Alessia Tate being allowed to live here honestly surprised her a bit.
Still, luck seemed to be on her side. She’d only been sitting nearby for about fifteen minutes when the person she was waiting for finally appeared. Amidst the stream of carsing and going, Alessia was the only one who walked out the front gate with nothing but a backpack slung over her shoulder.
The security guard clearly knew her. He greeted her with a warm smile–a stark contrast to the way he’d looked at Ileana earlier. Alessia smiled back, polite as ever, and returned the greeting. The guard called her over, rummaged in his pocket for a couple of lollipops, and handed them to her<b>, </b>saying they were meant for his grandson, but if she didn’t mind, she could have them.
Alessia thanked him with a grin, slipped one into her bag, unwrapped the other, and popped it into her mouth.
She waved goodbye and headed off down the hill, her backpack bouncing lightly on her back.
From her hiding spot in the bushes, Ileana had seen Alessia the moment she appeared. Watching the guard’s friendly manner and Alessia’s face–which was even prettier than in the photos–Ileana bit her lip, annoyance ring inside her. She waited until Alessia was a good distance away before slipping out of the bushes, sticking her tongue out at the guard, and running off.
The neighborhood was perched halfway up a hill, and it usually took a grown adult half an hour to walk down to the bottom–never mind two twelve–year–old girls. Ileana was gasping for breath, her legs aching, while Alessia seemed perfectly fine, her steps light and steady.
Ileana couldn’t help but wonder–maybe the Tate family had spent all their money on the house and couldn’t even afford a driver? The Mortons hadn’t hired one because Brendan liked to drive himself, and with so many kids in the family, hiring a separate driver for each would have been ridiculously extravagant, totally out of character for the Mortons. Plus, their ce was close to the school, so it wasn’t really necessary.
But the Tates lived all the way up here without a driver? It was hard not to think they were just putting on airs, spending everyst penny just to buy a fancy house.
She finally had to stop, gulping in huge breaths of air before hurrying to catch up
again.
<b>When </b>they reached <b>the </b>bottom of the hill, Ileana assumed Alessia would h But <b>no</b>–she just kept walking, relentless as ever. Ileana was <b>sure </b>she’d welked more today than in the past yearbined. If she weren’t so <b>desperate </b>to see what the Tates were really like, she would never have put herself through this <b>ordeal</b>.
At the same time, she felt an odd sense of relief. Thank goodness the hospital <b>had </b>made that mistake–otherwise, Alessia’s life would’ve been hers, and she was certain she’d go crazy living like that.
Thankfully, Alessia didn’t go much farther this time. She slipped into a small, shabby–looking building that didn’t even have a sign out front. Ileana wrinkled her nose in distaste but, after some hesitation, followed her inside.
She barely made it to the entrance before someone stopped her.
“Hello, do you have an appointment?”
“An appointment? For this dump?” After being turned away twice already, Ileana’s face fell, darkening with frustration.
“Yes, apart from the staff, everyone needs an appointment to enter.” The woman’s professionalism was unwavering. She smiled politely, not the least bit perturbed by Ileana’s rudeness.
“What, so you want me to open an ount or something? How much is it?” Ileana had been to plenty of high–end boutiques with Karen; most of them required some kind of membership, so she assumed this was the same.
“I’m sorry, miss, but it’s not just about opening an ount. Besides, you’re not eighteen yet, so we can’t process anything for you anyway.”
“But I just saw a girl my age go in, didn’t I?” Ileana protested.