-07-

<<flashback>>

Eleanor Flawless had been standing at the top of the stairs watching the lights crew fix one of the broken chandeliers when she saw two guys struggling with Dexter Collins and Joe Delaney at the entrance.

With a deep sigh, she pinched the bridge of her nose and marched downstairs, nearly bumping into one of the waitresses who had been balancing a set of wine glasses on a vintage tray. She gave the waitress a quick apologetic look and hurried on.

"Eleanor!"

She turned to see her cousin, Alison, hastening towards her and waving two bright orange sheets in the air.

"I've been looking all over for you!" Alison exclaimed, eyeing the baggy yellow cashmere sweater Eleanor was in with a scrunched up nose as if it were the most disgusting thing she had ever set her eyes on.

"Ew." Alison took a step back with a grimace. "What's with the sweater from Tar-Jay?" She asked, giving the sweater another wide--eyed look over.

Eleanor held out her hands and did a 360 degrees rotation, earning a groan from Alison. "What's the fuss--" she yawned, "--about?"

"April has come down with the flu," Alison said, sagging her shoulders and sighing dramatically.

"What?!" Eleanor shouted, causing the heads of the florists close by to snap in her direction. "Sorry," she mouthed to them and turned to Alison. "What are we going to do now?" She asked, her voice a whisper.

"Err, I guess you'd just have to do the opening speech--" Alison shrugged, "--yourself." She added, chewing the left corner of her lower lip and scratching the back of her neck.

At her words, Eleanor's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. She looked dismayed, as if she had suddenly found herself tangled in sailing rope. "What?! You know I can't--"

"You're the President in charge of this charity organisation," Alison interjected.

"Oh no! You know I'm terrible at speaking in Public Alison," she said in the tone of a highly troubled mother, stretching her hands and resting them on Alison's shoulders.

"Well--"

"Alison! We need a hand over here!" Someone shouted from behind the projector.

"One sec!" Alison yelled back. "What about Cross? You should ask him."

"He's not coming." Eleanor bit the inside of her left cheek.

Alison's face looked like she had just received the most shocking news of the century. "What do you mean by he's not coming?"

"There's a conference at the Presidential Villa today. And--"

"I came all the way from Tennessee  for this fundraiser because I love you Eleanor, and your boyfriend isn't coming because of some stupid conference? You've got to be kidding me!" Alison shook her head, a coat of disbelief overtaking her face.

Eleanor opened her mouth to speak but her phone buzzed  from her back pocket. She took it out, run her baby pink nails across the screen and read a message. She dumped her phone back in her pocket and blew air out of her cheeks.  "And now, Katherine isn't coming too." She threw her hands up as she said this.

"You're still friends with that red-headed slut?" Alison asked, folding her arms across her chest and pouting like a bratty child.

"She's not a slut Alison, and yes, she's still my best friend."

Alison rolled her eyes. "I keep telling you--"

"That you went for summer camp with her back in middle school and she slept with exactly 99.9 percent of the guys over there. The only 1% she didn't sleep with was Jack; your boyfriend and Max Magabush, because he was uglier than anything in this world," Eleanor cut in, her lips contorted in a smirk.

Alison jabbed her in the arm jovially. "You should get some sleep before the fundraiser starts. You look like shit. Seriously."