Breaking the news to Avi's mother did not quite go as she had presumed.

Sure, she expected her to just brush it off and not talk about it anymore but she didn't expect to come home from the auditions to find out her mother too have left for Cornwall for an emergency with their plantation. It didn't take Avi a lot to realise that and she'd have to do the honours over the phone. Making up her mind to call her mother - or now, both of her parents - was not simple. Her fingers were shaky as she dialled the familiar number onto the dial pad of her black Samsung. Her heart dropping when seconds went by as she pressed the phone to her ear and the usual chime started to ring in her ear.

She remembered how her father always stoically answers the phone, not giving a fuck if he was talking to her daughter using the harsh voice he use with his workers. The call is always short and brief, only a couple of words follows before Jonathon Rae slam down on the end call button. The conversation between the father-daughter duo is short and brief itself, just like how it has always been. And this time it was no exception.

"Hey dad" She said, not giving the man a chance to speak first.

"It's not the time Aviana" She should've expected that. With Jonathon, It was never the time. Moreover when it came to his kids. Especially Aviana. Although it hurt so bad when her father brushed her off like that, Avi was now used to it after years and years of occurrence. Nevertheless, her throat was itching to say, 'It's never the time for you' right to his face. But of course, she held back - as always.

"I got three yesses at the auditions" She spoke, chest squeezing at the pleasant memory. "I'm through to Bootcamp"

One...Two...Three...

It took only three seconds for her father to hung up on her after those words left her mouth, shattering all the hope and happiness in her heart.

Avi closed her eyes and tried to ignore the way her breath hitched as the harsh ringing noise reached her ears. She bit back the sudden urge to break down in the middle of her living room. Instead, to cope with the anger and oppression which took over her mind - she quickly grabbed a filled pen holder and threw it straight at the crispy white wall of her study room.

Her parents leaving for the weekend not only meant her getting strictly instructions to stay in the house - but she was also not allowed to invite or visit any friends throughout the weekend. Because of that, she had to limit interacting with Max, Yu, Farrah and Bexley to facetime calls and text messages. Although Avi loved to stay at the comfort of her home (her room mostly) and especially when her parents were away, staying scooped up in a mansion for a whole weekend and having only two people to interact with and them being your housekeeper and your brother was not something she enjoyed. Even if she tried, she knew she couldn't possibly sneak her friends through because boy was her brother a taleteller.

Avi despised spending time with her brother at all costs. The two Rae siblings hated each other with a burning passion.

Alden Rae, who was two years older than Avi was possibly the worst brother one could've ever wished for. The two of them never interacted with each other unless they were having dinner with the folks, battling in a war for the remote, throwing each other at walls until one gets injured and working at the garden as a punishment.

( Or when they're dealing with the two vape pens that were hidden in the depths of their rooms but that's beside the point )

 So these two days were spent completing chores her mother left for her, scrolling through Twitter, dancing to Taylor Swift and making small talk with Devi at the kitchen while she prepared dinner.

Devi was the housekeeper of the Rae family house.

She was a kind Tamil woman with a small built frame who had been working with the Rae family for the past sixteen years. Soniya stumbled upon Devi while looking for someone to babysit newborn Alden. Soniya and Jonathon were quite hesitant about hiring the Tamil woman during the civil war knowing that it was quite a risk to take considering the war was at its peak at the time. Devi who had lost all her family to a bombing at her village by the Sinhalese government was also hesitant to join the family. But after a lot of paperwork, strict rules and fluent English lessons, Soniya and Jonathon made Devi promise not to snitch on the family ( Just like all of his Tamil work staff at the Tea plantation ) and hired her as a babysitter for baby Alden. Devi, who was more than thankful for the Rae family for saving her from the danger of the war promised to herself that she'd be the most honest and work for the family as hard as she can. And she did.

