Blood, Sweat, and Tears.

‘Mama’s decisive girl,’ her mother used to say. ‘You got it from your daddy. A tenacious soul he was.’ It was her daddy’s dream, after all, to see her become a writer, but God willingly, both of them left her early, too early thought Rosé. A tear streamed down her face, then another. Quickly, she wiped them away.

It was when the clock struck twelve that Rosé realized it was the meeting day with Mr. Danniell. Grabbing the essential documents, she hurried down the staircase straight into the car. The hippocampus in her brain kept indicating something. Something was missing. Rummaging through her bag she realized, her book…her book wasn’t in there. Getting out of her Mitsubishi Mirage she started to run. Her heels got tangled in the vines in her courtyard and she fell. Owww was all she could say. Her brand new vintage dress from Chanel had been ruined! Not only was it torn from all over her knee cap, but there were scarlet spots all over it too. To her horror, it was…blood!

Back at home again, her iPhone rang. On the other end was someone with a deep, crisp voice. Rosé didn’t recognize him. Halfway through the conversation, she had an epiphany on who it was. It was none other than Mr. Danniell, of course. But before she could confirm it, the call got disconnected. As far as her memory recalled, he had said something about delaying in the meeting. She smiled.

                            ******

2 days later...

It was the day! Throwing away the covers, Rosé bounced off her bed, cheery as ever. She ate fluffy pancakes, topped with rich cream for breakfast. After getting all freshened up, she sat in front of her brand new vanity table from IKEA. While doing her makeup from the Maybelline kit, she hummed;

 The morning bright,

With rosy light,

Hath waked me from my sleep;

Father, I own 

Thy love alone

Thy little one doth keep.

All through the day,

I humbly pray,

Be Thou my Guard and Guide;

My sins forgive,

And let me live,

Blest Jesus, near Thy side.

                                ******

The event had begun only minutes ago, but it felt like hours had passed. Rosé scanned the crowd for any familiar faces and to her surprise, she saw him. The bully of her high school class, Orion was amongst the crowd too. His teeth crooked, the shirt he wore beneath his suit, unironed. Along with feeling hatred, Rosé felt piteous for him too. The poor boy was an orphan; he lost his parents way before Rosé did, almost at kindergarten. She decided to talk to him once the event was over. Even though Rosé didn’t like him, one lesson out of many others at school had taught her that no matter how bad the person was, deep down inside they, themselves needed someone to talk too, needed someone to share their loss with.

******

“Ladies and gentlemen,” began Mr. Danniell. “Welcome to the 50^th book event of our prestigious company. Your presence here is highly appreciated. Let us begin with the event.”

Rosé loved how crispy his accent was; his r’s and p’s rolled the same way here as they did with her, back on the phone.

The ceremony was taking place in chronological order. This meant Orion was to go before her up on the stage and there lied the slightest possibility that he would see her and recognize her. Fingers crossed Rosé hoped, he didn’t.

Once her name was announced her hands began to tremble, her heart was pounding furiously against her chest, and she started to sweat profusely. Never before this moment had Rosé realized that she had never been up on a stage. 

******

After tremendous efforts, she began. “Good Morning,” soon after she realized that her voice was shaky. Nevertheless, she continued. “While writing and then finally publishing my book, never even for once did I realize that it would be such a huge hit. Never did I realize that I would be here, celebrating my success without my role models, my parents. Even though I admit that it required a lot of hard work, from my side, but it wouldn’t have been possible without you all either. So this award right here is firstly dedicated to my parents. May they rest in peace. Amen.” She paused and was well aware of thousands of pairs of eyes staring hard at her, waiting for her to continue but she waited…until Mr. Danniell patted her on the small of her back. Finally, she found her voice back and continued. “This award, above all, is for you people and finally for Mr. Danniell, who has been a backbone throughout this project. Thank you, hasta la Proxima viz!”

She ran through the aisle, amongst hooting and never-ending claps back to her seat. To her surprise, instead of the grumpy girl with purple hair beside her sat Orion.

                            ******

He had changed quite a bit. Rosé had to admit a handsome man, he had become. Instead of the crooked teeth, she saw a bright, happy smile. A genuine one. The bully in him was nowhere to be found, there, in front of her sat someone she would love to become friends with. “You were g-great up th-there,” he smiled again.

A stutter? Rosé didn’t recall him having a stutter back then. But then again, she never really talked to him. What if, it was him who was the victim all along but was painted as the bully? A tear streamed down, then another. Rosé hated herself for judging him. Now was the time to befriend him. Without giving a second thought, she offered her hand which Orion accepted gladly. What an end to the bitter enmity and beginning of a new friendship, thought Rosé.

                          ******

Back at her home, she reminisced her day. Such a tiring day it had been but the fruit had been sweet too! She opened to read her book,

“Blood, sweat, and tears ...” It said.