Harmonia gently bit at her lower lip in frustration as she tried to get the camera angle just right. She typically didn't try to make videos this early in the morning, nor did she do them in her room since she could never get the right lighting. Today however, was an exception. She'd been so busy getting ready for the first day of school that she forgot to update her subscribers on YouTube about her changing schedule. She needed to do that to ensure no one got upset and unsubbed. People were petty like that. When she finally got the damn camera to sit up straight, she pushed the record button and sat back in her chair.
"Well, this is like... different." she started, looking away from the camera for a moment and frowning at the mirror behind it.
"Forgive me if I look a mess. I've not had a chance to like, do my makeup yet." she paused and pouted, making a few silly faces at the camera before laughing at herself.
"Sorry, I'm done. Let's get to the video now." she said with a wave of her hand.
"Hi guys! Harmony Vee here back with another tutorial videoooo-! Which is what I would be saying if this was like, one of those but it's not. I don't think I'll like, have enough time for that anyway. Uhh... Today's video is going to be like, short and sweet so let me not get off track here." Harmony reached for her rose gold iPhone and held it up for the camera to see.
"I've got like, a list of things I need to say so if you like catch me looking down, that's why. So, uhh first things first I like, want to apologize for not uploading videos in like, a few days, I've been like really, really busy lately. With what you ask? Well like, my piano recital tonight, which I'll like, get back to in a minute, and- insert drumroll sound here..." she paused and did a quick air drummer gesture.
"School!"She sighed and shook her head.
"Yes ladies and gents, I said school. Today is the first day of the new year and I am like, really excited and sad at the same time. Now that school's back in session, I won't have as much time to like, upload my usual tutorials regularly like I used to. Now, this doesn't mean you won't be seeing me for like, months, this just means I won't be able to make my longer videos as frequently as I would like to anymore." she clarified, looking away from the camera and down to her phone for a second.
"Next thing is my upcoming piano recital. Now, for those of you who entered my contest a while ago, you already know that I picked three lucky people to attend for free and they've like, confirmed with me that they will be attending, and I cannot wait to see you guys there. I want to just like, thank all of you who entered my contest and who voted for me to get this far. You have like, no idea how much it means to me. If I impress the judges this time and get chosen to go forward in the competition, I'll like, be one step closer in winning the scholarship I wanted. So this is like, a really big deal. Thank you again." she glanced at her phone again, pushing a lock of her dirty blonde hair behind her head.
"Oh and for those of you who didn't win, don't worry. I get to bring a friend or family member for free so I'll have them like, record it so you all can like, see my performance. I can't record the whole thing, just like, my part. So uhh, yeah. That's really all the time I have right now, I'm already running really late. Thank you so much for watching. Remember to hit that like button if you enjoyed seeing me in all my makeupless glory, and I'll see you all next time. Vee out!" Harmonia smiled and held up the peace sign for a moment before reaching forward to turn off her camera. Afterwards, she quickly edited and uploaded her video to her channel, linking it to all her social media accounts before getting started on her makeup. She kept it simple, using her everyday routine to quickly cover up her imperfections on her skin and that was pretty much it. She never really went all out with her looks on the first day, since a lot of students didn't even show up to the assembly. By the time she'd gotten everything packed and was ready to head out the door, it was nearly 7am. Thankfully she only lived a five minute drive from school.
When she left her room, she called out for her parents, wondering if they were already up. When she didn't get a response, she crossed the hall to their bedroom and peeked inside.
"Mom? Dad?" She got no response. The room was empty.
A sigh escaped her lips and she closed the door before heading down the stairs. When she got to the bottom she was startled to see Pamela, her house keeper, waiting at the bottom.
"Holy shi-" she started, jumping in fright when she saw the tall African-American woman.
"Language." the older woman said, crossing her arms.
"L- Language? You nearly like, scared the literal crap out of me. What are you doing lurking in the corner, looking like the Grim Reaper for?"The woman rolled her eyes. "Goodmorning to you too. I was just coming to get you cause I thought you slept in."
Harmony rolled her eyes and stepped around Pamela, her heeled boots clicking loudly on the tile floor.
"I'm not a child anymore Pam. I'm like, nearly an adult. Why do you even keep coming here? I don't need you.""Now is that any way to speak to me?" the woman said, following Harmony into the kitchen. "Even after I keep everything clean and even made your favorite breakfast for you?"
"Like I said, I don't need you to do those things for me. It's not like I make that much of a mess on my own." she said, her tone shifting to a sad one, even after she noticed her favorite breakfast of blueberry pancakes was waiting for her on the table. Pamela didn't say anything right away, and so after a long moment, Harmonia turned to look at the woman.
"I haven't seen them in a while. I mean like, when they come home I'm already asleep and when I wake up, they're gone. Are they doing okay?""Your parents are fine, they just have a lot on their plates right now. When I leave, they usually are just getting home. I can't imagine how they do it day after day."
"You would think they have enough time to at least like, see me off on my first day, right?" Harmony said, biting her lip.
"I can't say for sure. But, I do know one thing." the housekeeper said.
"What's that?" Harmony asked.
"You got me to see you off on your first day. And you won't be home alone when you return." she said with a smile, reaching forward to hug her. Harmony embraced the older woman tightly, thanking her without words and hoping it would be enough. When she was released, she fixed her shirt and her hair.
"I don't need you anymore." she said, smiling softly.
"Yeah, but you
do like having me around. Have a wonderful day at school dear.
"Thanks Pam. Keep my pancakes in like, the microwave or something. I still want them." she said, waving and making her way to the garage, ready to take her new 2016 Chevy Camaro out for a drive.
Finding a good parking spot in the school's lot was no easy feat since Harmonia was so fashionably late to the assembly. Students had already made their way in, save for the few stragglers like her. She wasted no time rushing inside along with the rest and following the crowd to where the assembly was being held. She spotted a few people she knew as she awkwardly came in and saw there was no place to sit with anyone she was familiar with. She stood off to the side a bit, letting people pass her by, but she didn't see any open spots. People were literally cramming between people to sit with their friends. Instead of doing that, she went off to the side and pretended to be busy holding up the wall as the assembly started.
It was the same old stuff, and thankfully, it went by rather quickly and people started to leave or stay and chat with their friends about what they wanted to do next. A few people she recognized were nice enough to wave or compliment her outfit as Harmony went to collect the papers she needed, and as she too was getting ready to leave, she spotted her bestie sitting with Dominique and... someone she knew but couldn't quite think of his name. She quickly made her way over to them, glad she spotted Analise when she did. If she wasn't busy, she hoped her friend could come to her recital with her.
She gave a little smile and a wave as she approached them.
"Hi, sorry if I'm like, interrupting." she said looking from Ana to Domi. As usual, the Queen of the school looked totally gorgeous and Harmony thought it was only nice to say so. She wasn't very good at compliments though, and so she said
"Hi Domi. Long time no see. You look so great like, your hair looks better than usual today. I know how hard it can be, like, my hair never cooperates with me." In all honesty, she wanted to sound genuine, but it totally came out sounding like a backhanded compliment at best. After giving a warm smile, she looked to the guy she couldn't quite name and said hello to him as well.
"Hi there. So sorry to interrupt your uh... conversation. I wanted to ask Ana something really quick." she said, looking away from him quickly and turning her eyes to Analise.
"Sorry I haven't texted you in a few days, I've been like, really crazy busy. But... I was wondering if you're free tonight? At like, 5? I have my piano recital tonight and I need someone to video my performance for my channel. If you're busy then that's fine." she said, glancing at the guy sitting next to her and awkwardly rubbing her arm.
"I just figured it doesn't hurt to ask."