Love and Debt

Alora and the others wanted to go shopping so she sent a message to Andrew that she might come home late today. She wasn't really sure where he went last night. She wanted to ask him but she was afraid he would tell her that he spent the night with a woman so she decided to keep quiet.

She wasn't really fond of shopping. Maybe because she grew up with nothing so she rarely goes to the mall to buy stuff.

"Nina, you should buy some new clothes since you will be going out a lot with Andrew." Emily suggested.

Her friends don't really care how she dresses but they are concerned that other people will look at her differently. She knew she would need new stuff to use.

"Let's go to Azalea. We decided to give you a gift. It's a congratulatory gift so don't worry about it. You never accept anything from us anyway so just this one time, okay?" Emily pleaded while the others looked at her with their sweetest smiles. Except for Alora of course.

She giggled and nodded. Peggy grabbed her hand and pulled her towards Azalea. 

The manager itself assisted them and showed them the newest collection of Alora's sister, Allaina Smith. She was one of the top fashion designers who was now based in Paris.

"I like that dress!" Emily exclaimed, pointing at a red halter top dress.

It was simple yet stunning. Nina actually liked it but didn't say a word. She was sure it was expensive and she  definitely couldn't afford it anyway.

Emily walked towards the dress and carefully checked it. The dress can be worn from casual meetings and dates, but it was also sophisticated enough to use for semi formal events. Emily took it and walked towards Nina.

"Here. Try it on." Emily blurted which surprised her.

"Me? Why?" Nina asked.

Emily giggled while pulling her to the dressing room.

"I chose it for you. I'm sure it will look great on you."

She was about to protest when Emily covered her mouth with one of her fingers.

"No buts. It's a gift, remember?" She said to her.

Nina nodded and smiled then went inside the dressing room to fit the dress.

When she finally tried it on, she couldn't stop herself from smiling when she looked at the mirror. She was petite but the dress made her look taller. The halter top and the opened back added sexiness, showing her curves. 

"Hey Nina! Come out now! We want to see you!" It was Peggy, shouting impatiently.

She bit her lips and took a deep breath before going out of the dressing room.

"Wow! I knew it! You're stunning, Nina!" Emily exclaimed.

She felt embarrassed hearing compliments from her friends but she was happy they liked it. They took a few more clothes and asked her to try them. 

She was exhausted but it was fun. It was the first time in her life that she tried on a lot of designer clothes. She usually went with her friends when they wanted to spend money for clothes and she was always a bystander. They would ask her to pick one for herself but she would always decline because she knew they would pay for it even without her asking.

"Are you sure about this? I think this is too much." She suddenly felt guilty when she saw the bags of clothes.

Alora held her hands and smiled. She was surprised to see her smiling. Although her eyes don't really show emotions, Alora tried to smile for her and Nina was happy about it.

"This is a gift from us. We've been friends for four years now and you never accepted any gifts from us. We're hoping that you will accept it now. You're our friend, Nina. Don't ever think that you are taking advantage of us. We want you to have these clothes. It was just material things compared to what you actually gave us." Alora said in a cold yet gentle voice.

Nina frowned. She was thinking of the thing Alora was talking about. She didn't give them anything. She couldn't afford any gift from her friends. 

During special occasions, she wanted to give them something but she always ended up with nothing. Her friends were rich anyway and they had everything they wanted.

She heard Sophie and Peggy giggled. She glanced at them then to Emily who was staring at her, with crossed arms on her chest.

"Your friendship." Alora continued.

She turned her gaze to Alora when she said that.

"Nina, your friendship is the best gift we have received. It was innocent and sweet. It was honest and sincere. You know, it's hard for us to have a true friend. Sometimes, they betray then leave us or most of the time, they will just use us. But yours was different so thank you for being our friend." Sophie whispered.

She wanted to cry. She didn't really expect that she would fit in the group. She was a nobody, a simple poor girl who belonged to the Bronze Class.

They belonged to the upper class, the elites. Platinum students whose families were the richest worldwide. They were rich kids but they never treated her differently. They didn't care if she was poor and hung out with her even though she belonged to the lower class.

"Ouch!" She almost yelled when Peggy toppled her fingers on her forehead.

"You're daydreaming." Emily said, laughing.

They glared at the two and eventually all of them were laughing. Their happy moment was cut short when a man and a woman came inside Azalea.

The woman who has the same height as Emily was holding on to the man's arms, while the man was whispering something to her ear.

Nina's eyes widened and her body froze when she saw who the man was.. It was her fiance, Andrew.