Aquarius
Act 4

Aquarian Lucky Connections:
Colors: violet, light yellow
Plants: olive, aspen
Perfume: galbanum
Gemstones: glass, onyx, topaz, sapphire
Metal: lead
Tarot Card: the star
Animals: peacock, eagle

*

Seconds after Aquarius sped out of Nadia's driveway like a bat out of hell, Nadia's mother pulled in. Nadia just rolled her eyes, fuming at what just happened. "What was all that about?" she asked her daughter as she got out of the car and then looked in the direction she drove off to.

She didn't notice her brother in the car with her, and he smirked as he got out, "Lover's quarrel?"

"Shut up, Nathan," Nadia said, "I'm not in the mood," she said as she stomped toward her couch and collapsed on it but got right back up and started pacing. Nathan just shook his head and walked into the house. His online friends were waiting for him to log on and play.

"What happened?"

"She was here drinking when I got here!"

"Well, you did give her your dad's house key," her mother said. Nadia rolled her eyes at the mention of him as well.

"She totally attacks me as soon as I walk in. She got fired today because her boss saw us on the news and put two and two together. She wasn't sick. They tried to make her take a drug test and..." then she paused, forgetting who she was talking to, "...and she's blaming me for EVERYTHING! I didn't exactly put a gun to her head and say we have to do this; she wanted to!"

Mrs. Baines shook her head, "That's not good, after everything she's been through?"

"You think I don't know that!? I was trying to help her, but her lights were cut off last week, and she didn't want my help. She slept here instead. I know all too well!"

"Imagine I disappeared on you, Nathan too, and left you here to fend for yourself. Losing your job would be the next worse thing to happen."

"I'd figure it out," Nadia said as she crossed her arms across her chest, "Just like you did when He left."

"You would have no choice, just like I did. Just like Aquarius has no choice now. Instead, I had two kids to take care of. If I lost my job on top of that, we would have been homeless, we wouldn't be here, and you two would have been taken away from me. The worst nightmare for a mother."

"I wouldn't treat her like that. I wouldn't threaten to knock her out and then speed off like a bat out of hell after blaming me for everything. I told her she needs to take accountability too."

"Did you apologize?"

"Yes! But she didn't want an apology, she wants someone to blame."

"Call her," her mother said and Nadia sighed and did so but it went to voicemail.

"She's still on the road Ma. She don't wanna talk to me."

"Well keep trying until you get through and try some empathy, the last thing she needs is to be fighting with her best friend."

"She started it!"

"So finish it! Be the bigger person and help her" she said. She walked to the door that led into the house, "I told you smoking that ganja was gonna get you caught up" she said and walked inside.

Nadia collapsed on the couch, she saw the bottle of vodka Aquarius was drinking out of and she took a couple of swigs herself. She sighed as she sent her a text and then called again, leaving a message. Without meaning to, she continued to drink because she was worried about her. 

It takes a lot for Aquarius to get mad but when she does, she explodes. Piss Aquarius off on a wrong day and she'll fight you with 24 years' worth of pain and heartache as her motivation.

Besides those rare instances, Aquarius was the sweetest sweetheart you'd ever meet. And a badass bitch once you truly get to know her.

Unbeknownst to Aquarius, when she walked into Nadia's life. She saved her. She was the sister she never had. She loved her like family. She couldn't see herself without her ever. It's rare when they fought or disagreed. It always threw them for a loop when it did. Nadia saved her anger and punches for everyone else.

Nadia Evette Baines was born and raised in Bermuda and was damn proud of it. This island was all she knew. This island filled her with joy and pride. She had a perfect life. Her parents both worked good jobs, were in love, and showed their love for their children by showering them with gifts. Giving them the things their parents couldn't afford. Her Dad bought her her first guitar as well as video games, clothes, and plane tickets. She and Nathan were spoiled rotten.

Then, out of nowhere it seemed, her Dad stopped coming home. Always pulling late nights at work which started to upset her mother. He used to manage one of the most popular and expensive hotels on the island, The Palace, and it literally looks like one. It's been rated the island's best hotel as long as Nadia's been alive.

