Beauty's Only Skin Deep

by Sunshine G. Bruno

  Chapter 8

  Lauren-Anne

  I looked at the tv in shock. Meg’s face was on the tv with a headline reading, “Teenage Girl Stabs Own Brother to Death.”

  My mom came up behind me. “Oh, my.”

  I turned to her.

  “Lauren-Anne, I’m not sure if I like the friends you are choosing.”

  “Mom, I’ve known Meg since kindergarten!” I cried.

  “I know, but some of your other friends are... Concerning. Like that Tiffany girl having the outburst at the movies. Jesus-”

  “I know, I know. Jesus wouldn’t like it.”

  My mom clasped her hands together. “Hunny, I see you leaning away from your religion.”

  “I actually had a question about it. About, I don’t know, demons, I guess.”

  She stiffened. “You know we aren’t supposed to talk about those kinds of things.”

  “What do you know about an Et Splendidis?”

  Mom hesitated. I knew she was superstitious about these things. At last, she said, “I’ve never heard of that one.”

  “I think I’m going to go ask Father Moss about it.”

  She nodded. “You do that.”

  Because Graham had been so popular, school was canceled. So, I went to see Father Moss.

  “Lauren-Anne, how nice to see you,” Father Moss said.

  I smiled, sitting down. “Thank you, Father. I had a question about demons or gods of some sort.”

  “What of them?”

  “Have you ever heard of Et Splendidis?”

  “I’ve heard the phrase, but I’m not aware of any being with that name.”

  “What does the phrase mean?”

  “It roughly means ‘the gorgeous one’.”

  I didn’t say anything. I had no idea what to do with that information.

  As I walked home, I decided that I had one thing to do. I had to rejoin the Charm Club. I had to get to the bottom of things.

  Brittany

  I couldn’t stop crying. Graham was dead. Not only was he dead, but he had died a painful death.

  The girls in the Charm Club were all surrounding me in Beverly’s bedroom, some of them holding my hands.

  “We’re so sorry.” Margaret said. “We don’t know why Meg would do that.”

  “She was upset about us, but I didn’t think she was this upset,” I said.

  “Well, she’s in jail now.” Marylin told me. “She’s where she belongs.”

  Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Beverly got up and opened the door. Lauren-Anne was standing there. She rushed toward me when she saw me.

  “Brittany, I am so sorry,” She told me.

  “Lauren-Anne, what are you doing here? This is a private meeting,” Marylin said.

  “I want to rejoin the Charm Club.”

  “Wait a second,” Evelyn said. “You quit.”

  “I know. And I’m sorry. It was a mistake.”

  “You want to rejoin after everything bad that’s happened?” Beverly asked.

  Lauren-Anne nodded.

  Evelyn, Marylin, and Beverly all gathered on the other side of the room, whispering to each other. Finally, they turned back toward us.

  “It’s official!” Evelyn cried. “Lauren-Anne is back in the Charm Club!”

  Everyone cheered. Lauren-Anne spent the rest of the afternoon comforting me with the other girls. Then I went home for dinner.

  “Brittany, we’re sorry about your friend,” My dad said.

  “He was my boyfriend,” I reminded him.

  My mom looked at me. “We know that, hunny.”

  My dad continued, “We’ve been talking, and we think that it would be best if we moved back to Los Angeles.”

  “What?” I cried.

  “It’s for the best.” My mom told me. “Two of your friends have gotten into trouble and we don’t want you to be next. And then Graham was killed by his own sister, who was also one of your friends. We just think it’d be best for everyone.”

  “But I like it here!”

  “We’re leaving tomorrow morning,” My dad said.

  The next morning, we packed our suitcases and left. Everything else in the house would come in the moving van next week.

  I watched as we drove away from White Grimm.

  “It’s for the best, hunny,” My mom said.

  I nodded absentmindedly. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to my friends.

  Chapter 9

  Lauren-Anne

  For the next few weeks, I gathered all the information I could about the Charm Club. I had learned that Meg had been told to kill Graham to get Brittany more invested in the Charm Club again. I also learned that Evelyn killed her husbands. But there was no information about Et Splendidis.

  One night I decided to call a Charm Club meeting. I had to find out what I could about it. Marylin and Beverly always had the meeting at their houses when their parents weren’t home. It was easier that way, so neither of them had to explain to their parents why the principal was there. Since their parents were home, we had the meeting in the principal’s office at the school.

  “Why did you call a meeting, Lauren-Anne?” Evelyn asked, looking bored.

  “I want to talk about Et Splendidis.” I said.

