Chapter 5-- Eye Candy
Lilia saunters across the campus grounds, followed by a small group of bright-eyed newcomers, many of whom are holding brochures, notepads, or cameras.
"And that one over there is the math and science building..." She turns to address the tour group, her ponytail flinging with the turn of her head. "It's one of the larger halls, so many of your core classes will most likely be in there. It's also equipped with five labs."
She continues on, leading the group past the large glass-paneled building. She has changed her clothes by now: A comfortable cotton white tee with
ELCC Sports
written across the chest, a pair of denim shorts tightly hugging her hips as she walks, and a pair of flip flops, which she has substituted for the pair of blush-colored trainer shoes she used during the volleyball match.
"Now, if you'll please follow me this way. We'll head over to the dining hall. I hope everyone's hungry!"
Unbeknownst to Lilia, one of the lads trailing behind her has a camcorder tucked in the black duffle bag in his hand, the lens peeking out of an unzipped gap and trained on her juicy rear swaying about in the tight shorts.
("Blimey! What a lush body! Uni gals are so much sexier than secondary school girls...")
The lad holding the duffle bag- first-year film student Melvin Tilton, grins to himself excitedly as his eyes remains fixed on the subject of his current recording.
("I've definitely gotta wank off to this tonight! But for now, I'll keep a close lens on her. She's the perfect model for my next film series!")
As the group stops outside the diner, Lilia starts walking from person to person, handing out slips of paper.
"Well, here we are. I will now distribute your lunch coupons, as well as an invite card for our annual Halloween Festival this weekend! It's free to attend, even if you are not yet enrolled."
("Aw yeah! I reckon there'll be loads of uni gals dressed like sluts!")
An ecstatic Melvin holds the invite card in his hand, which reads:
Haunted Night. 10.31 Sat. 10pm~3am
"And this concludes our tour." Lilia waves to the group as she finishes handing out the last card. "Enjoy your meal, everyone!"
As the group breaks, Melvin tries to follow Lilia, who is headed in the opposite direction. But his slight frame is unable to overpower the flood of his fellow visitors shoveling in front of him into the diner. By the time he manages to scamper past the traffic, Lilia has vanished around the building corner. Melvin sprints over and is unable to locate his subject.
("Shit! I hope she didn't catch on!")
In fact, Lilia remains oblivious to being Melvin's subject. She ponders to herself as she saunters down the pavement.
"I hope that went as well as I think it did...Hmm?" She lifts her eyes and spots a little girl with long, straight golden hair, probably no older than 7 and wearing a long, blue one-piece gown, sitting alone on a wooden bench with her head down- quite an unusual sight on a college campus. Lilia makes her way over and smiles in the friendliest way possible:
"Hi there, little lass. Is everything alright?"
The girl pops her head up and meets Lilia's gentle gaze with her large sapphire blue eyes. Then, in a soft, timid voice, stutters:
"I...I got separated from nana...And I don't know how to find her..."
"Oh no, that's no good!" Lilia's motherly instincts kick in as she bends over, resting her palms on her knees, and levels her gaze with the urchin's. "If you'd like, I can help you find her."
"R...really?"
"Uh huh, I work here, so I can take you to a place where nana will be able to easily find you. Would you like that?"
"O...okay."
"Great! Come along then!" Lilia tenderly take the child by the hand and guides her along. "I'm Lilia, by the way. What's your name?"
"Sapphire."
"What a lovely name! It's a pleasure to meet you, Sapphire. May I ask how old you are?"
"I'm...6."
"Oh! I have a little boy who's just a tad younger than you are. He'll be turning 6 this year."
"Really?"
"Uh huh. His name is Iley. He's a real sweetheart." Lilia chatters away with the child affectionately as they approach the campus security office...
"Got lost, huh?" Corbin Graystone stands leaning against his desk, dressed in his formal security vest, brown khaki pants, and a black necktie. His untidy blonde hair tucked underneath a black peaked cap.
"I suppose it would be best if she stays here until her guardian comes to look for her."
"That'd be great, Corbin."
"Sapphire, was it? Would you like some juice? Snacks?" Corbin ducks behind his desk to rummage through his mini-fridge.
"Sorry about this, Corbin. I know the security office isn't a daycare center." Lilia flashes an apologetic grin as Corbin hands a small juice box to the child. "I would take her with me, but I still need to tidy up the sand pit for tomorrow's club match, and after that I need to pick up Iley from school."
"Hey, no worries. I'm just doing my job as campus security." Corbin nods his head while little Sapphire eagerly consumes the orange juice.
("Mmm...juice...")
"Anyways, it seems like you've got your hands pretty full as staff, student, and a single mother. If you want, I can pick up Iley after my shift again."
"Appreciate it, '
dad
', but not today...I'm taking him to go pick up our Halloween costumes tonight." Lilia throws him a playful wink as she stoops down to give Sapphire a kiss and hug, then waves goodbye. "Thanks for today though. I'll definitely make it up to you. Play nice, you two!"
"Bye bye, Lilia!" Sapphire looks up with her large blue eyes and waves at her.
"Well, now then, Sapphire...What shall I do with you...?" Corbin leans against his desk, looking at the little girl with his arms thoughtfully folded across his chest. "Oh, I know! You can help me watch for bad guys on the campus CCTV!"
