Miss Naughtie Two-Shoes and the Rebel

Chapter 8

“Andy!”

Andy and Nikki are taking a hike to the library in the Liberal Arts building when they hear a voice call Andy’s name. Stopping in their tracks, Andy swings her gaze around to look for the owner of the familiar cheery voice. An orange Mini Cooper rolls forward beside them, startling Andy.

“Andy!” A strawberry blond head that looks more red than blond in the glistening sunlight sticks out of the window of the Mini.

“Chloe!” Andy’s mouth stretches into a wide smile in surprised recognition. “It’s you. I thought I’d never see you again.” She bends forward to look at Chloe at eye level.

“You wish.” Chloe’s eyes flickered with mischief and they both giggle. Chloe’s jovial expression dimmed and her voice takes on a somber tone when she asks, “Can I talk to you, Andy?” Her words are edged with urgency, something that does not escape Andy’s sharp observation.

Her eyes squint from the fiery blaze of the midday sun and cups a hand over her eyes. She gives Chloe a hesitant look and replies, “Um, I’m with a friend.” Tugging Nikki’s hand, she remembers to introduce the two girls to each other. “Chloe, this is Nikki. Nikki, Chloe.”

“Hi, Nikki.” Chloe extends her hand through her window, which Nikki gladly shakes. “Can I invite the both of you to lunch? I know a great place.” Chloe says, beaming again.

“Nikki, what do you think?” Nikki readily answers with a nod when Andy darts her a probing look. “Sure, Chloe.”

“Get in.” Chloe’s smile broadens as she returns her hands to the steering wheel.

The restaurant is located inside a gated property in the middle of the city. Palm trees peek above the tall, solid gate, which is slightly ajar, just enough for people to pass through. Once inside, it looks like a beach getaway sans the beach. Customers dine in small, private straw huts and spacious cabanas which are attended by servers in brightly-colored Hawaiian-inspired garb.

After feasting on a sumptuous lunch of seafood fried rice, coconut shrimp curry and cucumber salad with only scant conversation in between, Nikki stands up and gives Andy and Chloe a knowing look. “Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom.” Nikki gracefully retreats to give way to the real purpose of the meeting.

A hint of a smile curves in the corners of Chloe’s lips as she nods appreciatively at Nikki. Facing Andy who is seated beside her, Chloe takes her hand and encloses it in hers. Noting the earnest expression written all over Chloe’s face, Andy does not flinch from the gesture, ignoring her aversion to handshakes and anything that resembles it. “Andy, Trae told me everything last night. What you did for him was very brave of you. I can’t thank you enough for saving Trae’s life. He’s like a brother to me…” Chloe’s voice cracks and her eyes begin to mist. She drags a long, slow breath to suffocate her emotions and continues with forced collectedness, “You must be wondering why Trae attacked Roy. He has a good reason to. Although, I’d prefer it if he didn’t take the matters into his own hands. God, I will never forgive myself if anything bad happened to him. Or if he actually killed Roy and landed in jail.” She closes her eyes momentarily as if to play the scenes in her mind and shudders.

“Roy is my ex. We broke up only recently and he could not accept it so he started blackmailing me... We have a s*x tape…” Her face is tinged with embarrassment and her mouth quivers as the bitter revelation spills.

There is a fraction of a second’s pause before she makes the correction; unnecessary, but it adds weight to the offense. “We have s*x tapes. Without my knowledge. I didn’t know he’d been filming. When I broke up with him because of an entirely different reason, he started uploading the videos on the Internet. And he even called me to check it out myself. I searched the videos and…” She lets go of Andy’s hand and raises her fist to her mouth, biting the soft flesh of the back of her hand. Barely controlling her anger and humiliation. “Roy is one sick bastard. I didn’t know what to do. My parents will be devastated. Trae is the only person I can trust, so I told him everything. He’s quite the genius with anything computer. I didn’t know exactly what he did, but he was able to delete the videos on the websites before it went viral. Roy was furious when he found out that the videos were disabled. He knew he couldn’t win me back. Not before and surely not after the despicable thing that he did. He was desperate, and he was hell-bent on destroying me. He threatened me that if I didn’t get back with him, he was gonna send copies to my family and friends. And that’s when Trae flipped out.” Chloe gasps for air.

“Trae was worried that it wouldn't deter Roy from harassing me. And he was also worried about you. So he implored me to take legal action against Roy. Cybercrime, harassment, illegal distribution of pornographic materials. I have an excellent case. But I can’t. I’m not that brave. I can’t drag the family name into this. But we agreed to proposition a deal that Roy couldn’t refuse. We didn’t waste any time. I had my lawyer draft the agreement last night. And this morning, he went to Roy’s house with a special instruction that Roy’s parents be present when the deal is discussed. I was not gonna sue him if he was to drop out of Robertson Valley and leave the two of you alone. And if he destroyed all the copies with my lawyer witnessing it actually done. He readily signed. He had no choice. He’s looking at ten years minimum and it’s gonna hurt his chance of playing for the national team. I also have a restraining order against him. I can have you file for one, too, but you need to be present for the paperwork. My lawyer can set it up and you don’t have to worry a thing.” When Chloe finishes, her face is soaked with tears, but the soft features of her face are also awash with relief.

Andy pulls her in for a hug. “There’s no need for that. Oh God, Chloe.” Her voice is laced with sympathy and her heart fills with sisterly affection for Chloe. She pushes her gently and brushes the tears from her face. “If only I had known. What a scumbag. Now, I don’t feel bad for what I did to him. He deserved it. I should have run him over with my bike, too.”

