CHAPTER SIX

NIGHT OUT???.....

Early in the morning, just as the sun began its rise painting the sky a yellowish colour. Lilliana's eyes fluttered open. Sitting up straight, she looked around the living room confused. Had she fallen asleep while waiting for her father?? She wondered, her eyes stopping on the throw still covering her lower half. Another question came to her mind, had her father returned home last night?? That was plausible, who else would come into her home and throw a throw over her if not her father??

With that thought, she tossed the material aside and lowered her feet onto the carpeted floor. She stretched her limbs before getting up and went straight into the kitchen in search of something edible to put in her empty stomach before doing anything else. To her good fortune, she's greeted by the delicious smell of freshly cooked breakfast and her father in an apron holding a pan in his hand.

"Morning princess" the man said, when he saw the girl walking in. She had her hand up to her eyes, gently rubbing on her eyelids with her fingertips in an attempt to ward the sleepiness away.

"Morning" She mumbled back, suppressing a yawn and made herself comfortable in one of the kitchen stools across from her father.

"You're up early" Jackson teased, placing a plate in front of the girl and piled it up with eggs, sausages, bacon and toasted bread. He got a cup from one of the cabinets and filled it up with steaming hot coffee before pushing it toward the girl as she nodded, having wasted no time digging in her breakfast and asked " ...what's the occasion??" His daughter only ever woke up early on other people's birthdays.

"It's Tessa's birthday today" Lilliana answered, with her mouth full confirming her father's suspicion. Jackson chuckled, shaking his head and cleared the table leaving the girl to her food.

Lilliana quickly finished up her breakfast before getting up. She walked around the kitchen counter and mumbled a small thank you to her father as she placed the dirty utensils in the sink before rushing out of the kitchen. She ran up the stairs to her bedroom and into the bathroom to start with her morning routine before walking to her walk-in closet butt ass naked in search of her school uniform. She got dressed and, deciding to leave her hair untied for the day, grabbed her hair dryer and blew it dry in front of her vanity mirror. She ran a brush through her light locks before pushing them back with a headbelt matching her school uniform and quickly did her make up.

Satisfied with her look, she got up and walked to her nightstand table where she had kept Tessa's gift and took it out. She grabbed her backpack along with her phone and left the room. Jogging down the stairs, she found her father in the living room busy on his laptop. She said her goodbyes and left but not before planting a sweet kiss on his right cheek. She ran down the driveway, past the steel gates and up the empty street to her friend's house.

Stopping on their front porch, she rang the doorbell and the door opened a second later "hey sweetie, she's still sleeping in her room" Eunice, Tessa's mother informed, with a warm smile and took her backpack from her. She already knew the drill, the two friends had been doing this since they were five. Mumbling a small thank you, Lilliana ran up the stairs with the gift in her hand and barged in Tessa's bedroom.

"Happy birthday to you..." she started singing to the still sleeping girl and jumped on the bed, forcing Tessa awake.

Groaning, the girl sleepingly sat up and yawned a "Good morning" rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with her fingers. Lilliana only giggled watching her and waited until she was fully awake before presenting her with her gift.

"Happy birthday Tessa" she wished her. Tessa smiled, taking the little box in her hands and unwrapped the cover. Opening it, she looked inside and let out a gasp ...mesmerised by the blinging stylish silver bracelet inside.

"Is that??" She asked, looking up at Lilliana. The girl nodded " ...I love it" Tessa hugged her before taking the bracelet out and tried it on with her friend's help " ...thank you, it's so beautiful"

"Girls, when you're done celebrating up there ...get ready for school!!" Tessa's mother yelled from downstairs, the two girls looked at each other and giggled before crawling out of bed. Tessa walked in her bathroom to get ready whereas Lilliana went back downstairs to wait for her and had a cup of coffee with Eunice while she was waiting. The woman was like a second mother to her ...the MacKenzies were her second family.

Time passed and Tessa joined them downstairs. Wishing her mother a good morning, she had her breakfast and boasted about her gift to her mother ...showing it off. The woman only smiled at the two friends ...glad to see them together and still by each other's side. Knowing that they weren't materialistic or egotistic like kids their age with everything at their feet made her proud.

"Mom, we're leaving" Tessa's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

she nodded, placing the cup in her palms down on the counter and said "have a great day at school" just as the girls walked out of the kitchen.

"We will!!" They yelled from the welcoming hall before walking out the front door with their backpacks swung over their shoulders. They jumped in Tessa's car and left for school.

◇

Lunch time at Roseville High. Tessa and Lilliana were sitting across from each at their usual table having their lunch when Tessa suddenly announced "oh before I forget, we're going out tonight"

Lilliana choked on her drink, coughing the girl managed a "what??" looking up from her tray of food.

"We're going out tonight" Tessa repeated, excited. But the girl frowned, not sharing her excitement.

"On a school night??" Tessa nodded, unbothered by the fact.

" ...we can't do that, my dad will kill me if he ever finds out" Lilliana stated, freaking out to which her friend responded.

"True but we said different on birthdays and today is my birthday" making her let out a sigh in early defeat, that was true ...they had made it a rule to do everything one of them wanted on their birthdays without questions but that was when they were just six years old. Their demands were less daring then than now, she didn't exactly like crowded places especially ones full of drunk people like Tessa did.

"Let's say I agree to this… " she waved her hands around in the air to try and show exactly what she thought of the mediocre idea "..how are we going to get in?? We're barely 18"

"Of course you agree, how are you ever going to find a boyfriend if you're always indoors?? You can't keep waiting for Damon to suddenly notice you one day and besides speak for yourself because as of today… I'm legally eighteen" Tessa said.

Lilliana rolled her eyes and argued "Still underage for partying"

"In clubs not house parties, which is where we're going ...the wolves won the championship, so one of the boys from our class is throwing them a party to celebrate" Tessa seemed to have come prepared.

Lilliana was running out of excuses and as a last resort, she grumbled "Why not wait until friday though??"

Tessa only shrugged at her question and said "Let people do what people want, I guess" looking back down at her food. Shaking her head still displeased by the idea, Lilliana did the same and the two changed the topic. They talked about school work, their upcoming A-levels exams and lastly the latest gossip making rounds in the school building.