The Beehive
(Book One)
by Milena Clarke
All Rights Reserved ©2018 Milena Clarke. First Printing: 2018.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner, including electronically or mechanically, photocopying, or by an information and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Chapter 1
Lara Lagowski
A secluded residential street called Eden Isle comes into view. The branches of the perfectly trimmed palm trees seem to be towering above the majestic mansions hiding underneath. If you were to look close enough, you’d notice that there’s this one particular estate that stands out from the rest. No, it might not be the biggest one, and it certainly isn’t the most beautiful, but it never fails to command the attention of those who lay their eyes on it.
The mansion’s grand exterior is immaculately adorned with splashes of golden and bronze hues. The entrance is governed by two gigantesque Roman columns and the lawn is manicured to the nines. Everything, at first sight, looks picture perfect. Who could be oh-so-very- fortunate to reside inside its four walls? Something tells me we’re about find out.
“Go screw yourself!”
A loud scream reverberates through the mansion’s three marble floors. And for one eternal second, it feels like the entire house is about to collapse unto itself.
The elegant entrance door swings wide open and the echoes of the scream leak into the surrounding street. A slim blond girl can be seen exiting the manor. She’s wearing high heels, a cocktail dress, and a gold-platted headband. She also seems to be sporting a look of disgust on her face. This must certainly be none other than Lara Lagowski.
The door behind her closes with a bang as Lara marches towards the shiny platinum car parked by Eden Isle’s only cul-de-sac. She enters the car rather hastily and steps on the accelerator with conviction propelling it to take off at vertiginous speeds in the blink of an eye.
Chapter 2
Elena Fleming
The delicate notes of classical music can be heard playing in the background. If you’re careful enough, you can also hear the sounds of metallic spoons dipping into almond milk-filled ceramic bowls.
There are four people gathered at a communal table long enough to sit a Mormon family. Two of them happen to be sitting next to each other. They seem to be in their 60’s, sport bright white hair, and wear a thin expression of disappointment on their faces. They’re catching up on today’s paper.
The other two, however, couldn’t be sitting further apart. One of them, a dark-skinned boy in his late teens, is impatiently watching the seconds go by on his navy blue watch. The other one, a brunette girl of pale complexion, is contemplating at her bowl of oatmeal with a melancholic look on her face. Meet Elena Fleming.
“Aren’t you going to eat that, love?” Elena’s mom asks without lifting her eyes up from the newspaper.
“I’m not hungry, mom.” Elena replies back. Her voice is soft and sweet but devoid of any real substance.
Elena starts to twirl her long dark brown tresses with her hand just as a massive supersonic wave takes over the dining room. It seems that a blast of urban music has disturbed the Fleming’s otherwise peaceful morning routine.
“Could you please tell your friend to keep the music down? For God’s sake!” Elena’s father exclaims while trying to keep calm; a mix of angst and annoyance registering across his scruffy face in equal measures.
“Yeah, right.” Elena’s brother, Jeremiah, says with a devious smile. “Like Lara’s gonna do anything you tell her to.”
“You look so much cuter with your mouth closed.” Elena snaps back. She hits the back of her brother’s shoulder as she gets up from the table with a look of desperation plastered across her face. “Gotta go!”
Elena proceeds to politely kiss her dad on the cheeks as she grabs a banana muffin from the table top and sprints towards the home’s historic Victorian foyer.
“Adios, Elena!”
Jeremiah throws an air kiss his sister’s way while mocking her peculiar voice. Elena, tired of her brother’s pettiness, makes an obscene gesture at him in return. She then turns around, puts on her black Gucci sunglasses, and ventures into the outer world.
“Don’t you have somewhere to go too?” Elena’s father, Tim, asks. He raises his hairy brows and stares at his son with concern. What ever happened to his once tight-knit family?
Chapter 3
Evan Petrokolova
An ordinary looking suburban street comes into view. The houses on this lane are rather tiny and cramped together. There’s a knocked down trash can flooding garbage onto the empty sidewalk. A two-floor house painted in a faded white color occupies the center of the street. This, much to her displeasure, is where Evan Petrokolova lives.
Even though it’s a sunny day, Evan’s house is dark and the curtains are down causing the light to be completely blocked from entering. Evan is looking at herself in a cracked mirror positioned right by her bed stand. She appears to be muttering some positive affirmations in an unconvincing manner.
“I believe in myself. I believe in myself. I believe in myself.”
Evan’s face looks focused as she repeats her mantra for the day. However, a distressed voice distracts her from achieving total concentration.
