Chances of Fate

II-Meet Sunday

It was Sunday.

Both heaven and hell for Amirah.

It was a day where she could do anything and go anywhere but it was also a day where she has to sleep early for school tomorrow.

She could do anything but here she was, in her bed out cold.

Eventually, she passed out in the kitchen at four in the morning after trying to get some cereal.

Her conversation went well with Crystal earlier. They both decided to be pen pals with Crystal and her friends after their departure.

Laura skillfully opened the door while carrying a silver platter with food in silence.

"My lady, it's twelve in the afternoon." She started, placing the tray on the side of her master's bed. "Wake up."

"N-no." Muffled a tired Amirah.

"I brought lunch."

Amirah turned away, annoyed. "Stop bribing me with food... I want to sleep."

"The cook made grilled chicken salad sandwich and mushroom soup."

Hearing her meal, Amirah sat up straight with her totally chaotic hair and clapped twice. "I love lunch in bed!" She beamed, grabbing the sandwich with her bare hands and started devouring it.

"My lady, at least fix your hair before eating."

After her meal, she got up for a shower and changed her outfit before going downstairs.

---

"Oh, you aren't busy?" Amirah stated, a little startled.

It wasn't everyday that her mother would take the time to visit the family room.

"It's one of those rare moments where I'm having a day off." She was comfortably sitting down and casually sipping tea while reading a book. She perked up to see her daughter. "Waking up late is a bad habit."

"S-sorry."

"Also, I heard you were found unconscious at the kitchen earlier."

"A-about that... I was really tired..." She awkwardly scratched the back of her head.

"Did you eat yet?"

Amirah nodded as an answer. "I-I heard about a meeting between the Lowells and another company. Did it go well?"

"Yes. You're father was concerned about you not showing up."

"I didn't really want to go in the first place..." She bit her lip. Amirah knew she was being too honest.

"Amirah, peach," her mother sighed. "I know this is hard but you need to try, okay? Me and your father are doing this for you."

It's been a while since Amirah's mom called her by random nicknames.

Her eyes sparkled in surprise. "I-I know that but mom, do you want to maybe..." If she was straightforward to her parents, she'd say that she wants to hang out with her mother.

"Hmm?"

But she couldn't say it.

Of course she couldn't.

"Nothing. Enjoy your day off!" Amirah smiled, skipping away.

She's been craving for attention from her parents these past few days. She wasn't really like this before but maybe it's because her older sister was here.

It has been a little lonely for Amirah ever since her sister left.

"I thought you were going somewhere, my lady." Laura greeted on the stairs but Amirah waved her off.

She did dress up like she wanted to go outside but seeing her mother made her want to surf the web for the whole day and regret everything at night for not doing anything productive.

"I'm going back in my bedroom and die."

Amirah made a halt when she felt a hand wrap on her arm. "What is it, Laura?" She curiously asked.

"Why don't you try hanging out with your friends?" Laura's grip loosened, making Amirah hold her assistant's hand.

"They're too busy cramming up all of their homework. I don't want to disturb them." She already thought it all out.

"How about meeting up with Crystal and her friends? Isn't it their last day here?"

Amirah smiled. "Yeah, they're probably wandering around the place. I don't want to disturb them." She lazily walked up to the stairs. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna take a cold shower for five hours and die from hypothermia."

Laura shook her head as she followed her master.

It was always the same excuse: she doesn't want to disturb them.

---

"I thought you wanted to die?" Laura asked, watching Amirah wiggle her feet on the bed like a kid throwing a tantrum. "Maybe you should try exploring on your own. You're too dependent on others."

"Laura, you're so mean." Amirah got up, pouting as she fixed her clothes.

"My apologies."

"Fine. I'll go outside." She said, grabbing her purse as she walked out of her room.

Laura let out a faint smile while tailing her master from behind.

