"IRI! IRI!" JOAQUIM shouts as he chases after me.

Surprised, I turn around, and I feel touched by his kind gesture. He must want to know the end of my sentence.

"Joaquim, hey-"

"Iri, Libby wants to see us. She wants to tell us something. Something about a woman named Letia?"

"Laetitia," I correct, trying my best to shake off my disappointment. "Of course. Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go. The boss is awaiting."

___

Unless someone told me that the two ladies are sisters, I would never have figured that out by myself. They were both distinctly different not only in terms of appearance, but also when it came to their behaviours.

Libby's hair is a lovely auburn and she always ties it loosely to show off her gorgeous long waves of red hair. Libby has blue eyes; the same blue of the clear, vivid oceans.

On the other hand, her sister, Laetitia, has black eyes and beautiful blonde, flowy hair reminiscent of the legend of King Arthur's wife, the magnificent beauty, Guinevere. If it weren't for her black eyes, Laetitia would definitely be the doppelganger of Guinevere. Laetitia is also taller and dewy-lipped while Libby is shorter and has a willowy figure.

As aforementioned before, the only similarity are the auras that they exude. They seem to be a powerful and dominating pair of sisters especially if they decide to work together.

The reason for her asking us to come after we are done with our respective duties becomes clearer.

She's introducing her sister to us because she trusts us to not reveal this to our co-workers. She must see Joaquim and I as her closest friends. But what about Pat?

"Hey, Joaq and Irina. Meet my sister, Laetitia."

"Your sister? You have a sister?" Joaquim inquired and his face wore a bemused expression. "Why didn't you ever mention her to us? We may be your workers, but we regard you as our good friend too."

"Exactly. Why did I call only you and Iri here and not the others? Isn't the fact that I trust you two indisputable here?" counters Libby as she shakes her head slowly. "If you even have a modicum of common sense... Seriously, Joaquim, how are you so gifted in photography but not other important aspects of life? What am I to do with you?"

"At least the company's IG is thriving. Thanks to me, you've got 100 followers in 2 days' time." a clearly irritated Joaquim grumbles and uses the increase in followers to defend himself. After hearing his cute reply, I try my best to hold in the laughter. Contrary to what one may think, this is not a simple task- it's threatening to escape any moment now. And if I were to laugh right now, it would be incredibly awkward.

"Nevertheless," continues Libby, "here's what I have to tell you. My real name is Melissa, not Libby. And I have a sister, and my sister is Laetitia."

"Melissa is your real name? Wow. It doesn't suit you at all." Joaquim remarks in a blunt manner, making Libby- no, Melissa- chortle.

"I wholeheartedly agree with you. I hated that name. It's so boring, so classic, which is why I forced my family to address me by 'Lissa'. It was Lae who came up with it. Lae is the younger one. She's 31 and I'm 34. I am indebted to her for coming up with 'Lissa' when she was 5. 

Ever since I received the nickname, I never let anyone get away with no calling me 'Lissa'. I implemented that rule and everyone has stuck by it."

"Lissa has to do everything I want cos of this," chuckles Laetitia.

"Yes, I am."

I am in awe of how strong the bond between the sisters is. It must be amazing to have such a deep connection and unconditional love between siblings. This will never ever happen to Ander and I.

It's okay, though. I don't need it. I have myself. And Pat. I don't need my family.   

Feeling suffocated by the moving moment, I selfishly choose to put a stop to it by asking, "Then why did you name the store 'Libby's Bath' instead of 'Lissa's Bath' especially when you are so fond of the nickname? And why did you only mention Laetitia to us now?"

"Actually, would you even have ever told us about your family if Laetitia never showed up in the first place?" chimes in Joaquim with a good question.

"I... yes, I mean, I had plans to. I was going to too. However, with Lae now here, this is the perfect time to let you all in on my secret. In all honesty, I didn't expect Lae to come here- this was really unplanned and abrupt. While I am elated to see my darling sister again, even I do not know why she's here."

"I'm here because of mother. She wants you to return home and, well, you know." Lae shoots Libby a knowing glance, making her sigh.

"I never want to go home again. I see no need to apologise too, for I did no wrong."

 Joaq and I share a look of confusion. Libby apologising? Does this have anything to do with why she started a small store in Panjilia? 

"If you didn't the University of Songiria's offer and enrol in Merian University, we wouldn't be a broken family."

Laetitia's surprising statement stunned both Joaquim and I as those two universities are the most prestigious in Songiria and some parts of the world. To be offered a place in either one of them was a huge honour and something happened once in a blue moon. 

To put in a more relatable context, the UOS is as renowned as some of the world's universities such as South Korea's 'Seoul National University', Singapore's 'National University of Singapore' and USA's 'Stanford University'. UOS is Songjiria's leading university and is the elite of efficient and crucial skills in every aspect of technology and medicine.

It is so challenging to even get an interview with UOS that there's even a local famous Songjirian saying for it which is 'Landing on the moon will be a more facile victory than getting into UOS'. That's how tough it is to get in there.