  Suddenly the lights went out. There was a horrible storm that night. After we all screamed, Evelyn found some matches and lit some candles. I noticed a bottle of perfume on her desk.

  “What’s there to talk about?” She asked.

  I didn’t know what to ask, so I said, “I’m telling the police that you killed your husbands. And that you made Meg kill Graham.” I stood up and tried to walk out the door.

  There was a group of girls blocking my way.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Evelyn told me.

  “What is Et Splendidis? Who is she?”

  “She’s no one. I made her up. It’s all in their heads.” Evelyn said, gesturing toward the rest of the Charm Club.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because I wanted to be in charge of something. Girls are so unpleasant these days, with the way they dress and act, so I figured I’d make girls seem proper.”

  “You tricked us,” Beverly said.

  “We killed someone for you!” Marylin cried.

  Evelyn took a knife out of her desk. “You girls aren’t going anywhere.” She said. “I need you girls, you make the school look good!

  I suddenly threw a candle down onto the floor. A little fire started. I took the perfume bottle off Evelyn’s desk and dumped it on the flame, which started expanding.

  “Run,” I told the girls.

  We all ran out of the building, which was now on fire. We watched as the fire spread quickly. Later, we watched the firemen put out the fire.

  “None of us will ever tell anyone about anything that happened in the Charm Club. Deal?” I asked the remaining members.

  Everyone nodded. “Deal.” They said in unison.

  I held my rosary as I stared at the school, which was now burnt to the ground. I’d never tell anyone about this, I promised myself.

  About the Author

  Sunshine G. Bruno is the author of Beauty’s Only Skin Deep. She was inspired to write this story after a dream involving a group of girls joining what she refers to as a “beauty cult”. She has also written Kill the DJ, and is releasing Election Year 2050 in July of 2018. Sunshine G. Bruno lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she spends her time with her family and two dogs. When she’s not writing books, of course.

  Go to her website sunshinegbruno.com for all kinds of information about her books.

  Follow Sunshine G. Bruno on social media.

  Twitter: @sunshinegbruno

  Instagram: @sunshinegbruno

  Facebook: facebook.com/sunshinegbrunowriter

  Election Year 2050 Preview

  Chapter 1

  Jaxon

  “It’s official,” The news anchor on the tv said. “Albert Franch has been elected to be the next Preside
nt of the United States.”

  Half of the people in the New York City penthouse cheered. Jaxon Ribelle, however, felt his stomach drop.

  “President Franch is expected to make his speech within the hour,” The news anchor said. It seemed like she was about to cry. Jaxon knew that she had voted for the other candidate, Curtis Capper. Because of that mistake, the news anchor was going to die. Just like Jaxon and his wife, Olivia.

  Jaxon turned toward the front door. He had to get out of there.

  “Hey, Jaxon, isn’t this great?” One of his wife’s friends, Whitney, slurred. She must have been on her sixth glass of champagne.

  Jaxon shook his head. “No, Whitney. Olivia and I, we voted for Capper.”

  Whitney frowned. “Oh, that’s too bad,” She burst out laughing as she said, “It was nice knowing you.”

  Jaxon shook his head as he walked away from her. He had never liked Whitney anyway, she was always drunk.

  “Jaxon!” Olivia came running up to him.

  Jaxon hugged his wife, burying his face in her short brown hair.

  “Jaxon, what are we going to do?” Olivia asked. Her green eyes were shining with tears.

  “I don’t know, Liv. I guess there’s nothing we can do.”

  The rules of the Presidential election were simple. Every American citizen over sixteen had to vote for a new President every two years. No exceptions. Whoever didn’t vote for the winning candidate would be executed. About forty-six percent of voters didn’t make it past their first election. Seventy-two percent didn’t make it past their second election. Jaxon and Olivia, however, had made it to their seventh election. They were two of the extremely lucky few. It wasn’t easy to make a decision on who to vote for. You were not allowed to discuss who you were voting for with anyone who didn’t live in your household. You would watch one debate with the two candidates. Then an hour later you would go to vote. It was a huge gamble. But if you didn’t vote, you’d be executed. It was the result of cruel people having too much power.

  Jaxon and Olivia got out of the taxi and rushed into their apartment building. They were both impatient in the elevator. They rushed into their apartment. It wasn’t as luxurious as Whitney’s penthouse, but it was still quite nice. It was one of the benefits of living in New York, which was the only part of America that was as nice as things were before 2016. Ninety-eight percent of America’s population was living in run-down motels.

  Alissa, their daughter’s nanny, was sitting on the couch. She turned off the tv when Jaxon and Olivia walked in.

  “Alissa, where’s Zoe?” Olivia asked.

