Always, Huh?

One - I Ain't Wearing No Tux

The music poured out of her. Her fingers automatically switched from chord to chord. She started to fit words to the notes and the rhythm.

"Keep it down! Some of us are napping!" A loud voice bellowed from the next room.

"Oh sure. You say that, but you're silently facebooking all your friends to find a way out of Mom's work thing this evening," she shouted back. Silence followed. As usual. She used the small break to write down the chords and the lyrics.

Lily picked up her old, beaten up, acoustic guitar after the short break and let the music take over her mind and soul again.

"Keep. It. Down. You're giving me a headache!"

"You're just saying that so you can listen to your wretched Heavy Metal!" Nevertheless, Lily put down her guitar, so her brother would stop badgering her. She grabbed her noise cancelling headphones and plugged them into her iPod. She selected her favourite country band and fell asleep to their music.

---/|\---

She was jerked awake by her big brother. At twenty-two, Nathan was five years older than Lily, Nathan could have been living in his own flat with one of his friends or his (nonexistent) girlfriend. But instead, he enjoyed annoying Lily so much that he'd decided to stay with her and their parents. He jumped on her bed and started tickling her profusely.

"Nate... Nate. Nathan Darkston, I swear, if you don't-"

"Alright, alright. Mom just wanted me to tell you to get ready for the thing," he eased off with the tickling but refused to leave.

"Well, I'm not going to get changed with you in the room."

"I don't think you need to get changed. You look fine as you are."

"Oh, yeah. 'Cause I'm going to go to Mom's work thing, with influential people, in joggers and a vest top. Yeah, she'll be TOTALLY fine with that."

"Hey, I'm just saying, I ain't wearing no tux."

"Oh, yeah. 'Cause Mom's going to let you go to her work party, where there might just be a future daughter-in-law, in tatty pants and a stained t-shirt. Hey, look girls! It's Nathan Darkston, he's got the whole package: No looks, no clothes, no money!" She said, gesturing to his attire with a raised brow. He sighed heavily and left the room.

Lily donned the pre-selected outfit that her mom had chosen. It was a dark green dress with fabric flower embellishments around the waist. She wobbled around in the T-bar heels her mom had picked out. She gathered her soft, wavy brown hair into a loose up-do. She put a black blazer on over her sleeveless dress so she wouldn't get cold, and with that, Lily headed outside to where her mom's fancy black car was waiting.

---/|\---

"Whoa, Mom, what is this? Some U.S. State Dinner?" Lily said as she caught a glance out of the car window. The house was three floors at least, had massive doors and the architecture was so intricate Lily couldn't even look at it without feeling dizzy.

"What? No. It's just a... work thing."

"And who do you work for again? The President? The Queen of England?" She said as she gazed up at the palace-sized house. They kept edging up the unnecessarily long driveway. "Is this why you bought my dress for me?"

"Yes. I couldn't trust you to get something so sophisticated-"

"Thanks, Mom."

"These people are very influential. They might give me a raise, or even a promotion. Or Nathan a job," her mother said pointedly, glaring at Nathan who was sitting in the back with Lily.