Furthermore, the UOS principal and interviewers are known to be notoriously picky when it comes to selecting which student to enrol in. Bribing them is impossible as the University is permitted to take legal action into bribers and the jail term can be as lengthy as three years. The UOS really only accepts people who they are confident have enough drive, talent and diligence and only then will they enrol them in. To them, it doesn't matter if you come from a distinguished family background or even a prodigy; what matters most to them is diligence, drive and talent.

Whereas Merian University (MU) is the seventh most esteemed and acclaimed university in Songiria. Though MU is not even in the top five universities of Songjiria, it is still a very respected and desirable school to enrol in especially if one wanted to master artistic skills like creative writing and design or humanities. 

Libby must have lost her mind to reject the top school in Songiria! I cannot fathom how she can say 'no' to a school that promises a vibrant and dreamlike future.

For some unknown reason, my blood is boiling and I'm gritting my teeth hard to control myself from having an outburst. I just hope that my desire to learn more about the sisters will be greater than my fury. 

Thankfully, nobody notices the reddening of my cheeks or my clenched fists. Everyone's attention is on Libby now. She is caught in an inescapable spotlight.

"Listen up guys. I don't want you all to judge me just because I reject the creme de la creme of Songirian universities, so I will explain my reason to you." Libby sighs and begans elucidating, "My family is an exceptionally well-to-do one. They roll in money of all of the highest currencies available worldwide and we even have links to European and Asian royal families.

Contrary to popular belief, life isn't all smooth-sailing when you come from a well-off family. I know that this sounds like a load of hogwash, but honestly, put yourselves in my shoes. Every single part of my day is controlled by my parents; I have to travel around with an entourage of bodyguards especially when I was young. I was never allowed to attend a simple birthday party, and nor was I allowed to dabble in uncomplicated hobbies.

My childhood was unlike other kids'. I never got the opportunity to get on a swing and swing freely; I was never allowed to play with Barbie dolls or even cool toys like Tamagotchi. Etiquette lessons were included in my daily routine as soon as I turned 5. 

Since the age of 5, I had to master ballet, painting, art history, music, etiquette. At the age of 6, my parents did everything they could to enrol me in a school for the gifted. Though I was never gifted, to prevent me from being in 2nd place or 3rd place, I had to attend tuition even at 6.

The gifted school already taught biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics thus I had to attend every subject that the tuition centre taught. If they didn't have a particular subject, my parents would make me attend lessons at an extra centre. My life was utter hell. 

Knowing that my family would definitely have me have an arranged, loveless marriage with some guy of a high social status,  I left them when I turned 18 and used my trust fund money to set up the store as a way to sustain a stable income."

"So? So what if you didn't enjoy your childhood? Must all childhoods be an enjoyable one? At least you got to acquire skills and knowledge; I had to deal with gangsters, work as if I was a soulless zombie and pay off Ander's debt and dad's medical bills. That does not include the verbal abuse or neglect under my family's hands. At least you have a family that cares about you. I got the real rough end of childhood; yours is nothing." 

After hearing my impulsive retort, Libby glares at me hard. Staring into my eyes- and possibly my soul, too- she scolds, "Oh, really? So you're telling me that before your mum left, you never enjoyed freedom or felt happiness? 

You will never have to experience a life fully arranged and controlled by your family. How can you be so cold to my pain? When I left them, they disowned me in a fit of fury. Can you not sympathise with me even a bit? What, were you born as a cold-hearted sociopath?"

Memories of my mother flashes into my mind the moment she says that.

Memories of her the wind blowing her long chestnut brown hair as she chased after me while we played hide-and-seek. Though the wind messed up her hair, my mother was still effortlessly beautiful.

Memories of my mother's black eyes shining with joy and love when I first successfully rode my bike by myself.

Memories of the smells of her vanilla perfume whenever she hugged or kissed my cheek.

The memories were all too raw, all too sudden. Enraged by the little remnants of my joyful early childhood suddenly surfacing, I got up from my chair and was about to give Libby two tight slaps when Joaquim grabbed my hand and face, forcing me to look him in the eyes.

"Don't," he says, and he leads me out of the office while hugging me so tightly that I can feel his muscled chest. "Don't."

I had such a hard time with Libby's real name. I was stuck with 'Melissa' and 'Missy' but went with the former instead. Which name would you have chosen?

I hope that some readers can sympathise/side with Libby and not give her much hate (I am a bit worried Libby will get hate cos her childhood doesn't seem as tough as Irina's. Some may even find it hard to relate to Libby. Personally though, Libby's scheduled childhood- especially when it comes to academics and co-curricular activity is something many young kids or teens experience in the real world. So I hope that you don't find that part unrealistic. It is something that is happening in many countries these days.)

What's your childhood like? Was it an easy/relatable one? Let me know by commenting!

Please vote if you like this chapter and think that 'Alexander Street' deserves more reads!