Sky
I spent my whole day crying in my room and didn't attend any of my classes. I hated myself for waiting by my phone for a message or a call from Aliyah. No matter how mad I was, a part of me expected a call from Aliyah, assuring me that it was all a misunderstanding and that she wanted me back. But it was almost time for my part-time job at night, and still, I didn't hear from her.
Maybe she really was a bitch or maybe she was taking her time breaking up with Dave....
I didn't get to ask Raeha about our dinner appointment either. Considering my mental state, I didn't want to engage with anyone for now. Despite her helping me a lot recently, it was too soon to trust her cause her arrival in my life was too sudden.
I reached the bar where I worked on time. At least I loved my job, which helped me take my mind off things for a time being.
"Aye Sky." Ray, a bartender at the bar, greeted me who seemed to be leaving the bar.
"Done with your shift, Ray?"
"Yeah, best of luck with your performance tonight." The sweet-faced guy gave me a thumbs up before taking his leave.
The bar I worked at was far from my university, but it was pretty well known around the area. I especially applied here just so I wouldn't run into anyone from my department that often. The owner and the staff here were also pretty decent human beings.
I mightn't have the face card, but through my songs, I had the worth to be the voice that soothed people on their rainy days. I always wore my best clothes and put on light makeup during my performances. As usual, I performed on the well-equipped stage, pouring all my heart and emotion into the songs I played.
I felt like myself when I played music. I could express everything through rhythm and within just a few words. My heart would beat faster in excitement with every word I would let out of my mouth as if they were speaking of my emotions.
Tonight, the bar was packed. People applauded after my performance, and I smiled at them so widely that it covered the sadness in my eyes. At least these bar folks appreciated me, even if it was just a little.
"You were really good up there." The owner, Mr Rach, who was usually very strict and barely even talked to me, complimented me tonight.
The middle-aged man even patted my shoulder in excitement. He seemed more happy and jumpy than usual. Nonetheless, I thanked him and went to sit at the bar counter.
"Usual?" The petite-looking bartender smiled at me, and I only nodded at her.
When being served my drink, I leisurely sipped it.
"The owner is over the moon today," I stated to the petite woman in front of me who was wiping glasses now.
"Probably because there's a big shot's son in the crowd today. Mr Rach probably wants to secure their sponsorship or something."
No wonder he looked so happy with my performance a while ago. He probably wanted to impress the big shot's son. As I sipped my drink, another drink was slid to me. When I looked up, I saw a very handsome guy around my age grinning at me. His hair was neatly slicked back, which complemented his pierced ears very much.
"For the beautiful lady." He purred.
Not to be rude, but I wanted to scoff at him. I knew I wasn't beautiful enough for a stranger as handsome as he to approach me without any motive.
"I apologize. I don't drink alcohol." I gave a polite smile before sliding the drink back to him.
He looked at the drink I was sipping, and I knew what he wanted to ask me.
"It's non-alcoholic." I lied.
He nodded but chuckled as if he knew I had lied. I had to be careful around strangers. No one was nice without a reason when you were a girl.
"I saw your performance. I liked it very much."
"Thank you."
"Do you consider doing it full time?"
"Never thought of it." I've thought of it, but I just don't want to tell you.
"My dad's a famous music producer."
"Oh, that's great." My simple response seemed to make the guy force a smile. It was evident that he was a bit irritated. He probably thought I was playing hard to get, but I was an unsocial person for God's sake!
He took out a business card and handed it to me.
"My dad has created a lot of famous artists. I can vouch for you."
I raised my eyebrows at him as he continued. I actually don't consider myself to be lucky enough for such a deal.
"But I do need something in return..." There it is.
I was right, there was indeed a catch. The gentle look in his eyes instantly vanished as he scooted closer to me. His hand slid down my thighs as his eyes scanned me up and down.
"Not the usual I go for, but I can manage..." He whispered before looking up at me again. The guy smirked, acting as if I didn't hear him.
"If you give me what I want, I'll vouch for you."
I didn't get why God liked to always throw me into the hands of perverted men, but my system had a bit of alcohol, and I knew where to draw the line. As his hand made further inside my thigh, I splashed my drink on his face and slapped his hand away.
"Please, fuck yourself." I politely refused with a smile on my face before calling the petite bartender over.
The guy looked shocked at my response as my drink trickled down his face. I casually paid the bill and just as I was about to sling my guitar over my shoulder, the guy caught one of my arms.
