Chapter 20:

Place: Excellence High School

Time: 12:05p.m.

It’s lunch break time when Pie looks around the class to find Kim but she can’t find Kim anywhere.  “Where’s Kim?” asks Pie to Jane. Jane turns around to look and shake her head. “I don’t know… Hey Boy, where’s Kim?” asks Jane to Boy instead. Boy looks up and says: “Kim’s going back.” Jane frowns and asks: “Back where?” Boy rolls his eyes and replies: “Back home, of course! Where do you think she’s going?” Pie raises her eyebrow and asks: “There a lesson after lunch break. Why is she going back now?” Boy sighs and answers: “She says she’s not feeling well so she going to the Matron to ask for a pass to leave school.” Pie hesitates for a moment and rush out to find Kim. “Where are you GOING?” asks Jane to Pie but Pie doesn’t stop to answer back. Rushing down the corridor, heading towards the treatment room, Pie tries to find Kim. “Kim… Where are you? There’s something I want to say…” thinks Pie.

Pie reaches the treatment room. She calms down to catch her breath from all the running. Hoping that Kim would still be in the room, Pie knocks on the door. “Come on in…”a voice comes from the inside. Pie turns the door knob and opens the door. Pie pops her head in and looks around the room but all she can find is only the Matron. “Hmm, Pie isn’t it? Why are you here? Are you hurt again?”asks the Matron. Pie smiles at the Matron and replies: “Hi, Matron. No, I’m not hurt. Erm… Did Kim? I mean, erm… Did Kim… drop by just now?” The Matron smiles and answers: “Yes, she did come just now. Looking all tired, that poor girl… She just left a few minutes ago..” Pie nods and says: “Thanks, Matron… Erm… I gotta go!” Pie closes the door and runs towards the school entrance.

Kim walks out of the school after showing the letter that Matron gives as a pass to go home to the guard. Kim walks towards her bicycle, opens the chain locker and puts the chain locker into the basket in front of her bicycle. She also puts her bag in it. Climbing up her bicycle, getting ready to ride away, Kim hears someone calling her. Kim turns around to look. “It’s Pie…” thinks Kim. Pie just reaches the school entrance, panting and all sweaty. “Kim! Wait! I want to say something!” shouts Pie from the school entrance as she can’t get out of the school without any permission. Kim rides her bicycle towards the school entrance. Separated with a gate between them, Kim looks at Pie without saying anything. Pie holds onto the polls of the gate, still panting. She wipes off her sweat from her forehead and says: “ Kim, I… I, ar…. I just want to say…”

Kim cuts in before Pie gets to finish her sentence, saying: “Can we talk other time? I want to go back now…” Kim gives Pie a weak smile and rides her bicycle away. Pie opens and shuts like a fish. Pie sighs with disappointment and walks away. “I guess she’s mad at me...…”

Place: Kim’s House

Time: 12:20 p.m.

“Hey, you’re home.. Why so early?” asks Jim. Jim is getting ready to go out. Kim smiles weakly and say: “Well, lesson end early… Where are you going?” Jim grins and say: “ I’m going to meet Zoe, you wanna join us?” Kim shakes her head and rejects her brother’s offer. “No, I want to get some rest… You guys go ahead and enjoy..” Kim place her bicycle in the garage and picks up her bag. “Ok, I better get going now. Tell dad I won’t be home early..” says Jim as he gets into his car. "Ok, have fun." says Kim to Jim. Jim starts the car engine and drives away. Kim waves good-bye to her brother and goes into her house. Having no appetite, Kim walks up to her bedroom and closes the door behind her. She sits down on the floor, curls up at the corner and starts crying. “Damn you, Mike…. Why are you doing this to me?” Kim cries out.

Place: Pie’s House

Time: 2:30 p.m.

“Mom, I’m back!” shouts Pie as she just gets home. Pie’s mother walks to the front door and welcomes her daughter with a hug. “Hmm… You smell a little sweaty. Did you exercise just now?”asks Pie’s mother to Pie. Pie smiles at her mother and says: “Yeah, kind of…” Pie’s mother smiles back and asks: “Are you hungry? I’ll ask Maria to cook a bowl of noodle for you.” Pie shakes her head and says: “No, I’m not. I’ve taken lunch at the cafeteria already.” Pie’s mother Pie’s back and says: “Then go and wash up. I'm sure you have a lot of homework to do. Finish it early so that you can do sleep early...” Pie nods her head. Feeling tired, Pie drags herself upstairs. Pie's mother smiles while watching Pie goes up. She then continue to do her work in the house. Pie walks into her bedroom. “Urgh!” Pie falls on her bed, still wearing her uniform after throwing her bag to the side. Covering her eyes with her right arm, Pie thinks back to the time she slaps Kim. “Gosh…. I hit her too hard. It must have hurt…”thinks Pie. "But it serves her right! Who ask her to touch my ..... But... Come to think of it, she didn't do it on purpose... Oh, Pie!!!!" Being frustrated by her own actions, Pie kicks her leg in the air and punches her bed with her left hand for several times. Pie then remembers back to the scene where Kim is holding back her tears, hugged by Jane and comforted by Boy. “How much pain did she actually go through?” thinks Pie, being curious about Kim. "Huh, Pie! Don't think so much now... You still have lots of things to do. I'll go and appologise to her tomorrow." With a heavy heart, Pie stands up and goes to bath.

