Page 72 of House of Bass

“You're an engineering student, no? The owner of one of the largest tech companies in the world comes to visit and you have no desire to hear him speak.” She scoffed out a laugh before continuing, “Isn’t he your friend’s father? Surely, it'd be appropriate to say hello.”

“She’s not my friend,” Harley sharply retorted before she could stop herself but the damage had been done, Wren’s smirk had transformed into a full blown grin.

“Trouble in paradise already? Don’t worry, you wouldn’t be the first person she’s discarded.” She doesn’t look at her with any pity but with distaste. “See you in ten , we wouldn’t want you to miss this exciting morning.” Those were her parting words as she and Trinity left, holding hands, without saying much else.

After a minute of contemplation she finally headed in the same direction as others, moving uniformly like soldiers going to war.

Harley was the last one to arrive so the doors were already closed, which meant she had the misfortune of opening the ancient creaky wide doors so she could try to sneak inside without too much of a fuss. Alas, that proved futile. The second she lugged it forward and stepped inside the whole room turned in sync to look her way. Including the man of the hour standing at the front with a mic in hand and a crisp black suit.

He had paused mid sentence but cleared his throat and carried on talking, no longer looking at her. She was no one, of course. Though it was strange, Harley still felt his eyes on her despite it. It was unnerving.

William Bass looked every bit the powerful man the media made him out to be. Tall, sharp and handsome. He addressed the room with the same confidence and self assuredness that she'd seen in Annabel when she was public speaking. Even in his mannerism they were identical; especially in the walk and talk.

The seminar was equal parts motivational speech and Astaeris promotional advertisement. He ranged from talking about how he built the company from the ground up to showcasing their upcoming product on the projector. He was giving the illusion of a self made billionaire when everyone knows the Bass family came from a lineage of aristocracy that went farther than one could comprehend.

Admittedly, William did use his passion to create something bigger than he likely thought possible and it wasn’t often that he came out to do something as niche as speak in a school but considering the circumstances it wasn't too much of a surprise.

The command at which he spoke though made you believe his jargon that it even ignited a flicker of hope in Harley. She, like everyone else, was attuned to his every word. Hung on it, even.

“There was a moment over twenty years ago, well before most of you were born,” he said, which earned a scattered chuckle around the room. He proceeded, “When a person told me, ‘The stars are there for guidance, and as long as you believe, that light will always lead you in the right direction. Making you just as bright.” The saying made Harley freeze in her seat; those were her mother’s words.

She looked at him differently and she saw that he was now looking straight at her. Like he was speaking to her personally. Naturally, to the rest of the room, they would assume he was referring to Astaeris’ triangular three-star logo. “I don't need to be the one to tell you you were all born from greatness, but how you use it to your advantage is up to you. To prove to the world that you're more than the money that made you.”

A round of applause boomed at the end of his speech. People rose to their feet as he started doing that politician wave, shaking hands with the heads of the university and many of the students flocked to him, likely to ask questions.

Harley remained where she sat and she glanced to where Annabel had been sitting alongside her friends to see that she hadn't gotten up. She itched to close the distance between them, get them both out of their fathers orbit. She had realised in the last couple months from everything she had learnt, the relationship between Annabel and her father was the root to all her issues. She was yet to realise it herself mainly because she was still pretending, either to herself or everyone else, there was nothing wrong with her.

Ready to put her pride aside and go to her, red hair flashed in the corner of her eyes grabbing her attention. Scarlett had been there listening as well, currently exiting the room, and Harley knew this would be her chance to right the wrong. Her feet were already moving her way, bumping into the other students who had some choice words that she simply ignored.

“Scarlett!” Harley hollered, but her voice must've been drowned out by the chatter of the other students as she didn't turn around. Harley picked up the pace, scurrying past as quickly as she could.

Once within distance she grabbed her arm and breathed out her name, “Scar.”

Scarlett finally turned around, she was paler than usual which was understandable considering the weather had dropped significantly in the last week and her barely there tan was dying. Her hair was darker but the red still made its appearance known. Harley couldn't help but take her in, only a few weeks apart and she was acting like an addict without their fix, savouring her like she might never see her again.

“Hi.” Was what Harley settled on.

Scarlett regarded her with almost no emotion, in the same way she did before they became friends, Harley didn't like it. She tried not to fidget under Scarlett’s heavy gaze but she couldn't help it. She thought she had stopped the habit of becoming a bumbling fool when it came to her.

“Can we go somewhere and talk?” Harley asked firmly, in a tone that suggested it was not a request but simply a heads up.

“Sure.”

They were still holding hands, this thrilled Harley, so she used the opportunity to drag her to somewhere quieter.

They entered an unused room, no longer holding hands Scarlett decided to widen their distance. Harley spoke first, “I’m sorry.”

“About what exactly?”

“About Halloween. About me.”

“Harley–” Scarlett began.

“Please, let me get this out and then you can decide whether or not you want to be in my life or not. I at least deserve that.” Scarlett gave her the go ahead nod.

“I’ve always struggled with letting people in. My entire life I was dependent on myself, it had always been just me. I’m not what you'd call friendly nor was I approachable but it didn't matter because I had other things to worry about.”

Harley fidgeted with her hands but she didn't look away from Scarlett, it was the first time she would ever get her story out to someone other than Annabel and it meant something to her. “You see, my mum is an addict and a lot of that means she spent most of my life in a haze rather than taking care of me.”