Chapter 8

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Rose screamed at the top of her lungs as she covered herself and ran off into the living room, leaving Emma, Katie, and Alice's mouth to drop at what they saw.

Emma, Katie, and Alice looked at each other in shock, not believing what they had just seen. Suddenly, they heard loud footsteps coming from the hallway.

"Rosanna! Rosanna! Where are you?" As soon as the stranger sees the three girls sitting in the living room, he stops.

He was quite young, maybe around 19, and had blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a brown suit. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Oh? We have visitors?" He looked them over suspiciously.

"What are you girls doing here?" he asked.

"Uh, Theodore. Remember me?" Alice snaps her fingers.

He looks at her for a moment, then smiles. "Alice! Of course I remember you." He embraced her in a hug. "It's been too long! Who are these girls?"

"These are my new friends. The blonde one is Emma and the brown one is Katie." Alice says, gesturing to the two girls standing behind her.

They both smiled and bowed. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Theodore said warmly. "What brings you here with your friend Alice?"

"Uh, we are here to meet Rose", Alice blushed, remembering Rose's naked body incident.

"Yes, of course," Theodore said, suppressing a smile. "Well, I'm sure she'll be pleased to see you all here. I'll contact her and let her know you've arrived."

He then left to find Rose. Alice sat down exhaling a sigh of relief. She was glad that everyone was here, and that Theodore had gone to find Rose. She looked around the room, her heart filled with anticipation.

"Alice, who's that cute boy?" Katie snared.

Alice was taken aback by the sudden question. She quickly composed herself and replied "That's Theodore, Rose's personal butler and a close friend to her."

"YOU'RE FRIEND HAS HER OWN BUTLER?" The teens screamed.

Alice nodded and smiled. "He's been with her for years," she said. "He takes care of all her needs and ensures Rose is always safe."

Katie smiled and said, "Well, he seems pretty nice."

Alice nodded. "Yes, he's a really good guy, he's always been there for Rose, and I'm glad he's helped her out."

"He looks like Felix, the cute waiter from Bob's restaurant~" Katie laughed.

Alice smiled. "Yeah, he does! I think Rose has a bit of a crush on him."

Katie grinned. "That would be so cute if they got together!"

"Um, guys?" Emma interrupted. "Do you think Rose is not interested in meeting us after what we saw? We literally saw her walking in wearing a towel!"

Everyone silently realized Emma's point. Katie slowly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, maybe we should just let her go-."

"I'm sorry for the wait, but she's here now," Theodore interrupts Katie as he welcomes Rose.

Rose is now wearing a bright red dress and her hair is in a bun. She takes a deep breath and smiles at Theodore before turning to Katie and extending her hand. "It's nice to meet you," she says.

The girls force themselves to smile back and shake her hand. They exchange pleasantries and Rose takes a seat at the table.

"Hello Rose, long time no see? huh?" Alice asked with a smile. "How are you and where have you been?"

Rose smiled and replied, "I'm doing well. I've been traveling for the past few months - it's been an incredible experience." She paused, and then continued, "But I'm glad to be back home now."

Rose glanced at the two girls. "So, who are those girls? You're cheerleading squids?"

"These are my new friends, Katie from school and Emma, Katie's old friend," Alice answered.

Rose smiled. "Nice to meet you both. I'm Roseanna Devin, Alice's best friend."

Katie and Emma smiled back. "It's nice to meet you too!"

Just then, a maid wheeled the trolley over to the coffee table and poured tea into delicate china cups. Katie and Emma thanked her and each took a cup of tea. They settled into the plush couches and continued their conversation.

"So, I remember Alice called me and said you two were signing up for Youtube and wanted to borrow my equipment. Right?" Rose said, sipping her tea.

Katie and Emma exchanged a glance, then Katie nodded. "Yes, we're so excited about starting this new project. We've been wanting to do something creative and this is the perfect opportunity."

Emma added. "We'd be so grateful if you could lend us the equipment."

"Oh, and by the way, I'm also joining them for the project. I think it is a fun experience for me." Alice said, adding sugar to her beverage.

"Oh, wow, I didn't know you were part of their group," Rose said.

"Yeah, I'm excited to be part of their team. I'm sure I'll learn a lot," Alice said with a smile. "That's great, I'm sure you'll do great," Rose said, returning Alice's smile.

Alice laughs, "I'm sure she said!".

Emma and Katie joined in the laughter and said, "Yes, I'm sure you'll make a great addition to the team!"

"But I have a question: what project are you working on?" Rose asked.

Suddenly, both girls stopped laughing and became silent.

"Ah, what do you mean?" Alice asked.

"I mean, what type of channel are you planning? Is it going to be a Vlog or anything else?"

"Huh, I never thought of it. I just assumed they were doing gymnastics but it's their video," Alice turns to the girls. "What kind of channel are we aiming for?"

Emma and Katie looked at each other.

"I really didn't think it through. Maybe I'll show off my art online?" Emmama said.

"What? Emma, you do know this is OUR channel and we need to decide together what we post, right? You think the channel should be about drawing lessons? I can't even draw a circle!"

Katie's words made Rose giggle. The girls looked at the white-haired teen wiping her mouth with a tissue. "Excuse me."

Emma replied, "I know it's our channel. But I thought it'd be cool to have a channel for drawing lessons. It doesn't have to be perfect, just something fun and creative."

