A Little Setting (:
Spring in the city was like an excuse for a party. Everyone slowly began to creep out of the humbug holiday blues around April and by the time May hit, the young and the old of New York City were itching for an event to reinvent themselves. The New Year may start on January first but no one around the Westwood Academy for Girls until the first big soirée was thrown. So, one day however many generations ago someone from Westwood thought it would be a good idea to throw a huge masquerade two weekends before final exams, the first weekend in May. Since then every girl and even the boys began buzzing about it as soon as April hit. Even Ava Harper from Brooklyn.
Ava was not the typical student at Westwood. Her mother held a good job as a therapist but living in New York, even Brooklyn, was expensive and having two children on top of that was even more costly. Leah Harper still followed her late husband's wishes and sent their children to private school on the Upper East side where the best education (and consequently most affluent people) found be found. Ava had not let the wealthy, entitled atmosphere rot her morals though, this is why she had only one friend and why she'd made that friend upon entering middle school. Chastity Lee was inappropriately named Chastity for she was no angel however she had good intentions, a large heart, and was Ava's only and best friend. She was the only reason Ava had yet to forget about the ball in the past six month's events.
In the fall of her first semester as a sophomore at Westwood Leah Harper had been diagnosed with Adeniod Cystic Carcinoma of the breast. A painfully rare malignant cancer. After careful surgery and a round of chemotherapy Mrs. Harper was finally getting back to her usual life however the pain and the challenges the past months had brought could never be forgotten by Cooper (Ava's 13 year old brother) and Ava or Lilly Harper, Mrs. Harper's Upper East Side dwelling sister. Before the cancer Ava barely knew her socialite aunt aside from her articles in the paper for her charity work. But somehow their years of disagreement the sisters had been able to come together, crisis does that Ava had noticed. It was sad to her though it took a disease to bring her mother and aunt together.
Ava loved spring in the city. Central Park was her favorite place on earth. Not that she had traveled far but she didn't feel the need to. Somehow the park was always a place of solace for her. A place to find her happiness and sorrow accordingly, plus it was not a far walk from the hospital making it an easy escape. Not to mention it was only of the few outdoor places in the city there was enough room for Ava to practice for soccar. The park in general held much of Ava.
"How is your mother doing, Ava?" Chastity asked as they exited their final class on the last thursday in April. The air was warm with the early afternoon sun but still help that crispness of winter, like a child holding desperately to a blanket, too scared to let go.
Ava nodded, "Well. She still is tired much of the time but she has returned to work os her patients are happy. Lilly is thrilled too so she can start trying to drag Mom to all these high society events like the granergold or something like that."
"Graidenlow Foundation? I think my dad sponsors that or something, yeah it's in a month or so. Well thats good she's back at work, don't tell her but I think if I had to have my portrait done one more time I might die. I can't sit still that long." Chastity could come across as unsympathetic to many by Ava knew it was her way of caring, twisted yes but harmful no.
"So is she letting you go to the masqu?"
Ava laughed, her mother may be a lot of things but strict was never one of them. As long as she stayed clean, got good grades, and kept showing up to soccer practice Mrs. Harper allowed Ava to do whatever she pleased. "Course. I mean unless I bomb a test between now and next weekend."
"Perfect so what dress did you get?"
"I didn't get a new one I am just using that white one I wore to your Sky Lights or whatever party."
Chastity stopped dead in her tracks, if she was the stereotypical Upper Easter girl in anyway it was fashion. If it was worn once it was burned. "Hell no, not over my dead body. First off that is a cocktail dress at best. It's short. You wear gowns to masqus. Also it's white. If you would have gone last year like I begged you would know you cannot wear white. It's too obvious. Masqus are myst-"
"Okay Chas, fine! What do I need to wear then?" Ava asked quickly avoiding her lecture.
"A gown of course. Nadia's after your practice?"
Ava laughed in a scoffing way, "I can't afford a rhinestone in that store. You know how your fashion sense is."
"Are you saying it's bad?"
"More like expensive. Can we just go to JCP or something?"
"Mention that place again and I won't be friends with you again," Chastity said jokingly as she and Ava linked arms and strutted down the busy Manhattan street.
