Love in color

Lara Steinsgate was a medium-height girl of 17 years, with chocolate brown eyes, messy brown hair and milky skin. Her appearance wasn’t the most fashionable for her age, and sometimes, she could even be mistaken for looking sickly. But she was shy, modest, kind and sensitive, and though her beauty hardly showed, her good soul could be seen every time she smiled, which she unfortunately hardly did. She posessed the tenderness of a loving mother and showered her companions with the utmost respect.

But being seventeen years old in New York city, in the twenty-first century, meant that she were constantly put down whether mildly, or obviously; and she was considered a pushover.

At her highschool, she would spend most of free time reading over her upcoming exam material and strumming away on her violin and spend class hours studying with such focus that her classmates joked that she would have a stroke. Most people considered her a boring person, but little did they know that Lara Steinsgate was not an ordinary-yet-boring student like they assumed.

She lived in a home that she had no rights to. Nine Alan street, New York. The house was already furnished, yet known to be haunted and therefore, nobody bothered to rent it. The landlord, Mrs Smith, was a wealthy older woman who had been living in another contrey on buisness for several Years. Thankfully, the lady hadn’t taken high security measures to the home, leaving it to stay unguarded and making it the ideal place for Lara Steinsgate to reside.

So Lara used Mrs Smiths home and all it’s furniture with every intention of taking good care not to wreck anything. She paid for the electricity, phone bill and internet usage every day, while buying her own groceries.

But the income Lara earned was not enough to cover lives typical luxeries. Such as deodirant and extra clothes, so Lara was taunted with the reality of having to wear the same three sets of clothing day after day, month after month.

Like most other teenagers, hoping to save for Colledge, she worked as a waitress at a nearby restaurant. Jewel Land Restaurant. Though she wasn't a very unattractive girl, she found herself constantly being detached by her co-workers. Never was she invited to any of their after-work parties, or included in their jokes and pranks. Her confidend, loud and roudy workers whom she envied, had assumed that Lara wanted to be left alone, when really, she wished to be included in their social life.

When asked for a favor, she would oblige immediately.

When given a compliment, she would respond a better compliment.

When teased, she would smile, pretending she wasn’t bothered.

But when downright bullied, she would respond nothing, making herself appear completely defenseless, pitiable, stupid and weak.

There was a young male coworker whom she had developed feelings for, but it was as though she didn’t exist to him. He was confident, funny, popular. But Lara was shy and hid her feelings from him in every way possible. Making sure to pull a poker face every time he neared, or look away every time he smiled. She didn’t know exactly why she became so interested in him, but she felt that he could never connect with her.

It was a stormy night and Jewel land Restaurant was running slow and the open kitchen that connected to the dining area was quickly becoming cold, due to no ovens or heaters being in use. Mark, a handsomely tanned boy of nineteen years, hurried to switch on the heaters, leaning right over Lara as he did so.

The restaurant was relatively pretty. It had wide round edges windows that looked like they had been carved right out of fairytail castle. The kitchen was open and gave the diners a good view of the chefs as they worked away. The tables were lined with white cloths and tied with golden and black ribbon. Each chair was silver and expensive, and leather seats accompanied the wall tables.

An open bar/reception seperated the kitchen from the diner and fans constantly ran, ensuring that the customers wouldn’t be distracted by smoke or smells from cooking.

Mark dialled the heater to it’s highest temperature, blasting Lara with heat, then turned away and made for the fridge. He hadn’t noticed Lara choke with watery eyes.

“That was rude..” she muttered. She turned then eyed him, turning away quickly before he could meet her gaze.

Amy, a tall girl with a big bust, long blonde extensions tied back under her short white hat, and several studs in her ears pushed past Lara, then pulled open a cupboard. She rummaged through food packets until she found a set of chocolate bars. “Here catch!” she grinned, tossing bars to Mark, Lucas, Tobias, Rosy and Dianna and completely ignoring Lara, who eyed the bars with hunger.

At once, the workers tore back their wrappers and chewed on their snack.

Tobias and Mark were both chefs, Rosy and Dianna were also waitreses, Rosy being twenty nine years old while Dianna was seventeen, and Amy was twenty-three.

Tobias Geyser and Dianna were both classmates of Lara’s but pretended not to know her at school, because in their defence, they pretty much didn’t.