“Milaya…!Milaya…!”
Evan gives her reflection one last defiant look and leaves the room with a bounce in her step. She confidently walks across the narrow hallway of her house in order to reach her mother’s bedroom.
“What’s wrong now, mama?” She says with a nonchalant tone and a face vacant of any sort of emotion.
“My shoes, I can’t put on feet.” Evan’s mom, Olga, mutters. “Here.” She adds while pointing at a pair of shoes laying right next to her swollen feet. Evan looks unamused and rolls her eyes. She’s been through this ordeal one too many times before.
Before Olga can get another word in, Evan grabs the shoes and ties them up neatly for her mother. Just as if it were another item on her long list of daily to-do duties.
She finishes the task, remains quiet and stares pensively at the ceiling. “Mama, you’re getting worse. We really need to start thinking about getting you some help.”
“I don’t need any help!” Olga retorts back. “You are more than enough for me.”
“I know.” Evan replies. “But between school and work I’ll barely be around the house. You can’t be alone in here all day long.”
“I am fine.” Olga says while straightening up her back. “Just difficult morning today, that’s all.”
Evan doesn’t entirely believe her mother’s words. She stares down at the floor and closes down her eyes. “Are you sure, mama?” She asks with an inherent sadness in her tone.
“Yes, yes, yes. Go now, go!” Olga exclaims as a smile lifts up her bloated cheeks.
“Ok. Alright.” Evan says while sounding gloom. “Call me if you need anything.” She gets up and quickly rushes back towards the hallway. A busy day lays ahead.
“Wait!”
Evan’s sprint comes to a sudden halt. She knew she shouldn’t have walked away so quickly. No, her mom had always something more to add. Something more to say.
“What is it, ma?” Evan asks with an apparent lack of enthusiasm. She knew she could
always count on her mom’s countless requests.
“Be quiet!” Olga demands as she proceeds to move her arms in a series of synchronized movements. She whispers an array of words in Russian and claps her hands together.
“Seriously? It’s not like this ever works!” Evan cries out loud with a look of annoyance on her face.
“You good now.” Olga throws a wink at her beloved daughter. She knows that everything is going to work out, that everything will be ok.
Chapter 4
Lara Lagowski
Lara slams the brakes causing the car to stop abruptly. She puts the top down of her convertible and starts making bizarre hand gestures. She then sticks out her tongue like the one of a dog in heat.
The hip-hop beats shake up the residents of the coveted street of Eden Isle. The palm trees stop dancing to the rhythm of the wind and everything seems to come to still point. Lara’s presence never goes unnoticed. Even when she’s in her own neighborhood.
She starts moving her hands up in the air just as she spots Elena walking out of her house. She sets her sights on her like a gazelle does to its prey. Her eyes start scanning what Elena’s wearing for the day: a skirt (check), a blue denim vest (check), and a black fedora (so last season).
She overlooks the fashion misstep and texts her a thumbs-up emoji so that Elena knows the outfit’s been approved.
Elena walks towards Lara’s car with a wide grin plastered across her face. “Hi love!” She says just as she’s about to slide into the passenger’s seat.
“Hold up!” Lara exclaims with a defiant tone. “What’s the secret code?”
Elena seems to be taken aback by her friend’s swift coldness. After all, they had spent the better part of the summer together.
“Oh, right. I almost forgot.” Elena replies back with a timid smile.
Without missing a beat, Elena starts dancing in the middle of the street. Her thin body twists and turns in a series of robotic dance moves. The type of awkward moves a crowd would not be impressed by.
“That’s my girl!” Lara says with delight while trying to restrain herself from laughing.
She unlocks the car’s doors and lets Elena settle inside. In return, Elena gives her a friendly hug. Lara instantly recoils from the physical touch and a look of horror erases the smirk she usually sports on her face.
“How are you feeling?” Elena asks her in a straightforward manner.
She could read her best friend’s body language from afar. Something seemed to be off. Something wasn’t adding up in her behavior this morning.
“OMG, you have to listen to this new song!” Lara shouts while blatantly ignoring the question. This was something Lara excelled at, making others feel as if they didn’t matter.
A subtle look of frustration flashes across Elena’s face. Part of her wanted to ask the same question over and over again until she answered it. The other part of her knew it’s wiser to shake everything off. Or at least to try and pretend to.
Lara turns up the volume of the car’s speakers and they both start swinging their arms in the air. They seem cheerful; the late summer air caressing their sun-kissed skin.
As the song draws to a close, Elena grabs her bag pack and takes out the banana muffin she had saved for later. Her blood sugar was quickly dropping and she couldn’t wait until lunch break.
