Get Back To You

Change is inevitable! But change also brings us into facing inevitable situations.

At least that's how it was for Lia, who had no idea of how her life was going to change from then onwards. She was quick to side with Giselle's decision to move in with Lillian Grey. It was all new to her, but the little girl embraced every moment because she saw her mother happy, which made her happy. She had already liked Lillian, and this new atmosphere was only going to bring them closer.

What's there to worry!

Lia could feel the 'happily-ever-after' floating in the air just like in her storybooks!

Lillian is her new family now, and she was willing to welcome this change with joy and love until things at school slowly descended to agitate.

***

The initial days at school after Lia started living with Lillian were great. Nobody had noticed Lia getting dropped and picked up by her new guardian, or was she receiving any special attention because of that guardian's reputation. Those were the peaceful days without a hint of glum.

Apart from the great start, things slowly began to stir when whispers began to float in the air at Lia's school. The little girl felt the subtle uneasiness from the occasional stares. It was only from a few who had already met Lillian at the school festival. They remembered her face to inquire Lia. Unable to lie or unbothered by the consequences at first, Lia admitted the truth to her homeroom teacher, which then spread like wildfire. Now, even though Giselle was absent to support Lia, Mrs. Beth was still there to aid her help at times when a random staff member would stop to ask Lia about her new guardian.

One evening after school, Mrs. Beth waited to inform Lillian about people recognizing her at school, which might affect the child. Lillian promised not to bring any unwanted attention. So, everyday morning, Lillian dropped Lia at school early, and after school, she parked in a blind spot to pick up Lia. Nevertheless, the blind spot soon lost its value when a group of little boys got caught trying to make trouble.

As days passed, Lillian continued to drop and pick Lia up from school, and her presence slowly rose to draw attention. From random staff to teachers and from kids to their parents. Since Giselle and Mrs. Beth are already close, any rumor linking to Lia got easily spread around the school by the hidden gossipmongers. The little whispers in the air clustered to become serious gossip about the relationship between Lillian Grey and Giselle's daughter.

Several ȧssumptions made by random spectators upon sighting the two raised an uproar. And one such spectator ended up being Lia's music teacher, Ms. Evelyn, who tried her best to impress the little girl into coaxing so that she could personally get to meet her favorite author. Too bad Lia was not interested in letting Evelyn meet Lillian Grey, especially when she knew it might probably make her mother angry or sad.

Evelyn's several attempts to provide Lia the special attention somehow made her dream come true. She was able to meet Lillian against Lia's wishes. She even got to get her book signed. It was a magical moment as a long-time fan. Evelyn's little risk became a grand success, and the very following day, she made sure her story was the topic of the day.

Evelyn kept spreading the word about meeting Lillian Grey, which now bought devotion from different directions. When Lia went to school the next day, feeling very weary from not being able to love her school life, she finally started noticing the inevitable circumstance.

People spoke behind her back. It doesn't matter if it was positive or negative, but they spoke. The kids in her class kept staring at her oddly, wondering why and how she became famous overnight. Some got jealous, while some tried to get closer, wanting to abuse that special attention.

While Lia started to struggle with her school life, Lillian received a worrisome call from Shane, who kept discovering random pictures of Lillian together with Lia by strangers. He warned her about the consequences and suggested that Lillian should make an announcement soon. It will only be a matter of time before people pick their best version of this new change and turn it to drive the attention towards them for entertainment. Shane wanted Lillian to at least declare her relationship status to her audience, which might help calm down the wildfire before it's too late to reveal the truth.

All this time in her short-lived relationships, the tailed gossips only lasted for a while because the new ones took over when Lillian changed her partners. Besides, Lillian's true identity was kept securely hidden for her to make regrettable mistakes in life. But now, ever since her big reveal, Lillian's life became a topic of interest for the public. Her accomplishments had given her audience the right to get curious for any personal life updates. Lillian already experienced getting photographed at random places. Even though she wasn't a celebrity, some followed her work religiously and were curious to invade her privacy. Shane worried this might bring a new twist into her reality and thus called her to warn.

Frankly, it wasn't that Lillian didn't bother with this unwelcomed attention. On the contrary, she had been bothered by this inevitable circumstance of getting framed by the public interest. The loss of privacy was a major drawback, and Lillian hid it from Lia, for she didn't want the little girl or Giselle to worry.

What seemed like a great start was an actual mask worn by the two, who ended up hiding away their troubles from each other. Lia ended up feeling tired going to school every day when it used to be fun. Meanwhile, Lillian continued to worry about the consequences of exposing her relationship with Giselle and Lia.

And it only became harder to survive every day ever since Evelyn met Lillian Grey.

***

Another day at school, Lia noticed that her friends stopped coming over to her class during breaks. Andy only kept her company while Jessica and Stephanie had some excuse to keep them busy and away from the buzz surrounding their new friend. Even during lunch, the girls bȧrėly chatted, and when they did, it became like a one-word quiz game as questions got answered and never expanded to a joyful banter. .

Out of courtesy, Jessica tried to ask Lia if she was doing fine with all the madness going around her. Lia didn't want to burden her friends or drag them into her mad circle, so she fabricated a classic 'I'm okay.' Jessica looked at Andy for reassurance and found it easy not to believe. The girls didn't want to add more trouble to their new partner. Besides, Lia all so looked beat to have a conversation. They all ate in mulled silence and never bothered discussing the unwanted. Maybe that's the solution they reached, except for Andy, who urged the other two to speak out. However, Jessica and Stephanie refused to enter Lia's personal life. Even though they are good friends with her, according to the running gossip, Lia's friends were simply too afraid to ask the truth.

Seeing her friends act reserved around her burdened Lia more than how the whole school had been treating her so far.

That evening, as Lillian waited in her usual spot to pick up Lia after school, she spotted the four little girls coming out together. Now, Lillian was already aware of Lia's friends, and she had probably waved at them once or twice. Unlike how they spend time to meet and greet Giselle some days, Lia's friends stayed far from meeting Lillian or even tried talking to her. Besides, Lillian never put herself in a position to welcome such invitations. And that's why it was easy for her to stand far and observe the change in their little faces. The girls used to appear closer and friendlier at first, which honestly made Lillian happy, for Giselle wasn't great at making friends. Watching Lia around other girls and having fun had put Lillian's worries to rest. She felt glad that Lia could have a good circle of trustworthy friends.

Lia said bye to her friends and walked in Lillian's direction. As soon as her back turned against the other three, they started whispering to each other. Soon to her alarm, the girls saw Lillian staring at them, and they quickly rushed away.

Lia's sullen face slowly vanished as she neared that car, and only upon meeting Lillian, she could finally reveal a smile.

Lillian wanted to question if Lia had fought with her friends. But against that smile that was missing ever since she stepped out with her friends, Lillian had no courage to intervene.. Therefore, she ȧssumed it to be trivial and drove Lia back to their place, making sure to distract her from her sorrows.