"Yeah, well I don't want to see the comments section where the viewers compliment you about YOUR drawings while bashing mine! And I'm pretty sure Alice doesn't want the channel to be a drawing class either."

Alice shrugged. "She's right. I can't draw. Why will the channel not be something else like gymnastics? It's good exercise, and people love to watch them. Plus, it would be more fun than a drawing class."

"Uh, I don't do sports." Emma said as she drank her last cup of tea.

"Yeah, I agree with Em. If we do sports, I'd rather swim than run around sweating." Katie placed her empty cup on the table.

Katie smiled. "How about we do the fashion channel? We can do the fashion challenge and make some cool videos together."

Emma and Alice looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"No way," Emma said. "I'm not doing any fashion challenges. Let's do something else."

"Yeah, and you know I hate fashion. I suck at making clothes!" Alice said as she finished her tea.

"Um, can I provide you with my idea for your YouTube channel?" Rose asked, raising her hand to the table.

Alice looked at Rose curiously and shrugged. "Sure, why not?" she said.

Rose smiled and explained her idea in detail. "I heard you guys talking about challenges, activities and opportunities. Why not make a channel about challenging yourself, like doing things you have never done before or setting goals and tracking progress? That way, you can encourage people to take on new challenges, build confidence, and learn valuable lessons along the way."

Rose continued. "You can call it "The Bucket List Channel" and start creating content around the idea of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Your channel can encourage people to challenge themselves and take risks to grow and learn."

No one spoke as they stared at Rose. "Or not! Maybe you can do a cooking channel instead."

"THAT'S a BRILLIENT IDEA, ROSE!" the girls cheered.

"Oh, the cooking channel?"

"No, not that. The Bucket List Channel. I think it's an awesome idea!" Emma held Rose's hand.

"Yeah, doing something you always wanted to do is really exciting." Katie nodded. "I mean I have TONS of bucket lists I always want to complete, but never get around to it. It would be really awesome to have a channel devoted to helping people achieve their dreams."

"And a bonus of all: I NEVER heard about this channel before" Alice said. "It's always cooking or DIY, but The Bucket List is unique and no one has heard it before."

"We're doing it. Don't we girls?" Katie screamed.

"Let's do it!" Alice and Emma cheered. They hugged each other and started planning their first episode. Rose only sat there smiling, but deep down she too wanted to join their Youtube channel.

"Would it be possible if I could join their channel?" Rose thought. "And if I can, will my father approve of it?"

Rose was hesitant but decided to ask them. "Uh, girls, I can let you use my equipment, if you let me join your channel. But I'll need permission from my father before I give you the stuff. If that's okay with you?" Rose mumbled, avoiding their gaze.

"SO CUTE!" The girls thought and started to jump up and down with joy.

"Thanks, Rose! You're the sweetest ", said one of them. Rose smiled and couldn't help but blush.

Alice then looked out the window and noticed the sun had set. She quickly said, "It's getting late, we should be going."

The three friends got up and said goodbye before heading home.

"Goodbye, Rose and thanks again for everything!" Katie waved.

"Yeah, you really helped us a lot," Alice said, hugging Rose goodbye. "Take care."

"Yeah, you too." Rose smiled.

Emma walked up to Rose. "I'm so glad I got to meet you, your ideas were really helpful. Thank you."

Rose blushed and felt her heart skip a beat. "My-my pleasure."

Emma pulled her phone. "Rose, since you're part of the team, we should stay in touch. What's your phone number?"

In her grasp, Rose looked at Emma, then at the floor. "Uh, I don't have a phone."

"Oh? Well, that's okay, we can chat online! What social media do you use?"

"Uh, no. I don't use social media or other websites." Rose turned away, avoiding Emma's gaze. "I'm not allowed to use electronics."

"Huh? But why do you need the right light, tripod, and microphone?"

"I don't use a microphone..." Rose's hands were tight as she appeared not to answer Emma's question.

"What are you saying? Rose why-"

"Roseanna, you need to come inside." Theodore interrupted. I just got a phone call from your father. He said he wanted to talk to you."

Roseanna's face dropped. She looked at Theodore with a mix of confusion and fear. She slowly nodded and followed him inside. "Sorry, Emma. I have to go. Bye."

Theodore grabbed Roseanna's hand and pulled her inside. Roseanna looked back at Emma one last time before the door shut behind her. She was gone.

.

.

.

"Jeez, why does nighttime always seem so scary?" Emma grabs Katie's right arm.

Katie looked around cautiously. "Yeah no kidding, two girls left alone in the middle of the night always lead to danger. It's like all the monsters coming out to play," she whispers. "Let's just get home quickly."

The two girls quickly made their way down the street, not daring to look back. As they approached their homes, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Katie turned to her friend and said, "We made it."

"Yeah, pats thank God." Emma patted. "

Emma smiled and looked around, taking in her surroundings, then noticed a figure down the road sitting on a bench. "Calvin?"

"Calvin? Who's Calvin?" Katie asked.

Emma replied, "What? Didn't I already tell you? He's the prince charming I met at the gas station." She started walking towards the figure, her heart pounding with anticipation.

"Wait, Emma! What do you think you're going to do? Come back! Katie yelled after her friend, but Emma ignored her. She was glad to see him.

As she got closer, she noticed another figure sitting next to him. She realized it was the same weird goth girl in the morning when she greeted her after her morning run.

They were kissing.

Chapter end