She takes a bite and closes her eyes in relief. A sweet treat is not something Elena often indulges in.
“What’s that muffin doing in your mouth?!”
Lara stations the car, grabs the muffin from Elena’s hand, and throws it onto the side of the road.
Elena is stunned and freezes in her seat. She doesn’t utter one word for what seems like a lifetime before Lara turns up the volume of the radio again. The hit song of the moment starts playing and she starts singing it as if nothing had ever happened.
“Come on! I know you love this song!” Lara proclaims while trying to get her friend to sing along.
After a moment of doubt, Elena starts belting out the lyrics as if she didn’t have a care in the world. The car cruises through the neighborhood as it leaves the pleasant palm tree lined streets behind. The day’s just getting started.
Chapter 5
Nikki Wilson
Lara and Elena arrive to the city’s downtown district. Skyscrapers seem to emerge from every corner and the chaos of urban life seems to take its residents hostage.
Lara parks the car right in front of an upscale condominium building. Her hair looks disheveled from the wind. She takes out her smartphone, checks herself with the front camera, and speed dials someone on her favorites list. However, nobody seems to be on the other line.
“Where the hell is she?!” Lara asks with a certain irritability that’s ingrained in her voice.
She starts honking the car’s horn repeatedly.
“I don’t think she can hear you all the way from down here.” Elena replies with daring trepidation.
A look of bitterness flashes across Lara’s face. “You don’t think I know that?” She pauses to check herself in the rearview mirror. “A girl has got a right to vent!”
Lara proceeds to pick up her bejeweled phone again. She makes the call but this time puts it on speakerphone. She wants to publicly shame her next victim.
“You know, she’s probably passed out in some business exec’s hotel room.” Elena comments as Lara grows increasingly impatient.
All of the sudden, a high-pitched voice responds to the call.
“Hi, gorgeous!”
It’s indisputable. The infamous Nikki Wilson is on the other end of the line.
“Don’t “hi, gorgeous” me, Nikki!” Lara barks back. “We’ve been waiting for you for more than five freaking minutes! Do you know how long that is?! Get your fat ass down here. NOW!”
Lara is about to hang up when a pitiful reply makes her reconsider.
“I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?” Lara responds in a mocking manner. “You can’t? You can’t?!”
Lara turns to Elena and lets out a devious giggle.
“She can’t?!” Lara continues to say several times with an unmistakeable self-righteous attitude.
Elena laughs and then looks down at her own phone. She doesn’t want to get too wrapped up in the situation. This wasn’t her battle. No, she would have to remain on the sidelines.
“I’m not feeling well.”
“Oh, is that so?” Lara says with a poignant tone. “No worries, we’ll go check up on you.”
Lara ends the call and rolls her eyes at the same time. The tension in the air is palpable.
“She’s so dead to me.” Lara says to Elena with a disturbing tweak in her eyes.
Elena looks at her phone’s screen and starts anxiously chewing on her nails. The stress that came with being Lara’s friend was unbearable at times.
Chapter 6
17 Mauritius Ave.
A blond and a brunette enter a swanky condo building as if they were about to own it. Their steps are completely in sync and their designer handbags are in tow at exactly the same length on their right arm. The doormen tries to greet them but is left defenseless against their intimidating demeanor. Something about them was wholly unapproachable.
They’re about to enter the building’s state-of-the-art glass elevator at the same time when Lara disguises a fake cough as a warning.
“Oops, sorry.” Elena says with a look of remorse on her face.
Lara proceeds to step in the elevator with Elena quickly following her behind. After a long hot summer, it seems that even Elena had forgotten about the unspoken rules of school year life.
The elevator shoots up and quickly takes them to their desired destination. The glass doors open without a hitch and Lara immediately heads right towards Nikki’s apartment. Without hesitating, she rings the electric doorbell repeatedly.
After a minute of incessant buzzing, Nikki finally opens the door. She looks gaunt and worn out. Her face seems
swollen and a giant towel wrapped around her head hides its disproportional size.
“Aw, you guys! You didn’t need to come up and check on me!” exclaims Nikki with a slightly nervous tick that makes her neck lunge forward. “I’m doing totally marvelous!”
“Do you even know what that word means?” Lara asks with an air of disbelief.
“Of course I do!” Nikki says while trying to keep things from going off the rails.
“Oh please.” Elena chimes in. “Don’t use adjectives that are out of your reach.” She always knew how to back up her friend in times of crisis. It was instinctive.
The Beehive Book One Page 1