Leading Ladies

II. Widely Inappropriate

"Hurry up! You guys are taking too long!"

A dark-haired man with an impressive jawline comes down the spiral stairs. "What's the rush, Sabrina?"

"We're gonna be late for dance, Tata! Bianca and Elsa are taking too long to get ready, and Mama is in the kitchen washing up. This is why we usually go from school to dance. Whenever we come home for lunch, we're late."

Her father, Marko, pats her on the head. "Patients Bebo."

A dirty blonde hair boy comes over, scoffing. "Sabrina doesn't know the meaning of that word."

"And you don't know the meaning of a brush Elias," Sabrina snipes back. "That's why your hair looks like that."

"Ouch," he teasingly places his hand on his heart. "Sabrina, as some bite, you've been learning from Acacia ."

Marko lets out a small amused chuckle. "Do you need something? Usually, by this time, you're locked in your room with your games."

"Can I take the SUV? I'm going on a date with Alice. We're gonna pick up Acacia and Cody on the way there.

Marko arches an eyebrow at them. "Why?"

"Because your car's seats five," Elias responds.

"Liar!" Sabrina butts in. "You just wanna show off to Alice. You wanna look cool driving Dad's Cadillac."

Elias shoves her face away. "Shut it, small person. This is between me and - Ow! Why'd you bite?"

"Served you right," she wipes her mouth. It annoyed her that Elias thought he could boss her around just because of his height. "If you're going out, you need a shower because that was disgusting."

"You little carnivorous brat."

Marko rubs the side of his nose before taking his key out of his pocket and tosses it to Elias. "Break it up, you two. Once you pick Acacia, she drives the rest of the way."

"Deal," the teen says before running out the door before he could change his mind.

Leaning on the archway between the foyer and dining room, Ileen chuckles. "You may regret that."

Marko shrugs. "He has a job. He'll pay for any damages, or I'll sell his car. Simple."

Walking over, Ileen kisses him on the cheek before turning to Sabrina. "You ready?"

Sabrina huffs. "Am I ready? I've been waiting here for the past twenty minutes."

"And I was washing the dishes you ate on," Ileen retorts, crossing her arms over her chest.

A flush creeps across Sabrina's cheeks. "Oh yeah."

"Yeah," Ileen looks around the room. "Where are your sisters?"

Sabrina growls. "Elsa! Bianca!"

_________________________________________________________

When all the girls are seated in front of her, Abby speaks. "Phoenix was rough. You guys got your butts kicked. Here in Pittsburgh, you have won everything, but it's clearly a different story when you get on a plane and fly across the country. For years I took the kids by myself. I made sure their hair was right. I made sure their makeup was right. I put the headpiece on. All the Moms wanna go now because they're reliving their childhood through all of you. And now that's when the trouble happens. I am the leader. I am the teacher. You do what I say. When your Mothers are telling you what to do, that's a conflict. You understand?" Her attention focuses on Nia. "Now, Nia, how do you think you did?"