All the current workers of Jewel Land restaurant were categorised as the “Rascals” by the older workers. On stormy nights, the younger workers owned the restaurant, and on calm nights, the older workers took on most of the work, while training the younger workers in hopes that one day, they would increase the restaurants customer value.

Lara sighed and took off her apron, before turning to leave the kitchen and make for the changing room. When she was by herself, she leaned into her locker and sighed, once again.

A hand grabbed her shoulder. Immediately, she turned around to see Tobias facing her with a fixed expression. He was the boy she had feelings for. The boy whom she wished she could connect with.

Tobias Geyser had sandy hair, and golden eyes. He had shifted to New York from Canada and was known for being ‘superman in his past life’. He played the guitar and sung. He loved hip hop music as well as ballad, he loved to dance and he was the prince of pulling pranks, second to Mark. He believed in God and had a kind heart, a childish sort of energy and could sometimes get a little wild. He loved skate-boarding, dreamed that one day he would get a black belt in martial arts, and he took good care of his mother. Though Lara knew all these things, she still didn’t know why she liked him.

Because of his innocense and seemingly perfect personality, it seemed impossible that she should develop feelings for the latter. But she did. And sometimes, it really bothered her.

Lara blinked, was he here to console her about how she hadn’t been given a chocolate bar while everyone else had? Did he actually notice?

“Lara? Can you finish my hours tonight?” he asked softly.

Lara’s face fell. He hadn’t spoke to her informally in months, he hadn’t noticed her existance and had been the first to assume that she were anti-social and liked being that way, and that everybody should respect it. She had hoped that for once, just this once, he could say something to her, that would actually be a pleasure to hear.

She nodded. “yeah-okay...” she squeaked.

“Thank you...”

He thumped her on the back, “I was hoping to take this girl out on a date tonight, you’re a life saver.”

Lara’s cheeks reddened and she nodded.

She wrapped her apron back around her waist then returned to the Kitchen, where her work-mates had began throwing cabbages to each other and joking about how they would throw it at their managers head.

Lara ducked under a flying cabbage, then made for the dishes. There wasn’t much to clean today, so she didn’t feel too burdened by that.

She murmured to herself as she washed the remaining dishes and organized the food into it’s storage places. Just then, a tall young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties entered the restaurant. He looked soaked with rain. He had short length light brown hair and a chiselled jaw. He was medium height and had one of those faces that could be percieved as a “Pretty boy face”.

He wore a slimming coat, black silk pants and leather shoes. A white shirt and black tie could be seen poking out through his coat.

Lara eyed the gentlemen. “Black coat, white shirt, black tie, he must be in buisness.” she assumed.

Immediately, the workers stopped joking. The man took a seat at a table and Amy rushed to serve the man. She greeted him with a cocky smile, “Sir? Would you like to order, or are you fine?”she asked sweetly.

The man eyed the studded blonde, then looked past her and noticed Lara, hiding behind an oven with her face hung low. Judging by her uniform, he assumed the girl was also a waitress.

The young man scanned down his menu, seeming unimpressed. “My mother cooks better than this..” he muttered. Then he smiled at Amy, “I’ll take something that’s not on the menu, thanks.”

Amy shuttered.

“E-excuse me?”

“I’d like something original,” he said. “Preferably warm, considering the weather, and something that gives me a fresh feeling. I’ve been feeling a little old lately.”

In a desperate attempt to change the mans mind, Amy slowly leaned over the table, giving the young man a good view of her side-profile, “Are you sure?” she asked sweetly.

“Yes,” he responded passively. “And if you don’t mind, I would appreciate it if you kept your distance. I might be catching a cold.”

Amy eyed him coldly, angry that her attempt to seduce the man had failed, then she huffed, “Yeah fine, I’ll see what we can do.”

She left and made for the kitchen while lara fiddled with rubbish bag handles. Suddenly, the man called out to her, “You!” he beckoned.

She pointed to herself, “What? Me?”

“Come here please.”

Lara made for him and bowed, then he beckoned her a little closer, as to whisper in her ear.

“I’m the inspector....” he whispered.

Lara’s eyes widened and she gasped.

“Do me a favor and don’t tell the others okay?”

