Shame to Fame; The Rise of the Duderte Empire

2 - Cheap Trash

"Hey, Bitch! Looks like Blue is calling for you!" Matt yelled into the house.

The beautiful woman with a hour glass figure dressed in a bikini that showed off her perfect beautiful curves, placed the tray of brownies on the table and walked towards Matt who had yelled for her.

Matt wrapped his arm around her tiny waist pulling her closer and Linda finally looked up at what she had called on for.

Her eyes washed over Arthur's body before landing on the popsicle sticks on the floor.

"Do you know him?" Matt asked Linda whose eyes lingered on Arthur far longer than he liked.

"Of course not. I definitely don't know a dirty, poor delivery boy who slaves his ass off only to be paid little to nothing." She spat.

Arthur's eyes dilated in anger and he swallowed his spit. What could he do? His eyes looked up just in time to see Matt place a kiss on Linda's lips.

Linda had always avoided kissing him. In her words, she was saving her first kiss for her husband. How dumb of him to have actually believed her.

"That will be 20 dollars." He announced making all heads turn to him.

"What?"

"The pizza boxes you ordered. It is 20 dollars." He repeated.

"20 dollars? Let me see if I have that." Matt said pulling out his wallet. He fished around it and finally pulled out a 100-dollar bill.

"Do you have change for this?"

"No," Arthur replied simply his eyes boring holes into Linda's head. He was mortified by the fact that she had betrayed him like this.

He remembered when they would talk badly about Matt behind his back any time he bullied Arthur. How she declared her undying hatred for the man. How she always wished the worst of things would happen to him. Ironically, she was fooling him.

"What are you looking at?" Matt asked pushing Arthur by the shoulder.

The boy shook his head negatively to reply that he wasn't looking at anything.

"You were looking at my girlfriend just now, weren't you? Your filthy unworthy eyes don't deserve to see her hair not to talk of her body."

Arthur kept mum. This angered Matthew so he threw the 100 dollars at Arthur before pushing him. Arthur who hadn't had anything that day staggered away uncontrollably and the next thing,

Splash!

The crowd present roared in laughter. Arthur was more than embarrassed. He pushed his head up and stood in the middle of the pool that he had fallen into.

"His legs are like chicken legs. Did you see them?"

"He's so fucking weak!"

"What an imbecile!"

"Fool!"

Arthur looked up to see Linda was more than laughing. She was crying. She laughed so hard, that beads of tears had started to form at the corner of her eyes while she wiped it away gracefully.

He felt like crying. The only person that made him feel like he wasn't worthless had turned her back on him for his bully. The only solace he had on earth was gone. Perhaps, he should just dip his head into the pool and drown to death.

"Get out!" Someone yelled and before he knew what was happening, a fire extinguisher had been released on his body. He subconsciously inhaled the smoke and started coughing violently.

The crowd laughed more and louder. It seemed like they were enjoying the spectacle. Some had even started filming him coughing his lungs out.

Why? What exactly did he do wrong? Why was he treated this way? Because he was poor? Everyone hated him. Everyone wanted to bully him, in fact, everyone did. It wasn't his fault for being poor.

Why was he the one being bullied for his fate?

His eyes got clear a little bit but it was still foggy. He reached for the floor beside the pool. He pulled himself out and lay helplessly by the pool. He lay there while the crowd watched. No one stepped forward to help. Absolutely no one.

Soon, the sound died down and he thought everyone had finally left him. He got up on his feet but his knees bucked under him and he fell to his butt with a thud. Immediately, the crowd came to life and laughed their hearts out at him.

He shook his head and finally got up on his feet. He staggered out of the compound when someone yelled in a singsong voice,

"Hey, Delivery Boy! You forgot your popsicle!"

The crowd laughed again and Arthur wanted to perish. He wanted to leave this earth. However, he wanted to take Matthew with him as well as Linda.

Linda. He loved her. He truly did. All of his savings, all the small money that his boss gave him as his wages, he gave them all to her. He didn't spend a dime on himself. Everything went to her pocket and she betrayed him like this.

Suddenly, he stopped and turned around. He staggered over to where Linda stood proudly in her bikini showing off her body. He had to know.

"Why? What did I do to you?! Why are you treating me this way? I gave you everything. All my money, I would go days without eating just so you could buy lipgloss for yourself."

