Graduation Day

CHAPTER ONE

IANNA feels a mixture of joy and excitement as she waits for her name to be called on stage. Finally, this was the day she had been waiting for. She struggled a lot to finish high school. She's poor and it's a great blessing to finally got up on stage and claim her high school diploma.

"Congrats, dear!" her mother whispered tearfully. Today is their Graduation Day, she will finally finish high school and go to college. She can't help but burst tears out of joy. She has been waiting for this day for a long time.

"Conception, Ianna Maria G."

When her name was called, she quickly wiped away her tears and fix her white gown. She smiled as she walked up the stage with her mom.

Everyone on stage was smiling but she suddenly felt weird because she could not see the whole of the audience's faces. She looked around as well, she could only see their mouths. Her smile slowly faded when she saw their smiles seemed to turn into grins. But she ignored it, the most important is that she could finally get the diploma. She turned to her side and she was shocked. Her mom isn't there anymore.

"Mom?" she calls. She turned around and she could no longer see even her mom's shadow.

Ianna returned her focus to the diploma even though she was already very nervous. She didn't know what was going on around her. Seems very weird. When she handed over her diploma, people laughed at her. What's going on? Moments later, she just felt the pouring of thick and smelly liquid from above all over her body. The white gown was filled with a viscous and slimy red liquid. At the same time, she hears the laughter of the people around her.

“B-blood. . .! Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Ianna let out a scream and then she was awakened from a deep sleep. She looks around, she's at home. She sees the woven galvanized iron that serves as the wall of their house, that's why she was sure that she was at home.

A dream? It was all just a dream. Somehow, she felt like a thorn pulled out of her heart. Why did she dream scary and weird events like that? Maybe because she will be a graduating student next school year. And that's exactly what she was thinking before she went to sleep last night.

"Ianna, are you okay? Why are you screaming?" her mom entered the house. Sweating profusely while carrying a bucket full of water. She came from their neighbor to fetch water because they don't have a well.

"S-sorry, mom. I was just dreaming.” she replied then got up.

"You scared me to death! I thought something happen here."

“Sorry.”

Ianna's house is small. They are also leaving in a squatters area so the houses there are really close together. Their house is only 25sq.m and there is no bedroom, they just sleep in the living room. They don't have a TV, but they do have a radio with a battery to listen to the news. There is also no furniture in their house. They only have a small and almost broken table, and two old monoblack chairs that just given by their neighbor. There is a small kitchen and a small toilet.

Their walls are made of combined plywood, galvanized iron, and wood. Their roofs, on the other hand, are rusty.  The roof is a bit old, that is why when it rains, water enters from the holes. Her late grandmother, Ising just gave them that house.

They have been in that house for two months. They are used to this kind of house. Small, smelly, and not so comfy because since she was a kid, they never had enough money to buy a better house. In fact, their home here is even better than it was before.

"Oh, get up there and you still have laundry to do." her mom commanded. "I'm done fetching water."

"Yes,mom. . ." she replied as she folded her thin-bed and her blanket.

"And by the way Ianna, tonight we're going to start the routine." she stopped folding the blanket at what her mom had said. She looked at her mom, asking or maybe pleading. She don't wanna do it. "Ianna, you know that's the only platform that you can get money. Remember, Woni is still sick."

She gazed at her six -month -old sister who was sleeping soundly in that small crib. Fortunately, a kind neighbor lent a crib to their baby.

"But mom, aren't you afraid that maybe because of that. . .I mean maybe because of that our neighbor hates us again. . ."

"What are you talking about, Ianna? Don't you want to study? Your class will start next week. After all, the money given by your Uncle Lando is gone. We have no food. Woni doesn't even have milk anymore. I don't know what will gonna happen to us if you're not doing it."

She nods to her mom. Even if it's against her will, she will do it only for the sake of her dream and for Woni.

"Clean the living room, and let's set up later. Give me the cellphone that your Uncle Lando gave you, give it to me and I'll charge it at my friend Puring's house." her mom added. They may have electricity but her mom wants to save money. That's the reason why she always charge the cellphone at their neighbor.

She handed over her old oppo android phone that her uncle had just given her. It was from her only child, Chiena. His uncle's wife was abroad, so it somehow made it easier for them to make money.

Because of that cellphone, she can upload her videos on YouTube. Yes, she is poor as poor rats living under the floors. So everything that can make money, she is willing to learn. Fortunately, her cousin Chiena taught her to create a youtube channel and upload videos to earn money.

At first, she didn’t care about youtube. But when she tried to make a video and upload it, there were many views and the number of subscribers immediately increased, so she was enticed. Especially when she started earning money with that app.

She has already started to clean their small living room. There is an old divan, made of bamboo, and a small table also made of the same material. She took an old curtain from the clothes rack and then hung it on the wall, it will be served as a background for the video she was going to make.