Then her father up and left. Nadia will never forget the day. He didn't come home one night and came sneaking in early in the morning thinking her mother was already at work. Her mother would pull all-nighters waiting up for their father. The cussing and arguing ensued as soon as he came through the door, Nathan and Nadia staring at them in shock. The things they said to each other, the names they would call each other, it was too much. Then her father dropped the bomb. He was leaving. He had met someone, a rich socialite that was staying at The Palace, she made him feel alive again and didn't yell and nag as their mother did. He was just coming to pack some stuff and leave while she was at work and they were at school. That broke their heart. If they weren't running late, he would have disappeared without a trace. Without a goodbye?

Their lives were shattered. The island was small and her father was well known being one of the top entrepreneurs on the island, when others heard her father had left the rumors traveled fast. Nadia was already a loner and kept to herself. She stayed out of everyone's way and all her classmates were mere acquaintances. She didn't let anyone get too close. Her bestie was her father, she loved their special daddy-daughter day's out that he used to surprise her with. Once he left, she truly, truly felt alone and worthless. She threw herself into her guitar, writing poems and listening to all things punk and rock and roll. One day she cut off most of her curly hair, ripped up her school uniform, and turned herself into a school girl that came straight out of Hot Topic. Rock wasn't very popular on the island. Reggae, afro beats, and rap from Britain and America were always on rotation. 

"Wow Nadia, what happened to your hair?" a few girls said to her as they approached her locker. 

"My hair was long and now it's short, put two and two together," Nadia said to them. They sneered at her. She grew up with these girls, but they never got along, and that definitely wasn't starting today.

"Looks like you cut it yourself, or your little brother did, what is he like 10 now?" Nadia just rolled her eyes at them, slammed her locker closed, and walked away. "Ohhh she probably couldn't afford it, with her Richie Rich Daddy leaving her and all."

Nadia stopped in her tracks. What did this bitch say?

"Yeah we saw your Dad's car being put up for sale, money must be running low. You need to come to my Mom's salon and get your hair fixed because it looks a hot mess-"

"Don't talk about my Dad."

"Or what? Be careful what you say next Miss Weirdo, there's 4 of us and one of you."

"Make that two" a voice said. The girls looked behind Nadia as Nadia turned to face the source of the voice. It was the new girl that just got here last week. 

Being the new girl had its advantages and disadvantages. Whenever someone new came to school, especially if they were foreign, the locals would find out all they could about them. Supposedly she came from a really rich family and lived in that newly renovated beach house right by the water that every homeowner on the island wanted. It was an insane amount of money, and she got it. Her mother was White, and the old lady had to be her grandmother, and she was White too. So they assumed that's what she was. Being White, you were the minority in this school. It was best to blend in and shut up.

The new girl was wearing a yellow sundress, and lots of jewelry, and her long hair was cornrowed. Appropriation much? The school usually gave you a week to get your uniform and everything situated, most did it as soon as they could so they wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb or get teased for whatever they wore. Or worse, get beat up and their Jordans stolen. New girl didn't care. 

"Go away Miss America, this doesn't concern you."
"I should pull those cornrows out of your head, white girl."
"You can't wear your hair like that, black fisher!"

"My Daddy's Black so shut the hell up," the new girl said with a thick accent. "And leave her alone, you all make her life hell every day since I got here, it's getting OLD."

"Girl, whatever-"

"AND your own Mama did my hair! Yeah, my grandmother took me there yesterday after school. I don't know how a nice woman like that got a stuck-up bitch like you for a daughter. One bad Yelp review and I could ruin your mama's business because you couldn't mind yours! And from what I heard at the salon, your mama needs all the help she can get with your daddy being thrown in jail, AGAIN!"

A crowd had gathered by this time and everyone was shocked at how the new girl was gathering the resident bad girl up. Once she said the girl's dad was in jail, she threw a hissy fit.

"MY DADDY'S NOT IN JAIL! HE'S IN THE MILITARY!" she screamed at her.

A loud whistle blew before this showdown could go any further. "Move along! Get to class!" a teacher said as they broke up the crowd and the bell rang. "Miss Simmons, I told you to find your locker mate, and get to class, what are you doing?"

"I found her," she said as she pointed to Nadia. "Nadia Baines right?" Nadia nodded in shock. She thought she was going to have to get suspended again.

"And where's your uniform, Miss Simmons?? You'll get written up and detention if you don't have it-"

"We were on our way to go back and get it but then those bit- I mean, those mean girl wannabe's interrupted us" Nadia stepped in. New girl just saved her life, it was her turn.

