A Florence Affair - 9

Where was Alex? Didn't he say he was coming for her tonight? She had to tell him about the whole camera incident, he must be upset, his camera splitting and all. It was probably an hour later and all the kids went to bed after Mrs. Davidson told her to clean up the mess and head off to bed, of course she was hear waiting for Alex. She looked back at the small clock; it was 10:30 in the night now. Here she was in one of her dresses, feeling pretty, but where was her...prince? He seems like one, she thought to herself. Brilliant, important, charming...why on earth was he with a small town girl like her? She frowned. A busy businessman like his father, is always in need, she means, he barely goes to school to her wonder and he has time for her? Probably whenever she calls for it! She shivered and looked back out at the window, it was getting pretty cold. So, she decided that she would close the windows.

She rested the black pieces and film that remained for the camera on her bed and got up to shut her window closed, when she saw a figure walking leisurely towards her window, thinking it was Alex she whispered out "Alex! Alex!" the figure came into view and it wasn't Alex...it was a tall blonde lady. She eyed April down as April sat at her window. The woman was tall and skinny...and she seemed tough.

"Wh-who-who are you?" April tried to ask innocently.

"Brenda, can I come in?" She asked April pointing inside as April moved out of her room. Yes, she had a soprano talking voice. She wore a black and white coat with black gloves she took off.

"I'm Alex's secretary, sorry," She smiles tightly.

"Where is Alex?" April asked.

"He's tied up at the office, sorry, he sent me to tell you," She said to her as April fell onto her bed upset.

"What?" She said upset.

"Ah, don't be upset, if your Alex's girl or wife, be expecting him to do stuff like that, he's always busy," Brenda shrugs and sits on April's bed beside her.

"Girl?"

"Yes! I saw the way you were looking at him over at the church...you and the other rest of the girls," She muttered as she took off her heels, exhausted.

"I'm no girl of his..." April's cheeks flushed and she looked down.

"Oh, good lord, there is a god!" Brenda hugged her and said.

"Huh?"

"Well, you're not Alex's first 'lady friend', Alex is a very attractive man, there were tough times and even rougher times at the office when some of these crazy girls come over just demanding to see Alex, it's obscene. Poor girls, hurt and all, falling head over heels for that boy that can't see past her prettiness," Brenda frowns and shakes her head.

"Really?" April tried not to laugh, but she ended up doing so.

"I'm serious," Brenda nods her head "It's funny, though because he's spent the most with you,"

"Am I supposed to feel special?" April asks her sarcastically and sighs upset again.

"I know, I know... are all good-looking boys like this?" Brenda says and looks down melodramatically as April laughs and stops short.

"I forgot, my teacher is home and I'm on punishment," April smiles sheepishly as Brenda then gets up and walks toward the window again.

"I know you're no messenger, but..." April stops again.

"What is it?"

"Tell Alex not to come tomorrow,"

"You're mad?"

"No it's not that...Mrs.Davidson, my teacher, gave me a list to clean up the house before she gets back as my punishment," April says.

"Ah," Brenda rests a hand on the window then gets out "I'll be on my way now,"
* * *
It was the next day today and April was dressed in some worn out, old indigo dress, white latex gloves, and a scarf that tied up her hair. She had a mop in her hand and was cleaning the entire house's floor as the kids lined up to be counted by Mrs. Davidson. She looked up and enviously glanced at Maggie who looked back at her and smiled, coming to the back of the line where April was near. April looked down washing the dirty floor with the dirty mop, paying Maggie no mind.

"Alex coming over today?" She asked April and laughed.

"No,"

"Do you hear that-?"

"What? The pieces of that old camera splattering all over the floor? Yes," April muttered.

"No," Maggie laughed deviously "Me, going to the trip and you not. Have fun here, rotting in hell,"

April only rolled her eyes as finally the class had left and sighed as she tiredly picked up the yellow bucket with the mop and moved to the kitchen as she sang a song to herself. April had tossed and turned all night, she didn't get any sleep that finally around 5AM she got out of bed and decided that if she was going to get sometime to herself that she would start on this stupid cleaning thing early.

But dang, it was humiliating.

Someone rang her bell then and she thought it was one of her classmates, forgetting something and she ran to get it.

"Alex?" She asked him surprised and felt embarrassed for not dressing up properly, but then again why should she care? He's the one who blew her off, right?

"Yeah," He came in easily without her inviting him in.

"Didn't-didn't Brenda tell you that I couldn't come because of yesterday, I did get in trouble you know," They walked into the living room together.

"Yeah, she did," He laughed for some reason ", but I just felt like I owed it to you, for not being able to come to you last night," He leaned forward towards her and she looked down her face getting hot.

"Well, as you can see...I'm cleaning," She smiles at him.

"I could help,"

"You clean?"

"Yeah," He chuckled and then she remembered it and ran into her room as he followed her in, looking curiously around.

"What's wrong-?" He smiled at her then frowned.

"I'm sorry, it was Maggie who threw it on the floor, but the film is still good...maybe you could take it to the store and they could develop it," She suggest as he evaluates it.

He walks into the middle of the room and holds the broken camera into the light as April twist nervously at her fingers.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked him after a while.

"I'm thinking someone was gloating a whole lot, seeing the damage here," He looks down at April.

"I wonder who," April shakes her head innocently as Alexander laughs.

"Then again, I'm thinking, seeing you had to swank yourself to Maggie, she must have been making you feel something awful-"

"She did," April cuts in, for her defense and Alexander laughs again.

"Maybe we should get...payback...show her how much we actually dislike her," Alexander smiles down her.

"I don't know," April hides her smile.

"You never pulled a prank?"

"No,"

"Well just call me teach,"

"This is going to be fun," And she rolls her eyes, but smirk.