Melanie returned home to her mother, passed out in front of the TV. Empty alcohol bottles were covering the floor around her as usually. Melanie's mood became immediately gloomy, witnessing this pitiful scene. She'll never get used to it but at least she won't be bother by her mother tonight.
—What an excuse of a mother.—
—You can check her character's background if you want. It's an information window that contains information that even the original character don't know—
—I hope this uncovers her darkest secrets so I can feel better—
—Natalie Turner, 42 years old. Never worked in her life, well actually she's barely qualified for any work, being a high school drop out. She used her beauty to play around with men and their money until she got pregnant of Melanie. She thought that she will be able to settle down since Melanie's father was quite rich. However, he didn't want to get involved furthermore with her. He agreed on taking care of Melanie until she was 18. He's paying a pension, this house rent and school fees for Melanie and even medical expenses when she's sick—
—Wow, it's all thanks to her nonexistent father that she still has a ceiling over her head. I think that he somehow knew that she'll waste all the money of the pension—
—Indeed. When it runs out, she attacks Melanie when she refuses to give her the money she earns with her job—
—Wait, does Melanie know about her father?—
—Of course, she knows she had a father—
—It's not what I meant, you stupid thing—
—She does know that someone is probably giving money to her mom and paying the house but she's not sure who. Her mom still has plenty of lovers—
—I fell a burst of motivation to win this contest suddenly.I'll go take a shower. A long night of study awaits me—
Sei entered the bathroom and checked herself in the mirror to see what Melanie looked like. Sei already noticed that she had shoulder-length brown hair. Now it was actually matching her eyes. She wasn't an outstanding beauty but she still got some charm. The most remarkable point of her face was the mole under the right corner of her lips. She then took off her long-sleeved shirt and her jeans, only to discover a body full of bruises and band-aids. They were all over her arms, shoulders, stomach and legs.
"Oh my god, no wonder I felt like I was beaten. Because it was actually the case. Crazy woman"
Sei washed while avoiding the painful part of her body and took a whole 15 mins to renew all the band-aids. She then proceeded on watching some of Gayle's notes to write hers before studying for tomorrow's classes. She had a few hours of sleep but she was used to it already.
The next morning, when she was about to leave for school, her mom was still unconscious on the floor. Someone else would have been concern about her actual state but not Melanie. When she tried to help her, the only thing she received were hits. Also, she learned that as long as her mother is breathing, she would be fine. Hopefully she wasn't living far from her school so she didn't have to pay for the bus. She was barely living with the money she earned from her job so she couldn't afford the bus.
When she arrived, she went straight to her class while most of her classmates were still hanging out in the school's court. She didn't have any close friend even though she spoke with some persons, them being mostly the ones sitting next to her during classes or during group project. She could have grown close to Gayle, them being both interested in the same knowledge, but he was more friendly than her so he always a flock of friends around him.
It was actually the case as Melanie watched through the window. He was actually sitting on the stairs with a bunch of people. He was wearing a simple shirt and black jeans but he was radiating. His black hair was slightly shake by the wind while his green eyes lighten and a grin appeared on his lips upon hearing what of one of his friends was saying.
—Is this what an angel looks like ? He's so beautiful ! What a shame, he's still a kid—
—. . . I'm relieved for him—
—Dotti, no one asked for your opinion. Aren't you supposed to help me to complete the missions ?—
—Exactly, not to help you get laid by the male lead, mostly when he's a minor—
—But it will still count as a successful mission if it increases his lovemeter so what are you talking about ?—
—Focus, Gayle caught you drooling over him—
Gayle's gaze was effectively directed towards her. She flinched a bit when she was caught staring. Before she could look away, Gayle smiled and waved his hand to her. All the people around him instantly looked at her. Her cheeks heated from the sudden attention and the embarrassment of being caught. She still waved back to him and turned her gaze away.
More people entered the class as the bell would ring soon and Melanie's partner for the biology class sat next to her.
"Hi Melanie" she said with a polite smile.
"Hi Tania"
It was the essential conversation that usually happened between them. However, Melanie liked her because she didn't give all the work to her and helped as much as she can.
"Hum.....Melanie, did something happen with Gayle ?" Tania whispered to her after some time.
"What do you mean?" Melanie frowned while looking at her then at Gayle which was actually looking at the blackboard.
"Well, he keeps on glancing towards you. I caught him two times already"
".....I don't know. I took some of his notes to keep up with the classes I missed. Maybe he wanted them back"
Actually, she found some flying papers in his notebooks that seemed to belong to other courses. Maybe he was looking for one of them.
—.....Oh my, keeping the acting is really hard ! Sure, his lovey-dovey look is meant for random notes—
—I told you before that she's quite oblivious of a person—
"Wait, you missed classes ? You ? Not one but several ? Were you sick ?" Tania seemed a bit shocked.
"Hum, not really, I was just slightly tired"
"Is it from that crappy job in the café near the park ? I told you that the boss there is a scammer. He makes you work much longer but pays you less than the actual required salary"
"I know but it's the closest to my house"
Tania sneered but said nothing. She also kept in mind that something odd was happening between Gayle and Melanie.
The lunch break came finally and all the students flooded either to the canteen or the little shop inside the school. She found it weird that her mom agreed on paying the canteen for her when she barely bought groceries to fill the fridge at home. The money Melanie earned while working was mainly spent to feed her and her mom since she's the one cooking. So she was glad to be able to eat out of her mom's money.....even if her mom was not the one who worked for it.
Melanie took her filled lunch tray and searched for a place to eat when someone approached her.