"I put on makeup to express myself. I could care less about my so-called insecurities."
Aura Chandler was so sure she had her life figured out. After securing a photoshoot gig with up-and-coming musician Lacey Redd, she was convinced she would get d...
"YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE what just happened!" Aura exclaimed, walking inside Grandma Ruby's house. Her parents and grandmother stopped whatever they were doing to watch as a delirious Aura jumped up and down by the doorway. "A film director offered me a job on set to do fantasy makeup for her new movie."
She kept jumping as they all erupted in cheers.
"Darling, oh my God!" Her mother ran over and engulfed her in a tight hug. Aura faltered before dancing around the hug, squeezing her back. "That is amazing! How did this happen?"
And so she told them. She tiptoed around the details about why she was at The Siren to begin with, and jumped right into her grand finale of leaving Zachary's little rich crew behind. There was no need to explain how she did it, especially when her parents would disagree with her ways. She cut right to how Claudia walked up to her and introduced herself as a film director.
Her mother teared up as she elaborated how Claudia wanted Aura to work for her after feature on the online magazine Aphrodite's Gaze. Thanks to her online exposure, Aura had found a wonderful job on the set of an upcoming fantasy film.
"Is she like a big shot director?" Her father asked.
"Considering where I ran into her, I have to say that she's not an imposter," Aura replied, looking at Claudia's business card. "It seems to be a biggie, but even if it's not, I have a job."
"Baby, look at you, all grown up with a job that appreciates your talents," Grandma Ruby cried. "We should go out to celebrate."
"Perfect," Aura said, clapping her hands. "I'm already dressed for the occasion."
HER FATHER CHOSE A restaurant outside of town. She was more than happy to get out of Cornelius for a little while. After the situation with Tyson, she welcomed the distraction with open arms.
On the way there, she received an email from Claudia and her team. They sent over a contract and explained a few things. She almost fainted at the fact that it was real. She was going to be a part of what made a new movie come to life.
They made it to a decent restaurant and sat around as a family. Grandma Ruby enjoyed the rustic ambiance of the business, marveling over some pieces of furniture.
Although she ate with a heavy heart and a racing mind, Aura found herself getting comfortable. She wasn't fond of that feeling because she liked the growth of uncomfortable situations, but after so much uncertainty, fights, rumors, and unhealthy obsessions, she appreciated being enclosed in a safety net with her family.
Gwenn was so going to say "I told you so" once she got back.
As she finished up her dish, she frowned at the vibrations of her phone. She reached for it, eyebrows shooting up at the amount of notifications filling her screen.
Her best friends were texting her through their group chat.
Gwenn: Aura...what is going on online?
Sierra: girl, people are spreading worse rumors abt u
Scarlet: Aura, I've been fighting internet trolls for over an hour. What just happened?
Zilla: ok, seriously, I'm confused. why are they calling you a gold digger?
Aura's frown deepened as she read through more messages. Scarlet went ahead and sent screenshots from social media. People were eating up a few statements made by none other than Zachary McBane.
Aura: what a baby... just because I called him out
That sent her friends into a frenzy. They kept asking what happened, trying to understand why he would post such ugly things about her. She sighed and typed up the events of the day. She started at her fight with Tyson, telling them that he had stormed off on her because he thought Zachary was a roadblock for whatever they had. (She knew Zachary wasn't, but the obvious lies would make anyone question it). Since she didn't want anything else to ruin her relationship with Tyson—more than it already was—she went ahead and accepted the brunch invitation for the sole purpose of getting rid of him and his little crew from her life.
They offered commentary, on occasions sending gifs of shocked expressions.
At last, she explained how she called all of them out. She told them what she said to Zachary, recounting how she had embarrassed him in front of many people who thought highly of him and his father. Moreover, she included her little speech to Millie, the real gold digger, and her small jab to some of Zachary's guy friends for being absolute perverts.
As she recalled the moment, she realized her behavior was a bit inappropriate. But she was frustrated at her fight with Tyson, how Zachary started it with his presence at the beach, and how he wouldn't understand that she was not exactly interested in him in that way.
Guilt ate at her chest, traveling up her throat. The cold reached her cheeks as she stared in disbelief at her recount of the events. She could make up excuses for life, but she knew she had acted out wrongly.
Aura: I should have dropped them another way, but I was way too stressed and frustrated that I snapped
In retrospect, she believed she was doing the right thing, but it wasn't. Now, with a much clearer head, she knew she shouldn't have gone off on them like that. She should have just sent Zachary a message saying she wouldn't be able to go to brunch and that she felt like they shouldn't hang out anymore.
That would've been a better way to deal with everything, but what was done was done. And she couldn't forget that because of her pent up frustration surfacing, Claudia Laroe noticed her and offered her a job.
There were pros and cons.
She understood why they went out of their way to ruin her public image, seeing as she messed with their image at the club. It wasn't until Scarlet sent another screenshot of a message from Millie saying how Aura only went to Zachary asking for money that she wanted to go find that stupid rich group again and give them a part two of her call-out speech.
When had her life turned into internet chaos?
Then again, she called this one for herself. She should've shut her mouth and let it be, but no. Now her socials would be bombarded with comments, messages, and lots of hatred. She was afraid to log in to check.
"Aura, darling, do you want dessert?"
She snapped her head to front. Her mother stared at the phone in her hands and then at her.
"Sure, what do they have?" She said, putting her phone down.
She would deal with her internet drama some other time. Her family was much more important than hate coming from people who didn't even know her.
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