r/GenZLiterature

Chapter 2: The Scammer Innkeepers

A few years later, Fantine’s baby girl, Cosette, was a toddler. Fantine had to leave Paris to find work back in her hometown, but no factory would hire a single mom with a kid—the social standards back then were a total red flag.

While walking through a village called Montfermeil, Fantine saw two little girls playing on a swing outside an inn, looking super cute and aesthetic. Their parents, the Thénardiers, ran the place.

Madame Thénardier looked like a total Karen and was built like a linebacker, and Monsieur Thénardier was a skinny, sketchy little scammer who looked like a literal rat. But to Fantine, who was desperate and naive, they looked like a wholesome, blended family.

"Hey," Fantine said, approaching them. "I need to go find a job, but I can't take my daughter with me. Can you gatekeep my child for a bit? I'll pay you every month."

Monsieur Thénardier smelled the bag immediately. His inner hustler woke up. "Bet. But it’s gonna cost you a dummy thicc subscription fee. Seven francs a month, plus you gotta pay for her clothes."

Fantine emptied her wallet, gave them the money, kissed Cosette goodbye, and left.

The moment Fantine was out of sight, the Thénardiers completely flipped the script. They put their own daughters in high-end, aesthetic fits, and treated Cosette like an absolute slave. They took the nice clothes Fantine sent and sold them for cash. They dressed Cosette in rags, made her sweep the floors, fed her leftovers under the table with the cat, and beat her. At five years old, Cosette was living a literal nightmare, completely traumatized, while her mom thought she was being pampered.

They were lowkey staring at Gerald O'Hara's massive cotton grindset across the endless fields toward that red sunset glow-up. As the sun was hitting different, dipping behind the Flint River hills in a crimson aura, the April heat was losing its aura and getting a bit chilly, no cap. Spring had major main character energy this year, with quick rains and peak pink peach blossom aesthetics popping off in the swamp. The plowing was almost finished, and the sunset was basically a red filter on the Georgia clay furrows. The hungry earth was thirsty for those seeds, looking pink and scarlet in the shadows, straight bussin'. The plantation house was looking like a lonely island in a wild red sea of wavy clay, totally frozen in a mid-motion wave. No cap, these furrows weren't those mid, straight lines you see in the NPC fields of middle Georgia or the coastal plantations.

The rolling hills of North Georgia were cooked in a million curves so the aura of the rich earth wouldn't slip into the river bottoms. The land was lowkey feral and red—straight up blood-colored after rain, brick dust in a drought, basically the GOAT cotton land. It was a vibe with white houses and chill fields, but it had major duality, like max sunlight vs. dark mode. The plantation clearings were just vibing under the sun, totally NPC and complacent. But at the edges, the virgin forests were lurking—dark, cool, and lowkey sus, like the pines were gatekeeping some ancient secret, whispering: 'Watch out! We caught you once, we can fanum tax you again.' From the porch, the trio heard the hoof steps and the high-key chaotic laughter of the field hands coming back from the grind. Inside, Scarlett’s mom was calling the little girl with the keys, who replied with a high-pitched 'Yas'm,' followed by footsteps heading to the smokehouse for the food drop. Then came the clink of the china as Pork, the main character butler, set the table for the feast. Hearing that, the twins realized it was time to log off and head home.

"Lowkey Scarlett, about tomorrow," Brent said. "Just cuz we were AFK and missed the bbq and the ball, doesn't mean we can't secure the bag with some dances. You didn't sell us out, did you?" "Bruh, I did! How was I supposed to know you guys were back? I couldn't just sit there being a NPC waiting on you two." "A NPC?!" The boys started tweaking, laughing hard. "Look, pookie. You gotta let me get that first waltz, give Stu the last one, and we're eating dinner. We'll vibe on the stairs like last time and get Mammy Jincy to read our aura again." "Mammy Jincy's readings are mid. She said I'm gonna marry some NPC with jet-black hair and a mustache, and black hair is an L." "You only want redheads, fr?" Brent grinned. "Now bet, promise us the dances and the eats." "If you promise, we'll drop some tea," Stuart said. "What?!" Scarlett stood up, high energy. "Is it that tea from Atlanta, Stu? If it is, don't make us leak it." "Miss Pitty spilled it." "Miss Who?" "You know, Ashley Wilkes' cousin, Miss Pittypat—Melanie's aunt." "She's a total boomer, no cap." "Well, her carriage pulled up at the depot yesterday and she said there's gonna be a massive engagement announcement at the Wilkes ball tomorrow." "Lame. I already knew that," Scarlett said, feeling mid. "Charlie Hamilton and Honey Wilkes. Everyone knows they're gonna lock in, even if Charlie's vibe was lowkey lukewarm."

"Is he lowkey mid?" Brent asked. "Last Xmas you let him cook near you for real." "I wasn't even trying to let him cook," Scarlett shrugged, no cap. "He's a total sissy, fr." "Plus, his engagement isn't even the main character moment," Stuart flexed. "It's Ashley and Melanie's engagement, period!" Scarlett's face went blank—straight up NPC mode after getting hit with a massive L. She was so cooked she couldn't even react, so Stuart thought she was just locked in. "Miss Pitty said they weren't gonna drop the news 'til next year 'cause Melly's health is lacking; but with the war beef going on, the families wanted that quick marriage grindset. It's being leaked tomorrow at the supper intermission. Scarlett, we gave you the tea, so you better pull up to supper." "Bet, I'll be there," Scarlett said, zero emotion. "And all the vibes?" "All of them." "You're a real one! The other boys are gonna be pressed." "Let 'em be pressed," Brent said. "We got that main character energy. Scarlett, pull up to the barbecue with us tomorrow morning, no cap."