She didn't have anything to use but her cellphone. There is no tripod so, her mom is just holding the phone until she's done. She already has more than 100k subscribers on YouTube. Because of YouTube, she gets all the supplies that they need. But even so, it's still not enough because she doesn't get that much. The money is just enough for them. Even the money she was saving for college was no longer enough.

***

"LOOK Kit, not all pretty ladies do make-up tutorials on YouTube." Lexi rolled her eyes as her eyes focused on her laptop, watching YouTube.

"Why?" her older brother Kit responded while eating chips, he also watching TV. They are twins. Her brother just came out of the world only five minutes earlier, so she called him big bro sometimes.

"Look at this girl. . ." she showed what she was watching on YouTube. A beautiful, sexy woman eating a hearty meal in front of the camera in just twenty minutes.

"Who is she? Youtuber?"

"Are you interested, big bro?" She's teasing him. The lady in the video is really beautiful and had this curvy body.  "Her name is Ianna. I already subscribe to her channel, I just love the way she eats."

Lexi doesn't have any idea how the lady digest what she eats. She is also amazed because almost all the dishes presented to the lady are pure meat in a big bowl. How can a lady eat like that?

"Isn't eating that much meat bad for the health?"

"Yeah, but look, she's not even getting fat."

"Maybe, there are just people who can really eat a lot, but gaining weight." Lexi rolled her eyes at her older brother's answer. Because she is one of the people he refers to. She has been dreaming of gaining weight for a long time but no matter what she eats, her body is still the same. Skinny.

***

"OKAY guys, here's the end of my video and if you guys enjoyed watching my house tour, just click the subscribe button and click the notification bell for you guys to be updated! See yah! Bye!"

"You know what, Lynna? Elain is just using you for her videos." Eanna commented when they finished watching the video that their friend Elai had just uploaded. She's at her cousin, Lynna's house. They are watching videos on YouTube as they clean their nails in her cousin’s room.

"What's the matter, Eanna? Elai is our friend." she was stunned by Lynna's response. Who can't be irritated? Elai used her cousin Lynna's house for Elai's house tour. Elai is such a total social climber bitch. All Elai's videos are just lies. Like vlog about houses or cars, she always says in the video that she owns but the truth is, she only borrowed it from people she knows.

"You know Lynna, she's already claiming what you have," she replied. She is also annoyed with her cousin because she is too kind. “It is not her house, it’s yours! Couz, I'm sorry if I'm always mad at you. I am seven years older than you. Can you just please listen to me?”

"Yeah, I know, Eanna. Thank you. But can we just let Elai do what she wants?" Lynna answered as if she never understood what she was saying. She didn't talk anymore. She just continued cleaning her nails.

Her mom and Lynna's dad are siblings. And because their family lineage was already accustomed to the son inheriting the parent's wealth and property, all of the wealth was given to Lynna's dad. Not even a single cent was given to her mom. Her grandparents said, that women are not the only ones who feed their husbands. That's why her mom was forced to marry her rich dad, arranged marriage was still in vogue at that time. It was okay then because she had a father there who was also capable of giving them a comfortable life. But when her dad died, her parents' company has been slowly gone bankrupt

But her mom still fights for their wealth even though she knows that the company is already sinking. Her mom wanted to show her older brother that she could get rich on her own. But it looks like her mom didn't succeed.

***

"SHATILE! Call your dad to eat!"

"Yes, mom!"

Shatile hurried out of the house to look for her father. He was probably in the cockpit again. Even though she didn't want to go out, she has no choice. Her mom would be angry if she didn't obey. Their life in the province is normal with the simple house, and simple living. She could hear the shouts of the men who were playing in the cockpit. The cockpit was close to their house.

"Darling, what happened to your face? Why is it so full of acne?" She turned to the woman who criticized her face. It was Puring, she was holding a baby and breastfeeding it. She is one of the gossipers in their area.

"P-pardon?" she replied.

"Your face is getting dirtier!"

She bowed down and felt a little embarrassed. Yes, she has a lot of acne that almost her whole face is covered. This is also one reason why she doesn’t want to go out. People just keep her confidence too low.

"What the hell are you saying, Puring? Leave her alone. She's still pretty even though she has a lot of it." she was shocked when the newly moved neighbor, Fatima defended her. Fatima looks at her. "All right sweetie, go wherever you're going, just t ignore what Puring had said. You're pretty, okay?"

She bowed and nodded to the lady.

"Nonsense! It's true that she has a lot of acne. You know what? Your daughter is the one who's beautiful, her skin is white and smooth. What's her name again?"

"My daughter's name is Ianna. She inherited it from her British father. But I believe that every girl has beauty. So please, don't compare my daughter to that child, she's also pretty. Okay, is Ianna's phone done charging. . .?”

That was the last conversation Shatile heard between Puring and Fatima before she left. Her fist just clenched because of what Puring said.