Lara, feeling frightened, yet curious, gathered the courage then asked him, “S-Sir, if you’re the inspector then can you tell me, how do you think we’re doing so far?”

The young man looked past her and eyed Amy with dissaproval.

“I wasn’t impressed with the blonde. I wouldn’t trust a girl like her to save me fine food. But you-”

He scanned Lara up and down, “I think you seem fit for the job.”

Lara nodded then turned worridly, looking at Amy. The man smiled, “How’s Tobias doing?”

Lara frowned, “Sir? Tobias?”

“He’s my cousin, I heard he’s been hiding away in New York for a while now and when I found out he was working here, I made it my duty to inspect his whereabouts. Being a legal inspector has it’s perks.”

From the kitchen, the workers watched as the man seemed to strike up a conversation with Lara. She seemed hesitant and nervous. While Mark sliced mushrooms, he watched the two caughtiously, “You don’t think I should jump in and save her? Do you?” he asked.

Rose cut in, “It’s about time the wimp learned how to talk to people, just leave her there. It’s pretty funny. She looks like she’s about to wet her pants.”

The workers paused and stared at Lara. She definitely did look on the edge of having a nervous breakdown. She was fiddeling with her fingers repeatedly and biting her lips. Even her knee’s were shaking.

“I say we tell the guy to leave-” cut in Lucas.

Dianna, who had been engaged on her cellphone and paid no mind to anything around her looked up. “Let’s serve him some warm apple and berry pie with banana and coconut cream, topped with glazed nuts with a flaky nut pastry. That’s not on the menu. We’ll use coconut suger and honey.”

Lucas grinned, “Good idea!”

By the time the man was served, he and Lara were engaged in conversation. A more one-sided conversation on the mans behalf, and Lara seemed relieved when the food finally arrived.

The man smiled upon the dessert and Lara rose, “I’ll just excuse myself..”

“No please!” cut in the man. “Why not join me?”

Amy, who stood close by, scoffed in disbelief. “Sir, she’s anti-social, she really wouldn’t want to sit with some creep..”

Lara’s eyes widened, and she nudged Amy.

“Creep? Is that how you address a friendly customer?” he asked.

Amy leaned over the table, then snatched the fork from his hand and stabbed into the pie. She took a forkful and smiled, “Yes. A creep. A rude creep as well. Now get out of this restaurant. We don’t have time for fancy-pants losers, who clearly have no friends.”

The man rose with a light laugh, “I guess I’ll mark that you’s failed the inspection..”

He snatched the fork back from Amy’s hand then handed it to Lara, who blinked, dumbfounded. “I’m the inspector. My Name is Timothy. Good day to you, I’ll begin my inspection and enjoy my return to the rain, oh and by the way...”

Amy’s face had hardened completely.

“Your extentions are falling out.”

Amy gasped then grabbed at her pony tail. At once, Lara rounded on the man.

“How dare you!” snapped Lara.

Amy froze.

“Apoligize to Amy right now!”

The man smirked, “So, I guess you’re Lara? The weird girl Tobias has mentioned on his facebook?”

“He what-?”

“I have the power to shut this restaurant down, now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

He marched past Lara and Amy and straight for the pantry.

Amy rounded on Lara, “Hey Lara, don’t ever try to defend me again. It’s embarassing. You’re better off keeping your pretty little mouth shut.”

Lara nodded, “Y-yes..”

The night, the man finished the inspection and was astonished to find many of the food contents in storage had passed their expiry dates. The restaurant passed the inspection, but was lectured strongly about the importance of throwing out ‘ancient food’.

Lara felt a strange sense of curiosity as the man passed her and made for the door.

When they closed the restaurant, Lara was the first to change out of her uniform and into her casual clothing.

A dark green jumpsuit. One of the three sets of clothing she had been repeatedly wearing for the past year. She gathered her purse then left the restaurant and stepped into the pouring rain.

The rain streamed down the streets and the lights reflected a glitter along the paths. Lara threw her hood over her head and pulled her ultra-handy resizable umbrella from her purse. After flicking it open above her head, she strutted down the street. Shivering, and feeling all alone.

She passed a small pub as she made for Alan street. It was more than six kilometres away and Lara found herself wishing she had a bike. That would make this so much easier.

