Chapter 25

20 more days to go….

*Flashback*

"I cannot believe I left my favourite lip-gloss at home" I groaned to myself as I and Rainer walked hand in hand into school.

As usual, people give us envious glares, respectful stares and smiles of adoration. It's easy to make an entrance when you come as a matching set and to top it all off; we're the children of one of the most powerful men in the country. We were living the life every normal 16 year old would dream of.

I noticed Rainer had his head stuck in the clouds as usual. It’s nothing new but I'm in the middle of a beauty crisis and I need help from my twin.

"Rainer!!!" I snapped

He flinched in shock then came back to reality.

"Yes love"

"What are you thinking about?"

"I am simply observing"

Oh no. Here he comes with the weird deep talk again. I rolled my eyes.

"What now?"

"Take a look at people and their friends"

I looked around the hallway and saw people in the various cliques and groups. Nothing special. Rainer and I didn't need friends. We had each other and that is definitely more than enough. We only hung out with top elites in our social group so I don't get what's the big deal about friendship that he is trying to prove.

“Elaborate please" I sighed "I don't speak weird"

"What is the point of friendship really?"

I shrugged

"I don't know. Loyalty, good selfies, shopping partners, blah blah blah"

Rainer shook his head

“Isn’t it funny how we spend our lives forming friendships when in reality we’re just gathering guests for our funeral?"

* End of flashback*

I kept my hands in my pockets as I walked down the hallway, the flashback forming heavily my mind, memories of my brother forever kept alive. I never understood what he meant back then but now I think I get it.

As I walked, I let my eyes roam down the corridor taking note of the various cliques left to right; Cindy and her minions, Jomar and the jocks, the nerds laughing at a comic book, the cheerleaders, the populars and so on.

What is the point really? Do half of these people know the true meaning of friendship? Or do they think friendship is all about going shopping together, texting each other the latest gossip, saying hi to each other every morning and sitting together at lunch?

"Don't be a hypocrite Ruby" my subconscious mocked me “you are no different"

Damn it! She's right.

"Hey there, Ruby" a voice said beside me

It was Jomar. He put his hand around my shoulder

"Hey you" I answered

"What's up?"

"Oh nothing. Just trying to make it to my class in one piece”

“School is hard” he wailed “I just might end up becoming a prostitute”

I laughed

”What’s funny?” he asked “I’m sexy”

“Of course you are”

Everything was all laughter and games with Jomar till I looked straight ahead and saw Annabelle putting her books in her locker.

I stopped in my tracks immediately

I’m in love with you too but I’m dedicated to serving the Lord now

The jaw breaking events of yesterday dawned on me in one flash. I did my best to avoid her last night and this morning which was extremely hard considering how close we’ve become in the past week. Should I confront her about what I saw?

It's none of my business and she may get mad at me for eavesdropping but that doesn’t change anything. That doesn’t change the fact that I know what I know. What do I do? I wish Rainer was here. He would know what to do. He always knew what to do

“Hello” Jomar snapped his fingers in my face

I blinked slowly bringing myself back to reality

“Sorry “I told him “What did you say?”

“I was asking if you would like to go see a movie sometime”

“Uh…”

“You okay?”

“Yeah”

The walls felt like they were closing in on me. What do I do? I’ve never worked well under pressure. I can’t keep such a huge secret inside me for too long.

“I need to use the bathroom” I blurted out

I didn’t wait for Jomar to answer before I dashed through the crowd and into the bathroom. I sighed in relief when I closed the door.

Boy! That was close

I went to the sink to put on the tap and wash my face. The water calmed my nerves a little.

“Not so tough, are you now?” I heard a voice say from one of the stalls. It sounded a lot like Cindy

“Please stop” a voice cried. The voice was accompanied by laughter

Is someone being bullied? I just saw Cindy in the hallway this morning and now she’s here bullying someone

I know it’s none of my concern but I remembered my brother and how he was bullied. If only there was someone to stand up for him, he would still be here. I cannot let that happen to somebody else.

I quickly ran to the stall where I heard the noise and banged on the door.

“Stop!” I screamed “open up”

The door flew open. I gasped in horror when I saw the scene before me. Cindy and her friends were standing while Mary was on the floor, her head wet probably with toilet water. Mary was crying.

“Oh! Look who’s here to join the party” Cindy said “The superhero. Where’s your sidekick?”

Mary whimpered in pain. She was trying so hard to catch her breath. It seemed like she was suffocated for a long time.

“Fortunately, I was just leaving.” Cindy spoke “Come on girls”

The two girls left one by one but I blocked Cindy so she couldn’t pass.

“What?” she glared at me

My fists balled up by my sides. Anger swelled inside me. I know Mary hasn’t been nice to me. She’s not even my friend but she didn’t deserve this. No one deserved this.

Anger ran swiftly in my veins

Anger for Rainer

Anger for the people who bullied him

Anger for those who took him away from me

“Why are you so cruel?” I asked her “What gives you the right to do such horrible things?”

She smirked in pride. The bitch fucking smirked

“Do I really need a reason? I’m the queen bee. I rule this school. I can do whatever I want to”

I chuckled

“You know the most painful part. You act like you’re so tough, like you know it all but deep down you’re just a lost pathetic little girl who wants attention. You have daddy issues, don’t you?”

Cindy’s face turned as hard as stone.

“How dare you?”

How dare I? How the tables have turned

“How dare I? I’ll tell you something Cindy. I’m new in this school I know but if I ever see you bullying any of my friends again. I’ll take you down myself”

I stepped aside for her to pass. I didn’t step aside because I couldn’t say more things but I stepped aside so that I wouldn’t do something I would later feel bad for – like smashing her head against the bathroom mirror.

“You’ll regret this” Cindy said

I laughed

“You’re a toothless dog, Cindy. You’ll do nothing”

When they left, I sat down on the floor beside Mary

“Why?” Mary cried “Why did you stand up for me? I’m not even nice to you”

It was in that moment that I felt what people described as unconditional love. It was in that moment I understood why Jesus laid down his life for us on the cross, not because we deserved it but because he couldn’t watch us suffer even after we rejected him.

No matter how mean Mary had been to me, I couldn’t let her get treated like this

“Answer me” she half screamed

I didn’t answer her

Because even I didn’t know the answer to that question so I let my actions do the talking

I pulled her wet body in for a hug and let her cry on my shoulder.