THREE YEARS AGO (NORTHLIFE RESTURANT)
A man was scanning through something on his phone , his eyes were unfazed yet it was dull, he looked like he was in his mid thirties , dark brown hair, black obsidian eyes and he was very average looking, he looked probably in his late forties, he sighed almost frustrated as he dropped his phone on the table , a slight hint of aggression reflected through , Diah,whose hair was tied in a ponytail, visible eye bags and a sullen look , she was obviously exhausted , she was startled when the man had hit his phone on the table, " hey....Diah , what is this, there are so much plot holes, nothing follows the plot here , it just keeps diverting ", he said angrily , Diah rubbed her thumb against her palm as she bent her head not daring to meet his gaze , the man sighed clearly frustrated as he leaned in more unto his chair ," this won't do ...", he looked at Diah obviously irritated , " we have to drop you", it was so sudden but she had seen it coming , still it was unexpected. Her eyes widened in disbelief when she looked up at him , "why...?", she looked clenching her fist , why was he dropping her, hers wasn't that bad , others had written worse, why was she the only one getting dropped?, Derek looked amused and confused, his jaw clenched then he scoffed in disbelief , " you are really asking me that ....", he said as he angrily pushed his phone towards Diah who didn't even look at him, " take a look at the messy plot, your story has no depth , if we publish this no one will want to read it, and if no one reads it that will be a loss to us , you think this company runs on charity or what....tsk.....", before he could say more ,Diah slammed her hand on the table attracting unwanted attention , her jaw clenched in anger, her fisted hand trembling on the table, " there are so many people in your hands that is worse than me , WHY ARE YOU FOCUSING YOUR ATTENTION ONLY ON ME ", she yelled.
The echoes of mummur filled the once quiet diner , Derek who looked embarrassed clenched his fist in anger , " tsk...you are saying it like I am giving others preferential treatment , we gave you a chance right .....", he leaned in more unto the table and said in a whispered voice , " your books are a loss to this company, your first book didnt start at a minimum range target , we did what we could ....,we released a thousand copies for sale and out of a thousand , only over one hundred and eighty were sold , despite the sponsors and brands that supported it , it still failed, it's not like it's my fault ", Diah looked down , her clenched fists trembled, what he said was true but she needed to come out of the situation, it wasn't her fault that her first book had such low sale , at the time when she had started published her book...., her mind pondered then her eyes suddenly widened in realization, Rheas books were also on sale, it wasn't her fault that her book didnt sell because at that time , Rheas books were in the top sales.
" Rhea books were on sale then...my books couldn't....", Derek scoffed at Diah undoubted hypocrisy which rendered Diah to shut her mouth, she was tempted to ask why he suddenly scoffed but....., " Rhea books weren't on sale when you sold your other books but it still flopped, didn't it....", Diah couldnt even say anything as she bowed her head knowing it was the truth , he heaved as he pinched between his eyebrows, " i am not doing this to bug you Diah but....I suggest you look for another thing to do , you are still young, what are you?, twenty two, twenty three?, you are still fresh off college and you have a degree", he sighed as little , " just look for another thing to do.....", Diah bit her lower lips , tears threatening to fall from her eyes but she didnt dare let it slip , " just quit storytelling...", Diah felt her breath hitch, " storytelling?.....", she didnt know what came over her but that word...she disliked it and before she knew it , she stood up ,the chair dragged against the floor which made a screeching noise, Derek was startled at both the noise and Diah suddenly standing up , she was angry all of a sudden, did he say something wrong?, and then he heard her mutter under her breath, it was quiet , restrained ," piece of shit".
Derek eyes furrowed and a deep frown settled in, " wh...what did you just call me ?",he asked clearly in disbelief, trying to control the anger that threatened to bubble over, Diah clenched the glass of water on the table , the tension between her and Derek so thick but.....she didn't care, she looked up at Derek who was shocked at her sudden expression , different shades of emotions flushed through that delicate face of hers , tears pooling down from her eyes, she had failed to control it, her tears dropped unto the table and then she broke, " I SAID YOU ARE A PIECE OF SHIT YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!", she yelled in anger attracting attention as people started murmuring but Diah didn't care, she had held it in for so long , if she didnt let it out now , she didnt know when she would have the opportunity to scream at this bastard. Derek looked clearly embarrassed and leaned unto the table as he whispered, " shut your mouth and sit down...you are embarrassing yourself", he said as me smiled sheepishly under the pretense of trying to convince everyone that it was nothing which agitated her more.