After two babies, four abroad migrations and sixteen years later, Devi still worked with the Rae family. And because Avi grew up with Devi since the day she was born, she was close to the petit woman, always updating her of what was happening in her life and making sure to check on her as well. And while Soniya and Jonathon were in Cornwall, looking after the tea plantations, Avi sat at the kitchen counter, telling Devi about every single little thing about what happened at the auditions.

Today, however, was rather exceptional. It was Monday, which meant she had to go to school. Last night, Avi barely slept with the excitement of going to school and facing her classmates for real. She had received a lot of congratulatory texts from people in her school but today, she was going to face them and it made her somewhat anxious. So when Devi came up to wake her up for school, Avi was out of the bed and in the bathroom in a wink because she was too hyped up.

"Well you seem to be in a very excited mood today missy" Devi laughed as she left her room after opening the drapes for her. 

Avi quickly discarded her pyjamas before stepping into the heat of her shower. Her dark hair was put up into a very high ballerina bun on top of her head in an attempt to not get it wet as she didn't want to go to school with soaked hair. As the water droplets fell around her numbly, she couldn't help but drag her eyes over to where the mirror was hung on the grey tiled wall outside the shower cubicle.

Her eyes danced across her own face in the reflective surface, suddenly seeing a huge difference in her features. Her frequent dull eyes looked brighter today, the dark gloomy glint which usually smoked her eyes were gone. Her eyes were shining in a rare brown gleam, the sight being a first in a long long time. However, the familiar dark circles were still prominent under her eyes as a result of not getting any proper sleep for days. They weren't as much as noticeable due to the tan shade of her skin but you could still tell they were there. She knew she would have to use a little bit of make-up to prevent herself from showing up at school looking like a zombie.

Avi watched as the water droplets ran down her body washing away sods of soap in the process. Her eyes found the way the water would slightly gather in the bone of her collarbone which was sickly prominent under her neck. 

She was thin, but she was not skinny.

She had a flab around her stomach, her thighs touched and all but she had no problem with that. Sure it sometimes upset her but she learned to overlook her flaws, instead, she took the time to appreciate her beauty. Although she had a little bit of fat here and there on her body, she had a nice body. She was not a girl who complained or worried about having small boobs or butt because she had average boobs and butt. She was curvy in the right places and she was comfortable and satisfied with her bodily traits to the point where she would have private Victoria Secret shows in her underwear when she was home alone. She was not a girl you would find in a movie or a storybook - that girl who identified herself as flat as a plank of wood yet resembled the looks of Angelina Jolie in real life.

But she was not a 'you're not like other girls' type of girl. In the brief words of kids in future, she was not a pick me girl. She hated those terms and when someone described her as 'Quirky and unique' - those words would make her gag because she was in fact like other girls. She had a hot body, a bold yet elegant personality, she liked to party and do illegal things. She was not the angel she made out herself to be on the outside, she was not the righteous daughter her parents thought they raised her to be, she was not the inexperienced girl outsiders thought she was. She liked to party, she liked to check out boys and girls, she liked to drink, she liked to smoke and do everything illegal.

Everyone assumed she was an angel but just you wait and see how this only angel is actually a devil in disguise.

"Missy" A knock on her door suddenly pulled her out of her thoughts. "if you're trying to get to school earlier you should get out of the shower now. And don't forget your breakfast" Devi's heavy accented voice rang out from the outside of the bathroom.

"I'll be out in a second D" Avi yelled back before she turned off the shower and exited the cubicle, the cold air suddenly hitting her skin and making her shiver before she grabbed a towel to wrap around her body. Once she made sure she was all dry and there was no water to drip down to the carpet, she stepped out of the steaming room. Her eyes fell to her bed where her uniform was neatly laid down by Devi, shoes placed at the foot. She hurriedly put on her underwear and did a little twirl before she quickly worked to get the school uniform which consisted of a white shirt, black dress pants, blazer and a tie. The perk of attending a private school like hers was the fact that she could switch between pants and skirts whenever she wanted. Although her mother hated the idea of her wearing trousers because - 'You look like a boy' and 'Girls should dress up as young women' - Avi rarely even touched the skirt which usually lied in its place at the back of the closet.