"Okay!"
"That's not appropriate for children!" Lilia turns to reproach Corbin as she reaches the door, but inwardly she's smiling. She can see why her son Iley adores this man so much.
Back when Lilia was a 18-year-old, leaving secondary school, she was at the top of her class and an aspiring college freshman. Her whole world came crashing down when she was drug-raped while attending prom night with a group of classmates and students from the nearby colleges, eventually finding herself pregnant with the child of an unknown assailant. The next few months were some of the most agonizing times of her life as she struggles with the trauma and clashes within herself on whether or not to have an abortion- Afterall, she never asked for this. It wasn't fair to her.
Ultimately, she decided it wasn't fair to the unborn child either.
She made up her mind to bring Iley into this world, much to the chagrin of her own parents, who cut off all contacts with her and refused to acknowledge Iley as their grandson. Lilia was heartbroken, but had no regrets.
She would spend the next 6 years raising Iley with as much love as she can afford, but not without help from the Graystones, who were poor in material wealth but rich in love for her like she was a daughter to them, and whose own daughter Colette loves her like a sister. And then there is this man: Colette's seemingly aloof older brother Corbin Graystone, who loves Iley like his own flesh and blood.
Lilia reflects fondly on how her misery has passed into blessing as she walks out of the security office, at ease in heart having left this lost little girl in the care of the man she trusts the most, but also blissfully unaware of the shimmering lens from the cover of a nearby shrub, trained on her swaying hips.
("Ooh! There you are, you luscious little crumpet! Let's see where you're off to next!")
Meanwhile, in a sound-proof studio of the performance arts building, 3rd-year music student Kean Kirkwood, a slim man with an array of piercings in his ears, lip, left eyebrow, and nose, wearing a towering multi-colored mohawk and two sleeves of tattoos, perches on a stool across from his band mates with one hand holding the neck of his electric guitar.
"Okay, listen here, mates..."
Across from him, Kazelle, as well as another young woman with a golden hair bun on bass guitar, and a dark-skinned man with glasses and a skull cap on a drum set, await his pep talk.
"The Halloween Festival is this weekend, that's three days from now. As you all know, the 'Maniac Minstrels' will have a spot on the performance program. As band leader, this is my chance to go big!"
Kean continues with a scowl:
"This is bloody important for me, as it should be for you. So make sure you don't cock it up for the rest of the band."
"Haha, no pressure, huh?" Kazelle turns to the female bassist and quips casually. The blonde hair bun, 1st-year music student Jethra Wilson, retorts with equal nonchalance:
"Hah! Easy for you to say. You're not the one shagging the band leader."
"This isn't a fucking joke, you two!"
"Nobody's treating it like a joke, Kean. We're all doing the best we can..." Kazelle turns back to the band leader with calm blue eyes. "All I'm sayin' is that all this extra pressure won't do any good for anyone."
"She's got a point, Kean. If we're ready, we're ready. Just gotta do according to what we rehearsed." The drummer, 3rd-year Jonas Muntz, chimes in, followed by Jethra:
"If anything, that 'pep talk' about not cocking it up made everyone more nervous... So tone it down a bit. Huh, lead?"
"Alright, alright. What the hell. Just don't fuck this up for me." Kean waves them off with a long sigh of resignation, then picks up his guitar. "Alright then. Let's jam it up again! From the top!"
Meanwhile, over in the sand pit, Lilia is hard at work under the late afternoon sun, picking up debris and smoothing over the sand with a wide rake. She looks up at the sky and wipes her sweaty brow.
"Phew! That should about do it. It's so hot today. Could really use a break in the shade."
She sets the rake and her other tools down and settles in a grassy area under a tree with a water bottle.
(This area will do- Nice and cool. There's still some time before Iley gets off school.)
She lies on her stomach and kicks off her flip flops with a sigh. It's nice to lounge around for a bit, seeing how hard it is to find time to relax at home with all the mum things going on...Good thing there's nobody around.
But there is somebody around- And his camcorder lens zooms in on Lilia's hips and thighs as she reclines on her belly and kicks her legs up in the air.
("Actually...since no one comes here around this time of day, it might not be a bad idea to get out of these sweaty clothes for a bit of sun... It's been forever since I've had a good sunbath.")
Lilia holds a finger to her lips and contemplates before sitting up on her spread knees and looks about.
("Why is she looking around? Is she on to me?")
("Nobody will come out here now, right? I've got to make sure...")
As the lens remains fixed on her, Lilia crosses her arms down to her waist and grabs the fringe of her T-shirt...
("Oh? What's this? What is she doing?")
The top comes off, revealing a powder-blue bra...
("Oh, no way! Looks like this is my lucky day!")
Lilia stands up and strips off her denim shorts, revealing a pair of lace-fringed knickers that matches the color of the bra.
("That body is absolutely gorgeous! I can't believe I'm getting this kind of footage!")
Melvin leans slightly forward holding the camcorder while Lilia comfortably reclines on a sunny spot of the grass in only her undergarments, letting out a relaxed moan...
("That's right, my goddess. Soak up the sun. Nobody's watching you.")
("Definitely gotta wank off to...")
Melvin eagerly reaches down to unzip his trousers, but inadvertently snaps a twig against his foot...
("Oh shit!")
