Chapter 2

Episode 2

It's Friday!

It was Friday morning in Los Angeles and the residents at 4265 Mapleoak Avenue were eating breakfast while listening to the radio in their sunny kitchen. The blonde Labrador named callie was eating heartily from her pink food bowl. Caitlin was munching on some bagels with cheese and Emily was swirling some fruit and yogurt in a bowl while reading the front page of the financial times. Kiara was buttering some toast while singing along to a popular r&B song on the radio and Lexie had her earphones in and was bobbing her red hair along to the music while eating her cereal. The girls had often argued over what they would listen to over breakfast and Lexie had finally decided it wasn't worth the hassle of fighting with her house mates over their pathetic music choices in her opinion. The sun streamed into the airy kitchen where all four girls were sitting around the breakfast bar and were absorbed in their own worlds. Caitlin was dreading the day ahead where she had to sit in board meeting after board meeting to get this event all finalised. She was organising one of the biggest summer festivals in Los Angeles county and so many things still had to be approved and checked before they would give the go ahead. With only two weeks to go she was almost in a panicked state over the amount of red tape they were coming up against.

Emily was shaking her head at something she was reading and decided that whatever financial trouble they were having in Wall street meant bad news for her and her company. She was a new financial advisor and Emily knew better than most that it was last in, first one out. She prayed the problem would be over sooner rather than later. She couldn't afford to lose her job after being in the position for less than six months.

Lexie was bobbing her head happily but she was deeply distracted as she ate her breakfast. One of her main horses had contracted an infection and was having to see a vet that morning. As soon as she had done with her breakfast, she would be off to the local vet where Blackmist, the horse would already be. Picking up her cell phone, she noted that no one had called yet and that could only mean good news, right?

Kiara was in her usual sullen mood as she munched at her toast and listened to the D.Js on the radio talking about some new artists. She smiled and wondered what they would be like. Glancing over at Caitlin and Em, who she knew would probably find out way before her, a pang of jealousy hit her. all of her roommates had jobs and weren't still studying, awaiting the careers they dreamed of. They were already living those dream jobs and living the lives they chose. Kiara sighed and stood up.

"I'll see you guys later," She called, grabbing her book bag and heading out of the door. Callie padded toward her bed and settled down for a morning nap. Caitlin tilted her head as the dog moved.

"Don't bother getting comfortable, kiddo, we have a busy day ahead," She stood and placed her bowl in the sink and rinsed it with hot water. Gulping down the last few mouthfuls of her coffee, she swept her hair back as a horn beeped outside.

"That's my ride," She said to the others as she picked up the dog's lead and harness and proceeded to place them on the obedient golden Lab who had come to her without even a request from her mistress.

"Have a good day," Emily looked up from the newspaper and smiled.

"Bye!" Lexie yelled from beneath her headphones and Caitlin waved as she and Callie left the house for their day at work.

Lexie continued to bob her head and Emily smiled and stood. Picking up her briefcase, she found her keys and waved as she ventured out into the already warming day to her blue mustang. Lexie continued to eat and once she'd finished, she placed her bowl in the sink and washed it before leaving in her pick up truck to work.

Kiara

Kiara strolled into the air conditioned library having had the worst journey into school of her life. The bus had been unusually crowded and the driver seemingly wanted to kill them all. She was bruised from where someone had continually bumped into her and her legs her from standing the whole way from Glendale to the campus in Los Angeles. She got off of the bus and entered the South side of campus where the Psychology buildings were situated. The sun was beating down on the May morning and she had finals in less than a week. Kiara tossed her long braids behind her and smiled at a group of fraternity boys sitting by a fountain with starbucks cups in their hands. She didn't know any of them but she suspected that they were freshmen with the carefree look they all had upon their faces. She hardly remembered feeling that way. She knew her friends had. Caitlin and Emily and Lexie all partied hard with many of the fraternities and sororities on campus. Caitlin had been in a sorority and had thrived. Most people would never know Caitlin was visually impaired unless she-told them or they had seen her with her cane. It was different now she had Callie but still the blonde haired girl had dazzled many she had come into contact with throughout her twenty-five years. Kiara admired her as she did the other two girls. They all seemed to have it sussed out already and Kiara envied them. Even while she was driven to study and to drive herself harder than anyone she knew, she still had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. Professor Coleman had suggested teaching the subject she had studied so hard for for six years but Kiara was unconvinced. Although she knew it would fulfil her need to help others, by passing on information she had collected for all that time; she knew it wasn't what she wanted. Maybe a psychologist? He had suggested one afternoon when she had confided that even though she would be finishing her masters programme this summer, she still had no idea what she wanted to do. She was smart. Probably the smartest out of her group of friends but she had rarely partied, had never had a serious boyfriend and she was going to be twenty-five in less than two months. She knew her friends felt sorry for her and wished she'd socialised with them more. All Kiara kept telling herself was that she had to do this. She had to be successful. But what for? She was out of the "hood" now. She would never have to go back their with her ambition, intelligence and sheer drive. Passing groups of laughing friends, she wandered into the psychology building and headed for her first class. Taking a seat in the front, she pulled out her note pad and pen and got ready for a heavy day of study.

Caitlin

As she wandered into the first meeting, Caitlin felt her eyes strain with pain. She hated spending her days in meetings but knew it was essential to what she was going to be doing in two weekends time. The men and women she had to see that day bored her more than waiting for the kettle to boil. She had long since lost her British accent but some of her traits were very English. She loved a cup of tea and each month imported chocolate from the UK. She loved California. It was her home and she wouldn't have it any other way. Her father was a working man and that would never change. He lived in a modest house in Carson and she sometimes visited when work and life permitted her a free day. The coolness of the room seemed to please Callie as she took a spot under the table in front of Caitlin's legs. The girl was dressed in trousers and a nice, smart shirt. It wasn't what she would usually wear but by no means did she look business like. She was young, cool, fashionable and that was one of the many reasons her boss, Mr Jacoson had hired her. He thought she'd bring much more to just organising an event. And he had been right. She put in one hundred and ten percent each time and each event she had organised had been more than a success. They were busier now as a company than they had been for ten years. He had feared at one point that they may go under but with Caitlin on board with her smiles and charming ways, he knew he'd have the business running well for many years to come. She was fun to be around and ultimately had an infectious personality. She wanted what was best for the event and she'd do her damnedest to make sure it happened. LA Events was one of the notorious events companies in the great Los Angeles area and she was one of the reasons why.

"Good morning, Miss Dawson," An elderly gentleman who owned the park where the event was going to be held. "Have we managed to figure out all the small glitches we seemed to come across in our last meeting?" She turned her head to him as he spoke to her and smiled warmly.