From behind her, a man was kicked out of the pub and began to swear dangerously. Lara sped walk until she eventually broke into a run and made it all the way through long lanes, alley ways, shortcuts through a park, and eventually, to Nine - Alan street.

She paced through puddles to the door, then withdrew a specially made key, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.

Miss Smiths warm and cosy sitting room welcomed her as if it were her own. Lara had grown such a liking to this home, and wished many times that she had the money to rent it, legally.

The story of how she came upon the house was a tragic little tale that Lara chose not to remember, so she never reminded herself of it. She couldn’t afford the tragedy.

She took off her hoody and hung it on the hook, then walked through the sitting and into the kitchen. Switching on the kettle, she made herself a cup of hot chocolate, being careful to measure her milk as she poured it in, then settled in the sitting room, half drenched, and switched on the television.

She sunk into the couch, damping it with her soaked clothes, and sighed at the television as she watched E! The fascinations of celebrities and their lives behind the scenes didn’t seem to impress her. Lara didn’t believe in their type of superficial happiness, so she flicked through the channels, until a familiar face caught her eye.

She almost choked on her drink.

There, standing at a podium, stood a man dressed to the nines in a silver suit. He was the very same young man that had greeted her in the restaurant. Mr Timothy. He suddenly appeared more handsome. In fact, he appeared like a super-star. Never before had Lara felt star-struck, and what was amazing, was that she didn’t know what she was getting all star-struck for. “Is it just because he’s on television?” she wondered.

She watched him make an announcement on how his advertising company was in search for models for his new clothing line.

Lara waited for him to mention a non-popular clothing label, but the one he voiced struck an alarrming chord.

“Guccia?”

Her jaw dropped.

“He’s the new owner of “Guccia?” I thought he was an inspector? He must have been lying after all! That jerk!”

“Clothing!” mentioned Timothy. “Is a grace. A strength. An armour and a matter of pride. When you face a stranger, what’s the first thing you notice? That’s right! Their presentation! Rich presentation will represent a respectable person in society! Someone you don’t want to mess with! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! Clothing can also be a way of expression! We do not only specialize in fancy arts, but also modest and humble clothing. Casual wear! Fun and bright colors! Baby clothes! Under wear! Socks! We have it all and we want all sorts of faces to come forward and show the people, show society, that anybody can dress the part!

We don’t just want typical This year, Guccia will shock you with it’s surprises! If you are looking to model for Guccia then please visit our website for more information! We look forward to seeing all your faces! No matter your age! Old are young, we want to see it all!”

His speech finished with a roar of applause.

Lara stared blankly at the screen. The thought of becoming a model had never crossed her mind. For a slight moment, she considered the possibility.

Dressing in all sorts of clothing while some photographer forces you to pose and look as sexy as possible? Nope! No chance in hell!

Yet, Lara found herself wandering to her cheap, second-hand computer and browsing through the Guccia website. So many people had already submitted their Photo’s and signed up, in hopes they’d earn a contract.

She stared through the photo’s of the models who had already been selected, and considered submitting her own. But she had no make-up, and wasn’t talented enough to apply it herself. Her hair kinda sucked, and she simply just didn’t like her face. But the thought of getting easy money from taking photo’s seemed like paradise.

She would never have to worry about Mrs Smith randomly turning up and ruining her day, because she’d be able to rent the house legally.

She pondered over the thought and even considered using photo shop on her face. Lara rose from the computer chair then wandered into the bathroom. The fancy sink, jacuzzi and double sized shower space all seemed too beautiful to her. On the golden wall sat a beautiful glass framed painting of white roses with a red background.

Even the floor was beautiful, with it’s gem stone surface that lightly reflected an array of diamond colours.

She stared into the mirror, not satisfied with the ghostly face staring back. She made a mental list of every little thing she hated about her face. From her eyes, to her cheeks, to her small and plump lips, to her chin and even found herself hating her neck. She couldn’t help but see an ugly girl staring back at her.

“Who was I kidding? I’m hidious.” she said aloud.

Lara wandered toward the shower and stripped. The hot stream hit her like a ran of sunshine. She washed herself away, making sure to carefully preserve her body wash and hair products. She finished by wrapping herself in a towel and entering the main bedroom, where her pyjama’s waited for her, like they did every night.

