"Hello?" Claire sounded just as lazy as ever on the phone.
"Claire, where are you? Weren't we supposed to meet at school so I could pick you up?"
Lance always had a different tone with Claire, nothing like how he treated Cindy. With Claire, he was forever losing his temper. With Cindy, he was gentle, almost doting. Honestly, Claire thought he was just weird.
"Did we actually agree on that?” she replied.
Lance said, “Didn't you promise Mom you'd come home for dinner?"
Claire let out a cold laugh. “Did I really promise?"
"You..." Lance hadn't expected her to just deny it. His face fell. "So what's going on? You're not coming home for dinner?"
"That's right. I'm hanging out with a friend. Finals are over, I deserve to have some fun."
"Mom wanted to celebrate with you guys. Both you and Cindy finished exams, it's finally time to relax. And your winter camp is coming up too..."
"I'd rather celebrate with my friends. Honestly, being at your house just makes me feel suffocated."
Before Lance could blow up again, Claire hung up. He nearly threw his phone across the room, he was so angry.
Cindy heard him yelling and realized Claire wasn't coming home for dinner. For some reason, she actually felt relieved. She pressed a hand to her chest, confused about her own emotions. How did she end up like this? She was jealous of Claire, and she knew it. Claire was just better than her. Why couldn't she admit it out loud?
"Lance, Claire is really incredible," Cindy said quietly. "Being in the same class as her is so stressful. Everyone compares me to her, alwaysaying I'm not as good. She's going to winter camp, and son shell probably get into Cabinda University early feel like I've already lost. What if I mess up my entrance exams too?"
Lance patted her shoulder. "Don't overthink it. Getting into Cabinda University isn't that easy. Claire is great, but everyone at the winter camp is great too. There are
only so many spots. Do you really think she'll beat all of them?"
The truth was, Lance didn't want Claire to be too outstanding either. The more she shone, the less
control he had. He was starting et
regret pushing her out of the James family. He thought she'd have no one to turn to, but instead, she was thriving. The James family had been holding her back, not helping her. Lance had never expected that.
"You're really skipping dinner?" Valeria asked as she finished picking out clothes for herself and started looking for something for Claire too.
After the car accident, she'd
promised
Claire a new outfit to
make up for it. Claire had been too busy before, but now that exams were done, she finally had time to relax. Honestly, Claire didn't care about new clothes, and Valeria had plenty of money. It wasn't a big deal for either of them. Since Valeria insisted, Claire didn't say no.
Valeria picked out a whole outfit for Claire, inside and out. “People say you should wear new clothes for the New Year, but this outfit is so cute, you could wear it to winter camp too. I heard Cabinda is a lot colder than here, so I'll grab you a scarf and a hat... maybe some gloves too."
Claire smiled. "Valeria, you really think of everything."
Valeria lit up, happy that Claire wasn't being formal with her. "I was always the youngest in my family. Now that I've met you, someone even younger, it's like I finally get to play dress up with a real-life doll. Claire, I think this necklace would look amazing on you. It goes with the whole outfit."
Valeria kept piling accessories onto Claire until finally, they had two full sets picked
out.