This was on Tuesday. His phone buzzed like a thousand bees carried it on their backs. The previous days had been hell for Vale, even though he'd argue that that was an understatement. Even though he had been trying to ignore the device and had put it on silent, the buzz wasn't ordinary. So, that caught his attention.
Reluctantly, Vale peeled his eyes open and squinted while they adjusted to the room's light. He pushed out a burst of air through the corner of his mouth to blow off a lock of hair that covered his left eye. He stretched out his hand to get the phone just as the thought of what his fiancée--oh, now ex-fiancée-- did to him. A sharp pain passed through his chest as his throat clenched. Vale's hand went to his throat as he made some sounds to clear the knot. His eyes stung with tears, but he was too hung over to gather some in his eyes at that moment.
As his palm was about to pick up the phone, it rang!
Vale answered the call!
The first thing he heard after putting it on speaker phone was a loud peal of laughter. Confusion spread through his face as he glanced at the phone again and noticed the number wasn't even saved. He didn't have the contact on his phone.
"Who's this?" Vale asked in an uninterested and irritated voice. He wasn't in the mood for pranks, marketing, or advertising. There were things--heavy things on his mind.
"Check the internet, Loser! It's all over, Smarty Pants!"
The call disconnected, but not before another annoying and evil laughter erupted through the speaker of Vale's phone.
He had heard that voice somewhere, but he couldn't place where.
'Smarty Pants'
A group of friends called him that back in the office. But Vale couldn't disturb himself with that now. The person said to check the internet. Vale shook his head slightly. He was utterly confused and laden with gloom.
Vale's heart skipped a beat as wheels began spinning in his head, grinding against each other.
He knew!
Vale knew it had to be about the humiliation that had happened the day before. Somehow, when he returned home, he had drowned himself in alcohol and thought that it would all go away the next day. But Vale was quickly realizing that the worst was yet to come.
Without thinking, Vale rushed out of bed and pulled out a black long-sleeved shirt. He heard the beep he had customized to his bank application and wondered why, as he'd not initiated any debit or credit transaction.
An eerie air loomed over Vale Holmes as he heard the drumming of his heartbeat in his ears. He signed into his app and found that his account had been wiped of every cent there. Vale froze! His eyes were wide with shock and imbalance.
"What is happening?!" Vale asked rhetorically, knowing what exactly had happened to his money. He tapped the side of his equally black pants, fitted to match his long and toned legs, and brought out his flask. Vale's head tipped backwards as he poured the contents into his mouth. He closed his eyes tightly, awaiting when the edge and anxiety he felt would wane.
In the elevator, Vale forced himself to at least go through his notifications. He saw a text message from Vanessa, and it had come this morning, when his phone had been vibrating nonstop.
What could she have typed to me? He thought. But nothing came to mind as he heard the beep of the elevator signaling that he had reached his destination.
Vale Holmes stepped out of the golden-plated lift, and his eyes met those of the people standing at the front desk of the apartment building. He could see judgment plastered on their faces. The shape of their mouths was frozen in awkward positions.
His brows creased, and he didn't break eye contact with them, more from confusion than boldness. No one said a word. It somewhat pleased Vale, but he was soon going to find out that he would have appreciated a word or two from the rude onlookers in the reception.
Walking through the front door of the building, he heard a burst of loud laughter from the right side.
"I told you this was where he lived!" the young boy, not older than 17 years, said to another standing on the opposite side.
"Vale Holmes!" someone else said from the street. He had been walking by.
"I followed him yesterday and the sucker didn't even know! Ha!" the boy exclaimed again with victory evident tin his voice.
The boys laughed loudly, and that made other bystanders and pedestrians look in Vale's direction. It was as if the laughter of the boys was contagious, as some people who had stopped to see what the commotion was about began to laugh as well.
"I saw that video!" one said.
"He's drunk!" the boy on a shocked Vale's right hand said. "Hmm!" "What a pity!" "Just imagine, it's not even 11 am yet!" And so on!
All this time, Vale just stared at the people. Looking from one person to the other. They were all talking at once and had their phones facing him.
"Isn't this you?" a lady said as she turned her phone to face him after she had stepped forward and encroached into Vale's personal space.
A piercing static sound came from the digital billboard that was adjacent to the building. A glitch followed, interrupting the ad that was playing on it. An eye-catching title was being displayed on the screen, scrolling from one end to the other.
"EPIC FAIL: EGOISTIC TECH-BRO'S VALIANT FAILURE"
Murmurs and whispers could be heard from the people around as most turned to stare at Vale at intervals and even pointed fingers.
It was when he saw his face, in the boardroom, yesterday's pitch fail, that was when Vale Holmes knew what was actually happening.
They had livestreamed the whole session yesterday, and even the nosebleed he'd suffered. And how his voice cracked beyond being heard by anyone. Vale had been overconfident. But he had done his research-- practiced the pitch over and over-- and it always sounded good to him. But things didn't go as planned.
He was frozen to the spot. His mind was screaming at him to leave-- to get the hell away from there so as not to cause more harm to what was already happening. But he remained fixated on the billboard.
Another glitch happened, and an interview was shown.
The interviewee was none other than...