The two met in the most unfavorable times of their lives. Even when Oriel was in her worst look, her short pajamas and a sweatshirt, Ursula envied her youthful beauty. She was embarrassed to face her in the eye, with her withering face.
The two ladies sat in a cafe, facing each other on two opposite ends of a table. "I'm really sorry that I wore your dress without your permission and also ruined it," said Oriel, breaking the silence.
"If I'm to do the justice then old the man I trusted with my dress is the one who should be punished," said Ursula.
"Please don't! I don't want him to bear the responsibility of the mistake that I made."
The server brought the coffee that Ursula had ordered. He placed it on the table. She gracefully reached for the cup and took a sip out of the hot mug of coffee, relishing in its taste. "Well, it's sad that a person I trusted so much tried to fool me, lending my precious dress to people like you. I hate it when the lower class forgets their place and tries leech off us, taking advantage of our kindness."
Although her words were directed at Mr. John, Oriel could feel the coldness of her scornful remarks on her body. "I'm sorry," she apologized again.
Ursula constantly gawked at her face, making her uncomfortable. "Does that apology make a difference? The stain was there before and the stain is there now," she replied.
"I know that my words wouldn't make any difference. That's why I promise that I will try to make up for it by any possible way. I will pay you some part of the amount every month to make sure that no penny is left."
Ursula's lips reshaped in to a smirk. "Do you really think that I have time to receive such small sums of money from you every month? Wouldn't that be an insult to my bank book. I don't want it to show such a small number on the pages where transactions worth millions take place."
Oriel took a glass of water and emptied it in one gulp. "Then is there any other way that I can pay you back with?"
Collin chaperoned the ladies sitting on a distant table. "That shouldn't be happening." He was on the edge of his chair, tapping his feet on the ground in panic."
He saw lines of stress slowly developing on Oriel's forehead and Ursula's intimidating staring that made her feel like she was guilty of a grave sin. Collin could not stay still seeing the signs that she gave unintentionally, showing that she was scared and helpless. "There you again with rubbing your hands and you still bite your nails when you are stressed." She was a book that Collin could read without even trying too hard.
He suddenly rose from his table and approached them. Oriel noticed him coming toward them from one side of her view. Her eyes shifted their direction, looking away from him.
She avoided an exchange of looks with him and pushed her chair back to get up; she picked up the bag of groceries that was placed on her side. "I'll leave then." She said again, "I'm really sorry."
"Goodbye!" replied Ursula. "I'll call you to tell you about the details of the task."
Oriel blindly tilted her head, nodding with consent. "I'll wait for you call."
Collin didn't let her away from her sight, even for a moment. He looked at her and his lips slightly parted as if he had something to say to her but it couldn't make it out of his lips. And the door of the cafe closed behind her back. "So, what did you talk about?" He asked looking at Ursula.
He casually pulled a chair for himself and joined her. "All I did was to give her an offer that she could use to pay her debt at once. It's not even that hard but surely a lot of fun for me." Ursula took the last sip of coffee.
"What did you say to her?" he asked.
She smiled with utmost satisfaction; an untraceable glow had replaced her dull countenance. "It's going to be really fun."
The more she smiled insanely, the worried Collin got. He knew that Ursula was not an ordinary woman, not when she was heartbroken and feeling betrayed. He was the only one who could change her mind as she valued their friendship greatly. "I request that you stop your trail on that girl, she is innocent. She doesn't have anything to do with your husband."
"Oh! my Collin, you're just as naive as your boss. You don't know how the vicious brain in the head of a woman works," said Ursula, solemnly. "Why do you think she had to borrow a dress so expensive to a party to which she was not even invited? I don't care if you believe me or not, but this girl had approached Bruce deliberately, planning every moment ahead," she claimed.
"So what do you plan to do with her; I still think that letting her go will be best in everyone's favor," convinced Collin.
"Well, you will see very soon. I plan to show her the real worth of herself and your boss will witness as well."
"Don't go that far! Bruce will never allow you to do this to anyone," he said.
Ursula reached out to hold the hand that Collin had placed on the table and grazed it seductively. "Don't be so mean to me. We will have a lot of fun with that girl. I know that the loyal dog inside your body won't allow you to betray your master, but my friend Collin will always side with me." '
"You're mistaken if you think that I am on your side. I don't care if you or your husband is right. This fact is unchangeable that I will never do anything that puts either of you in any kind of trouble."
Ursula scoffed in disbelief. "Do I have to call you a faithful dog for this?" She sounded irksome. "By the way, you never told me how you met your great leader the first time? How did this friendship grow into something so strong that you don't care how cruel he is to me?" demanded Ursula.
"Even if I tell you, there's no way that you can understand it." Ursula suddenly corrected the posture she sat in, setting her ears on the his voice. "You must not know but we first met in the detention center where I was serving my punishment... for murdering my classmate."
For a moment, Ursula was taken aback. "You killed a person to end up in a jail?" she asked.
Collin spread his lips slightly in a smile. "Yes, I did."
-----
10 years ago, Juvenile Detention Center.
Loud thuds and clangs were audible from the most disgusting corner of the prison, cell no. 9 bathroom. Amidst the noises of objects getting bashed at something, also came the noise of panting and grunting from Collin's bleeding mouth. He was brutally battered by the cellmates whose everyday fun activity was to thrash him. Collin could not fight against the group of five cellmates coming at him.
He was beaten so badly that he could barely crawl out of the toilet with blood gushing out from his head. His breathing was fast and he had lost the strength to move.
What just happened to him was not a story of one day or two. He went through this hell every single day. His cellmates were paid by Paul's father to make him regret his every breath. Everyone else shut their eyes and pulled their hands from the matter.
He struggled to walk with the injured leg. He came under the running faucet and and brought his head under the pouring cold water, rinsing the blood off his wounds. Just then, 25-year-old Bruce walked inside the dirty washroom, in the attire of a cleaner. He had a mop in his hands, wearing long rubber gloves with repelled droplets of water visible on it.
He saw Collin moaning in pain and also the injuries all over his face and body. He called him, "Jesus Christ! what's wrong with that face?" He asked, surprised.
Collin looked at the helper who was being nosy. He glared at him and continued getting water poured on his head. He ignored the question that came to him. Bruce also retrieved his concern and began mopping the floor with a screeching noise that the mop made.
The stains on the tiled floor were stubborn and didn't budge even with the continuous sweeping by Bruce. "Uhh! what did you guys do to ruin the tiles of the floor to this extent? Do you guys pee on he floor?" he asked, disgusted to look at the mop.
Collin ignored the conversation that was aimed at him. He turned the faucet off and shook his head with force to hurl the little drops of water in the air.
"Woah! those scary eyes," said Bruce.
Collin was now starting to get annoyed with the constant meddling by Bruce. "Why don't you focus on your work?"
"Damn! I like that fierce look on your face."