Page 6 of Barbi and the Villain

“A thank you is enough.” She grins.

“Thank you,” I mumble in awe.

She nods, and without another word, gets lost in the crowd.

2

The book is beautiful. Thick and heavy.

PomPom is nestled by my side in the cab as we both admire the pink and gold design of the cover.

The Fate of Akkaya is written in pink foil.

I swallow hard, excitement bubbling inside of me. Someone pinch me! Is this real?

It’s almost as if the entire incident with Clarice is forgotten as I stare at the book I’ve been waiting over three years for.

With a deep breath, I pry it open, flipping through the pages.

Seven hundred ninety-eight pages.

My God!

I’m going to lock myself in my room and I won’t resurface until I’m done with it. I just need a stash of Diet Coke and some chocolate, and I will have sustenance for the coming days.

But first, I must find a way to get to my room without running into my mother. After what happened at the convention, the last thing I need is to have someone else tear at me and my pathetic self.

I sniffle a sob. Just a bit longer and I’ll get home where I can cry in peace and feel sorry for myself.

The cab drops me off a block away from my house, and heels in hand, I attempt to make a stealthy entrance through the back. I carefully pull the door open and run up the stairs. But as I’m halfway there, my parents’ voices reach me and it soon becomes clear they’re having an argument—again. About me—again.

I push PomPom up the stairs, signaling for her to go to my room while I plop myself down, listening with a lump in my throat.

“She’s too spoiled, Victor, and it’s all your fault. You need to put restrictions on her spending. She has one year of college left and she needs to do better if she’s going to get into any law school, let alone a top ten one,” Mom adds impatiently, and I can already picture her pacing around while gesticulating.

“Have you thought she might not want to go to law school?” Dad drawls in his relaxed and calm manner.

“What? Nonsense! Ye Rim’s son got into Yale Law! She was just bragging about it this morning, and I didn’t even have one good thing to say about Barbi. I’m sure if I mentioned that she passed her Econ course, she would have laughed in my face.”

I frown. What’s so wrong with a pass? It’s not as if it goes as a bad grade on my transcript.

“An Econ course you forced her to enroll in,” Dad adds.

“Because you’re not strict enough with her!” Mom bursts out, and I physically cringe at her tone.

“She’s fine, Mi Joo. She has hobbies and friends, and she’s growing up to be a lovely young lady. You have to let her decide her future for herself.”

“Have you seen her?” My mom’s horrified cry echoes in the house. “She went out in a skimpy dress with all her assets hanging out in the open. Who knows what she’s doing and who she’s meeting.”

I close my eyes as I sigh wearily.

Yes, Mom, I was sneaking out to prostitute myself to men with a pink fetish.

I glance down at my chest. Granted, the cut is a little low, but I don’t really have assets that can hang out in the open. If anything, to reach Lady Jocelyn’s level of voluptuousness, I may or may not have stuffed a few socks in my bra.

But Dad is wrong, too. I don’t have friends—or, at least, now I realize that I don’t. At school, I’m too weird and people judge me for my choice of clothing. At home, I’m not good enough and will likely never be enough. And when it comes to my hobbies…

I sigh.

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