By: Estefanía, Cecilia and Victoria. Based on Dollar Sign by Andy Warhol
Troubles of a shopaholic
Both
born in the city of Los Angeles, Caroline and Elena Forbes had such different
personalities that it was
hard
to believe they could live under the same roof and share the same room.
“Caroline!
You won’t believe what I found on the way home!” exclaimed Elena in excitement.
“It was sweet
and
lovely, so soft that I couldn’t bear the idea that it was alone in the world,
with nobody to love and take
care
of.”
“Don’t
tell me you brought a puppy. Mum will kick us out,” said the eldest sister.
“You
know puppies make me sick. Actually, I bought this fantastic, gorgeous,
stunning, amazing fur coat. And
that’s
not all. I couldn’t resist getting this pair of kneelength
boots,
these beautiful ripped jeans, and last, but
not
least, this incredible umbrella!”
“But
it never rains here, Elena.”
“I
know, but I couldn’t resist myself. It’s pink! Look!”
Caroline
rolled her eyes. She was fed up with her sister wasting money on unnecessary
stuff. Trying to change
the
topic of the conversation, she took a letter from the drawer and gave it to her
sister. “This is for you. It
arrived
this morning.”
Elena
grabbed it and read it anxiously. However, her face, which was like an open
book, revealed that these
were
bad news. All of a sudden she started crying and complaining. Her account was
on the red and she owed
5.000
dollars to the Central Bank.
“What
am I going to do now?” she cried desperately, having the feeling that her world
was falling apart.
Meanwhile,
Caroline was conscious that something like this would happen someday and had
already come up
with
an idea. Trying to calm her sister down, she advised Elena to select all the
clothes she didn’t need any
more
and sell them on eBay. So the next day, they got to work.
“Let’s
get down to business. Elena, please! What are you doing?”
“I’m
saying goodbye to my coats, and my shoes, and all my little babies. I can’t get
rid of them so easily” cried
Elena.
“I
can’t believe my eyes! When will you grow up? They’re just pieces of cloth.”
“Don’t
you dare to call my sweethearts like that! They mean the world to me! You’re
ripping my heart out”
“There’s
no doubt. You are definitely adopted. Never mind, look, there is a girl from
San Francisco who wants
to
buy your fur coat and your leather boots for really good money” said Caroline
while checking her computer.
“C’mon,
we will send it now, pack it”.
“I
don’t want to give her my favorite coat in the world, listen, it is saying “don’t
leave me mommy.”
“Elena!
Pack this or you will go to jail. Stop making such a scandal out of it.”
Ignoring
Elena’s tantrums, they continued working. By noon, they had already sold 15
pairs of shoes, 3 coats
and 7
different blouses. Everything seemed to be under control until they realized
that their mother’s favorite
collar
had accidentally fallen into the box they had sent to the girl from San
Francisco.
As
usual, Elena started weeping because of her bad luck and Caroline suggested a
solution. They would travel
to
the girl’s house. The plan was that Caroline would dress like her grandmother
and Elena would convince the
girl
that the collar belonged to the old lady and that it was sent by mistake.
Without
hesitating, they travelled to San Francisco and found the buyer’s house, which
in fact looked like a
big
mansion. When they knocked, a beautiful tall girl dressed in fancy clothes and
jewelry opened the door.
They
immediately noticed the collar around her neck.
“Hello,
what do you need? Are you beggars? You must be, dressed in those clothes from
last season.”
Elena
was astonished by the girl’s gorgeous clothes and her amazing British accent.
But at the same time, she
was
outraged by the words that came out of her mouth.
“What
do you mean?! These are original Prada boots and my dress is a Valentino. You’re
talking with a
fashion
expert!”
“Oh
my God! We’re going to be BFFs! Did you see that Armani released its new
collection yesterday?”
“Please,
of course I did! I loved their fashion show.”
“You
have found your long lost twin Elena”, whispered Caroline to Elena’s ears and
then turned to the girl.
“Excuse
me sweetheart, what is your name?”
“Oh,
that’s so impolite from me! I’m Rebecca Brown. Please, come on in.”
Elena,
with Caroline holding onto her arm and disguised as their old lady, entered
Rebecca’s house. They
were
openmouthed.
The
decoration was very modern and minimalist, combining terra colors with the sofa
and
the furniture in dark brown and the carpets of bordeaux.
“Your
house is beautiful, my dear, but we’re here for a very important matter” said
Caroline, with shaky voice,
trying
to imitate her grandma. “You see, my scatty grandchild has accidentally sent
you my treasured collar, the
one
you are wearing.”
“This
one?” said Rebecca pointing at her neck, “Oh I am sorry but you must have made
a mistake. I bought
this
one on the internet. Well, I did not buy it but it came as a gift!”