"Even if you despise me, fine I understand, I'm poor but you shouldn't be with the likes of him! Have you forgotten the way he changes girlfriends like his socks?! Have you forgotten the way he treated you? The way he humiliated you in front of the whole school? Have you forgotten all about that?"

"I haven't. Of course not, Blue. I haven't."

She was calling him Blue now as well?

"But you know, women like money. The one thing you don't have and the one thing Matthew has. You said you would go days without eating just for me to buy me mere lipgloss. Matthew would get me a whole set of cosmetics as well as clothes without it affecting his income or his feeding. But you?"

She tsked three times and shook her head looking at his up and then down. Her eyes went to the popsicle on the floor.

"You got me this for my birthday?" She asked and without waiting for a reply, she kicked. The popsicles rolled till they fell into the pool and sank.

"You're a cheap trash. That's cheap money! I don't need your cheap ass. You can't lecture me on who I take up as my boyfriend, it's none of your business. We're broken up. Don't interfere in my matter any longer."

Arthur was enraged. He was angry. His blood was boiling over. How could she do this to him? Despite the love he showed her? Despite everything?

"You're nothing but a prostitute." He spat in anger. He hadn't taken a breath from his last word when his cheeks stung in pain.

Linda had actually slapped him!

"Ooh! Nice one, Linda!"

"Nice shot!"

People cheered her on.

"Fuck off, Blue." She spat turning around. She walked to her new boyfriend and hooked her hand around him.

His hand went up to his cheeks. The tears that he held back fell freely as he watched Matthew's hand roam his girlfriend's body.

He nodded his head in understanding. Money. As light as the word was, it carried far more importance than him. Money was everything. And he had nothing. He was nothing.

He slowly turned around and walked away. Away from the scene. He cycled through the streets of San Francisco with his head hung low. Suddenly, a hissing sound came from the tire of his bicycle. He stopped cycling and alighted silently praying it wasn't what he thought it was.

He bent down to inspect the tire only to see a nail had punctured the Tyre.

"No. No no. Fuck!" He yelled kicking the tyre. He lost his balance and fell into the pool of fresh fish water that a fish seller nearby had spilled on the road.

"Oh come on! Can this day get any worse?!" He yelled getting up on his feet. Today was cursed for him, hell, his life was cursed.

He wiped his tears and pushed his bicycle without getting on it. Due to the water that he fell into, people avoided him and parted ways for him to pass so they didn't smell the reeking scent of fish.

People who didn't even know him avoided him like he was a plague. Tears dropped from his eyes when he remembered the way Linda had slapped and humiliated him in front of Matt. The way she chose Matt over him in the blink of an eye without batting an eyelash. The way the fire extinguisher was released on him. The errands he was sent on even during classes. It was uncomfortable and annoying. He was practically living someone else's life, not his. Not for once.

He wondered if he dropped dead right now, who would they send on their filthy errands? At least, his pain would end. 

A sigh escaped his lips and he paused before looking up to see his apartment was only a few steps away. However, what looked the most surprising and baffling was the fleet of black, big-looking sleek cars that lined up in front of his apartment. Six big, flashy cars lined up in front of his house, it was not a regular scene. No big cars had ever visited his worn-down apartment. Never.

There were 3 men dressed in black suits standing beside each car and standing rigid with their eyes looking forward, so there were 18 men in total. They looked like bodyguards, Arthur noted.

"Is someone taking over my house? I would not even be surprised considering all that has gone wrong today." He mumbled with his brows furrowed cycling towards the fleet of black sleek cars.

"Young Master!" Someone yelled suddenly and he jumped back at the sudden gesture.

'That scared me!' He thought holding his chest.

"Young Master!" A unison of men in black greeted bowing their heads until their bodies inclined 90 degrees.

Arthur paused and turned his head to see if someone was behind him. There was no one. He turned around and pointed at himself.

"Me? Young Master?" He asked.

'Did their brains lose a bolt?' He wondered his eyes looking to and fro between the men who still had their heads bowed.

"Good Evening, Young Master." A man singlehandedly greeted. Arthur turned his head in the direction of the voice. The voice was familiar.

The man was dressed in a well-ironed Black Armani Suit. On his wrist was a black leather Calvin Klein wristwatch that screamed wealth. 

"Mr. Robert?" Arthur asked with utmost surprise. What was he doing here and most importantly, how did he find him? And why now that he reeked of fish?!