Lara smiled, satisfied that she had made sure to prepare every day with such caughtion. She changed into her pyjama’s and tossed the towel into the basket beside the bed, then rolled under the covers and closed her eyes.

She was drifting into light hearted fantasies where Tobias took her by the hand, and walked with her along the beach, until her eyes watered and suddenly, she was crying.

“Who was the girl he wanted to see tonight?” she whispered again and again. “Is he still with her? Are they going to stay together for the night? Oh no! What if she’s not a virgin! Oh no!”

She didn’t sleep well that night and arose early the next morning with the darkest circles under her eyes she had ever seen. She tied her hair into a bunch without brushing it, gathered her uniform, then slammed the shirt and skirt over her body. She threw her school bag straps over her shoulders so madly, she could’ve sent rashes on her body, then she made for school.

A good two hour walk, as per usual. No Breakfast. No deoderant. No music playing device to engage her during the journey. Just her bag and her own two feet.

The trip to school passed painfully slow and Lara arrived to her first class, almost with the appearance of a homeless beggar. Eyes watched her as she paced around the classroom until she eventually decided which seat to take.

Lara slammed her bag onto the table, her heart racing and her eyes wild with fury. She had never felt such frustration in her life, so she had not the slightest clue how to control it.

“He-he can’t be!” she stammered.

Her classmates watched her and exchanged glances. Eventually, Tobias arrived and when he did, Lara couldn’t help her staring at him.

When the teacher arrived, the students took their seats and as usual, Proffesor Dublin took the morning role. Upon calling Lara’s name, she responded something which she never thought she could say aloud in front of more than thirty people. Tobias’s last name. “Geyser”.

“Excuse me?” said the teacher.

Lara looked up to see the whole class staring at her, half of them amused and the other confused. He heart raced. She didn’t dare look at Tobias, so she quickly said, “I mean, here!”

The teacher frowned then continued the role and eventually, set to lecturing the class on their usual lesson on History. This time-American history.

Lara didn’t focus like her usual nerdy self, but during class, her mind wandered off and she thought she heard whispers mutter her name.

The bell sounded and she rose from her seat quickly. She turned to hurry out of the class, but her arm was grabbed and she was pulled into the chest of Tobias Geyser.

Her face reddened and she pulled back immediately. “Are you okay Lara?” he asked urgently. “You seem unwell, do you want me to take you home?”

Lara looked up and into his eyes. She felt weak like usual. Vulnerable like usual. But with him standing right here, she felt as though she were robbed of her pride. He had an irresistible magic that sent her in a trance every time he so much as looked at her.

She found herself nodding before she could shake her head, then he led her out of the classroom and into the schools car park.

Lara gasped lightly at his Black revertible. Every inch of his car shone to a sleek satisfaction and she was confused as to how he could own this when he worked with her at the restaurant. He opened the passenger seat door for her and she climbed in nervously.

He took the other side, then drove swiftly off the grounds until they passing through the city.

“Wait a minute!” gasped Lara. “You can’t take m-me home. I’ll walk. Don’t worry..”

he ignored her and continued to drive then switched on the stereo, playing some Beyonce song and drowing out Lara’s voice.

Though she liked Tobias, almost psychotically, she wouldn’t betray her own innocense. And it was her innocense that began to send her warning signals, that something didn’t seem right.

He pulled over outside a tall apartment building, swtiched off the stereo, then leaned over and unbuckled her seatbelt. Lara’s heart thumped madly as his arm brushed over her shoulder. “W-what’s going on?” she squeaked.

“Come inside. There’s nothing to worry about.”

He led her through the leaf blown car park and into the building. His apartment was on floor 9. She stepped through the apartment and smiled slightly. She was greeted with sight of warm leather couches, a wide stone coffee table, and a guitar and microphone stand beside a TV assembled with Video game consoles and endless DVD’s. Many which looked to be anime. The kitchen was connected to the living room, and she could see endless dishes piled on his bench.

He grinned, “I’m lucky I kept the place tidy this week. You should see how this place usually looks..” he joked.

Lara nodded, though half tempted to run into his kitchen and clean it spotless.

“Take a seat. I’ve got plenty of games and movies. Oh, and I’ve got this karaoke game, just in case you feel like singing some rap and other stuff.”