“But
dear, my girl was the one who sold the clothes to you. I am really sick and I
want my family to have it, so
they
will always remember me.”
“Oh I
am sorry but my daddy always says that gifts are not returned. Maybe you can
buy another one. Besides,
this
one perfectly matches my eyes, see? It seemed to be made for me! You can give
your family a letter! I
would
help you but I don't know how to write letters. Nevermind, did you guys watch
Victoria’s Secret’s
fashion
show yesterday?”
“Of
course I did!”, exclaimed Elena, “The models were stunning and the lingerie
too. I really need all the
collection
in my wardrobe.”
“I
have already told my dad that he must buy me all of it!”
“Excuse
me!” yelled Caroline, already fed up with the situation. “Can we please use
your bathroom darling?”
“For
sure granny! It is next to the massage room.”
“But
I don't want to go to the bathroom”, said Elena.
“Shhhh,
come here” whispered Caroline as they entered the bathroom.
“She
has a massage room! Oh my god I want this girl’s life!”
“Elena!
can you please focus, we need to get the necklace back. Now, of course I have a
plan… So,
did you
understand?”
“I am
dying right now SHE HAS VICTORIA’S SECRET BODY LOTION!”
“Elena,
please!”
“Yes
yes, I listened to you.”
“Fine,
let's do it.”
Finally,
Elena told Rebecca that she wanted to see her other fancy necklaces and, while
the two of them were
trying
some on, Rebecca had no option but putting granny’s necklace off and placed it
on the table. Then,
Caroline
took it. Luckily, the host did not notice a thing because she was too busy
boasting about her exotic
jewelry.
“Well,
time to go darling, I need to take my medicine,” said Caroline
“Okey
granny, and please take this advice: get a new coat on the way home, that one
is too old fashioned.”
“I
told you Caro.. nanny! C’mon I know a trendy store nearby.”
Totally
satisfied with their success, the girls went home. On their way, Elena found a
hundred dollar bill on the
street
and, looking at Caroline with glittering eyes, they went to the nearest
shopping mall to make it
disappear.
By: Mili, Carolina, Daiana R.- Based on a painting by Artemisia Gentileschi.
The fearful
complicity
It was a
foggy day and the smell of wet land lingered in the air. Judith, a strong and
determined women, arrived home from fencing practice. Awaiting her was her maidservant Abra. Her
expression was most unusual, her complexion gone completely pale and her hands
trembling as she saluted her mistress.
"Good
evening m'lady. " said Abra.
"Good
evening Abra, I'm completely worn out!" replied her mistress.
"Oh
dear, do tell me how was your training? How are you doing today? Would you like
some tea? I have the perf…"
"Stop
right there" interrupted Judith.
Suddenly, Judith
noticed something strange in Abra´s attitude, and she realized that she´s been
blocking her bedrooms door all the time. She motioned Abra out of the way and
peeked through the keyhole. To her astonishment she witnessed her beloved George
cheating on her! She backed away from the door in complete shock.
"Oh I´m
so very sorry m'lady, I was trying to avoid your distress. Sir George has been
in there for quite a while and ordered all of the staff not to bother him or
else we would be killed or worst sent to the Americas"
"The
only one who will be killed is him, my darling"
There comes
a moment in everyone’s lives when one must ask oneself a trivial life changing question.
This moment came for Abra, she had to decide whether to leave and save herself
from being an accomplice or stay and face the consequences.
"wh-
what do you mean?"
"I
will behead that bastard!" assured Judith while she was touching her spear
tenderly.
Abra tried
to make her come to her senses but she could not come through to her. Should
she simply abandon her mistress and save herself?
"But
think about it! There are far better ways to gain revenge on that filthy soul.
You can make him suffer real pain"
"Nonsense
I´ve made up my mind and I want blood, that bastard doesn’t deserve to breathe
the same air that I breathe. He shall go to hell where he belongs"
Judith
suddenly pushed Abra out of the doorway and breaks into the room. What follows
is a woman´s shriek and then silence. A few minutes later Judith emerged
holding George´s head in her hand.
"Immediately,
get me something to place this! Said Judith "I don’t want to get blood on
my dress."
"What
have you done?" gasped Abra.
"We
have spared the world of a filthy leech, we are heroines, the women of the
world shall thank us for our actions dear Abra."
"We? I
don’t want any part of this m'lady, oh please dear lord, I didn’t ask for
this!" she looked pleadingly up at the heavens.
"Yes,
you are part of this too, I´m not going down alone" she replied with anger
in her voice. "Don’t just stand
there like a fool looking at me, if you want a few more minutes of freedom go
fetch the money and my jewels and prepare the horses!"
They
managed to get away to a nearby town but were soon arrested and accused of
murder. They had a long and lonely death in prison.