"Devi" Avi called out as she hopped down the grand staircase after leaving her room, all dressed up. Her fingers were zigzagging in and out as she tried to put on the red and gold tie at the same time. "I'm ready"

"But missy" Devi protested as the girl entered the kitchen with the tie fastened around her neck and the dark blazer draped over her arm. She walked straight to where her tea was ready in her mug. "Kālai?"

"I'm not hungry Devi" Avi said in between gulps of tea, her eyes set in the dish filled with idli. She heard a heavy sigh leaving Devi's lips and rolled her eyes before going over to the sink to wash her mug. Just like every morning, Avi tried her best to skip breakfast, one of her least favourite things in the world. She hated breakfast, she hated lunch and guess what? She also hated dinner.

In conclusion, she hated any activity related to eating.

Although most of the time Devi would let her get away with it - whenever she made, a special breakfast she would start sighing loudly and make noises with pots and pans just to dramatically present Avi that she is upset about her choice. "Don't go all whiney and on me Devi, it's not that I don't like your food, you know that"

Devi didn't reply to her and instead continued to let heavy exhalations leave her mouth, voicing her frustration towards the girl, knowing it worked every time. Avi placed the porcelain in the dish rack before turning to look at the small woman who was staring at the idli plate, trying to make it look like it took a week for her to make the said breakfast.

"Alright, fine" Avi huffed as she pushed herself away from the counter, reaching towards her blazer. "Just because you're being so dramatic, I'll take them to school for lunch"

Devi's face immediately lit up again as she quickly scrambled around, looking for a box to pack up the food. 

"Missy, do you want me to do your hair?" She asked as Avi sat down on the kitchen counter, deciding to tie her shoelaces for a second time. But Devi's high pitched voice beat her to it. "And don't you dare take your dirty shoes up on my kitchen counter"

"Okay okay, calm down woman" Avi laughed as she hopped down from the counter. "And I decided to just go with a ponytail today, not really feeling the braids"

If there was anything Devi enjoyed doing outside of cooking mouth-watering traditional Indian food, it was doing Avi's hair. Before the woman lost her family in a bombing in Jaffna when she was nineteen years old, she was a sweet older sister to a pair of eight-year-old twins. As a typical family young lady and an older sister, it was Devi's responsibility to get her sisters ready for school. Devi was the one who dressed them in beautiful pavada dresses, braided their hair and styled it with jasmine every morning. The three girls were a small happy family living with their parents before everything went wrong.

The day Devi found out her whole village was bombed and her mother, her father and her little sisters had lost their lives was the most devasting day. That day was also the day Avi's mother found Devi. Devi, who lost her beloved little sisters was over the moon when she found out Soniya was pregnant with a little girl about two years later. And that was when she swore to herself that she would keep this little girl safe and protect her as long as she's alive. And as said for the last fifteen years, Devi was at Avi's side whenever she wanted her. When Avi took her first step, when she babbled her first word, when she lost her first tooth and even when she got her first period (Which was a disastrous day by the way)

So far, Devi had managed to keep her promise of looking after Avi as if she was her own little sister. Even though Avi didn't prefer to wear traditional Indian outfits sometimes, something she didn't even hesitate to let Devi take control of was her hair. Some days Devi would braid it into one long fringe and style it with some kind of flowers from their garden. Some days she would make flower crowns for her to wear to school, which Avi happily did. And it was also Devi who forced Avi to oil her hair at least once a week so it didn't lose its shine of natural black.

She once even took yoghurt, curry leaves, eggs and blended them into a mixture and forced Avi to put it on her hair because apparently it was supposed to prevent hair falling.

