Chapter 1.7 - An Old Friend

As I began to open my eyes I noticed that I was not in my bedroom and it was pitch black outside as well as in the room I was in.

"What is going on," I thought to myself.

Suddenly there was an orange glow behind me. I turned around, my eyes widened and I fell backwards. Standing before me was a figure that I recognized all to well.

"Helllooo Isssabelllaaa."

"Stella? This cannot be happening! What is going on here, where am I?"

"Iiii'mmm commming fooorrr yooouuu. Yooouuu beeeettter waaaatch ittt."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sat straight up in my bed, dripping with sweat. I covered my face with my hands and realized it was just a dream...but it felt so real! What have I done, I thought I was different now. The dream reminded me that Antonio still had Stella's ashes and tombstone. I decided to call Antonio and tell him that we needed to bury Stella at the Bridgeport Cemetery.

"Isabella, why are you so worried about where she is buried?"

"Because I saw her infant son yesterday and for him and his dad it is the right thing to do."

"That makes sense. Ok, she will be buried there. I am actually really glad you called Isa, I have some news for you."

I hadn't heard Antonio call me Isa since we were teenagers.

"What's up Antonio?"

"I thought you would like to know that I bought a home in Bridgeport," he said "When my decorators are done I will be coming to town."

"Oh my gosh Antonio! I can't believe it. I can't wait to see you. But, why buy a house when you could just come visit me?"

"No reason, I just found a real nice house for sale."

"Well, I can't wait, I am so excited! Call me when you get here so you can come see me and my new house."

"I will Isa, see you soon!"

I hung up the phone and stood in my bedroom for a couple minutes. I hadn't seen Antonio in years and I wondered what he looked like now. The last time I saw him he was pudgy and had a beard that I could not stand and wore some nerdy looking glasses. I needed to get a lot of work done on my house before he got here because I wanted him to be impressed. I got on the computer and looked for some new flooring to make the house look nicer. I found the perfect wood flooring, just shiny enough to see the reflection of windows,etc...

  After my new floors were put in I decided to stop for a bit, think about what else to add to my house and to use my miner for the first time. While using the miner I found 9 scrap and a common gem. Then the sensors went off, so i got up to investigate the cave. in the cave I found a pink diamond, Quartz, and silver.

I worked hard that night and was promoted to a Getaway Driver, with a bonus of §888, making §46/hour, and the same work schedule. I also did a side job that night and made an extra §1,200.
The next morning I woke earlier than normal, feeling a little uneasy for some reason. I decided to take car of my garden and then make some pancakes with fresh fruit. After burning the first pancake I made a near perfect looking pancake with lots of fruit.

  I spent the rest of the day cleaning and doing laundry before i decided to go out. I stopped by the science facility first and donated all the insects I had found and got §155. then I went to The Prosper Room and ordered a non-alcoholic drink to help promote the club and got §1,000

  That night I worked extra hard because I wanted to get promoted faster and it took my mind off of Antonio for awhile. While I was taking inventory on the new shipments we got, I noticed a cargo truck begin to pull away and then something fell onto the ground. I went over to were it fell and picked it up and saw that it was a wad of cash! I looked around, then stuffed the §1,000 in my pocket and walked backed into the warehouse.  Before I left work I was promoted to Bagwoman, with a bonus of §1,104, making §59/hour. When I got home I paid my bills and then fell asleep on the couch watching a romance movie.

 

 

  The next morning I got more work done on my house. I added a garage, pool, driveway, bushes & flowers, paintings, lights, and a new fence.

*Phone rings*

"Hello"

"Hi, is this Miss Abruzzi?"

"Yes it is..."

"Hi Miss Abruzzi, this is Mike, owner of Mike's Cornerstore."

"Oh, hi Mike, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I am in a bit of a bind right now. Our customers are buying fruits and vegetables like crazy and we are running out. Would you be able to bring me 15 very nice or better harvested items from your garden? I will pay you."

