The old woman smiled nervously and reached for Hebe dragging her away from Selina.

“This is my daughter, Hebe Tian,” Mrs. Tian introduced then whispered into Hebe’s ear, “what do you think you’re doing?!”

Hebe turned to her mom frowning, “I told you I didn’t want to come and I hate this dress!”

Mrs. Yan’s eyebrows rose in deep astonishment at Hebe’s behavior.

Mrs. Tian laughed nervously at Mrs. Yan, “She’s been in a bad mood since this morning.”

Hebe turned away from the old woman and looked at Calvin and Aaron. Calvin could feel himself freeze as her eyes stared at him. He found his mind going around in circles trying to think of some joke to crack up but nothing came. His heart thumped and thumped and thumped fast non-stop. He suddenly felt a little panicked because that had never happened to him before. Hebe’s look suddenly turned into a glare and she stepped toward Selina.

“How come you never came back?” Hebe questioned.

Selina blinked her eyes lost.

“The day care! Johnny cried his eyes out the next day because you didn’t show up!” Hebe scolded.

“The day care,” Selina repeated finally remembering that was where she had first met Hebe. “I…forgot.”

“It was so hard taking care of them all! I was really hoping to see you around,” Hebe went on without bothering about the others.

Selina stared at this rich young woman standing in front of her. Hebe seemed to care only about the day care. Her attitude about it...just surprised Selina when she was so...rich... 

“Why do you work at the day care? Why don’t you just get some people to work there for you…” the words trailed out of Selina’s mouth.

“Because…because I want to do things on my own,” Hebe replied.

“That’s great! Doing things on your own!” Calvin suddenly jumped in.

Hebe looked up at him surprised then turned to Selina, “You know him?”

“Um…we work together at the bakery,” Selina replied. “He’s Calvin.”

Hebe turned to look at Calvin once more. He was smiling broadly. Hebe couldn’t help but frown and turned back to Selina.

“I didn’t want to come here in the first place.” Hebe confessed. “Why are you here?”

Selina looked around as Calvin answered for her, “Birthday boy invited her. She’s his special guest.”

Hebe suddenly turned to look at Aaron and felt herself blush when Aaron looked back. She cleared .

“Hebe! What are you doing there?” Mrs. Tian bellowed.

Hebe shook her head sighing and found herself looking out the corner of her eyes at Aaron only to find him looking elsewhere. She sighed when her mom finally grabbed her arm and walked her toward Aaron.

“Aaron, this is Hebe, Hebe, this is Aaron,” Mrs. Yan introduced the two.

“Hi,” Hebe greeted.

Aaron looked at her without any reply. His expression had suddenly turned cold.

“Aaron!” Mrs. Yan scolded.

Aaron stuck his hands into his pockets, “Really, mom I was hoping for you to stop this.”

“What do you mean?” asked Mrs. Yan.

“Is something wrong?” asked Mrs. Tian.

“No, no.” Mrs. Yan answered and as the two women dissolved themselves into the conversation Hebe glanced toward Aaron.

Once more he seemed to be looking elsewhere. Hebe followed his eyes and paused when they landed on Selina. She retraced the gaze back to Aaron who suddenly took a step forward leaving Hebe to watch Aaron go over to Calvin and Selina. Hebe stared at the trio and took a step toward them.

Just in time Hebe heard Aaron talking, “This is all your fault, Calvin! If you hadn’t been so insistent on me coming, now it’s your responsibility to find a way out of here.”

“Dude, your mom would kill me,” Calvin said pointing to himself.

However, Selina did not make a response and looking at her one more time Hebe felt envious and confused about her own feelings. She suddenly recalled what Calvin had told her before. Selina was Aaron’s special guest…did Aaron have something for her? Hebe glanced at Aaron one more time. She had seen him many times when she was young, but he had always been too busy to notice her. It had now been four years since she had last seen him and he was as handsome as always. When would he have time to look at her?

“Selina, what are you guys talking about?” asked Hebe taking a breath and step toward them.

“Oh…nothing really,” Selina replied.

“Aaron!” Mrs. Yan walked over. “Why don’t you bring Hebe to dance with you?”

“But Calvin and Selina…” Aaron began.

“Let the uninvited entertain themselves. Now hurry up,” Mrs. Yan pulled at his son’s arm.

“Mom,” Aaron tried to become free of her grasp but ended up failing.

“Hebe!” Mrs. Tian shouted loudly.

Hebe glanced at Selina and walked toward her mom obediently. Selina watched as Mrs. Yan forced Aaron’s arms around Hebe and as Mrs. Tian forced Hebe to stay still. Selina stifled a laugh at how silly the four of them up there looked.

“Why don’t we go help them?” Calvin questioned.

“Huh?” Selina turned to look at Calvin who extended his hand out to Selina.

“Lets go dance,” Calvin told taking Selina’s hand and headed toward Aaron and Hebe.

Calvin and Selina strolled pass Aaron who glanced at them surprised. He watched as Calvin placed his arms around Selina and they started off into a slow dance.

“You’ve done this before right?” asked Calvin quietly to Selina.

Selina’s heart beat uncomfortably fast when she felt Calvin’s touch. She nodded and played along with him. As they spun in circles like dancing dolls Selina could see Aaron staring over with Hebe not too far away from him. It looked as if Aaron had finally gotten out of his mom’s hands. She quickly turned away feeling his stare catching hers. Selina stopped thinking and concentrated on Calvin.

“Who’s the girl?” Mrs. Tian finally asked finally being aware of Selina’s presence.

“Uh…oh…just…just…Aaron,” Mrs. Yan began then suddenly realized something she hadn't at first. “Is that your reason for bringing her here?”

Aaron stared back at his mom choosing not to speak.

