The Sinister Screen Queen

Tanya sat at the dining table, lazily sipping raspberry tea, a plate of cookies within easy reach.

Allegra and Ming sat across from her, quietly nibbling their own share, still in a hungover daze from the previous night.

"Emilia still not down yet?" Allegra questioned.

Tanya shrugged, eyes on her tea.

She's probably upstairs scratching an itch you started Casey's voice chimed in Tanya's head, snarky as ever.

Tanya broke a cookie. You're disgusting, Casey.

Hey, just saying… you could've helped her out. She was practically ripe for the picking

Tanya became serious. I don't sleep with underage girls. Eighteen's the line. I have standards.

There was a brief pause. Then, Wow. You actually have morals. Didn't see that one coming

Is that a rule or a preference?

It's called a boundary. Tanya mentally replied.

They have to be eighteen. Minimum. And no, I don't think about that all the time.

Well, damn. You really are full of surprises

Tanya sipped her tea. "After eighteen, though," she silently added, eyes flicking briefly toward Ming, "they're fair game."

Ming freezes mid-bite, a flicker of discomfort passing across her face. She quickly busied herself with her tea, pretending not to notice.

Allegra, either oblivious or pretending to be. "Ma scusa, how did Mary get-a clothes for everybody in-a the right sizes, eh? I don't remember telling her la mia taglia!"

Mary Poppins entered the room just in time to hear her name. "Oh, I measured you all in your sleep."

All three girls froze.

"What?!"

Mary smiled innocently as she set down a teapot. "Oh, don't be so dramatic. I have a knack for eyeballing things. It's all very proper."

Ming blinked. "That's… not comforting."

Just then, Emilia descended the stairs, hair still slightly damp. She offered a quiet, "Morning," and avoided Tanya's gaze completely.

"Someone had a little too much fun last night." Allegra teased, sipping her tea.

Emilia covered her face. "Don't remind me…"

Mary's cheerful tone took a sharp turn. "You girls were irresponsible drinking like that. Brandy? Honestly." Then, as if she hadn't said anything serious, she added. "Now eat something."

They obeyed, the scent of hot pastries and fresh fruit pulling them in.

The car hummed steadily as it cruised through the streets of London. Mary Poppins was at the wheel, graceful even behind the wheel of a 1960s town car.

In the back, the girls were packed in with a briefcase nestled tightly between Tanya and Ming.

It was open, revealing wads of crisp bills… £81,000, all freshly won from various betting shops

"Mamma mia, I still-a can't believe this!"

"What are we even going to do with all this?" Ming asked, eyes wide.

"Eighty-one thousand pounds. That's more than my dad paid for his last car."

Emilia leaned over Tanya's shoulder. "It doesn't even look real! I've never even seen this much money in one place!"

Tanya didn't answer, just kept her gaze forward, arms folded. She looked far less excited than the others.

Ming, sitting by the window, beamed. "I still can't believe I won so much..."

Emilia and Ming had already collected their shares and were practically glowing with joy. Emilia clutched her envelope like it might vanish, Ming was still counting hers in disbelief.

"You haven't even collected the last of it yet," Tanya said flatly. "We're headed to the final place now. Allegra's 2K bet and my 500 top-up... should put your total at 22,500."

Ming's smile faltered. "Wait… I'm fetching that much?"

"Yup." Tanya confirmed, eyes flicking to the rearview mirror, scanning the road behind them.

A dark thought crossed Tanya's mind. That kind of money was life changing.

For someone Ming's age, walking around with that much cash was like painting a target on her back.

Emilia gasped. "You could literally buy a car or like, ten new wardrobes!"

"Or a houseboat," Allegra chimed in. "Imagina the vibes, eh? Bellissimo!"

Ming laughed nervously. "Okay, but… now I'm kinda scared. That's a lot of money to be walking out with."

Tanya finally turned her head to look at her. "Exactly."

Allegra rolled her eyes. "Ma dai, nobody's gonna jump us in pieno giorno, eh?"

Tanya gave her a deadpan look. "You bet two grand like it was nothing,

"Dai, I was just takin' a chance, tutto qua." Allegra said defensively. "And anyway, we've got Mary driving! What could go wrong?"

From the front seat, Mary chimed in without looking back. "I do have a tendency to deter trouble."

Tanya leaned forward slightly, glancing at the road ahead. "Just no wandering off. You're in, you're out. Quick pickup, then we disappear."

"Disappear?" Emilia said, raising a hand. "What are we, spies?"

"Would that really surprise you at this point?" Tanya said, dry as ever.

Allegra leaned her head against the seat. "Next time, I'm bringing my guards. È troppo, davvero."

Tanya gave her a slow glare. "Next time, maybe don't risk blowing the whole operation with your 'YOLO' betting strategy."

Allegra shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"

Tanya sighed, pressing her palm to her face. "That's not the point…"

Mary smoothly made a turn, and the car eased into a quieter street.

The briefcase gleamed in the light as they pulled up to the final shop.

Tanya stared at it, then at Ming.

"Remember what I said. And don't flash that smile too wide, you'll look like a walking ATM."

Ming gulped. "Noted."

"Let's get this done." Tanya said, pushing the car door open.

 ~~~

Author here, so I know that chapters are slowing down and with work, its getting harder to post as frequently so I would like to post each new chapter 2 to 3 days apart.

Another reason is that I'm working on my third book because I have noticed quite a few flaws in the story as we have been advancing.

From a pretty weak first chapter, Tanya's character motivation which I planned to explore as the story went along, then the most hardest figuring out my pacing technique.

We literally spent 5 chapters in Emilia's house and quite a few at the fashion show.

Taking everything I've learned, the plan is to make the new book much more driven and crazy.

Thank you and... burnout sucks!