A smile crosses Chloe’s face. She plucks a tissue from the wooden dispenser on the table and wipes her tear-drenched face with it. Gazing at Andy, she asks, her tone beseeching, “Will you promise me to keep it a secret? And if you chose to tell Nikki, can you make her promise too not to speak a word of it to anyone else?”

Andy places her hand over her heart, making a wordless vow. She then says, “I don’t think Nikki has to know. And she’ll respect it if I didn’t tell her.”

“Thank you, Andy.” Her eyes flickered as though she remembers something significant. “And please don’t get mad at Trae. He might come off as a jerk sometimes..,” she pauses, contemplating the last word. And then she continues, “well, most of the time. But he's a good person. He really is. He’ll lay his life down for a friend in a heartbeat.”

Nikki, who has been watching the two from a distance, approaches slowly when it appears that their serious conversation turns into a light chat.

“Nikki!” Chloe waves at her when she spots her traipsing toward their hut.

Claiming her seat, Nikki instantly notices Chloe’s puffy eyes and red nose. When Chloe begins to scrutinize her face, her body stiffens and her pinkish face - caused by a flare-up of acne - turns scarlet.

“You remind me of someone,” Chloe says, her brows furrowed in concentration.

“Devon Aoki.” Andy volunteers the information.

“Yeah, Devon!” Chloe exclaims. “Oh my God, you’re her spitting image.” Chloe’s eyes sharpened and her voice changes cadence. “Did you know Dr. Wilson of The Aesthetique Clinic?”

“Uhm, yeah.” Nikki nibbles her lips, the redness of her face taking on a deeper shade. Of course, she knows Dr. Wilson. Who doesn’t? She’s a top-caliber dermatologist and a businesswoman with an army of board-certified skin care experts at her helm. Her services center on the latest tech and innovations in the field, allowing her to command a steep price, which only the truly affluent can afford.

“Oh, no, please don’t get offended, Nikki. Dr. Wilson is my mom. We own The Aesthetique Clinic. I’m also a girl and I know what you’re going through. And you don’t have to go through that. No teenager should. This is an important phase to us all. I’ve been there and I’m just lucky that my mom is a derma. You’ll see posters of my before and after acne transformation on the walls of our clinic. Though it’s not full-faced. It’s cropped so that it’s all my cheeks and forehead, but that’s me.” Chloe's words are coated with sympathy and she casts Nikki an apologetic smile.

“I’m gonna put in a word for you with my mom.” Chloe reaches for her bag and produces a rosy, satin-finish card stock and a pen. “Here’s our business card. And this is my number at the back,” she says, as she writes her phone number. “If you make up your mind, call me. And make up your mind fast. Don’t think for a sec that I don’t mean it. Because I do.”

Nikki takes the card from Chloe and traces the gold foil of the letters AE, printed in beautiful calligraphy font, eyeing it with such reverence, as if it holds the key to all the unknowns in the world. “I don’t know what to say but thank you, Chloe.”

“Girls gotta have each other’s back,” Chloe says with a wink and a sincere smile. Her eyes still fixated on Nikki’s face, the pucker between her eyebrows deepen the longer she stares at her. She taps her chin with her fingers, toying with a persistent thought in the back of her mind. Then the idea dawns on her face like a burst of sunshine. “You really have such a pretty face and it got me thinking… It's pretty much a win-win situation if we can sort out a kind of a deal. A contract in black and white. We’ll take care of your skin for free and we’ll get you cleared up. And I assure you, we’re fully equipped to do that, we’ve handled much more severe cases than yours with very high success rate, but none of them as pretty as you. In exchange, you can model for the company and earn some extra cash. Imagine, Devon Aoki as the muse of Aesthetique, minus the hefty supermodel price. I mean, why get a model who has never had a real skin issue in her life except for how to look eternally young. What better way to represent the company’s vision but with real persons with real skin problems that we can provide real solutions to. We can document your journey and make a film. Make it into a full campaign. What do you think? I’ll have to discuss it with my mom, but since I’m the marketing manager, consider it a done deal.” Chloe’s bubbly persona transforms into that of a sophisticated business executive presenting her marketing pitch with aplomb. “Andy, what do you think?” She turns to Andy, seeking approval and support.

“It all sounds great, Chloe. And very promising, too. But we have to hear it from Nikki.” Andy focuses her gaze on Nikki and from the excited expression on her face, she knows that she’s already sold—line, hook and sinker. “Nikki, what do you think of Chloe’s proposal?” She asks anyway.

“How can I say no to that? Are you kidding me? I say yes! I’m all in for that,” Nikki declares, wiping her joyful tears with her fingers. Andy wraps her arms around her and squeezes her tightly.

“Oh, really. Yay!” Chloe claps her hands excitedly, her perfect teeth in full display with her infectious smile. And again, back to her perky self. She buzzes through the restaurant’s paging system, which is primitively just a buzzer labelled with ‘Press me if you need anything’ in a speech balloon and installed on the wooden post next to the switch of the ceiling fan. “We need to celebrate this early victory. Do you guys, drink?” Shortly after, a young server appears with a notepad in one hand and a friendly expression on his face.

“Not really.” They both shake their hands.

“No? Then s*x on the Beach is perfect for you. You’ll love it.”