Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Samantha stared in the mirror and saw… Tonya.
The blonde wig was styled nicely. Her makeup was a bit garish but on point for the type of person Tonya was.
The contacts that changed her brown eyes to sparkling blue completed the look. As did her “designer” outfit. Of course the padded bra that made her boobs appear huge helped, too. It certainly caught people’s attention.
That could be good and bad, she realized.
What if it caught Kendrick’s attention? Would he even be at the nursery today? He’d offered to take her—the real her, Samantha—but she’d politely declined saying she had too much to do.
They were set to meet up later that evening for dinner at the mansion. That alone would be nerve-racking enough. What if Iris and the other Littles recognized her?
If she was going to date Kendrick, then she’d be around those women plenty. If it was going to happen there wasn’t much she could do about it.
But if all went as planned, things wouldn’t come to that.
Today would be Tonya’s last appearance. She was moving to New York City. Some rich guy had swept her off her feet and was whisking her away.
Some of the girls were friends with Tonya at the nursery, but not so close that they would want to keep in touch or anything. The story should be plausible enough.
Soon, the bratty Tonya would just be a distant memory and once she was out of sight and out of mind, the risk of anyone identifying her and Samantha as one and the same was low.
Just make it through today, Sam. You can do this.
She finished examining herself. The goal wasn’t to make sure she looked perfect, as it normally had been. Now, the objective was to make sure she looked different enough as to not be recognized.
A thought struck her and she smiled. Iris and her friends hadn’t met Samantha yet. They only knew Tonya. So, the only thing she had to do was stay out of Kendrick’s line of sight today—if he was even at the nursery.
She wouldn’t have to worry about Iris and them until that night when she was around them. Still, it was important to look radically different now so she didn’t arouse their suspicions later.
A loud banging noise interrupted her thoughts. She ran to her door and threw it open, stepping out to turn and go down the stairs.
That’s when she saw Kendrick.
Oh crap! He was there! Working on the stairs.
Crap! Crap! Crap!
He was at the bottom, starting his project there, probably with the intent of working his way up. That made sense, she realized. Stabilize one stair, then stand on that one while you fixed the next.
He was so lost in his hammering that he didn’t seem to realize she was even there.
So she quickly stepped back inside and closed the door quietly. He probably hadn’t even checked to see if she was there, just assuming she’d be gone. After all, she’d told him she had a busy day away, taking care of things, so he wouldn’t press on taking her to the nursery.
Damn.
How was she going to get out of there?
For a moment, that burning question faded and she smiled. Kendrick was fixing her stairs! He wanted to keep her safe. How sweet was that?
But she still had one problem: there was no way out of her apartment.
Or was there?
She went to one of the only windows the place had, over the kitchen sink that overlooked the overgrown, unkempt back lot. It was big enough for her to fit through, though she’d have to climb into her sink to access it.
And it was quite a drop down. But a pipe ran the length of the building right beside it. She knew because she’d actually used it to climb up one time after locking herself out. Right at the bottom was the dumpster, so she only had to make it to the top of it.
That wasn’t too far. Really. That’s what she tried to convince herself of, anyway.
It was the only way, unless she wanted to stay trapped inside for a while. Who knew how long Kendrick would be working, though? It was imperative that Tonya make that appearance today while her two friends—Marissa and Monica, or M&M as they called themselves—were at Auntie Athena’s.
With that in mind, she drew a deep breath, held a moment, and then exhaled. Her nerves were steady enough. She could do this.
She leaned over the sink, opened the window, and then climbed up.
Her giant fake boobs scraped across the window frame as she slithered out, and for a moment she was worried she’d torn them. After a quick check, she found everything in place and her clothes intact.
So far, so good.
With her hands holding onto the windowsill and her legs dangling down, she reached for the pipe.
There wasn’t a way to close her window. So, it would just remain open all day.
That sucked. But there wasn’t much in there worth stealing.
One look at the outside of the building probably told any would-be thief that much.
She doubted anyone would take the trouble of actually climbing up there to the second floor.
It wasn’t easy to do, after all.
She was finding that out once again, only going the opposite direction: it wasn’t easy to climb down!
It was too late to back out now. Samantha was committed.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have the skill to match her determination. Her hands slipped and she fell straight down.
There wasn’t even really time to be scared. She landed inside the open dumpster about two seconds after accidentally letting go.
Bags of garbage smashed beneath her body. She wanted to get out of the rotting trash. But she didn’t quite have her wits about her yet. So she lay on her back atop the disgusting pile for a moment, groaning.
Samantha wiggled her toes and moved her legs. They worked fine. Flexing her fingers, she found they were all good, too. Thankfully. Nothing hurt too bad. She might be a little sore, though.
She was about to get out of there when she heard footsteps just outside the dumpster.
Crap! This kept getting worse!
“Hello?” Kendrick’s voice called. “Anyone back here?”
Something moved beside her, bumping her arm.
What. The. Heck?
It was almost as if a snake was slithering over her bare skin. She frozen in panic but quickly realized a snake wouldn’t be in the garbage. And whatever this was had fur.
A scream rose in her throat but she managed to stifle it as she noticed it was just a cat who was desperate to scurry away. Old cans and fruit peels shifted as the cat lunged up and away, onto the rim of the dumpster.
“Oh. It’s just you,” Samantha heard Kendrick say.
The cat meowed before the sound of his paws banging on the dumpster and then away reached her ears.
She held her breath and listened.
Kendrick’s heavy footfalls told her he was walking back around the building toward the stairs.
As difficult as it was to lay still in the garbage, she waited a few minutes until the hammering started once again. Perhaps that would conceal the noise she’d make when she jumped out, though she’d be as careful as possible.
Hopefully the smell on her wasn’t too bad. It seemed to be heavy, but she realized that it might be in her head. After all, she’d been laying on a pallet of garbage.
She only breathed easy once she was out of that dumpster and down the street, safely toward the bus stop. And it didn’t just have to do with the rotten stench.
Kendrick had almost caught her! Everything could’ve been derailed.
That was a close call. She just prayed it was the only one and that she could get Tonya safely “moved” to New York City.
But something told her it wouldn’t be easy…