OLD HABITS DIE HARD

4-YEARS LATER

At Margaret's Meeting House.

All: (Chattering)

Susan(Chairman): Quiet down ladies!. (They all pay attention) Our daily contributions for today is $500 each. Now, if you can't afford it, I can give you up till the weekend.

Margaret: (Raises her hand) Excuse me, but I don't get paid until after 2 weeks.

Susan: (Gives her a stern look) So?.

Margaret: (Stutters) What I'm...trying to say is..(Susan interrupts her).

Susan: Whether you can afford it or not, the deadline is this weekend Mrs Carter. Besides, you always have excuses, don't you?. It's because of you we fall behind. What do you really do for a living?.

Margaret: (Suddenly upset) Excuse me?.

Susan: Don't you think I should fire you as my accountant?. I mean, the people need their money complete. Why do we always have to fall behind because you can't afford it?.

Margaret: (Even more upset) Excuse me!?.

Susan: (In a loud voice) You are not an exception Mrs Carter. At the end of the day, a winner must go home with a complete amount. (To all the ladies who had been listening and watching them fight as usual) Ladies!. Do you or do you not agree with me?.

All: We do, you're right.

Susan: (To Margaret) All we're saying is, if you cannot meetup to our expectations, then you're free to quit. We will calculate how much you have contributed so far and we'll give it to you (One lady member interrupts).

Lady: Excuse me Chairlady, but don't you think you're being too harsh?.

Susan: If you all don't like it, we can stop this meet right here and now. I'll give you back all your money and you can all leave as you so please. (Proudly) I'm just trying to help you poor people in my midst become rich by saving money. You make a lot of money from saving, don't you know that?.

Margaret: (Angrily stands from her seat) I'll excuse myself. I have somewhere very important to be.

Susan: (Evil smile) Sure. Have fun!. (Annabelle suddenly walks in. She has no idea of what is going on).

Annabelle: (To Margaret) Mom?. Are you ready to go now?. (To all the other ladies in the room) Hello, hi there.

Susan: (Suddenly admires Annabelle's beauty as she walks to her position) My, my, my!. Who do we have here?. You must be Margaret's daughter.

Annabelle: (Smiles) Yes I am.

Susan: (Turns to Margarate) She's such a pretty girl (Margaret ignores her and quickly snatches Annabelle's hand, pulling her out of the meeting house).

The Following Day.

At David's House(Susan's son).

Susan arrives and the maid approaches her.

Maid: Hello Mam.

Susan: Where's my son David?.

Maid: He's upstairs in his study Mam. I can take you there.

Susan: No need. I'm not a stranger (walks upstairs to David's study room. David is on his computer playing the bubble shooter game). Hi son!.

David: (Suddenly shuts his computer) Mom!. You should've told me you were coming.

Susan: I don't need to inform my son before coming to see him.

David: Still..(Susan interrupts).

Susan: How many years has it been again?.

David: (Confused) What?.

Susan: How many years has it been since you started dating Stephanie?. (Stutters) eight..., no, ten years?. Poor girl!. Until when are you going to propose?.

David: Did she say anything to you?. Did she mention marriage to you?.

Susan: (Getting irritated) I just want you to get married and bear me grand children. Is that too much to ask for?. Do you want to remain a bachelor forever?.

David: Probably, yes!. You know I'm too busy running my company. I can't afford to lose focus because of some stupid marriage.

Susan: (Suddenly loses her temper) What?.

David: (Ushers her out of his office) I need you to calm down, relax and spend some money. I'll write you a check.

Susan: But David... (David shuts the door on her and she angrily walks down stairs).

Maid: Mam. Is there anything you want me to...(Susan angrily grabs her bag).

Susan: Shut up!. I'm leaving (Walks out of the house furious).

The Next Day, At Margaret's and Annabelle's New House.

Margarate has just arrived from work and suddenly, an idea pops up in her head.

Margaret: What if I try gambling one more time?. Who knows?, I might just win. Yes!. I'll just try it one last time. If I win, I'll show Susan who's boss (walks to the bedroom, opens her safe and grabs all the money in it meant for the ladies at the meeting house and leaves quickly).

At The Gambling(Casino) House (7:00pm)

Margaret walks in and heads to a table where a game is taking place. She sets half of the money she brought. After playing poker with the rest of players for a long time, her cards don't seem to match and she loses the game.

Margaret: (Frustrated) Damn it!.

Unknown man at the table: (To Margaret) You could try again. Have you played before?, or is this your first time of playing?.

Margaret: No. I'll just take my leave (Slowly rises from her seat and walks outside of the Casino holding her chest. Angry and full of regrets, she talks to herself) I used to be so good at this. What happened to me today?. How come I lost to all those people?. I messed up. How do I get back all the money I lost? (Suddenly experiences a heart attack, she holds her chest for a long time trying to breath before she finally collapses).

On The Main Road, 1-Hour Later.

Annabelle is driving home when her phone rings.

Annabelle: (Taps a button on her AirPod to answer) Hello. Who am I speaking to?.

Voice: This is doctor Ben calling from the general hospital.

Annabelle: (Confused) Doctor?.

Voice: Yes. I'm afraid your mother was admitted 1 hour ago. She suffered a heart attack.

Annabelle: (In shock, she suddenly stops the car to breath and the other cars honk at her) I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Voice: Ms?. Are you okay?. Can you hear me?.

Annabelle: (Suddenly gathers her courage) Loud and clear. I'll be there in 5 minutes (turns the car around, making a U-turn and drives to the hospital).