"Well hurry up, the bell already rang, you'll officially be late once the second one rings," the teacher said and walked away. They sighed with relief. They watched in sadness as Nadia's life was turned upside down. They went to school with her mother. Nadia was always quiet and stayed out of the way, but now she was wearing dark makeup, tearing up her school uniform, and getting into fights damn near every day. They tried their best to help her because of everything going on at home, but Nadia was making it harder on herself when she didn't have to. 

"Come on," Nadia said as she grabbed her hand and walked back over to her locker. "So you're my new locker mate huh?"

"Yeah," she said. "Call me Aquarius, though."

"I've never heard-"

"Of anybody with the name Aquarius I know," she said with a smile and roll of her eyes. "My birthday is January 25th so..."

"Oh my god, mine's the 26th."

"No way! Get out! I knew I liked you," Aquarius said with a big smile. 

Nadia blushed and said, "Sorry, ok the code to get in is 7981," she said as she unlocked it and opened the door. "Here I got an extra uniform, come on," she said as she got the uniform out and Aquarius tossed a few things she didn't need inside.

They rushed to the bathroom and walked into the huge handicapped stall. "I hate uniforms. Are you serious??" Aquarius whined. "I went back to school shopping for NOTHING."

"We get to wear normal clothes on Fridays and half days," Nadia said and then did a spin. "Or you can be like me and get creative."

"They let you do that?" Aquarius said as she looked her up and down. 

"We can alter it to an extent, the good thing about being an arts kid is we get away with the creativity thing. All the arts teachers are hippies and want us to express ourselves in uniform."

"That's good, I guess. You're an arts kid? Me too. I'm in the Music track."

"Me too, and Art," Nadia said. "What do you play or do you sing?"

"Both. Classical piano. You?"

"I can kinda sing. I turned down being in the choir because they only sing corny shit. I also play guitar."

"Awesome, that's why you look like a total rock star. I love that black lipstick. What is it?"

"Fenty, baby," Nadia said. "I love Rihanna."

"OMG, ME TOO" Aquarius exclaimed as she took off her sundress. She was wearing panties but no bra. "Um, Nadia?"

"Huh?"

"Can I have the shirt, or do you want me walking around with my boobies out all day?" Nadia blushed and practically threw it at her. "You never seen boobies before?"

"Sorry, I got caught off guard by you not wearing a bra. They're required."

"What!? But it's so freaking hot here!!!"

"Just try not to get cold, and no one will notice," Nadia said, and they giggled. Then the bell rang. "Shit," they both said as they ran out of the stall as fast as they could as Aquarius finished getting dressed.

*

Young Aquarius has an inquiring and analytical mind and is constantly on the go.

*

Nadia chuckled at the memory. The two of them have been inseparable ever since, which is why Nathan teased them and called them 'lovebirds.' They were practically born the same day and were both 13; they felt like twins. From that day forward, all of their birthday parties were joint ones, and they got matching Aquarius tattoos on their 18th birthday.

Nadia sighed as she took another swig. The day they met could have gone differently. The mean girl wannabe's made her life a living hell once her parents split. They found a way to get to her because her life wasn't perfect after all. The school was full of rich kids, and they judged you if you struggled. 

Or fought you.

Nadia had had enough. She just wanted to be left alone. She was so desperate to be free from their insults that earlier that very morning, she put a butcher knife in her backpack. She was done playing nice. She had to finish this once and for all before she went literally insane.

But then Aquarius stepped in before she could even think about grabbing the knife. If she hadn't...

Interestingly enough, unbeknownst to Nadia, Aquarius was scared shitless when she approached the girls. She was just like Nadia, quiet and staying out of everyone's way. But she quickly realized how the kids in school acted, and she watched every day during her first week in school as Nadia argued or fought for her life. She was sick of it. She felt bad for her, and she was sure she didn't deserve it.

But these kids respected her once they found out she had money. She's never been in that position before. She got teased a lot, too, back in New York. Being called White Girl all the time, her mother didn't know how to do her thick, curly hair, so she would go to school looking a mess. 

She was also starting over, which was a great advantage. She had a clean slate, and she could fade into the background and pretend she didn't see anything and continue not to stand up for herself or anyone else. Or stand up for Nadia like she wished someone had stood up for her. She didn't know what came over her, but when they started teasing Nadia about her hair, it triggered her, and instead of being silent, she spoke her mind.