She smirked as more tears fell from her eyes, she took hold of the glass of water she had been clenching , why was she the only one getting angry?, he wanted to pin her as the crazy person ," well.....if she was going to look like a fool then....they should both be fools and with that she poured the water on his face hitting him with a splash, the once calm Derek flared up almost immediately dropping his pretense , he stood up almost immediately, " you stupid....", he raised his hand to hit her but she slapped him first , rendering gasps, mummurs and attention, Derek was too shocked to even move , that sudden slap had immobilised him , " you fucking bastard...you just talk like you could write any better, what do you think you know you filthy animal , how dare you call me a storyteller,....I am ...", she slowly walked up to Derek who was frightened at her sudden approach as he tried to scoot on his chair, as if the chair could just swallow him but then Diah pulled him by his collar to her face , just a tiny distance between them , up close Derek got a better view of the fury in her eyes like she wanted to kill him, she leaned in closer, " I'm an author , you fucking idiot...", and with that she let him go and Derek couldn't help but trembled, she is a psychopath. Without glancing back for a moment, without meeting anyone's judgemental stare she ran away till she was of far sight from that diner, she panted as her legs gave way and she fell down , she knew she was fired , no one had to tell her that, she gritted her teeth in anger and clenched her fist, " t....that bastard , what does he know....he knows nothing, HE KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT ME!!!!", she yelled , her knees oozing out blood , " why does it have to be her , aren't we all authors here", why is she the only one classified as a storyteller while Rhea...", she groaned frustrated, her eyes still wet from crying, then she remembered what Derek had said , her eyes flared up as she clenched her knuckles so tight that it turned white , Rhea...this was her fault, it was because of Rhea that she was in this situation, she despised her, " Rhea.....I will make you pay", she said under her breath , her tone defiant of any emotion.
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We all had that one friend we followed around because we had no one else, that one person you put your trust in and you loved dearly, you treated them like a sibling , that was me with Diah, someone that I loved dearly , the only one I considered family , was that why we both were relatable that we found each other compatible? , or did I just want to be a friend to someone , was I that desperate all this time ?.
As we stood face to face at my door , she had not changed , she was still so beautiful , her alluring light brown curls and icy glazed blue eyes, a seductive smile which complimented her deep red lipstick, she was a face one couldn't easily forget, my hands clenched tightly on the door knob, I wanted to slap that face so bad , I wanted to taint it and rip that filthy soul of hers but...., she smiled as she stepped closer to me , her eyes scanned me from head to toes, I could feel that prickling sensation as the hair at the back of my neck stood still, " back then you were so graceful and beautiful when you were happy....", she said that voice laced with an obvious venom of resentment , " i became curious of how you would look if.....you became miserable", she smiled , her fingers softly entangling with some strands of my hair, it was like time had stopped , I couldn't move then she scoffed, " and even now....you are still beautiful and graceful even after everything that you had been through ", she had said this before but this time it was of satisfaction , when she had said it the last time we met , it was of pure resentment and it still was.
She stormed in, hitting my shoulder slightly but purposely but I didn't flinch, it was very much expected, I silently closed he door , her footsteps echoed in the room , her presence occupied my space .....it was suffocating, I turned around and met her eyes darting everywhere , " seems like a pretty decent place so....how have you.....", " why are you here?", i cut her short immediately not wanting to hear anything she said ,i already knew why she was here , she had given me a pre notice during her interview, " ha....", she approached me , her movements daring , her eyes never leaving mine, looking for any strands of emotion precisely...fear, but I made sure I was as expressionless as ever.
When she was so close to me she smiled, the smile I had always thought was genuine but now to me it was soiled and rotten, she was beautiful as sin itself which she gracefully embodied , "you won't even say "hi" to a long time friend huh....", she pouted , " i really miss you Rhea...", hearing her say my name with the mouth that spilled nothing but lies , it was...disgusting, my eyes darted to my table , my books were neatly stacked at a corner, " if you are here for your book...", i looked back at her , a mixture of rage and disgust filled me and I made sure she could easily tell , " you won't be having it till about a year...", i made sure that sentence came out flat, so sharp that that it stung, what suddenly gave me that courage , what gave me that audacity ?, that confident smirk of hers quickly faded , confusion, annoyance and rage , those emotions I could see them clearly , that poised and elegant stance she had been holding up seemed to falter , it was my turn to smirk, she came closer to me, her gaze sharp, venomous , I had to counter attack if not she would spell something or say something that could destroy the remaining self worth i had , she was obviously angry and I was satisfied, and then I remembered what Denver had told me before , " don't let anyone put you down ", words i had heard so much yet i was putting some meaning in it, " don't think you have a hand on me just because I strain around you like a fool....."her gaze narrowed in disbelief and a smile that had no meaning, more of disgust formed on her lips, i stepped closer to her, I had to stabilise my dominance so she won't have any hole to crawl out from. " point of reminder ....", as I spoke I saw Denver, how he looked hurt , his face kept appearing in my mind, " i resent myself for being pathetic because of you", he was hurt, " pathetic because of you?....", " that book of yours is my book.....",i said blankly, the truth, the image of his face when he had said that word, when we had spoken at the bridge , the time I ate at his house ,I felt lighter with him, he was Denver and suddenly I felt that courage ....., " so if you cant deal with it.....", i looked over at the door, " you can get out".