Lara nodded shyly then approached his couch and sat down. She felt guilty and though she felt happy to be here, it was the sort of happiness that she believed she didn’t deserve.

She blushed, “D-don’t you have a girlfriend? Wouldn’t she be u-upset if she knew I were here?”

“I lied about the girl thing. I just needed a good excuse to do a runner from my cousin and I knew he’d try to get the details out of you. Did he ask you anything about me?”

Lara nodded, “Yeah..”

“He wants to sign with some music label and model for his line, but, I just don’t want to..you know?”

Lara was confused, “Why?” she asked seeming nervous.

“Because I know a lot of guys would laugh at me if they heard my music, I don’t think I’d be able to take it.”

“Does it really matter?” asked Lara softly.

Tobias paced around the room and stopped in front of the television. “Imagine it,” he said. “Me..” he pointed to himself. “On this,” he pointed to the T V with a shake of his head. Then he laughed, “What a joke!”

Lara’s face fell with disbelief. Even if she chose to never notice it, it was obvious that Tobias had star qualities. She always believed that he was out of the ordinary, but his specialities weren’t the reason she had fallen for him. It was something else entirely. She just couldn’t pinpoint exactly what. Lara responded without realising that she was even speaking.

“You’re one of the only people in this world, who could become a superstar and remain the same kind hearted person you’ve always been. It wouldn’t make much of a difference to yourself. Even if people laughed at you, many more would love you and would want to be like you....”

Tobias paused and stared at her with a faint sadness.

“....How could that possibly be a bad thing? I wish there were more people like you,” finished Lara with a red face.

He approached her and knelt down in front of her.

“Lara? Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked intensely. “Do you need a rest? Or, do you need to have some fun?” he asked with a mischievous grin, indicating his microphones.

Lara shook her head. There was no way she would attempt singing. Not in front of him.

“Oh come one!” he teased. “It’ll be fun!”

Lara shook her head, then suddenly, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. He jumped up and down, making her shake and almost tremble, “Come on Lara!” he cheered joyously. “Let’s have some fun!”

“Please!” she begged, feeling her heart about to explode. “St-stop!”

He hurried her to his stereo then turned it on. Within moments, his apartment was booming with hip hop and he had her hands entwined in his, trying to force her to dance.

“Tobias!” she almost cried. “Please stop!”

She began to choke then he hurried to turn the stereo off. She fell onto the ground, choking violently. “I’ll call an ambulance!” he yelled in alarm.

“No! It’s okay! I ch-choke when I’m too nervous! Don’t call them...” she squeaked.

He stepped away from the phone then hurried to her side. He knelt beside her and pat her back...”You know,” he said. “You really need to open up a bit more. You can’t keep acting all anti-social forever.”

She stood up suddenly then turned to him, hot faced, “D-don’t say that! Don’t call me anti-social! Please...” she whimpered, looking down and feeling pathetic.

Tobias was lost for words. He couldn’t see why she had suddenly become so emotional.

“Thank you for trying to help me...” she muttered. She made for his door, but as she left the apartment, she didn’t realise the small paper fall from her pocket. He picked it up. It was a small note with nothing but his name on it. He stared at the paper then at the door that she had drifted out of.

As Lara walked faced the streets, she found herself wandering into a fantasy. A real life fantasy that Tobias was calling her name, begging her to come back. Upon realising that her fantasy was in fact real, she turned around to see the handsome hero running to rescue her.

He stopped in front of her, panting and holding onto his knee’s, “D-did you want to hang out for the rest of the day?”

Lara nodded, but then, a small voice crept into her head.

He just called you anti social. He pities you. Is that how you want to be seen? Pitied? Say no. Don’t waste his time and do the right thing. Why would he actually want to hang out with you...

“Actually no, thank you but, I just...I can’t.”

She turned and ran away. He had driven her to a place so far from Nine Alan street and now she needed to run more than twelve kilometres to get to her location. Her school bag was heavy on her back and she hadn’t slept well.

She returned home an hour later then fell onto the couch.

Just then, a small letter slipped under the doorway. She squinted her eyes then rolled off the couch and ran to read it.

She slipped open the letter with shaking hands.

Lara Steinsgate

And that’s all it was. A simple paper with her name written on it. She dropped the paper then rushed out the door. Desperate to catch the mysterious messenger. But there was no one in sight.