If she spoke her mind more, she would be as bitchy as those mean girl wannabe's if not more.

Her outlet was Aquarius, and her guitar and their similar interests in music gave them first place in talent contests at their private school. They were tied for Most Talented in their senior class. 

Nadia sighed and called her again and then left another voicemail. "Aquarius, again, I'm sorry, but I'm fucking worried about you! It's not like you to be so drunk and driving!? CALL ME WHEN YOU GET HOME!" she said and then quickly calmed herself down. "Love you."

She sighed as she hung up. It was true; she did. Aquarius was family. She was the only person in this world that she could trust besides her mother and brother. Because of what happened to her Dad and just seeing how dudes treated their supposed girlfriends at school, she didn't trust any guy with anything besides friendship. She was attracted to them but wouldn't let them get too close. Girls, on the other hand...

She struggled with her sexuality all of her life, confused about what she liked and what she wanted. After researching she realized she was bi. She came out to Aquarius after their 17th birthday party. 

"I know," Aquarius had said as they lay in her bed, they still had their party dresses on, and all the partiers had just gone home. They did their annual birthday sleepover, even though they spent the night over at each other's places almost every weekend anyway. 

"What do you mean you know?" Nadia asked as she sat up. Aquarius laughed at the shocked look on her face.

"I know you like the back of my hand. Besides, those random suck-and-blow games we play have been getting pretty serious lately. You never kiss the guys, just girls, and you enjoy it," she said and wiggled her eyebrows. "Besides, I see how you look at me."

"BITCH, PLEASE!" Nadia said as she threw a pillow at her. "Everything isn't about you, princess!"

Once they graduated high school, they got jobs, as they were supposed to, and practiced together; they were going to have a two-girl band. However, after high school, Nadia got more confident, more outspoken, and dark, and her sarcastic attitude got her into trouble. She's more likely to get into a fight with anyone except Aquarius. She felt she never had a reason to and didn't want to lose her as a friend. But ever since her father left and never called or came back, she has been that way ever since.

However, on their 18th birthday the following year, after they got their tattoos, they made a pact. Aquarius had just lost her grandmother the previous summer, and they both were devastated. She had also just broken up with her first love, Jackson; he was going to Oxford and thought it best that they move on. He wasn't built for long-distance relationships, and he didn't think she was either. Not even a week after he left and moved onto campus, there were pictures of him with various girls at parties on campus, but there was this one particular blonde that was always around. He moved on pretty quickly. 

Nadia was so angry that she cussed him out and gave him an earful. How dare he leave her like this? Who breaks up with a girl like Aquarius?? "He'll see, watch, when we have our famous band, and we're traveling the world, he'll track you down."

"And I'll say no because I'm with you."

Nadia looked at her with surprise, "Bitch, what?"

"Promise me that if we continue to get our hearts broken, we'll one day stop the madness and just move in with each other and live happily ever after."

"Bitch you're drunk!" Nadia laughed, but then she wrapped her pinkie finger around hers, and that was bond.

Any other man that Aquarius got serious with, Nadia watched like a hawk. She saw how bad Aquarius got after Jackson. Her grandmother had just died, and they had just sold her beach house and moved to one of the worst neighborhoods on their side of the island. Her life was falling apart, and she didn't want to see Aquarius go down that dark road that she almost went down. Sabotaging her own life to stop the pain.

No, not on her watch. 

Nadia knew what it was like to have everything you ever wanted and then have it taken from you in what seemed like an instant. She vowed to help Aquarius through this just like she did with her.

*

Young Aquarians need plenty of opportunities to make discoveries, try out new things, and communicate ideas with others.

*

"NADIA! LEAVE ME ALONE! I MADE IT HOME, ALRIGHT? LEAVE ME ALONE!" 

After over an hour of nonstop calls and texts, Aquarius finally told Nadia that she was alive. She was still worried but not as much, knowing Aquarius was off that damn bike and safe at home. She should give her some space. She needed to sleep the drunk off, and as her mom said, she would be here for her when she was ready to talk again. 

She loved Aquarius too much to let their friendship go over something trivial as this.

She sighed as she scrolled through TikTok. Aquarius, unfortunately, cussed her out as soon as she walked in, so she wasn't able to tell her about all the great feedback they were getting after being on the news and their videos going viral.

She reposted the best post on her TikTok and tagged Aquarius, and instantly their follower count started to grow.