If you spill the 'war' tea one more time, I'm literally ghosting and logging off. 'War' is mid and lowkey L, unless we're talking 'secession.' Pa is constantly yapping, and every guest is main-charactering over Fort Sumter and Lincoln until I'm ready to crash out. Even the boys are stuck in a repetitive loop, zero rizz. Every spring party has been a total flop because they have zero range. Honestly, thank God Georgia waited until post-Christmas to secede, or the vibes would've been cooked. Say 'war' again and I'm out. She wasn't capping; she just couldn't handle a plotline where she wasn't the NPC. But she served a smile, maximizing her dimples and fluttering those lashes like a high-res GIF. The boys were totally mesmerized, exactly as she calculated. They scrambled to apologize, thinking she was more iconic for her lack of interest. To them, war was just 'men's business,' so her detachment was a total girlboss move.

Having successfully diverted them from the boring lore, she pivoted back to the tea at hand: "So, what's the tea on your mom regarding the second expulsion?" The boys were low-key tweaking, remembering the absolute L chaos their mother unleashed three months ago when UVA kicked them out. "Bruh," Stuart said, "she hasn't even clocked our location. Tom and the squad ghosted the crib before she even woke up. Tom is currently vibing at the Fontaines' while we rolled up here." "But did she say nothing when you pulled up last night?" "We actually lucked out. Right before we arrived, that new stallion from Kentucky spawned in, and the whole place was in a literal frenzy. The beast is high-key majestic, Scarlett—tell your dad to peep him ASAP—but he already bit a chunk out of his groom and sent two workers to the shadow realm. He almost demolished the stable and sent Strawberry, Ma's old horse, to the lobby. When we got home, Ma was in the stable with sugar, low-key hacking the horse's temperament. The workers were shook, eyes popping, but Ma was talking to that horse like he was her bestie and he was totally eating out of her hand. Her horse skills are main character energy, fr. When she saw us, she just went: 'In the name of God, why are you four back? You're literally a walking plague!' Then the horse started acting up and she was like: 'GTFO! Can't you see he's stressed, my darling? I'll deal with you four in the morning!' So we dipped, and this morning we escaped before she could crash out, leaving Boyd to deal with the fallout."

"You think she's gonna crash out on Boyd?" Scarlett, like everyone in the County, found it totally unhinged how Mrs. Tarleton bullied her grown sons with a riding crop if the vibes were off. Beatrice Tarleton was a girlboss with too much on her plate: a massive plantation, a hundred workers, eight kids, and the state's top horse farm. She had zero chill and was constantly stressed by her sons' nonsense; while she didn't whip horses or workers, she felt a quick smack was just part of the parenting meta. "Nah, she won't hit Boyd. He's the eldest and the runt, so she skips him," Stuart said, flexing his 6'2 frame. "That's why we left him to explain the situation. For real, Ma needs to stop. We're nineteen and twenty-one, not six." "Is your mom riding the new horse to the Wilkes barbecue tomorrow?" "She wants to, but Pa says he's too chaotic. Plus, the girls are gatekeeping her social life—they want her to ride in a carriage like a literal NPC for once." "I hope it doesn't rain," Scarlett said. "It's been raining for a week straight. An indoor barbecue is an L." "Nah, tomorrow is gonna be fire," Stuart said. "Look at that sunset. The red is insane. If you observe the data, the sunset always predicts the weather."

Scarlett O'Hara? Total slay queen, even if she wasn't conventionally "hot." Dude, her charm was next level; she could yeet any guy into her orbit, like, no cap. Her face? A whole vibe—a chaotic mix of her French aristocrat mom's delicate features and her Irish dad's, like, intense ones. But it was arresting, you know? Pointed chin, square jaw—major sigma energy. Pale green eyes, no hazel, with those super long lashes—slay. Her brows were fierce, like a total statement. Her skin? Magnolias and bonnets—she was extra.
Picture this: April 1861, she's chilling with the Tarleton twins on her dad's porch. She's serving looks in her green dress—twelve yards of fabric, no cap. It matched her shoes perfectly. Seventeen-inch waist? She was snatched. But, like, beneath the demure vibe, she was a whole mood. Those green eyes? Turbulent, willful, lusty—total opposite of her "sweet" act. Her manners were totally imposed, but those eyes? Pure sigma.
The twins? Total chads. Six foot two, sun-kissed, riding horses—the whole package. They were basically identical, like two peas in a pod. They were all about the outdoors, not books. They were basically the ultimate sigma males, but also kinda sweet. They were all about the good life, and Scarlett was right there with them.

Outside, the sunset was hitting different, making the dogwood trees pop with their white blooms against the fresh green. The twins’ rides—big, fire-red like their hair—were parked in the drive. Their pack of skinny, hyper possum hounds was wildin’ out around the horses’ legs, like always. Chillin’ solo like the VIP he was, a fancy black-spotted carriage dog kept it cool, paws up. 🌅✨

" Bruh, no cap, there ain't gonna be no war, fam. It's all just talk, ya feel me? Ashley Wilkes and his pops straight up told my dad last week that our peeps in Washington are gonna strike a deal with Mr. Lincoln 'bout the Confederacy. Lowkey, those Yankees are shook to fight us, fam. So like, chill, there ain't gonna be no war. I'm over it, fr.

"No war? Bruuuuh!" the twins cried, big mad like they just got bamboozled.

"No cap, there ain't gon' be no war!" the twins yelled, mad salty like they got scammed.

"Bruh, obvi there's gonna be war," Stuart clapped back. "The Yanks might be shook, but after General Beauregard yeeted them outta Fort Sumter, they gotta throw hands or get clowned as total Ls. The Confederacy is—"

Scarlett just side-eyed them, big 🥱 energy.