Chapter 6

"Alyssa!" A piercing scream makes its way through the density of water and as I look up from my swim I'm met with two blazingly anger filled eyes.

Her hands are scrunched up in two tight fists, clenching so tight that I'm afraid her skin might tear. The evident frown formed on her lips with the angry creases at the outer corners of her eyes is enough to frighten anyone.

"Madison, what are you doing here?" I question, proud of myself for not stuttering over my words like I always used to do.

I swim to the edge of the pool where Madison is located and pull my mass out of the water. Droplets of water run down every inch of my skin as I take off my swimming goggles.

"How could you!" She screams once more. I'm shocked that she hasn't attracted enough attention for there to be a crowd around us yet, but non the less I can still feel the burning gazes of bystanders secretly observing the scene unrolling for everyone to witness.

Squaring my shoulders to make myself feel more confident I begin to speak, "How could I what, Madison? You can not just barge into the school's natatorium, causing a scene and expect me to actually answer your vague accusations."

Talking back to Madison, took more energy out of me than I would have thought. Deep inside me I'm still the same girl who feared conflict and disappointment, but I'm not going to let my new found courage be in vain. Not everyone gets a second chance to reinvent themselves.

"You seriously have the nerve to act dumb with me. Like you have no clue." Madison utters.

"No Madison, I don't. My life doesn't revolve around you and what not to do inorder to keep up your perfect image." I say. Not blinking an eye as I stare straight into her hateful stare.

"You're going to Ryan's party after I specifically told you to stay low-key and away from the spotlight, but it seems like you are a moth drawn to the flame and you know what happens to them, don't you?" She says as she releases some of the stress she placed in her face, causing the earlier creases to vanish into thin air.

"No I don't." I let the words slip from my mouth filled with sarcasm and determination.

Determination to show her I can do whatever I want and with whomever I want to.

"They burn darlin'." She says with a wicked smirk on her lips as she spins on her heels. I watch her as her body recedes into the distance and finally out of my eye sight.

"Me going to that stupid party will be the least of your problems, Madison Aveya. I'll make sure you'll be only an afterthought when I'm done with my reinvention." I mutter out into the universe.

•●•

After the encounter with my dearest sister I suddenly didn't feel like getting back into the pool, therefore I went straight to the bathroom and took a quick shower. I got dressed, grabbed my things, but as I stepped outside of the locker room, Leah and Aurora happened.

Again.

If once wasn't enough, they just had to listen in on me and Madison's little rundown.

"What is your favourite clothing brand?" Leah asks, but before I could answer Aurora piped in.

"Rather don't ask her that. We have witnessed her horrible dressing sense for years now. I think it's safe to just let us get her stuff we know would look good."

"You are so right. How could that have slipped my mind?" Leah shivers at the thought.

"You guys are aware of my presence here with you in the back seat of the car, right?" I really do question their ability to actually show kindness to someone that isn't one of them, without showering them in an honest pour of backhanded insults. "Plus my dressing sense hasn't been that bad." I defend myself.

Yes they indeed saw it fit to "come to my saviour", yes that was their exact words, to upstage Madison tonight at this party. I tried to protest, but like we all see now they effectively won the battle and now we are speedily on our way to Castleburry Shopping Frenzy, which is the local mall in the middle of town.

"Alyssa, you must have been blind if you thought a pair of baggy jeans or sweats and an oversized hoodie would make the cut for stylish." Aurora says. The worst part is that she seemed dead serious when she made the remark.

Madison really screwed me over for the past years.

"Okay-okay. You don't have to be mean about it." I reply just as my phone vibrates inside of my pocket.

The notification instantly pops up on the screen as I open my phone. It's a message from Dylan, she's asking where I am.

Hi, something weird happened. I'm with Leah and Aurora, crazy I know. They practically dragged me to go to the mall with them. Ryan invited me to his party and apparently it is a big thing, so they decided to dress me for the occasion. I don't know their agenda just yet, but I have an inkling that it has something to do with Madison.

I sent the text and switched off my phone. Dylan is going to freak when she reads it and I just can't deal with more on my plate right this second.

After about a 15 minute drive we pull into the underground parking lot and climb out.

Leah locks up her Tesla, while Aurora is busy taking a selfie to most definitely post on Instagram. Yes, she is one of those people that would literally die if they haven't posted a single picture daily on social media, but what can I say.

"Quick come and join me for a selfie. We definitely need to capture this life altering moment." Aurora demands. Tired of going against her, I finally give in and take a quick selfie with both of the girls.

I must say it hasn't turned out half bad, but what makes it worthwhile is the thought of Madi going haywire, because her blood relative is hanging out with the two people she hates the most in this world.

"See that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Aurora asks rhetorically.

I simply just rolled my eyes at her as we started to walk towards the elevator.

We got inside and lucky for us we didn't have to wait for it, because it was unoccupied. What a turn of luck on my side. When I used to come to the mall on occasions, the elevator took ages until it was my turn to make use of it.

The buzz of the mall usually gives me a major headache, but today it made me feel excited. Weird how the power of rebellion can change one's mood towards certain places in life.

White marble flooring went on for miles on end. A sky light, high above us, made out of emerald tinted Plexiglas, acrylic if you will, that reflected just the right amount of sunlight. Shops situated on both sides of the length of the building, with busy escalators taking people to the second floor to entice us to spend even more money.

"Where should we go first?" I ask the two, Leah and Aurora, who seem to be awestruck by the sight of shops that they visit on a daily basis.

Without acknowledging my question they caught each other's gaze and for what would seem to an outsider like telepathy they say in unison, "Zara!"

"To Zara it is then." I mumbled to myself as the two already started to make their way onto one of the escalators.

The layout of the mall must be imprinted in their brains, because unlike me, they know exactly where the shop is located without having to bat an eyelash about directions.

Surpassing many mall goers we finally made it to Zara. It was like heaven on earth for Leah and Aurora, whereas for me I just saw it as another shop, the same as any other.

Might be the side effects of letting Madison dictate my life and leaving me clueless about most of the fashion do's and don'ts.

There were loads of popular clothing pieces, from basics to glam. To say I was overwhelmed was an understatement, but lucky for me I had the world's most experienced shopaholics along with me to help me in my debacle.

After minutes of fine combing the racks, Leah pulls a gorgeous sequin dress. It consists of a low V-neck and an open back with the straps making one criss-cross motion. A zipper is attached at the back onto the bottom of the short dress, allowing one to easily get into the figure fitted dress.

It is safe to say that nothing of it resembles subtlety, nor anything near being modest.

"Come let's go try it on. Aurora go grab her a pair of matching heels to go with it." Leah orders. I could barely give her my shoe size before I'm pushed in the direction of the fitting rooms.

I rid myself of my clothing and take the dainty dress into my hands. The dress slips on rather easily, easier than I thought it would be, the zipper at the back is really doing its job in letting my derrière fit perfectly into the dress.

Swimming this summer really blessed me with a nice even tan and contrasts exceptionally well with the silver sequence of the dress and my blonde hair. The colour really brings out the depths of my irises which is indeed a plus point, since my dear sister despises the fact that my eye colour is considered more unique than hers.

"You are taking ages, Alyssa. Be out in ten seconds or I'll come in." Leah threatened. She just can't help herself, can she?

Taking in my reflection I slip on the clear pair of heels Aurora picked out and open the curtain for the reveal.

"We are good." Leah and Aurora say it unison as they stare at me as if I am a walking alien.

"So you like it?" I ask. Attempting to cover some of the excessive cleavage that are on display.

"You are surely gonna be the highlight of the night." Leah says with a broad smile spread on her lips.