"What's with you and Bianca? You seem to have a personal grudge against her."
Michelle had just placed an ice bag on my swollen face when she uttered that serious question. After several minutes of hesitation, I finally had the courage to speak about Bianca.
"Michelle, since freshman year in high school Bianca has been a thorn on my side," I began to explain. "Do you remember the first day of class when we finished the school assembly?"
"I still recall all of that," Michelle looked back at the unfortunate incident like it was yesterday. "In fact Bianca started all of the commotion when she angrily urged us to walk quickly to the classroom."
While our conversation was going on, Karina began to serve dinner in the kitchen. The menu for the night was fried prawn tempura and chicken noodle soup.
Still with the ice bag on my cheeks, I lied down the sofa and continued narrating the story between Bianca and me. At that moment tears began to flow from my eyes.
"Michelle, I could still remember the day Bianca claimed that she was better than all of us. She even went as far as saying that she will become a famous entertainer someday. As I listened to her boasts, I began to doubt her sincerity. I was her biggest critic."
"Christine, you should have ignored her," Michelle said.
"I couldn't stand her, buddy," my tearful voice reflecting on that freshman year. "No matter how much I tried to ignore her, she kept on bothering me. Then came the first quarter exam results and when she flunked three of them, she blamed me for getting in her head."
Michelle grabbed a glass of water and promptly gave it to me. Then we resumed our personal conversation.
"Then came the terrible moment she brutally assaulted me in the restroom and left my battered body lying on the floor. The uncomfortable feeling of suffering many bruises all over my face still haunts me to this day."
I started crying uncontrollably, unable to contain myself from these dreadful nightmares. Michelle then sat down with me and cradled my sore head against her chest.
"Christine, you know something," Michelle talked with a few tears falling from her face. "Bianca reminds me of Amanda. They were both arrogant, self-centered individuals who only care for themselves. We both despise such individuals."
Just then, Karina and the house maids came out of the kitchen. But just as they placed the plates, utensils and food on the table, Karina immediately took notice of me crying on the living room.
"What's the matter Christine?" Karina questioned. "Why are you crying?"
Unable to respond to Karina's question, Michelle stepped in on my behalf.
"Mother she's having an emotional breakdown," Michelle politely explained. "It was about earlier today when Christine encountered Bianca down at the mall."
"Bianca?" Karina wondered anxiously. "The girl who claimed to have superstar ambitions and thought to be better than everyone else?"
"That was her," Michelle answered. "Good thing she was not able to achieve those aspirations because Bianca got kicked out after her brutal assault on Christine. We never heard of her since, until now."
After wiping a few of her tears, Michelle turned towards me and flashed a smile.
"Christine, are you okay?' Michelle asked.
"Sorry Michelle but I'm still in a bad mood," I responded just as my eyes stopped leaking tears.
"Don't worry about it," Michelle assured. "Bianca may hate you she hates herself even more. She deserved to be kicked out for her bravado and arrogance. And worse, her dreams to become a superstar were dashed because of the incident. Right now Bianca is just an ordinary girl, nothing else."
"But I'm afraid she'll get back at me," I worriedly said to Michelle. "She could do this again to me. I'm terribly worried about my life right now."
"Christine, just leave it to me and Ella," Michelle advised me. "We can properly handle Bianca's threats. But you better stay strong and positive. Stop worrying about the end of the world. Tell you what, let's go to the table and eat. Perhaps some excellent food will make you feel better."
After kissing my forehead, Michelle escorted me to the dining room for dinner. But as we continued to feast, a call rang out from Karina's phone.
It was Charissa who was calling.
Karina: "Hello"?"
Charissa: "Is Christine there?"
Karina: "Yes she is. And she was badly beaten up."
Charissa: "Oh no! Can I talk to her?"
Karina: "Sorry she can't right now. But you can come to my home."
Charissa: "Okay then Karina. Wait for me there. I'll go check on Christine."
Karina: "Sure thing Charissa. Farewell."
Minutes later, we discovered a honk outside the home. Charissa had arrived.
Almost immediately, Charissa rushed inside and recognized my swollen face. She graciously gave me a hearty embrace and was about to hold my face when I uttered something painful.
"Ouch!! It hurts really bad."
"Sorry Christine," Charissa expressed regret for her actions. "But are you fine right now?"
"Sort of mother," I answered. "But don't worry, those bruises will disappear eventually."
Charissa joined us for dinner, and Michelle explained my brutal encounter with Bianca earlier that day. After hearing Michelle's story, Charissa could only shake her head in disbelief.
"That Bianca?" Charissa wondered. "Is that the girl you had nightmares with the other night?"
"She was mother," I revealed to her. "And she still pops into my head every now and then."
"Why would she do this to you?" Charissa angrily contemplated in front of us. "Allow me to take revenge on that SOB if that's the last thing I ever wanted to do."
"Don't do it Charissa," Karina calmed her down. "It will only get worse."
"Sorry if I overreacted," Charissa said apologetically as she turned her head towards me. "In any event, I hope Bianca learned her cruel lesson pretty hard. As for you Christine, just ignore her from now on. If she severely threatens you again, better shrug all of them. Always be strong and courageous, that's all."
"I understand mother," my reluctant response to Charissa.
After a hearty dinner, Charissa allowed me to stay at Michelle's home overnight. She willingly gave me the go-signal after realizing that Michelle and I had a class assignment to work the following day.
"Christine, behave yourself while inside her house," Charissa gently advised me before leaving home. "I'll see you soon then."
The following morning, Michelle and I woke up early to prepare for our project. But we must fetch Ella, Jamie, Taylor and Erin first.