AUTHOR'S NOTE — CONTENT WARNING
The opening chapter of this book contains sensitive material involving harrasment, emotional and mental abuse and attempted sexual assualt.These themes may be difficult for some readers. Please take care while reading , and feel free to pause or skip ahead if needed.Your well being always comes first.
Jo kept looking at the notice board. She couldn't believe she had an extra external fee to pay alongside the other external fees she payed for the school year. Suddenly her phone rings, and she picks it up to look at it
"Cynthiaaaaa" she sarcastically said as she used her shoulder to hold up her phone to her ear while she went through her bag looking for her jotter and pen.
"Yeah stop that" Cynthia immediately said "I'm not calling you because I like you. I'm calling you because I don't like you. Actually I have good news for me and bad news for you"
Jo's heart sank immediately, scared "what's that?"
"You're fired" she joyfully said and immediately hung up the call
"Wait, What-" She looked at her screen in disbelief. Did she just get fired for nothing?. This was her 6tth Job in just 2 months and she was already getting fired?
The job wasn't even paying that well to begin with
Immediately an entourage was headed towards her and the girls were louder than anything, and the moment they reached her, one of them actually hit her on the waist
"OW-"
"Oh I'm sorry Jo" The girl said with a very fake concerned tone. She had long black hair and smelt extremely good. Her clothes and accessories were with no doubt designer brands and her skin was flawless.
And yet somehow, Jo The nobody always pissed her off.
"No you're not" Jo said, adjusting herself and rolling her eyes, choosing to go back to what she was doing
"So are you saying I'm lying?"
"I'm saying you're a very insecure bitch that wouldn't just leave me alone"
That angered the girl
"What do you mean?" She almost shouted as she dragged Jo by the hair and slammed her against the wall. "You're nobody special ok? You're just a poor street rat abandoned by her family and forced to live in the gutter side of everyone's behind, so you don't get to talk to me like that"
Jo was about to retaliate, but then she remembered, Jessica's father was one of the biggest Sponsors of the school. If she accidentally laid a finger on her, she would lose her scholarship.
She lost her job anyways, so what difference could it make?
Immediately she took Jessica's hand and twisted, turning her around and slamming her on the floor. "Yeah ...." She said with a coy smile as everyone watching gapsed, including her entourage "I agree with you actually " she continued "And this poor abandoned street rat would prefer if you left her alone. For Good"
Jessica screamed at the top of her lungs like she was being killed, and Jo just held her down, watching her, till some teachers arrived and seperated them. Sending Jo straight to the headmasters Office.
------
"Jo,Jo,Jo" The principal called, rubbing his forehead as he gave out a frustrated sigh "What do I do with you?"
"Maybe take me a class higher so I never have to see Jessica Branot again?"
The principal shot her a very irritated look.
"You know you're on a scholarship right?. That means you're not paying a dime. And then we have people like Jessica, whose parents are paying everything for this college. And I cannot allow my college to fall because some girl cannot learn to adjust with her fellow course mates!"
"Excuse me sir, how is this my fault?" Jo couldn't believe it "Jessica literally came up to me and-"
"I do not care who hit who or said what to who first" He roared "Jessica is rich, therefore Jessica is right. And Jessica is always rich, therefore Jessica is always right. And you're poor, as in poor, poor Jo. Everyone knows about your financial situation and how your parents abandoned you to die"
Jo's blood boiled immediately and she could feel her face getting hot, this was starting to get humiliating "Sir you cannot-"
"Hush!" He commander "I can and I will. Because you're still in my college, under my rules, under my scholarship. And whatever I say goes, and I say Jessica is right. And if you do not want to be walking out of this school back to your beat down apartment with an almost miserable situation, I say you should listen and obey. And I'm telling you to stay out of Jessica's way"
Jo couldn't believe her ears "And let her bully me?"
"Let her kill you for all I care"
Tears almost filled Jo's eyes as she stared at the man in disbelief.
