Between Two Titans

Vivienne

“Hey! Vivienne, I like your dress!” Lyzie greeted me upon my arrival at Kingstone High School's entrance.

KHS is one of the most prestigious schools in L city. Students here were the children of wealthy families.

“Thanks, Lyzie.” I smiled at her.

“I guess that’s the latest design.” She said, pointing to my dress.

“You guess it right. Not even out in the market.”

It's wash day, so we are not in our uniforms. It's about time to show my friends my new dress. My family—the Alfonso—owned a big laundry company in L City. It was easy for me to have the latest wardrobe before launching it in the market.

“Carrie and the rest will be thrilled to see you.”

I just smiled at what Lyzie said. I am excited to see their envious reactions.

We walked side by side as we went to our classroom. We've been chatting about everything when a girl, holding an ice cream, came out of nowhere. She accidentally slides her foot and deliberately throws the ice cream towards me.

I screamed in shock as I felt the ice cream rolled down from my chest to my lovely dress.

“Oh my! I'm so sorry, Vivienne!” cried a soft, scared voice on the floor.

“It’s you again!” I yelled at Anne.

Anne is an introverted classmate of ours. She was always on the side, doing her thing. And I don’t care about her as long as she didn’t cause me inconvenience.

“Look what you've done, you shithead!” I screamed on her face.

Lyzie handed me wet wipes to clean myself. At the same time, Anne stands up on her own.

“Don’t you know that’s the latest style? You can’t buy that anywhere in the country unless you wait a month!” Lyzie said.

“Well, Lyzie.  How would she know? She doesn’t even know how to doll herself.” I irritatingly said as I fix the mess.

Anne, the weirdo, just bows her head. I could tell how embarrassed she was since everyone in the corridor was looking at us.

“Oh my God! It's chocolate flavor! My dress was ruined already!” I cried. The wet wipes just made it horrible.

“Sorry. I'm really sorry.” Anne whispered.

“Your sorry couldn’t do anything to fix this. Why don’t you just stay on the side and do your shits! Lousy people like you shouldn’t be straying out here. So, you wouldn’t inconvenience others!” I yelled at her and turned towards the locker’s direction.

I have no choice but to change into a simple attire I had on my locker. I can’t walk around having this mess on my dress. Damn, that stupid menace! She just ruined my day!

I was about to walk to my classroom when my phone rang. Mom was calling. I lazily picked up the call.

“Hey, Mom.” I greeted her.

“Viv...” her sad voice called me.

A long silence came. I occasionally heard her sob, yet she didn’t say anything.  And like a brat, I couldn’t bear it anymore.

“What is it, Mom? Just tell me, or I'll drop the call. I'm on my way to my class.”

“Sweetie… your Dad.”

I suddenly felt nervous with her tone. She was crying on the other line.

“What happened to Dad, Mom?”

“He…” Mom sobbed again. “He hanged himself and died on the spot. He was dead. Your Dad is dead!” A loud wailing came over.

I felt like I got numbed that very moment. I was so shocked that I couldn’t move.

What is going on? Why would Dad hang himself? We’re a happy family. We're almost perfect. Why is this happening?

“Viv, hey, what’s going on?”

I barely heard Lyzie. Everything just went black.

When I opened my eyes, I was in the clinic. Our maid was there to pick me up. The rumor about what happened to my Dad had quickly spread to the whole KHS. I don’t have the guts to face my schoolmates, so I decided to leave without saying a word.

“Mom! What happened?”

Mom greeted me upon my arrival at the funeral home. I was still in shock while hearing her explanation.

“I saw him hanging in the bathroom. He killed himself! I guess it’s because we’re already bankrupt.” Mom cried as she tried to explain everything.

“We are broke, Vivienne! Everything was lost! Your Dad sold the company and even the mansion just to pay all his debt. He had become addicted to playing casinos and didn’t notice he had gambled all of our money and assets.  It was too late when I found out what is going on.”

I stumbled on the floor. This is not happening!

The burial ended without my friends visiting the wake of my father. I guess they already knew we are already bankrupt. I don’t know what is going to happen after this. The mansion was already sold, and we can only stay there for a month. But where are we going to move?

I heard our relatives from my father’s side blamed Mom for Dad's death.  And they hated us. They said we are being cursed. That’s why we are now suffering. My Mom’s mother visited on the second day of the wake and didn’t attend the funeral.

I was expecting the worst.

When I come back to school, I was greeted by a group of students throwing me garbage and calling me a loser. It seems the news of my family’s bankruptcy spread all over the campus.

I didn’t mind them and went to my classroom only to be ignored by my friends. I was about to take my seat when Carrie suddenly took my bag and throw it in the corner.

“What’s wrong with you?” I angrily asked.

“Are you going to fight me, loser?” Carrie slyly smiled while looking down at me.

I know why she was acting like this. She thought I was just a lowly poor person. And sadly, that was true.

But my pride would not let me back down.

“I don’t have time to talk to you. Go away.” I shrugged her off.

I was about to take my seat when she suddenly pulled it away. It’s too late for me to realize it. I fell to the ground. I felt my hips were hurting while my classmates were all laughing.

To my embarrassment, I ran away and left the campus. I was on the road when a rushing motorbike suddenly appears before me. It seems the driver tried to avoid me, but his tires slide, causing him to fall. I got startled and worried about the guy from the motorbike and forgot about my current situation. His helmet was thrown on the sides.

I took the helmet and hurried to the driver.

“Are you okay?”

The guy turned to me. He was bathing in his sweat. I gasped. He was so handsome even in that state. His eyes were dark and penetrating. His nose was just so perfect, and his lips were so… so kissable.

What?!

The handsome guy seemed surprised to see me but hurriedly stands up when we heard voices coming from somewhere.

“He was there! Go! Catch him!”

I was dumbfounded when the guy suddenly took my arm and pulled me up. I don’t have a choice but run with him.