feeling hot?"

Scarlett became an apple and swatted Anastasia's hands. "Yah! I'm okay. I don't feel warm anywhere!" Except for my cheeks, she didn't say.

Anastasia bought that and patted her back. "If you need me or us (me, Hunter, Margret, and grandma), we'll be at the back watching you." Scarlett nodded and Anastasia walked away. She sat along with the rest and gave a thumb up to Scarlett.

Scarlett found a seat with the rest of the graduating students. The announcing guy called everyone's last name according to the first letter order. Her surname started with a D so her chance came pretty quick.

After everyone had their chance for graduating (lol), the principal asked for a group photo. How would six hundred and fifty 18-year-olds fit in one picture, she thought.

After a long five minutes, they were done. Fuck school. Bye, weirdos. I'm going to be suffering in college.

Everyone's friends and family came to their graduation. They took pictures together blah blah blah.

Scarlett as a short person had to jump a few times to catch the sight of Anastasia, Margret, Hunter, and of course grandma. She approached them from behind, hoping she'll scare them. Her plan backfired. They caught her from behind.

Margret was the first one to hug her. "I'm so proud of you! And remove that hat! It smells disgusting!" Margret took it off Scarlett's head. "It's not a hat, it's a-"

Daphne interrupted her by giving her a big hug. "God! You have grown up so much! You look beautiful in this!"

"It's just a-". This time, Hunter interrupted her. "Whatever. Can we take pictures now? I'm hungry." Anastasia slapped the back of his head and turned to her. "All right. What were you going to say before?" All eyes went on Scarlett and she frowned at the ground. "I don't remember what I was going to say now."

"Great! Take a picture quickly. I'm hungry." Anastasia sarcastically replied to Hunter. "Eat grass then." It turned into childish banter. Anastasia and Hunter were swatting their hands at each other. Margret, Daphne, and Scarlett stood there as an audience, not bothering to break them up.

Somebody tapped Scarlett on her shoulder, and it was Michael. "Can we take a picture?" He looked at the two kids swatting their hands at each other. "Your squad is fighting."

"I know. So let's take a picture? They'll probably stop after a few more minutes." Manchu's parents were there to take the picture. More surprising was they were actually goddesses. Yes, his parents are women! Lesbian mommas!

Michael's older sister was talking to them, probably about his and Michael's relationship. His mom was playing with Manchu's younger sister. Weird.

"Okay, who wants to take their picture first?" The trio did many weird poses in individual and group photos. The immortal siblings stopped fighting.

Anastasia and Hunter were sulking in like every group picture because they were made to stand next to each other. Ugh!

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A week later

Scarlett screamed from the laptop. Anastasia and Margret rushed in, panting. "What happened?"

"I got accepted to all of them!" Anastasia spit out the juice. "What?!" Scarlett rolled her eyes. "I said, I got accepted to all the colleges I applied to!"

Margret.exe and Anastasia.exe stopped working. Five seconds later, Margret hugged Scarlett as her life depended on it. "Oh, my god! My Scarlett is so smart that she got accepted in all the hellholes she applied for!" Scarlett choked for air, but Margret didn't budge.

Anastasia forced her off and Scarlett took a lot of air in. "When did you apply for them, by the way?" Scarlett smiled. "January!"

"Which one are you going to choose?" Scarlett tapped her chin and answered. "***********"

"Wow, great. So when you're going to be leaving?" That question bought pin-drop silence to them. Scarlett broke the silence and whimpered. "Probably one week later."

Anastasia was shook. She broke out of it. "Oh. Okay. So you better pack now!" Scarlett coughed. "I already did."

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The entire week passed in a blur. Scarlett could barely notice time passed. Anastasia had announced her dad had found her a few months ago. He wanted her to come back home, no pressure. She had agreed because Scarlett won't be here anymore.

Scarlett thought it meant something else, but Anastasia clarified it was because Scarlett probably won't be coming back for a long time and if she stayed here, it would be a nuisance. They for the first time exchanged numbers.

Margret and Hunter threw her a high school graduate and going away to a college party. They burnt the cake.

She told Daphne which college she had chosen, and the old lady agreed to pay her fees.

Before leaving, Margret cried like Scarlett was her kid and she was getting married. Daphne gave her a bunch of instructions. Hunter, umm, let's just say he's not good at comforting someone.

Anastasia scrunched her nose. "So. Here we are."

"Yup." Scarlett looked at her feet. A few minutes of silence passed. Scarlett was going to say something, but she stopped. Something kinda surprising happened. Anastasia hugged her. Scarlett stayed still and Anastasia patted her head. "There. There." Scarlett put her arms around Anastasia. "I'm going to miss you," Anastasia said. Scarlett blushed like crazy. She whispered, "I'll miss you too."

The announcer guy told over the mic that her flight is leaving. "I guess that's your call." Scarlett nodded. And something even more surprising happened. Anastasia kissed her.

Not a literal kiss, but like a peck on her cheek. Scarlett blushed even more and picked up her bag hurriedly. Before going through the door, she turned back. "Bye~!" Scarlett waved and the rest of the squad waved back.

Why did she feel like this might be the last time seeing them?

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End of volume 1

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