  “She’s sleeping in her bedroom,” Alissa told her. “Is everything alright?”

  Olivia didn’t say anything as she walked over to the picture window in the living room. She watched the city forty stories below.

  Jaxon didn’t say anything. He was still in shock. He was going to die. What would happen to Zoe? She had only just turned three. Everyone in both Jaxon and Olivia’s family were dead.

  “Alissa, who did you vote for?” Olivia asked at last.

  “Franch,” Alissa answered. She looked back and forth between Jaxon and Olivia. “Uh oh, you two voted for Capper, didn’t you?”

  Olivia nodded. “All of our family members have passed. We have no one to take care of Zoe. It’s why we hired a nanny in the first place. Zoe really loves you. Would you be interested in adopting her?”

  Alissa stood up. “Of course. Zoe is like my own daughter. She’ll be in good hands. You can trust me.”

  Olivia and Jaxon looked at each other and knew that they were thinking the same thing. You couldn’t trust anybody in this world.

  Albert

  There was a knock at the door. A second later, a man stuck his head in. “Are you ready, sir?”

  Albert Franch, who was looking in the mirror, straightened his jacket. “Yes. I am ready for the world to see me as the President for the first time.”

  “Wonderful,” The man said. “If you would follow me, please.”

  Albert followed the man, staring at the back of his head. He was scrawny. Albert could crush him without a problem. He wondered if this man had been excused from voting. No, he didn’t think so. This man wasn’t important enough. He probably didn’t even know that you could be excused from voting. Of course, not just anyone could be excused. It was only the important people. Like politicians, doctors, and the extremely wealthy. No, this man would not have been excused. He must have voted for Albert, otherwise, he’d be a mess right now.

  “They’re ready for you out on the stage, sir,” The man said.

  Albert put on his best fake smile and shook the man’s hand. “Thank you for your support,”

  The man smiled. “It was no trouble. I’m just doing what I can to help make the country a better place.”

  Albert kept his smile plastered on his face. “Well, you just leave the rest to me.”

  “...And now, The President of the United States, Albert Franch!” Someone out on the stage said.

  Everyone started cheering as Albert walked onto the stage.

  He smiled and waved at everyone as he walked to the podium at the center of the stage. “Thank you!” He said. He waited for the cheering to die down before he continued, “Thank you, everybody. I am so excited to be your new President. I am going to make this country a much better place. You better believe that.”

  “Are you going to stop the executions?” A woman in the crowd yelled.

  “Pardon me?” Albert replied.

  “Are you going to stop the executions? That would make this country better.”

  Albert pointed to the woman and turned to a few men in the Secret Service. “Arrest her,” He said. After the woman had been taken care of, Albert continued his speech. “Make no mistake, America. I am not to be messed with. I will execute anyone who thinks otherwise. Now, there’s the matter of the people who did not vote for me. As you all know, we have a huge overpopulation problem in America. These executions are only to keep the population under control. If you did not vote for me, remain in your homes. You will be picked up and brought here, to Washington D.C., within the week to be executed. That will be all for tonight. Thank you, and good night.”

  Half an hour later, Albert was being led through the White House.

  “Your bedroom is this way, sir. You can talk to me if you need anything. Just ask for Edwin.”

  Albert stopped to examine a picture of a young woman that was hanging on the wall. She was standing in a battle stance, with two laser guns clipped to her belt. Laser guns? Hm. Those had gone practically extinct by the mid 2030s. They were really nothing but a fad. She was good looking, though. She had white-blonde hair, and gray eyes that matched the background of the picture.

  “Who’s this?” Albert asked. He had never seen her in any history books or anything. Not that he had read many history books. Or any other books, for that matter.

  “That’s Mia Forte,” Edwin explained. “She was President Barrow’s bodyguard and assassin for five years. She was a close, personal friend of his.”

  Albert stared at the picture. “I’d like to make her a close, personal friend of mine.”

  One of the Secret Service men coughed uncomfortably.

  “How come I’ve never heard of her?” Albert asked.

  “She worked very secretly. No one wanted the public to find out that a President had an assassin. Especially when that assassin was an eighteen year old girl.”

  “What happened to her?”

  “No one really knows. She was in prison under the orders of President Cordon until she found out that he had hired someone to kill President Barrow. She broke out and took her family and disappeared. No one knows where they are now, or if they’re even alive.”

  “An assassin?” Albert muttered to himself.

  “Would you like us to find an assassin for you?” Edwin asked.

  Albert shook his head. “No. I prefer to do my killing myself.”

  ter>

 

  Sunshine G. Bruno, Beauty's Only Skin Deep