Forcing Amirah out of her comfort zone was a pain and Laura was happy that it turned out well.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No need." Amirah turned around to face her assistant once she was at the entrance of the house. "Tell mother I'll be late for dinner." She instructed. "See you later."

The said girl bowed down a little. "I will. Have a great day, my lady."

She smiled, waving goodbye. "You too."

When Laura saw her master get in the car with the chauffeur safely, she proceeded to do the assigned task that was given to her before enjoying her day.

---

Laura locked the indoor spa that's located at the sub basement of the mansion and dipped in while dialing a certain number on her phone. "My lady, Amirah, is such a handful sometimes." She mumbled as the phone rang.

"Laura! I missed you! How's my little potato doing?" A voice greeted through the phone.

"Surprisingly productive."

"By productive, does that mean getting her out of the house?"

"Yes."

"Very good! Continue the plan, okay? Oh, and keep an eye on her. She might burn a café or trip and fall."

"As you wish, mistress."

After she hung up, Laura relaxed in the spa for a few minutes before getting up to ready herself.

---

"Where do you want to go, Miss Hearst?" The chauffeur asked as they drove out of the house.

"The nearest grocery store."

"As you wish."

Amirah thought that maybe it was a good idea for her to buy some ingredients and bake cookies for her friends.

She thanked the chauffeur and instructed him to not pick her up after she's done. He was hesitant at first but Amirah assured him that she was gonna be fine.

It wasn't her first time shopping for food. She has been at a grocery store with her friends after school for a couple of times when she sneaks out and make lame excuses for her chaeffeur.

But this day was a little different.

She was all on her own.

Slightly panicking, Amirah fished out the list of ingredients in her purse and read it with her eyes.

She wrote the list a few days ago when she planned on having a tea party with her friends but unfortunately got cancelled because of her parents.

Grabbing a cart, she pushed it off with her sight at the signs of each section while casually glancing back at the list.

Amirah started to look for the essentials on the list, checking them off when she finished putting them on the cart.

After some searching and checking, she was finally finished—almost. There's only one thing left on the list and it was sugar.

She cursed on her head as she glared at the pack of sugar that was completely out of her reach. She tried jumping for it but her fingers barely touched it.

She looked like a lost kid that wanted some sugar.

"Let me get it for you." A girl beside her presented, jumping up and grabbing the pack successfully.

She handed it to her with a smile. Her azure eyes pierced through Amirah who was mesmerized by it. The lady was slightly taller than her but she was amazed at how high the girl could jump.

"Who puts sugar in a high shelf? It's crazy, right?" The girl spoke again, awkwardly twirling her pink hair.

Amirah nodded in response, flushed.

"Oh, I'm Ranleigh." She reached out for a handshake which Amirah quickly accepted.

"M-my name's Amirah! Thanks for getting the sugar!" She said in a haste, rapidly shaking her hand.

Ranleigh let out a soft chuckle and patted Amirah's hand. "Your name sounds familiar." She placed a finger on her chin. "Anyway, I have to go. Me and my friends kind of lost each other when we entered here and I just happened to stumble upon you."

"O-oh, okay. Good luck!" Amirah waved goodbye as the pinkette walked off.

She checked the last item on the list and pushed her cart to the counter with a smile on her face.

---

On her way out, Amirah spotted the girl who helped her earlier with four people outside. She guessed that it was Ranleigh's friends.

It wasn't really a bad day for her being alone at a supermarket. Regularly, she'd be clumsy and embarrass herself whenever she's on her own but who knows? Maybe her day's just getting started.

She tried her best to be unnoticed as she casually walked beside the group, carrying her bought items. With her focus on them, she completely forgot about herself resulting on tripping over a rock and grievously crashing on the sidewalk.

Of course, that caught everyone's attention including Ranleigh's group that was just beside her.

So it really was a bad day for her being alone at a supermarket.

"Should I laugh?" A person whispered, hovering a hand on his mouth to hold himself from laughing.