"Listen, you have the brains, but we have so many scholarship kids here, what's the loss if one goes?. If something happened to you and you never came back here again, what's the difference?"
Jo took in some deep breaths as her dark skin went red, trying to avoid anything decision of anger
"So if you got expelled today, no one would really care. Just next time, I don't want to hear a case about you bullying any of the kids that have parents as sponsors because your parents are never even around anyways. I don't even know how your mom looks like or your dad. So..... Last warning for you Joanah ..... Don't do anything that would cost you your scholarship or it'll be bye bye to this school because we all know anyways that no one would want to accept you. Especially not after you got expelled"
Jo blinked back angry and hot tears and immediately got up. She then got to the door and paused before heading out completely
"Mr Moore" she silently said "You're not God" before she went outside.
.........
Jo walked out of the school building where it was raining heavily, then she looked at the alarm that went off on her phone.
Her rent was due ...
And she just lost her job ...
Not only that, she had extra fees to pay
To make it all complicated, she now had to endure Jessica for extra 3 years of her life.
She couldn't help it anymore as the tears started to rush down on her face, and she didn't care that as people came out of the college, they looked at her and whispered while walking away.
She didn't care
The truth was, she didn't ask for this life.
All she wanted was just to have a normal family like everyone else
Maybe even like Jessica who has never had to worry about any emotional or mental abuse or even neglect ...
That feeling of being accepted-
That feeling of being comfortable -
.... Poverty was disgraceful!
And she had already seen so many sides of it.
The rain got heavier and Jo could feel her bag getting really soaked, she immediately just decided to go home and probably visit her mother till she could raise her rent again.
That was if her mother didn't already have a new boyfriend that might probably try to do something to her.
Just like the other ones .....
Immediately she boarded a bus and went straight to her apartment, and started to pack her bags for a few days
Just a few days, and she would be back soon
It's not like the college would care if she was gone anyways
Immediately she heard a knock on her door, and her body felt cold. She knew it was her landlord again. And the man was creepier than anything, always looking for an excuse to touch her.
She went to open the door and came face to face with him.
"Jo" the man cheerfully said, eyeing her from her toe straight to her head, which made her extremely uncomfortable. "You do realize it's -"
"11th of June, yes I'm quite aware" she immediately interrupted, trying to fasten the conversation so he would leave soon "I'll arrange the rent, it just got due today so-"
"Yes but you should have prepared down for it" he said, playing with his extremely long and unkempt moustache.
"Yeah well .... I had some school dues to pay, but I'll be working on it. I'll probably be done in less than 2 days"
"Oh I'm afraid 2 days cannot work Jo. The money would be quite appreciated before then"
Jo sighed, quite frustrated, with her door still half open "Alright then, tomorrow?"
"If you're having problems dropping the money, you could always ...." His face went down to her bare legs and back up to her waist "what a very fancy crop top you're wearing today"
"Um, can we just go straight to the topic?"
"Exactly my point" he said as he aggressively pushed the door open while Jo tried to catch her balance "there are different ways you could compensate me and I will forget about the rent, infact I will give you an extra year if you could just listen to what I have to say"
Before she could even hold on to something, the man immediately came to her and held her shoulders tightly while pushing her against the wall
"NO! Leave me!" She commanded as she struggled to get off him
"Common Jo. You're a very beautiful young woman, why won't you share your beauty with me?"
Jo bit his hand straight and he let go, yelping in pain and looking at the blood rushing down. She immediately took a stick from her shoe rack and hit his back, sending him on his knees in pain immediately
"Pervert " she spat as she ran out and rushed straight into the street. She wasn't sure where she was going but she immediately left the environment and nusry straight onto the main road, just wanting to cross away from the man as he attempted to chase behind her
But before she reached the other side, she heard a loud noise coming from the horns of a car, and before she could even process what was happening, the last thing she saw was light
And then blackout! ....