Graduation Day

CHAPTER TWO

"GET OUT!" Ianna's hug with her baby sister Woni became even tighter while they are both crying out of fear. Their mom also hugged them too as their neighbors continue to throw rocks at their galvanized wall.

"Mom, let's go. . ." she cried. “. . .I’m scared.”

"GET OUT OF THERE, PLAGUES!"

They even heard loud knocks on their galvanized iron door. It was their neighbors who wanted them out of the city. Because of the rattles, their little house was almost destroyed by throwing things on it.

 Their father had just died. When Woni was born, their father became ill and that was caused his death. Her dad died from high blood pressure, also, he has had various complications due to alcohol and cigarette addiction.

Their dad is a foreigner, a British. Her mom thought that foreigners are rich. Her mom used to work in a bar, she was a pole dancer before and an entertainer. In that bar, her mom met her dad. Her mom thought that he was rich so she flirts with him and beds him. But as days passed by, it turned out that her dad was a construction worker who was also struggling here in the Philippines. Her dad also was a gambler, cheater and a drunkard.  She and her mom were even beaten up by him whenever there was nothing to eat.

So, nothing good happened in their lives.

"YOU ARE ANIMALS! GET OUT OF HERE!"

The words she heard from the neighbors were hurtful. Shouts and loud bangs on their doors almost cracked her eardrums. Others are even trying to destroy the walls and the doors.

"Ianna, come on! Get your things. Let's leave this house." she nodded as she gathered all their belongings. They have very few household items so they don't have much to carry. After all, the only thing they need the most were clothes and Wonis baby bottles.

"I'LL KILL YOU PLAGUES!"

"BITCHES!"

"YOU ARE DAUGHTERS OF THE DEVIL! YOU WHORES!"

"LET US GET IN THERE THEN WE WILL KILL YOU!"

The shouting continued. Her sister was crying constantly at the same time. She was crying too. She was afraid of what the neighbors might do. At the back of their house was a garbage dump from the garbage all over the city. The authorities are already sending them out of the place but they are just stubborn.  No one dare to pass from the back of the house because it was difficult to walk in there because apart from being dirty, it was very smelly.

When they had taken their belongings, they immediately opened the back door. As soon as they opened the door, their eyes widened. They were stunned to speak.

"Where are you going?" the person in front of them smirk.

"IANNA? Are you okay?" she returned to the present time when her mom cracked her silence. She remembered again what had happened to them in their previous house. She thinks, that scenario will never fade from her mind, she remembered all the details that happened that night.

"Of course, mom." she replied to her mom, who was cleaning up her messes. They just finished filming her video for her YouTube account.

"Okay. Now, fix yourself too and go to the nearest town and upload the video." her mom commanded. She took a deep sigh. Why did she have to do those things? Why was she had to be born into a poor family?

"Mom? About that food I ate earlier, w-where did you get it from?" she asked almost bursting into tears and she feels like as if she was going to throw up. She honestly doesn't enjoy the meat she was eating; her mom just forces her to do it. Her mom didn't answer, she just looked at her. She just burst into tears and then went to the bathroom. She throws up. After that, she takes a bath and brushes her teeth.

The dress she always wears in her videos is a fitted red sexy dress that can almost see her breast. Her mom bought it for only five pesos at a second-hand store in the market. Her mom also does her makeup with her cheap or low-quality makeup. She uses makeup even if it is itchy on her face for her to become more beautiful in the videos.

She looked at herself in a small, round mirror hanging on the bathroom wall.

"Are you still okay, Ianna?" she asked in her teary eyes reflection.

***

"C'MON man! There's a lot of women there!"  Zon pushes his friend Marco to come with him to a party. They're just stopping by in front of a 7-11 store in their area. He wanted to invite Marco to his girlfriend's birthday party.

Their classes will start next week and he thinks that they need to enjoy themselves at least before studying again. After all, they need to focus on their subject this coming school year because they are graduating students already.

"What the hell? I don't want to, okay? I just don't understand, bro. Like it is your girlfriend's birthday but the party will be held at Lynna's house. That's why I don't want to come. That is just embarrassing, bro!" he was stunned by his friend's response.