"Of course Mike, no problem at all. I will be there within an hour."

"Thank you Miss Abruzzi!"

I hung up the phone, went to my garden and harvested 15 fruits and veggies. Then I delivered them to Mike and he payed me §1,000. After leaving Mike's I sold the rest of my fruits and veggies for §1,664. Then I went home and made Ratatouille for dinner. It was delisious!

  After I cleaned my dishes and put away the left overs I went to the Brightmore to moonlight. I made §328, better than nothing!

 

The next morning I fixed my computer and wrote two novels:

• Planet X ~ §15 for every few chapters and 6 royalty payments of §140
• A Failure On My Behalf ~ §9 for every few chapters and 6 royalty payments of §82

  I was so tired by the time I finished the last novel I just went straight to bed and slept all night. The following morning I competed in the Amateur Olympics, won, and recieved §1,000.

  After work I was promoted again to Con Artist, with a bonus of §1,416, making §71/hour. I called Lola Belle and asked her if she wanted to hang out for a little while. We decided to meet at Marina Field in 30 minutes. I parked my car, walked into the park, and looked for Lola, she was near the fountain.

"Hi Lola!"

"Hi Isabella," She said "How are you? We haven't hung out in ages!"

"I am doing pretty good, just been busy with work and adding on to my house."

We stood around and chatted for a long time. It was nice hanging out with a friend for once.

"WOW!" Lola said.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. Look at that guy that just got here, other side of the fountain."

I looked over by the fountain and saw who Lola was talking about.

"Oh my, he is gorgeous!" I said "I wonder who he is."

"I don't know, I have never seen him before," She said " But i'm not going to be shy!"

We said goodbye to eachother, she walked towards the guy and I decided to stay where I was to see what would happen. i was a little jealous that Lola was going to talk to him because he was stunning. typical tall, dark, and handsome guy that every girl fantasizes about. To my surprise (and delight) he turned her down and she walked away clearly pissedoff. With a smirk on my face I went home and went to bed.

 

**You can see him right between us**

The next morning I made waffles for breakfast, caught a few minutes of the news, and then watched a romance movie again. Then I swam in my new pool for awhile to get some excersice and then I soaked in the hot tub to relax my muscles before work.

  That night at work I received a §10 raise for all of my hard work. It was a long night, mostly meetings, so i was happy when it was time to leave.

"Isabella, wait!"

Startled I turned around.

"Oh, hi Mark"

"Here you need this," Mark said handing me a sheet of paper.

"What is this?"

"Your new work hours. Congrats on being promoted again."

  Smiling I looked over the paper. I was now a Safecracker, making §109/hour, and working from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. I also recieved a bonus of §1,944

  As soon as I got to my driveway I noticed something was wrong. All of the lights were on in my house and that's when I noticed that my burglar alarm was going off.

"Great!" I thought to myself as I ran up my walkway, "Not only do i work for criminals but now they are robbing me!"

  I flung open the door to my house right as a police officer was running up my walkway. I didn't recognize the girl in my house and assumed that she worked in the Evil Branch and not the Theif Branch. I watched as the robber and the police officer brawled, he cuffed her, checked my house, and then took her to jail. I turned off the burglar alram, locked the doors, and went to bed.

  Work must have finally caught up with me because I slept until 10 a.m. I made some brunch, did my laundry, took a shower, and relaxed until about 2 p.m. I started to get bored so I went upstairs and picked out a nice formal outfit to wear out. I decided to go to Plasma 501 and see how crowded it would be. As I walked down the stairs I heard my doorbell ring. When I opened the door I saw the handsome man from the other night Lola had hit on.

"May I help you?"

"Sorry to disturb you ma'am," the man said "But I am looking for Isabella Abruzzi. Is she here?"

"I am Isabella, do I know you?"

Wow! Ummm," he said "You look so much different now Isa."

"Wait," I said a little taken back "Who are you?"

"Isa, it's me, Antonio Russio."

**TO BE CONTINUED**