Nova Artino is your Worst Nightmare (littlenightmare) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2020-04-23 17:07:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, caroline forbes, nova artino |
Who: Nova and Caroline
What: Nova crashes one of Caroline's party for a job
When: Saturday, April 18th
Where: A pre-engagement party.
Ratings/Warnings: Low/none
Status: Complete
Nova wished Honey had given her something else to go off of. Sure, she knew what she was looking for - an expensive antique vase, decorated with little golden bumblebees - but she didn’t know where she was looking, and this house… well, this house was massive. It hadn’t been too hop over the back fence and then blend with the crowd. There were enough people here that no one would realize that she wasn’t supposed to be her. She wore a pair of black slacks, a red t-shirt, and a black blazer jacket - not exactly as glamourous as some of the other women at the party, but nothing shabby enough to stand out.
She grabbed a flute of champagne as she made her way from the garden into the lobby of the house, though she didn’t intend to do more than take the odd sip. No one even noticed her as she slipped from the lobby into one of the hallways that connected to the rest of the house.
Now, if she had a priceless vase, where would she keep it?
Caroline was trying to mostly work with charities. However she had to do some other events to get her bills paid. Today it was a pre-engagement party. Even as an event planner Caroline didn’t understand the purpose of a pre-engagement party. Wasn’t the engagement party, the bridal shower, bachelor and bachelorette parties enough pre-wedding activities? But it paid well and would allow her to do a bunch of charity events for the next few weeks.
It was at the groom’s parents house. House was an understatement really. The place was more like a mansion. She was walking through the party making sure everything was in order, that there was no flower out of place, that the caterers trays were always full, things like that.
After making her fifth lap around the party she decided to slip into one of the spare rooms for a quick breather. Just as she made her way into the hallway she spotted someone that seemed off. She was slightly under dressed for one. But there was something else, Caroline couldn’t quite put her finger on it. “Can I help you?” she asked the girl a smile plastered on her face.
Shit.
The last thing that Nova needed was for someone to catch her. She turned, not too fast, not fast enough to make it seem like she was panicked, but quick enough to slosh champagne over the rim of her glass onto her hand.
“Oh, hi!” she said, bubbly and just a little too loud. She didn’t recognize the blonde from any of the photos of the family, which meant that she must have worked for them. At least, Nova was hoping that she wasn’t one of the almost-almost bride’s friends (who had pre-engagement parties? How did that make sense?). “I’ve never seen you before! You must be one of Mark’s friends!” She didn’t slur her words, but there was a strange, not-quite-sober cadence to her voice. “Do you know where the bathroom is? Mark’s never invited me over before and I’m totally lost.”
Well she knew the groom’s name at least. If they even made it to the wedding. Caroline had seen a number of couples make a big deal about the engagement and not even make it to the wedding. It was almost as though the bigger deal the made over the engagement the less of a chance they had at actually getting married. But right back to the task at hand.
Caroline looked the girl over. Something still didn’t feel right. But Caroline wasn’t about to make a scene. That was the last thing she wanted for an event she worked. “Bathroom’s that way,” Caroline said pointing the girl back in the direction she came. “I’ll let Mark know you’re here,” she went on trying to gauge the girl’s reaction. “Who should I say you are again?”
“Oh my god, that’s so embarrassing,” Nova said. She stepped back toward the way she came, stumbling a little and sloshing her champagne again, but she regained her balance quickly. “I’m Sarah,” she said cheerfully. If there wasn’t at least one Sarah invited to this thing, Nova would eat her blazer - nevermind the fact that Honey would be very disappointed in wasting ‘such a nice jacket’ as she called it. “What’s your name?”
Not that Nova especially cared, but it would hopefully help allay any suspicion - not that Nova thought there should be any. There might be, if this woman went to the couple of honour and they didn’t know a Sarah, but by the time this woman found them and asked about her, Nova intended to have already found the vase and made her escape.
Caroline wasn’t sure if the girl was actually drunk or just pretending to be. Caroline had plenty of drunken nights back when she was in college, seen plenty of girls drunk too. This just seemed a bit over the top. But again she didn’t want to make a scene. And considering the woman had no problem answering her question Caroline decided to leave it at that. Though she would definitely be keeping an eye on her.
“Caroline Forbes,” she replied with her usual bright smile. “Event coordinator. I hope you’re enjoying your evening,” she went on back in her cheery professional mode. “Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.”
Nova relaxed a little. This woman really wasn't one of their friends, which meant she wasn't likely to recognize Nova as someone who shouldn't have been there. That made things a lot easier.
"Really? Wow, you've thrown a great party! It was sure nice meeting you, Caroline," she said, moving to step around Caroline in the direction of the bathroom. "If I ever throw a party, I'll definitely call you." Not that there was much of a chance of Nova ever throwing a party.
“Thanks,” Caroline replied with a bright smile. “Enjoy the rest of your night.” But again her reaction seemed a bit over the top. Caroline wasn’t sure what she was up to but something was definitely up. She was going to be keeping an eye out for her the rest of the evening. Which was precisely why she remained in the hallway for a bit longer. Just to make sure Sarah didn’t come back.
“You too!” Nova said cheerily. Once Caroline had pointed her in the right direction, it wasn’t difficult to find the bathroom. She stepped in and closed the door behind her, and then turned around. Then she stopped, mouth dropping open.
The bathroom was easily bigger than her entire bedroom. A large clawfoot tub stood in the centre of the bathroom. Lavish sinks lined one of the walls, with elaborate taps that appeared like they would let out a waterfall of water. On the wall furthest from her, a huge shower stood behind glass doors - as if any bathroom needed both a bathtub and a shower. The apartment she had grown up in after her uncle had gone into hiding didn’t even have a bathtub, just a small, standup shower. There was even a large, plush chair sitting in the corner, so whoever accompanied you into the bathroom would apparently have a comfortable place to sit.
These people definitely deserved to have that vase stolen from them. They probably wouldn’t even notice it was missing.
She slid down onto the cool tile near the door, and pulled up the leg of her pants. Pulling out a small digital periscope. She’d built it herself so that she could avoid walking into awkward situations. She slipped it under the door, and the screen it was attached to showed a clear hallway. Using the joystick, she moved it to look the other way down the hall and…
There was Caroline, still standing there. That was… unfortunate.
Caroline waited in the hallway for about ten minutes. For one she needed that breather. But also to check and make sure no one was wandering where they shouldn’t. Once she was satisfied things were fine Caroline made her way back to that party making sure everything was going smoothly and to try and keep an eye on that Sarah person. Only Caroline didn’t see her. That bad feeling was still there, but honestly as long as Sarah didn’t disrupt the party it wasn’t really her problem.
Nova exhaled loudly when Caroline finally left the hallway, put away her periscope, and put it back away. Hopefully, the rest of this job would go smoother.