Mrs. Yan glared at him and shouted, “Stop!”

Calvin and Selina stopped their waltz and turned toward Mrs. Yan. Calvin stuck back his smile on as Mrs. Yan walked toward them. Aaron’s mother pulled on Selina’s arm jerking her forward harshly.

“You wanted to ruin the engagement!” Mrs. Yan shouted.

“Mom!” Aaron protested.

Hebe stared and watched as her own mother walked toward Mrs. Yan to look at Selina. Mrs. Tian pushed Selina’s hair behind her ear then crossed her arms.

“She looks pretty innocent,” Mrs. Tian began.

“What are you saying?” Mrs. Yan turned to her friend shocked with her comment.

Selina felt like pushing away their rich money, smelling- like hands away from her and rushing out of the house. She felt so low in front of these women. 

“She looks like she belongs in the whorehouse,” Mrs. Tian completed her sentence. “You know those innocent looking girls in there…”

“Mom! Stop it!” Hebe shouted stomping over toward them.

“I’m just telling the truth…” Mrs. Tian started.

“You don’t even know her! You know it’s not right to judge someone you don’t know!” Hebe lectured. "Aunt and uncle always boast about how innocent I am, does that bring me to the house then!?" 

Her mom stared at her in disbelief.

“Are you possessed?!” questioned Mrs. Tian.

“It’s no one’s fault so stop yelling at each other,” Mrs. Yan told calmly then turned to Selina, “if someone’s to blame, it’s her.”

Selina gulped. Her mind was spinning. What was she doing there in the first place? 

“Now tell me,” Mrs. Yan went on with a soothing voice, “how much money do you need? How did you seduce my son?”

“Mom!” Aaron shouted.

Selina could hear her whole heart ache. Did this really have to happen? The words sounded just like what her mother’s last words to her were. She could hear it so clearly in her head. It hurt so bad...

“How did you seduce him? What did you do?! For God’s sakes you’re my daughter! You nasty ! How can you sleep with your own step father!” Selina's mother’s insulting painful words echoed in her head, but whatever Selina had to say, her mother would no longer listen to her. Her mother would never know the truth.

“Answer me!” Mrs. Yan pulled on Selina’s arm with a strong grip on her.

Selina jolted back to reality.

“Mom!” Aaron ran forward and separating his mother from Selina.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Mrs. Yan asked confused as if she had done nothing wrong. “Why are you looking at me like that? What did I do wrong? I’m not the one wrong here!”

“You don’t have the right to assume anything about Selina!” Aaron shouted loudly.

Mrs. Yan gaped at Aaron, “What is wrong with you? You’ve been so disobedient!”

“If you’d only listen to my part of the story for once! If you’d only try to understand how I feel…” Aaron began.

“Feel what?! What Aaron?! After your father died I tried so hard raising you! I need someone to take over the company after I die too! Can’t you see my part?!” Mrs. Yan shouted. “Becoming a chef in a bakery…how important is that?! You wouldn’t even earn half the money I get a month!”

“Because you don’t understand!” Aaron shouted.

“You don’t understand me!” Mrs. Yan retorted.

“I have no more to say to you.” Aaron said coldly and grabbed Selina’s hand to walk out of the house.

Calvin watched Aaron walk out with Selina stunned. He’d never seen Aaron argue like that before in his entire life. To him, Aaron was lenient, dependent, caring, nice, but never harsh. Never.

“Are you ok?” Mrs. Tian asked putting a comforting hand on Mrs. Yan’s shoulder.

Mrs. Yan put her face in her hands and nodded then turned to look at Calvin with just the same glare completely identical to Aaron’s.

“Get out of my house,” Mrs. Yan ordered. “Because of you and your damned uncle, Aaron will never listen to me. Get out!”

Having nothing to argue, Calvin did as told and walked out. Hebe stared after him then turned to the two old ladies. Speechless Hebe also followed after Calvin.

“Hebe! Hebe! Oh God! Hebe!” Mrs. Tian shouted running after her but stopped at the entrance of the house. “Oh no!”

***

Aaron had led Selina down the streets across blocks and blocks of houses and buildings. He stopped when he came to a place where they could be alone, his secret hideout behind the bushes at a small playground. He felt Selina pull her hand out of his and slump to the ground.

Selina did feel hurt from Mrs. Yan’s scolding, but what was bringing up the real pain was what her mother’s words had been. One of the persons who raised her, fed her, clothed her, and taught her to never be a thief or steal or do anything that would be a crime, turned her back on her. The one person who should have at least listened to her and believed her...well at least try to believe her. Her mother never wanted to hear her. Believing everything...was Selina’s fault.

Actually Selina had been the victim. Her step father had gotten everything. Satisfied himself so many times while Selina felt the pain. Being called a by your own blood mother was a real insult. Selina felt her shoulders shake and tear after tear fell. She felt herself going through that whole period again. Crying for days after she had been kicked out and finding a place at her grandmother’s.

Only this time the comfort was coming from someone else. Aaron had sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms allowing her cry on his shoulder. She would never be able to tell Jiro the truth about her. She couldn’t be with Jiro because…she was no longer clean…it hurt the most because she had no one to go to.

***

After boarding the car with Calvin they had driven off in search of Aaron and Selina but to no avail. The two were no where to be found. Sighing, Calvin stopped alongside the road rubbing his face with his hands. He was frustrated. He felt guilty. He had suggested bringing Selina along but it had ended up with Selina being hurt. It was his fault. Along with it, he had let Aaron go missing.

“What’s going to happen now?” asked Hebe.

“What?” asked Calvin turning to her.

“I…I was just thinking,” Hebe told, “I’ve never ran away like that from my mom before. Especially, after yelling at her like that.” Hebe was silent then said, “It felt good.”