Time: 6:32 p. m

Pie is having dinner with her family silently when her father suddenly broke the silence. Pie’s father wipes his mouth with a napkin and places it down next to his plate. He clears his throat with a cough and says: “Erkm… I have an announcement to make. Pie, put down your spoon for awhile and listen to me.” Pie puts down her spoon, looking shock with full of food. “Why is he looking so serious all of a sudden?”thinks Pie. “Pie, I have agreed to Van’s marriage proposal for you to be his wife.” says Pie’s father. Pie nearly choked herself. She grabs her glass of water and drinks it to make it easier for her to swallow the food in . After she managed to swallow the food, Pie looks at her mother to see if her mother knows the news. Her mother looks shock as well. But the shock that is shown all over Pie’s mother’s face is a happy one. Pie’s mother has always hoped that Van will be her future son-in-law. Pie looks back to her father again, being unable to digest the whole marriage thing.

Pie finally finds her tongue and says: “But dad, I’m just 17! I’m too young to get married!” Pie’s father smiles and says: “Well, Van agrees to give you time till you graduate university. But he wants to get engaged with you first.” Pie’s mother beams and holds Pie’s father’s hands. “Really? That’s wonderful!!!”says Pie’s mother. Pie opens and closes a few times. “What… when… why…. How????” asks Pie as she doesn’t know how to ask the thousand of questions in her mind. “Aren’t you happy? We’re planning to announce it during the launch of Van’s new project in corporation with our company.” says Pie’s father with joy. Pie blinks her eyes a few times and gives her father a disbelieve look as she finally realizes the true motive behind the engagement. “Wait…. Are you using me as a chance to join hands with P’Van’s family business?” asks Pie. Pie’s father looks at his daughter and says: “Pie, it’s a great chance for us to expand our company with the help of Van’s business. But that’s not the main point! The main point is that my daughter is going to marry a guy with such good qualifications. A good family background, good education, good career, and great personality. Where can you get a gentleman like him?”

Pie frowns and says: “What about me? Have you ever asks my opinion about it?” Pie’s father explains: “Pie, marriage is something that parents should decide for their children. Your mother and I were like that back then. Plus, Van is a good kid. I trust that he would love and take care of you well. Right, honey?” Pie’s father squeezes his wife’s hands and looks at his wife with a smile. Pie’s mother smiles back as she understands that her husband wants her to support him. “Yes, Pie. Your dad is right about that. Van has been a good kid ever since he’s young. Besides, both of you gets along well.”

Pie stands up and bangs her hands on the table. “Mom! Dad! It’s the 21^st century already! No one does this marriage-decided-by-parents thing anymore! I know P’Van is a good guy but I don’t love him. When I’m with him, I never have those butterflies-in-stomach feeling that mommy told me about. I don’t agree to his engagement.” Pie says it clearly straight to her father’s face. Pie’s father frowns and he starts to get angry. Pie’s mother sense her husband’s anger and turns to scold her daughter. “Pie, don’t be rude to your father. Sit down and talk nicely!” says Pie’s mother to Pie. Pie ignores her mother’s words and stood there staring at her parents. “This marriage is a must. There’s no way you can turn this down. I have already accepted Van’s offer. A man must be able to keep his words. I will lose millions of dollars if you cancel this marriage.” says Pie’s father firmly to Pie.

Pie’s eyes widen as she can’t believe her father would be like that. “It’s all about money, isn’t it?”says Pie. “How can you treat me like this? All this while, you never care much about me. All you care about is work, business, profit! Have you ever think about how I feel? I’m your daughter, daddy. I’m not a doll for you to use as a trade for money, wealth or power. God, I can’t believe this!” says Pie, raising her voice towards her father. Pie’s father become angry and yells fiercely: “I doing it all for you, Pie! But remember this, I’m your father! I decide your marriage with Van and that’s final! It’s not up to you to decide! If you are not happy with it, get out of the house!”

“GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!.... GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!.... GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!...” her father’s words rings in her ear. Tears start flowing out of her eyes. Pie’s mother is shock of her husband reaction as well. Pie couldn’t take it anymore. She grabs her phone and leaves the dining room. She presses the remote control for the front gate in the living room and storms out of the house. Pie’s mother stands up to chase after Pie but Pie’s father stops her. “Let her go. She knows the way home.” says Pie’s father stubbornly, holding his wife’s hands tightly. Pie’s mother’s face is full of worries. “How can you be so harsh to our daughter?” says Pie’s mother as she struggles and breaks free from her husband’s grip. Pie’s mother runs out to the front gate trying to call her daughter back but Pie has already run far….

Pie rubs away her tears and she runs as fast as she can. She can’t believe that her father would be so heartless to force her to marry someone she doesn’t even love.  “Is that how much I’m worth of? Millions of dollars in your eyes, daddy? I hate you….. I hate you…. I HATE YOU!!!!” Pie screams out her dissatisfaction and cries out loud. Pie doesn’t know how many houses that she passes by, how many cars that drive pass her, how many people walk by. She runs away with all her might without knowing where she is heading.  Till she was panting and struggling to catch her breath, she slows down and walks down the street that she’s not familiar of, lifelessly. The sky is getting dark and there isn’t any street light. “Where should I go now? My dad chases me out of the house…. Where can I go??” cries Pie when suddenly Pie gets hit by something.

“BANG!......”