She decided to make another video to keep her mind off Aquarius. "Hey, new followers, my name is Nadia, and yes, I'm one of those badass bitches that crashed Christopher Westwood's management office. Me and my girl Aquarius started a band, and we're called The Aquarians. We're out here grinding and trying to find a manager and get a bomb ass record deal." 

She almost signed off then because she felt stupid; she was basically talking to herself, like, who cares? But then she got an idea. "However, we have an emergency situation. My girl Aquarius lost her job because her boss is an absolute bitch; she saw her on the news and fired her as soon as she got to work today. Like all of us, she needs that job to survive, we are already starving artists, but she could be homeless if we don't do something. So I'ma drop her cash app in the caption, and whatever you all can give her, she'd really appreciate it. I will too. Signing off. Bye!"

"Ugh, stupid, what am I doing?" she mumbled to herself. She never made random videos or took selfies every 5 seconds. She made fun of people who did. She watched the video a few times and picked it apart. She should have redone her makeup. Turned on more lights. She looked drunk. However, she threw caution to the wind. If this video didn't get posted, Aquarius couldn't get the help she needed. She's heard about people getting donations through social media all the time.

Hopefully, complete strangers would do the same for her...

She tossed her phone next to her and opened her special drawer on her coffee table. She lit a blunt and tried to relax before having to go to bed and wake up early to go to a job she hated, just like every other day.

On the other side of town, at the management office, the two girls crashed. Christopher Westwood was hard at work. It was getting late, and most of the office was empty except for his assistant and a few others. He got up and shut the door, and then he got out his phone. He answered a few emails and text messages, and one text had a link to a TikTok video.

Yo, these the chicks that crashed your office? 🤩🤘🏽

Christopher smirked and looked around him. Simone was gone, and she was obsessed with him not watching the video. She had security delete all the footage. She even banned them from the building and had their pictures hung up in the lobby like they were Bermuda's Most Wanted on the run. She did entirely too much.

Curiosity got the best of him, and he clicked the link. 

And there she was. He watched in awe as Aquarius seductively sang 'When Doves Cry' by Prince, looking like Appolonia herself. He couldn't look away. The shy girl next door with stage fright that he met, wasn't here at all. 

A future star was. She was beautiful, and so was Nadia. He chuckled at the thought of all of his employees having no clue what to do. He wouldn't know either. He knew if he were there, he would take them upstairs and give them whatever deal they wanted.

Well, in a perfect world.

However, he had no time for more clients right now. He was a very busy man. 

If he could make an exception for them, he would. He promised himself that if he could find a way to make it work, he'd jump on the idea, no matter who disapproved.

Even Simone.

This was Christopher Westwood Management, after all.

He continued watching different videos, some with better quality than others. He nodded his head when he saw Aquarius get on the floor as she sang a rock rendition of Sam Smith's 'Unholy.'

Holy shit.

Some of the comments echoed exactly what he was thinking:

yo what's her @ ??
i just found my future wives 😍😍😍😍 
i'd get hot with her in a body shop ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥
😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
omg i know her, we went to school together, we go way back!
can someone tag her please!?
the legs on that guitar player 🤩👀👀
no one has her tag?? shes gotta be here somewhere! 😭😭😭😭
i would drink all her bath water

Um, except for that last comment. Comments like those made him feel sorry for women and the weirdos they have to put up with daily. Do better, guys.

He scrolled, and finally, someone had a username. He clicked, and it led to Nadia's page. She only had a handful of followers and one video, so she obviously just made this account and deleted her old one. Smart.

"Hey, new followers, my name is Nadia, and yes, I'm one of those badass bitches that crashed Christopher Westwood's management office. Me and my girl Aquarius started a band, and we're called The Aquarians. We're out here grinding and trying to find a manager and get a bomb ass record deal." 

Once he saw that Nadia tagged Aquarius, he clicked on her name in milliseconds, interrupting the video. He smiled when he saw her page. She was more active than Nadia. She had several hundred followers and a couple of dozen posts. He soon found himself going down an Aquarius rabbit hole, looking at all of her posts, making sure not to like any of them. Then he gasped.

Didn't TikTok tell you who viewed your profile!?

Shit. He closed the app instantly and got back to work.

*

Young Aquarius tends to be detached and dispassionate, finding close relationships difficult.

*

https://youtu.be/sTJ7vtvAc-U