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The Charity Benefit (1) - A number of the local businesses in the area have come together to organise a charity benefit. In addition to a silent auction, there is also an evening charity ball. The community has been wanting to raise funds to fix up a few public areas for some time now and in the spirit of the Star Festival, these businesses have donated several prizes to the event to encourage people to attend. As one of the local residents you have been kindly invited to attend! Formal attire is encouraged but only required if you plan to attend the Ball.
As a member of a decently upper-class family, Marta felt obliged to attend the Charity Benefit and see what there was to see. She had pulled out one of her favorite dresses for the occasion, a soft red number with a flared skirt and white accents. She either looked like a glass of wine or a red velvet cake, and she didn’t mind either. There was this new place in town that made these little cupcake bundt cake hybrids, and the red velvet ones were delicious. That was, of course, beside the point.
In any case, Marta loved the panorama of beautiful dresses and sharp suits she was seeing. Looking around, she found it a bit hard to focus on which fashions she liked the most. By the auction tables, she passed a charming girl with orange hair, blue eyes, and a simple blue dress that matched her eyes. Somehow, the cut of the dress was very flattering on her, even without much in the way of decoration. She wanted to shoot that girl a compliment, but then the girl got into a staring match with a crystal bird that was up for auction, and Marta didn’t want to interrupt her despite the weirdness. Some collectors needed to really get up close and personal with an item to determine their feelings towards it, and she knew that. Some ball jointed dolls could have their fate determined by how they handled when they finally arrived.
On her way back from the auction tables, Marta’s attention was drawn to a girl sitting on one of the couches in the main event area, her eyes glued to an iPad, only occasionally flicking upward to some indeterminate point in the room. It occurred to her that this girl must have been drawing on her iPad. Compelled by curiosity, Marta approached the girl with the intent of asking her what she was drawing, and they locked eyes after a few steps. The other girl’s eye contact was unwavering in a strange way, and when Marta was within earshot, the girl uttered one flat syllable.
“What?”
The word caught Marta more off guard than she expected. “Um, well…” Now that she had a closer look at the girl, she could see a dark-haired silver-eyed woman, clad in a purple dress with a pink ribbon around the waist. Somehow, she seemed more mature up close than far away.
“Speak,” the girl said, her tone flat as ever but a bit sharper now.
“Oh! Well, I was just curious about what you were drawing. Not everyone comes to a charity event to draw.” An idea hit Marta at that point. “Are you doing drawings for people who donate?”
“No.” Though the rejection was firm, a tiny hint of a smile curled one side of the girl’s mouth. “Though that may not be a bad idea. Hm.”
“Glad I could contribute,” Marta quipped, smiling but a bit unnerved by the girl’s overall feel. She was terse and that felt a bit harsh at times, so far. “Do you have a website or something I can check your art out on?”
“Mm-hm.” The girl reached into her purse and, without looking, pulled out a business card. “Here. I’ll be watching my inbox.”
“Thank you!” Marta chirped, and then the girl resumed drawing as Marta looked over her business card. It read: “Law of Art of Law, by Justine Lawrence,” along with her contact information. The conversation trailed off from there, and Marta put the card in her purse for later. “I’ll leave you to it. Can’t wait to see what you make!”
Always excited to find new people to spread her wealth to, Marta just about bounced off to look to other places in the benefit building. Making new connections was always exciting!
[Word Count: 633]