"No, stupid!" Ranleigh replied, giving her friend an uppercut. Her eyes widened at the sight of the familiar girl. "A-Amirah!? Oh gosh, are you okay?!" She quickly kneeled down to help her.

Ranleigh's friends followed after her, picking up Amirah's bag of groceries and handing it back to her.

"Thanks..." Amirah fixed her glasses and refused to look at them in the eyes as her face blushed uncontrollably.

"You know her, Rannie?" A boy with ash gray hair asked. He smelled like chamomile which fazed Amirah even more.

It's her favorite tea and he sounded handsome and she didn't want to fall for him.

"Yeah. We met inside the store when all of you decided to split up without my consent." Ranleigh snapped and turned her attention to Amirah. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. Thanks again for helping me."

"No problem!"

She swallowed all of her embarrassment and looked at the people in front of her one by one.

The guy that smelled like tea was good looking.

What was she thinking? She mentally slapped herself. It wasn't a good time to think about boys since their attention was still on her.

"Wait, Amirah Hearst?"

"A-ah! Skylar!" Amirah pointed out, thankful that she remembered her name.

"Oh, you guys know each other?" Asked a confused Ranleigh, constantly turning her head from Amirah to Skylar.

"Well, this turned out to be interesting." Mumbled a guy with teal hair, locking his sharp cat-like eyes at Amirah.

"Stop acting like a creep, Kaiden." Once again, Ranleigh gave him an uppercut.

"Wha—ow! I'm not!"

"You didn't have to do that." A brunette said, standing between them to prevent the two from fighting.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce them to you." Ranleigh awkwardly chuckled and pointed at the brunette. "That's Matthew."

"Hi!" The said boy waved at Amirah.

"That's Kaiden." Ranleigh pointed at the guy with teal hair in annoyance. "He's a nuisance sometimes."

Kaiden scoffed, "Speak for yourself."

"And this is Aziel." Her scrunched up face was replaced with a soft one as she poked his side.

Amirah took note of their names on her mind especially Aziel's. Although, she smelled something fishy between Aziel and Ranleigh.

"Guys," Ranleigh turned back to her group and pointed at Amirah. "This is Amirah."

"H-hi." The mentioned girl waved.

"Anyway, we need to go now. You're okay, right?" The pinkette asked, smiling.

Amirah only nodded.

"I'll write you letters everyday! I'll miss you, Amirah!" Skylar said, hugging Amirah who was completely startled at the sudden move.

"Sure..." She awkwardly smiled and waved goodbye as the group walked off.

Maybe It wasn't really a bad day for her being alone at a supermarket.

She suddenly made friends in a public place that isn't school—which is rare for her.

With a smile on her face, she started to walk but instantly stopped when pain crept through her knees. She inspected it and realized that she scraped her knee earlier.

She immediately looked away when a familiar color caught her eye.

Blood.

It grossed her out and her mood changed in a snap.

She rested on a nearby bench as she dialed her chauffeur's number, a little teared up.

"I knew something like this would happen."

Amirah's head snapped at the direction where she heard the familiar voice.

The figure walked towards her with a cold stare, her hands chilling in her pockets.

"L-Laura!" She cried, tackling her assistant in a bear hug. "I scraped my knee!" Amirah sniffed.

"My lady, you have to be careful next time." Laura replied, opening her handbag to reveal stuff that is usually seen in a first aid kit.

Even if Laura said that, she knew it was useless. She said that for the nth time and it never works. It was like her master's a magnet of getting hurt.

It was typical for Amirah to get hurt in different parts of her body and Laura knew that. And because of that, Laura started carrying a handbag full of medical supplies everytime she's with her master just in case.

Laura kneeled down in front of Amirah to level with her wound and started to tend it. "I'm gonna dress it up with a sterile bandage for now. When we get home, I'll properly clean your wound."

