A Very Unlucky Night I

SLAP!

What a painfully powerful sound caused by a hand striking the skin of a well-sculpted face. Such reverberation sought the focus of everyone in the lobby, for it resounded in an unforgettable echo.

Every bit of movement halted, and even the passerbys' outside the condominium's glass walls had to stop for a moment as they find themselves somewhat invested to witness such a scene unfolding. 

Giselle could feel people's gazes burning on her back. And everyone's eyes peered at the infuriated young man and woman who were in the spotlight of the show. 

The shocking murmurs of utterly puzzled people erupted simultaneously. There were horrified and surprised gasps of those who knew whom Giselle was opposing upfront. And they realized everything wrong she had done.

But it seemed like Giselle had no idea who she was facing. 

In the sea of people in the condominium's lobby, she allowed herself to be that dense fish, getting caught in one of the dangerous fishing nets. Everyone knows that this particular fisherman is known to be a vile and dangerous person. 

And very slowly, Giselle starts bringing down her already trembling hand. Aghast by the measures she took, she brings her hand to cover her mouth. 

She ignores the stinging pain that she felt in the palm of her hands. Giselle seems to be more affected and in pain by the slap rather than the person she bravely challenged. 

However, her thoughts were soon proven wrong. 

The man that stands in front of her held a firm, cold expression as he turned his head to face Giselle. Her eyes only widen upon seeing his cheeks flushed red with her handprint becoming visible every unnerving second that passes. 

She bit her lip, refusing to look him in the eyes. But instead, her eyes sinfully went through his neck and his chest. His chest muscles bulge on his tight button-up dress shirt.

Not the right time Giselle. 

Warmth rushed to Giselle's cheeks as her eyes went anywhere but the man's rageful eyes but only for her to fail miserably. She still had no choice but to look him in the eyes. 

"Oh no, what have I done," she thought to herself, along with everything horrible she could think about in her already cluttered mind. Giselle begins to mentally scold herself in Filipino. 

This man could have the ability to kill Giselle, chop her into pieces, and sell her off to the black market. She recalls Yvonne mentioning the man's name, but anger overtook her mind making her forget all about it. But she could remember her saying that this man is well-known to many and can be frightening at times when he is enraged. 

"Yvonne was right, this man has the potential to be a face model or something," she thought, but that information does not matter under the circumstances she was on. What an irrelevant thought. 

Physical appearance is nothing when one has a vermin of a behavior. This man deserved the slap for thinking that he owns the world. He refused to apologize for his wrongdoing. 

Who does he think he is?

And suddenly the memories of earlier tonight flash in Giselle's mind as if they were those quick scenes unfolding the moment you are about to embrace death. 

"The breakup caught the attention of everyone. It was everywhere, I*******m, Twitter, and even Youtube. They were like the star couple that everyone adored," Yvonne's voice rang in Giselle's head.

She went dizzy as her mind took her back to remember the conversation she had with her best friend only a few hours ago. 

Giselle's study nights had always been the same in one of the cafes near the building she resided. She has always been so fortunate to live in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city of Cebu. It has a usually peaceful community with strict security that keeps all areas safe. 

They call this place the Merton Township. It takes up a vast land overlooking the sea behind the skyrises of condominiums. 

There are at least three condos in one community. One can find a shopping mall, cafes, restaurants, and a school in Merton Town.

Currently, Giselle resides in the Oceanside Condominium. Her favorite cafe is only two blocks away, the White Tales Cafe, owned by her best friend's uncle, Yvonne. That's where she would study after school every afternoon until sunset, and she would go straight home.

However, she would still prefer studying alone since doing so with friends makes progress impossible. Yvonne is a blabbermouth, as she always talks about the newest gossip that, sometimes, isn't even published yet. She is the eyes and ears of everyone and anything.

Let your dog poop on her front door, and she'll catch you in a matter of seconds.

"You must be aware of these things if ever you'll meet someone as good-looking as him or himself in the flesh. You're lucky at attracting handsome men," she winks at Giselle before licking the ice cream from her spoon in such an odd manner, making her gag. 

"Look, Yvonne. I only want to study for the big test, which happens to be tomorrow. I'm not interested in your gossip, and I only allowed you to accompany me because you said you needed help with physics," Giselle tells her with a frown. 

Yvonne sinks into her seat, sadness plastering her face. Her hand lazily holding the ice cream cup tilts and starts dripping on her stomach without her realizing it.

"You careless girl!" Giselle scolded, taking the cup out of her grasp. Her eyes widened at her newly bought shirt, stained by the chocolate ice cream.

Because of her remissness, she had to clean herself up and remained silent for a few minutes. During those short-lived peaceful moments, Giselle allowed herself to dive into the world of chemistry before her best friend could find a topic she wished to ramble about for another hour. 

The time ticked while sweat dripped from the side of her forehead as she flipped to the next page of her book. She highlighted the key points she would have to go back to later. 

It doesn't make sense how Giselle could be sweating when the air conditioning in this place is good, but she longed for this silence. And she knows that it will be gone once again.  

Her eyes were like a laser as she scanned the textbook. The other part of her mind prayed for the silence to continue. But to her dismay, it only took Yvonne five minutes before she slammed her fist on the table, catching the attention of the couple that sat beside them, while Giselle stared in horror at her highlight that strayed away from the paragraph.

"Yvonne Itzel Mercado!"

"Do you believe in vampires?" Yvonne's eyes sparkled, staring at Giselle with so much excitement. She sounds and acts like a child in a beautifully matured body. Despite the constant times that Yvonne infuriates her, she has never failed in making Giselle submissive to her cuteness and carefree attitude.

"Diyos ko," Giselle sighs, massaging her temples.

There's no other way she could survive this, so she shuts her textbook, organized her writing materials inside her pencil cases, and placed it all inside her bag. Giselle pulled her iced coffee and started sipping on it. She runs her finger on the leaked water from her cold cup.

"No, I don't believe in them. We're no longer twelve," Giselle ridicules, rolling her eyes in absurdity.

Her eyes trailed to her surroundings while Yvonne began to tackle more about bloodsucking demons until Giselle found something that caught her attention. Mr. Mercado placed newly made tiramisu crepe cake, the ones that she loves.

"I'm buying it!" Giselle thought excitedly. 

"So, Kassandra broke up with Darius, and you know she lives in the Oceanside Condo, right? Just this afternoon, I heard that he's moving to the same place to get her back. Like damn boy is in love!"

I blinked, looking back at Yvonne with a scrunched-up face, "I thought you were talking about vampires- how did you get to that rich, arrogant, cold bad boy again? He's all that, but you still call him eligible?"

"He's not a boy. He's a man. Famous, handsome, yet frightening at times. Kassandra did tame him. It's a difficult job, so props to her," she says with a smile while I shudder at the sound of her name.

Unable to take any more of her unnecessary information, Giselle got up from her seat, seeing that the sun had gone down. The street lights lit the empty, clean road outside of the cafe. A group of police passed by holding two children that must have been missing their parents again.

"Are we going home already?" Yvonne asks, jumping up from her chair, causing it to drop on the floor loudly. They receive weird glances from their tablemates, shaking their heads disapprovingly.

"Yvonne Itzel Mercado!" Mr. Mercado hisses from the counter. She instantly looks away, pretending not to notice her angered uncle.

Giselle couldn't help but laugh. Yvonne acts like a child and is loud, like an infant crying, but she brings life to Giselle's overly silent world. 

Giselle doesn't have a lot of friends because of how boring she can be and is unsociable. Yvonne changed that for her. 

"Let me buy take-outs first; then I'll walk you to the bus stop," Giselle tells Yvonne with a smile.