Once Devi had a batch of idli placed in the lunch box, she wrapped it up before quickly walking to the living room to see Avi sprawled out on the sofa with her hands fiddling with her phone. She looked up when she felt Devi grab at her school bag to put the lunch box in.

"Alden's gonna drive me to school" She happily chatted. "I woke him up and he tried to spit on me"

"That's nothing new, is it?" Devi mumbled as she zipped up the bag. "All you two do is drive each other on the walls and have spit fights. It's gross missy"

Avi shrugged as she slightly sat up on the couch. Just then the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs echoed through the house and Avi's brother appeared from the foyer.

"I can't believe you're making me drive you to school Aviana" Alden grumbled as he reached the front door, bending down to put on his shoes before opening the front door. "I hate you so much"

Avi ignored the older boy as she grabbed her school bag to hike it up on her shoulder. Avi quickly bid a farewell to Devi and stepped out of the ridiculously large house into the cold morning air of Hampstead.

The sky was painted in a rather blue shade with fluffy white clouds scattered around. The weather was somewhat pleasant as they were nearing summer.

A loud noise of a motorbike coming to life tearing through the air snapped her out of her thoughts. She rolled her eyes as her brother appeared from the garage and came to a stop right in front of her. The black motorcycle shone in the sheer sunlight, reflecting the light on its spotless body.

"You're taking the bike?" Avi asked as Alden wordlessly handed her a helmet and secured it around her head. "Mom's going to kill you if she finds out"

"Then keep your mouth shut about this" Alden said as the girl finally got up on the footrest before swinging one of her legs over the seat.

As much as she hated any kind of physical contact with her brother and tried to avoid any kind of interaction between them, she had to place her hands on his shoulders for support. Avi barely had time to get settled on the seat before Alden was flicking his wrists and racing down the driveway. The early morning air which was most likely to prickle her face was blocked by the dark visor. Alden drove - no, flew down the driveway in such a hurry but it wasn't new to her, Alden was a fast driver but he was moderately a safe motorist. Despite being forbidden from driving the bike which belonged to their uncle, Alden snuck out with it anytime he managed to do so. Even though Avi had every chance in the world to snitch on him, she didn't.

Soon, the two was out of the gates Devi had opened for them from the house. The bike roared through the crispy summer air as Alden drove through the roads of Hampstead. Her school, New Hampstead High was only a ten-minute drive away. New Hampstead High was your ordinary private school where kids from wealthy families attended daily. But the good thing about the school was that nobody was stuck up with the fact that their families have money. Instead, everyone was rather chill and friendly.

It took Alden exactly eleven minutes and forty-two seconds to reach the school building. Because it was still early and the school didn't start until eight, no students were hanging around the grounds throughout the school. As Alden swiftly drifted to a stop in front of the opened gate, Avi unbuckled the helmet and gave it to him which he fastened around his wrist despite the heaviness.

Avi was quick to sit up before swinging her leg over the seat and safely jumping onto the ground. As always, not many words were shared between the two of them except for a small 'Thank you'  from Avi and an 'mhmm' from Alden.

Avi didn't spare a minute with him before she turned around and started jogging towards the front entrance of the school. As she entered the building, a gush of cold wind hit her in the face. The halls of the school were isolated since the students usually hang out on the grounds around the building rather than stay up inside the building they would spend the next six hours of their day. Even though she knew this, she couldn't help but notice that the halls were a little too isolated this morning. And she remembered how there were almost no people outside the ground today. And not even a couple of lights were turned on. So she strolled alongside the walls, turning on every single light on the hallways as she walked towards the students' room.

Earlier that day, she had gotten a text from Yu at about five in the morning, which was a simple, Come to the yr10 students' room as soon as you get your popstar of an ass to the school.