"I should've let you come with me." Amirah mumbled, disappointed at the outcome of her trip but she was beyond thankful that her assistant came to her rescue-even though she was clueless of how Laura tracked her down.

Her assistant smiled softly-it was faint just like always but it was enough for Amirah. "Nothing interesting happened?" She asked, trying to make her master tell a story again.

"Well, I made another friend."

"Really?" Laura tried to sound surprised as she gently dabbed the cotton with disinfectant on Amirah's knee.

And so, she did recall her events at the grocery store earlier for Laura and when she finished, the chauffeur made it on time to pick them up.

On their way home, Amirah fell asleep on Laura's lap which her assistant didn't mind at all. Amirah was doubtlessly drained.

---

Amirah heard faint muffled noises outside but still kept her eyes closed. She knows where she is and what happened but all she wanted to do was go back to sleep.

She knew Laura or one of their maids or butlers carried her to her bedroom and properly cleaned her wound. Amirah didn't mind but it slightly annoyed her. She doesn't want to get babied around but it was like she was born to be babied.

The creaking of the door made her know that it was time to wake up but no, she was stubborn as ever and turned around.

"Peach?"

Her eyes immediately snapped open and her body jolted up as she heard who just called her.

"Mother?" She couldn't believe it. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be working?"

Amirah's mom rarely enters her room but here she was now.

"Dinner's almost ready." Her mother replied softly as she gracefully walked up to Amirah's bed. "Are you fine with walking? Do you need a wheelchair?"

"I'm fine. It was just a scrape." She waved off and started to get off her bed. "You guys are overreacting."

As soon as her weight adjusted with her feet on the ground, she internally screamed because of the pain that aroused from her knee.

Even though she gets hurt all the time, it didn't mean that she was immune to the pain.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Her mother asked once again, receiving a nod from Amirah.

"I'm sure." She began to walk up to her desk and moved some of her things to find a certain object. "I'll be late for dinner. You can go ahead."

"You're not eating late tonight because tomorrow's Monday."

Amirah cursed in her head, completely forgetting what day it is today. A sigh escaped in her lips. "Fine. Are you joining me for tonight?" She asked.

It was usually just her whenever she eats ever since her sister moved out but sometimes, Laura's there to accompany her. It may or may not be selfish of her but it was still not enough.

She can be accompanied by lots and lots of maids and butlers but that's not what she wants. She wants her mother and father.

But of course, she can't think like that. Not when her parents are doing everything for her right now. She doesn't want to be selfish.

Her mother let out a soft smile. It's been a while since they had a long conversation like this one. "Of course. It's my break after all."

It felt so unreal for Amirah. Finally, she was getting some attention.

"Really?"

"Really." She opened her arms, ready to accept Amirah's tackle which stunned her daughter.

Amirah hesitated at first, but then gave in and ran to her for a hug.

She felt her mother's hand on top of her head and it was still as warm as sunlight.

She wanted to stay in her arms forever and not let go.

It's been years since she felt her mother's warmth and she missed it.

"You should change before you eat though."

Amirah slumped her shoulders and released herself from her mother's grasp.

Whenever she was told to dress up before eating, she knew a suitor would be there. And she is not in the mood to entertain anyone right now.

"Mom, it's a Sunday. Why would you guys invite a boy on a Sunday?" Her forehead started to scrunch up, immediately brushing off the bliss that she felt earlier.

They heard a faint knock on the door and when it opened, the doors revealed Laura's figure.

"Dinner's served."

"Laura, you should wait for either of us to tell you to come in." Her mother crossed her arms, displeased.

"My apologies, maam." Laura bowed down a little.

Amirah sighed. "It's okay, mom. I ordered her to do that because I don't bother to speak up sometimes."

Her mother slowly shook her head and started to walk away. "The reason why I want you to change your outfit is because you're still wearing the dress you wore earlier and you're dad's here. Laura, help her get ready."

"As you wish."

Amirah's eyes widened. "Wait, father's here?"