Chapter 9

It was a boring evening at the Linwood cottage. Since it was a Sunday, most of the students were returning back to the student residence tired from visiting their parents on the weekend. Monah sat in front of her laptop, scrolling through her social media feed with a mix of boredom and curiosity. She had just finished a long day of studying and was looking forward to unwinding with some videos and mindless scrolling. 

She knew the kind of impact social media had on the youth. The benefits as well as the dangers of it. Most of her peers would post lies to get likes and follower's whilst others posted truth's and were rejected for that. It seemed easier to lie than be truthful, that way you could gain many friends. She remembered that one day when she was still in highschool, a certain girl named Nelly secretly took a video of her cousin having sex in the toilet with another pupil. The video went viral on social media but her cousin's reputation was destroyed. The young girl was even hospitalised for having a mental breakdown. Ever since then Monah stopped logging on her social account. Fear of being embarrassed in public touched many student's. They all felt like someone else's targets. Highschool was hellish for some. 

As Monah scrolled through her feed, her eyes landed on a familiar face. It was Ted.

Curiousity led her into checking on his timeline. He saw that he had posted pictures of him and Michelle looking ever so cosy in front of the camera. 

They seemed so happy. They were laughing and smiling, their arms around each other, and their bodies leaning in for a kiss. Monah felt a pang of jealousy in her chest. Why did they get to be so happy together, while she was still single and alone?

Monah couldn't help but compare her own life to theirs. She had always thought that she and Ted were meant to be together, but he had broken up with her in the most brutal way possible. The young woman became slightly angry over the painful memories. 

She remembered that Ted would always find something about her to criticize. But she hadn't taken such into serious account as she thought he wanted to help her improve in her looks and personality but even that was never enough for him. 

Monah became disappointed in herself, realising how abusive Ted was to her. 

She shook her head then exhaled heavily. She was thankful that the break up happended. 

A slight feeling if pity pinched her heart as she watched how happy Michelle looked. If only she knew the kind of beast she had gotten herself involved with, she thought to herself. He was probably using her for something. But what could that have been since she wasn't even that rich. Monah took a deep breath and realized that Ted was not even worth worrying about anymore. Even though he was a twin with her best friend, he was nothing like her. Tamara seemed to be of a different breed. Too funny, too kind and too friendly. She had never given her a reason to give up on her. The young woman quickly chose to forget about those two. She went to the search button and began to looked at some funny videos instead. 

Another Monday, another day at school. There was a vibe of noisy students passing by to use the shower. A noise of water dropping passed through the walls. Ted pulled up to the Linwood student residence, the sun just starting to peek over the horizon. He stretched his arms and yawned, the early morning drive ahead of him already weighing on his mind. He had been dating Michelle for a few months now, and he loved the way people would comment about how awesome he was for having the perfect life, the perfect girl, the perfect car and well lots of wealth. As Ted walked up to the front door, he could hear the sound of footsteps approaching from inside. The door swung open and Michelle appeared, her hair still slightly disheveled from sleep, but her eyes shining with excitement. 

"Good morning, gorgeous!" Ted exclaimed, sweeping her into a hug.

"Good morning, Teddy!" Michelle replied, snuggling into his embrace. "What are you doing here so early?" 

"I came to pick you up for school." 

Michelle's face lit up. She threw her body all over Ted and shouted excitedly. 

"I have the most caring boyfriend ever!" 

Ted beamed with pride, feeling reassured that Michelle had fallen for his lie again. He knew exactly why he was there, his intentions were far from pleasing his then girlfriend. 

"Anything to keep my queen happy." 

Monah was finishing her bath when she heard voices from outside. She could tell it was Ted. She was already annoyed. She went to the room with her gown, Ted quickly noticed her as she was passing by. He grabbed Michelle close to him and began to kiss her on her neck and the breasts. She giggled. 

Monah saw his attempt to make her jealous and chose to ignore them both. 

"Oh good morning Monah, I didn't see you there." Ted shouted. 

Michelle continued to giggle. 

"Morning to you too love birds." Said Monah. 

Saying the words felt slightly weird in her tongue but she did it anyway because she was over Ted and wanted to make that point clear to him. 

"Ooh babe, she just called us lovebirds." 

Ted was annoyed, his plan of making Monah jealous seemed to have been in vain, he realised. He kissed Michelle passionately but realised his ex was not affected by it. Ted blinked twice filled with disappointment, he grabbed Michelle's bag and led the way to his car. Monah shook her head in disbelief then chuckled. 

Ted's POV

What just happened? Why didn't she care? She's probably trying to act strong. I know that she still has feelings for me. I bet she's always conspiring on how to ruin my relationship with Michelle. Monah was always very insecure. I bet she thought I'd fight over her and that loser boyfriend of her's. I wonder what she sees in that guy! I mean he doesn't drive any car by himself. But damn, he gets picked up by a limo. His parents are probably superstar's to be able to afford something like that. Or maybe they own some big engineering company. I guess I'll have to make my research. Argh, I hate Derrick. 

Michelle screamed out loud all of a sudden, Ted was taken aback by her reaction. She quickly gave him a smooch and ran to join her friend's. Ted rolled his eyes as he parked his car carefully on the sidewalk.