The students' room was where students were allowed to hang out freely if they had a free class or they wanted to relax. Every grade had its own students' room and a lot of students were thankful for this special hospitality they received at school. The students' room was much like a staff room with round tables, funnily shaped chairs and bean bags, a couple of bookshelves, a coffee and tea machine and also a jar of sweets - except it was for students. The only exception from a teacher's staff room was the fact that there was always a students room executive, a special supervisor who watched over the students to make sure there was no 'funny business' going inside the student rooms.

A lot of outsiders and public schoolers thought this was a stupid way to show off but after all, students of NHH didn't pay to go to a private school for nothing.

Through the handful of hallways she walked through, she didn't see any student nor teacher out of all of them. Although she could easily conclude that everybody is still at home, getting ready, she felt a quiet uneasiness in her chest. Just when she thought it wasn't creepy enough, as she turned to the hallway the sophomore students' room was located, a loud sound of a door closing echoed within the hallway. She never got scared of walking the hallways of her school all by herself at this time in the morning because she's done this before so many times, so she didn't do much other than flinch at the sound although her eyebrows did furrow in confusion. As she neared the big double doors which labelled 'Year 10 - Student Room' an uneasiness started to bubble up in her stomach.

"This is ridiculous" Pushing those thoughts aside, she decided to push the heavy double door open and step aside - her eyes trained on her hands. But what made her look up was the loud noise of what sounded like a drumroll. 

Avi's mouth opened in a scream as her hand shot up to cradle her chest. Her eyes snapped up in horror as suddenly a loud sound of a trumpet rang through her head. She let her eyes drag over the spans of the whole room, not understanding what in the earth was going on.

The whole batch of sophomore students, including her friend group of Yu, Max, Farrah and Bexley, was standing in front of her with party hats strapped around their heads and mouths wrapped around multi-coloured party blowers. Avi breathed heavily through her nose and let her eyes drag through the whole spans of the room. She saw three familiar faces from her percussion band in a far corner, playing the tune of 'Congratulations' by Cliff Richards with a snare drum and pocket trumpets. Almost all of her peers were standing in front of her with big smiles and their arms wide open. Her eyes eventually landed on a yellow banner on the wall behind all of them which individually spelt, C-O-N-G-R-A-T-U-L-A-T-I-O-N-S.

Finally, she realised what was in the world was really happening. And oh boy, they're throwing her a congratulatory party.

♪

Vanakkam lovelies! How're my babies doing today? Hope everyone is doing safe, taking care of themselves! So this update was quite late because I kept delaying editing it cause I had so much school work to do, I'm so sorry btw. And today I finally finished updating it and I hope you guys liked it. This chapter was kind of a filler but you learn a little bit about Avi's house life.

And also, a new character is introduced! I hope you guys understood what I said about the war and all, if not, it's alright. Please feel free to imagine Devi however you want because I didn't find anyone to fit into her face claim. AND SHOUTOUT TO ALL MY TAMIL BABIES OUT THERE!

and LOVE ON TOUR! The Orlando show was today and also HE LOOKED SO BEAUTIFUL IN BOTH NIGHT OF NEW YORK! THE BLACK FEATHER OUTFIT! He's so precious, I just wish I could see him perform one day too :(

and also, Gracie released a new song named Feels Like. I'M OBSESSED. It's so good, go and give it a listen - I promise it's so good!

and then, just another quick reminder, I'm addicted to Miss Americana & the heartbreak prince :))

so again, this chapter might've been kinda boring and I'm so sorry but I promise - the next chapters will be filled with DRAMA. Now, moving on to the questions,

1, what do you think of our beloved Devi?

2, is Alden an a-hole or not?

3, is the story boring lol?

4, and lastly would you like me to add Twitter and Instagram posts? (I know Instagram launched in 2012 but heh)

So this is it for this chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it and please don't forget to show some love! Every vote, comment and read is so special to me!

Stay safe and wash your hands!

TPWK ♡

- 𝑬𝒔𝒂

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♫ 𝐃𝐎𝐍❜𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐂𝐊 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐀❜𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌, @𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝟗𝟒 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄! 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔 ♫