HAPPY! HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS!!!!
~~~~~~~
Cherry laid comfortably on her side still wrapped inside the thin blanket Maria covered her in. Last night's encounter still lingered somewhere in her mind but fatigue took the worries away. Daybreak had already come and had started its day but lazy Cherry wasn't ready or willing to leave the bed. She begs to sleep instead.
"It is too early to do anything." She muttered tiredly to herself while trying to go back to sleep. After so many uncomfortable tossing and turning Cherry decided to check the time. She blindly reach out for her phone on the dresser as usual and found it surprisingly there which was weird because she didn't remember bringing it out of her purse or dropping it there last night.
Cherry lazily took off the blanket and checks the time. "Twelve noon. Still better... oh my, wait a second!!!" After her brain processed the information she rose up in an instant.
Sticking from the side of her phone was a yellow sticky paper that says 'it's already past one, get your ass up and go get ready!' the message instantly had Cherry flying out of bed and rechecking her phone for the correct time. "1:44 pm."
'how did I miss that? It was twelve noon a minute ago!' Cherry ponders.
"Crappy hell!" She swore loudly and goes into her closet throwing clothes everywhere to find a simple conserving outfit. Cherry had no time to think about the person who wrote the sticky notes, what worries her most is facing Rex Angelo. She constantly thinks of things he would say when he sees her. "Oh dammit, I am so dead today!."
With little or no time left to sort out an outfit, Cherry goes to grab a big towel and takes a quick bath. She came out wrapped in the towel still dripping wet and wasted no time searching for something to wear among the pile of clothes.
"Where are my darned clothes?" Cherry frantically searched for clean clothes while ripping the whole place upside down but found nothing to wear. Frustration, anger, nausea and panic formed a weird mixture inside her stomach nearly throwing her into a frantic state. While in an urgent state of panic Cherry's eyes swiftly passed another yellow paper sticker stuck to the door of her closet and she quickly snatch it hoping to find some helpful clue.
She reads... 'I knew you'd be out of clothes and searching for clean ones so I got you something you could use in the meantime. You'll find a pink box on your kitchen counter, it has everything you need. Look nice in them and hurry up to the company, Rex would be in his office anytime soon. Love... ha ha ha you know me'  Cherry sighs in relief finally confirming the messenger.
This proves why most of Cherry's clothes were missing and the rest purposely made dirty by the forward thinker, Maria. Maria had thought her plans and ideas were helping Cherry's way of thinking, but it almost made the young girl crazy thinking her memory cells were decreasing and becoming useless due to the pregnancy.
Without wasting another moment Cherry abandons her closet and changes into the beautiful dark-blue jean pants and multicolored floral pattered blouse Maria got her. The design and size of the blouse not only concealed her pregnancy from the public but made her comfortable, also, the jeans were exactly what she needed, with the rapid growth of her baby bump she will need more of these jeans. Finally, she takes out a big fancy black purse from the pink box and throws all her basic items inside which includes her phone, diary, pen, pencil, eraser, some tissue, and...
"My keys?" She reminds herself.
"Where are my keys?" She asked herself and searched the kitchen frantically. Last night Maria said something about having a spare key from her bunch of keys which means the rest of the keys are somewhere in the apartment but where?. During the little rampage search, she comes across another sticky note on the wall above the sink.
'Oops! I forgot about the last important clue. I figured you will be looking for your keys, don't worry I safely taped them with the last sticky notes on your door' Cherry frowns at the note and crumbles it.  She goes to grab her bag and kiss Dolly goodbye before leaving.
"I think it's high time we talked, Maria." She frowns.
Cherry huffs in annoyance when she finds the keys tapped on the door just as Maria told her they would be. She wasn't used to people helping her or trying to make her comfortable, hence she tries to avoid much contact with other humans and be left alone with her dog. Though Cherry finds Maria's efforts appreciable she also thinks it was too much and fears she might end up dependent in her.
"Maria, when I see you, you will have to give me a proper explanation of how you got access to my place and how you know where I placed my personal things." Cherry mutters to herself and untapped the keys to find another glued note behind, it made her roll her eyes impatiently but she reads it anyway.
'And lastly, I was so eager writing this but I decided to save it for the best part and here it is!. oh! I think I am talking too much, yeah let us get to the point right... there is big news waiting for you outside your apartment building if you understand my phrase. Instead, I want you to use the guide I left you. It is the one taped to the back of the door, the one you are reading now obviously. Get it, and use it to get out safely. The map takes you directly to the back of the building, remember to take it easy when coming to work, you got a baby billionaire inside you. I-'
Cherry stopped reading getting irritated by the last statement Maria wrote down. Cherry thought Maria was just super hyper after knowing about her pregnancy but the pampering words she used to describe her baby had Cherry on edge, Maria was either saying you have a billionaire baby this, or you have a billionaire baby that... and every word vexed her deeply calling for an explosive reaction. Cherry closed her eyes and takes a deep breath, she unpeeled the tapped map and followed it as drawn by Maria, surprisingly she was able to read a map without getting lost.
<<<<<
Maria strolled causally on the street of Be-little, the little community Cherry lived in. It was hidden from the famous buildings and regular society in So-Ho. She tries to familiarize herself with the roads, street signs, and various exits while making internal comments on how bad it will be if Cherry had her baby here or raised it in this derived community. She secretly watches the flock of reporters clouding majority of the streets leading to Cherry's home.
Maria was disturbed about this and thinks of a plan to lure them away from the back of the building and maybe part of the street. She believes a good plan that was stupid will pave a safe path for Cherry to get out and head to work without worries.
Maria chose not to park her car where it could be marked easily and decided to blend in with the surrounding. As a brilliant idea pops up inside her mind Maria shields her face from the journalist and bloggers making sure to get between them before speaking to one of interest
"What are you all doing on the street by this time?" She asked a journalist who was having his lunch.
"And you are?" He throws back.
"Just say I am someone you will be thanking soon after I give you some hot information." She says in the cockiest manner spiking the journalist's interest.
"And how am I supposed to believe you are saying the right thing?"
"Because I am close to the protagonist of your story." She causally says and he huffs in disbelief.
"Like you are..." He assessed her with doubting eyes. Just then Maria removes her disguise exposing herself to him. Maria knew this was a wrong move but quickly had a backup plan to disperse them before getting killed with their questions.
"Believe now?" She taunts.
"Oh my-" He nearly yells out but Maria was quick to shut him up.
"Do not draw attention. I am only going to give you a hint and you all will have to hurry to the destination before he knows and leaves the place."
"Got it! I can't believe I am talking to you miss!" He grins and Maria had to hold a cringe from showing.
"Never judge a book by its cover." She leans in and whispers a few things to his ear then handed him a photo to support her claim. While he was engrossed staring at the picture Maria looks around the crowd and then taps the shoulder of a journalist from a popular magazine before slipping away unnoticed.
"Hey, dude, what's up?" The popular magazine journalist asks the other thinking he tapped his shoulder.
"You won't believe what I just found out."
"What do you mean?"
"Miss Santos told me something we never thought about."
"That's impossible, Miss Santos? Right here? What could she be looking for in a place like this?" The man rolls his eyes.
"I am telling you I saw her and she told me something."
"Hey! Everyone! This nerdy James thinks he saw Mr Angelo's best friend!." All other journalists like him began to taunt the poor reporter refusing to believe his story but he insist on proving himself.
"Here, I have the proof of it. She told me Cherry won't be coming out because she is already with Mr Angelo at a hotel some meters away." He shows them the photo Maria gave him which has been manipulated to look real. Most who saw the photo believed and left for the hotel but those who didn't insist on hanging around the front of the building with hopes to get a glimpse of Cherry from her window.
Maria watches with an evil smirk seeing how confused the reporters were. Small by small they disperse and she dusts her hands happy to have cleared the way for Cherry and she leaves the street fulfilled.