Marco is taller than him, he has a masculine body and looks better than him. He probably inherited it from his father, who's a black American. He, on the other hand, is not tall and has a pure Filipino bloodline.

"You still haven't been able to move on with your ex?" he laughed. Marco's ex is his girlfriend's friend, Lynna. Marco just laughed at what he said. He started walking then Marco followed.

"I've moved on bro! I already had sex with her, she's not hot at all. She's too skinny, flat, empty!" Marco answered then he smiled foolishly.

"That's why you have to attend the party, stupid! You have a lot of choices there!" he said. "Some are skinny, fat, sexy, and so on! More chances of body count, right?"

"I don't want to! I have a lot to do so. . .AW!"

He was stopped when Marco suddenly stumbled, he almost sank on the road. Good for him, he has a strong self-balance. He looked at the stumbling block, a lady sitting on the road and she is holding a cellphone. She looked at them, she was obviously shocked as well.

"Sorry, because of me you got stumbled," she said. She stood up and apologized to Marco. "I didn't mean to,"

He suddenly smiled to see the lady's pretty face and sexy body. He is wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts so he can see her smooth and white legs. Her breasts were also very obvious. It's obviously big. She's very beautiful.

"Oh, it's okay miss," he said on behalf of Marco and then he introduced himself and even held out the girl's hand. "I'm Zon and this is my friend, Marco."

"I'm really sorry about what happened."

"We're fine. . ."

"Are you the one who stumbled? I am, okay. Shut up." Marco interrupts what he is saying.

"I'm sorry, M-Marco." the girl said.

"It's okay, next time don't stay here on the road. It's dangerous for a girl like you " Marco said. "I'm Marco, what's your name?"

"H-huh. . .Ianna. My name is Ianna."

***

WEARING her school uniform, Shatile stared at herself in the mirror. Her body is fine. Not skinny and not fat either, just fine. It would have been perfect if her face is smooth and clean. . .that's her biggest insecurity in herself, her ugly pimpled face. If only she could remove her head and replace it.

She frowned as she touched her face. The roughness, is really disgusting. Her face looks like a dirty potato.

"Shatile, come down. Look what time is it, you're going to be late at school again!" her mom shouted. She gasped. It's their first day of school and she's also a graduating student at high school. She doesn't wanna go to school? He just wants to stay at home and pretend that she is not existing at all. She has so much acne on her face and she is ashamed to show herself to anyone.

"Shatile!" her mom even knocked on her door.

"Coming, mom! Wait for a second!" she gasped. She can't stay at home, because she also needs to study. They live in a squatter’s area but her family is one of the most riches ones. In the area, they are the ones with proper shelter somehow.

She didn't want to ruin her first day at school just because of her acne. So, she took her foundation liquid and applied it to her face. She smiled because somehow, some of the pimples disappeared.

"I think my face has improved somehow," she said before leaving the room. "Mom! I'm leaving!"

"Okay, sweetie. Be careful, okay? If someone bullies you about your acnes, just tell me, okay?"

" "Oh my gosh, mom. Fine, I'm going to leave now."

She said goodbye. As she opened the door, she saw her neighbors. Like it was as if all the gossipers in the barangay had gathered on the other side of the road. Puring is the one who's talking and leading the entire group. She shook her head, Puring's group have nothing to do but talk shit about someone. She would have hastened to walk away because she was afraid that Puring might notice her again, but she didn't. It looks like they are talking about something serious.

"Karding's body has been found!" she heard what one of the gossipers saying.

"Really? From where?"

"I don't know. The body was just found! And you know what? When the body was found, the body has no body organs! It looks like they kill Karding and throw his body somewhere."

"Oh, that's scary! Is there a murderer here in our area?"

"It's really scary! Susan was about to faint when she saw her husband corpse!"

She was shocked. The gossip seems unbelievable but scary. What the hell is wrong with these people? They're talking nonsense at all. But as she was walking to school, she was thinking about something. Susan's husband who is Karding had been missing for a few days. Susan even cried for help while looking for her husband.

"Puring's group is making sense, aren't they?"