"You're lucky that I've even decided to approach someone like you." He bared his teeth as his handsome face became that of a disgusted man.
I scoffed for real this time. Why did these men always think that they were so special that a person just breathing the same air as them would be considered lucky? I didn't even show any interest in the first place. They came at me with that mountain of ego just because I was considered average in the beauty standards.
"Let go!" I tried to snatch my arm away, but his grip was too strong.
"You should've thought twice before throwing the drink on my face, bitc-
"Excuse me, what's happening here?" The owner intervened when seeing a commotion over here.
The guy instantly let go of my arm before coolly putting his hands inside his pocket. He cleared his throat.
"Mr Rach, your employee here is very rude to me. She even threw her drink at me."
The middle-aged man looked at me with a piercing gaze after hearing him.
"Is it true, Sky?"
"Yes, it's true." I boldly stated and turned to the young man who had harassed me.
"Why don't you also tell him why I did that hah?" I stepped towards him, looking hostile. The alcohol in my system really worked like magic.
"This guy right here harassed me and even dared to make an inappropriate offer."
The guy's face instantly paled after I revealed that. When I thought I'd have the owner by my side-
"What are you saying? Mr Amobi here wouldn't do such a thing." Mr Rach said.
Taking advantage of the situation, the guy also joined.
"Yes, right. How dare you accuse me? You were the one who harassed me! When I refused, you threw your drink at me!"
I looked at the guy in disbelief. The audacity to lie in front of so many people just blew my mind. It pissed me off.
"Oh, please my best friend's a fucking cat. I can't even approach people, let alone harass an egoistic hippo like you." I sarcasmed, crossing my arms.
"What'd you call me?!"
The guy took a step towards me, but Mr Rach stopped him in time. The middle-aged man looked at me, furrowing his eyebrows, which wrinkled his skin.
"You should mind your language if you want to continue working in my bar. No one insults my customer." He spat through gritted teeth, intensely eyeing me to behave.
I wanted to scoff at the owner so bad. And here I thought he was a decent human being.
"Look, girl. Just because you're a woman, it doesn't always make you the victim." Amobi slyly remarked before turning to Mr Rach.
"I didn't expect such treatment in your bar, Mr Rach. I think we have to cancel that sponsorship deal."
Instantly after hearing that, the middle-aged man paled and looked visibly panicked.
"Sir, I'm sure we can talk-
"No, the deal is off." Amobi crossed his arms.
Mr Rach quickly turned to me, anger on his face evident.
"You're fired, Sky."
"What?! I didn't even-
"You clearly harassed this customer!"
I wanted to scream, splash a whole bottle of champagne on the owner's face. This was absurd! But just then, my eyes lit up, having an idea.
"If you don't believe me, check the CCTV. If I remember correctly, there's a camera facing right at the bar counter."
This time, I smirked at both men. The perverted guy's face paled again as he eyed the owner, mouthing something.
Much to Mr Rach's reluctance, he still went to the security room to check the footage since by then, other bar folks had started swarming around us. If he refused, obviously suspicion would arise.
After a while, the owner came back with a nervous look on his face.
He should know now that I was right.
Mr Rach looked at me and then at Amobi, who seemed to look confident for some reason.
"Sky, you're fired. I saw you harassing Mr Amobi through CCTV."
The people around me looked at me in disgust as they started murmuring to each other. My mouth instantly hung open in disbelief. I refused to believe my ears.
"You're lying!"
I was then dragged out of the bar. No matter how much I yelled the truth to them, everybody turned against me. I was already hurting, but my eyes widened when, from the corner of my eyes, I saw Amobi casually walking to someone and high-fiving them. And who was it? Dave. And who was with them?.... Aliyah.
I felt conflicted, thinking of various reasons as to how they might know each other. They planned all this, or was it just a coincidence...I didn't know.
I sat on the concrete floor in front of the bar, looking down. My eyes felt hot as tears threatened to fall. I couldn't control myself, and tears finally streamed down my face.
What did I ever do wrong to deserve all this? As long as I can remember, I've always been a good girl who followed the rules. First, my best friend ended up being a two faced bitch who betrayed me and now, I was fired and accused of harassing whereas I was the one who got taken advantage of which was also somehow related to my ex best friend and her boyfriend. What a fucking joke.
It was 10 p.m. when I got to my studio apartment. I threw myself on my bed and then cried my eyes out again. I didn't know how long I cried, but when I became conscious again, it was because of my vibrating phone. It was Mom, calling me.
It was pretty odd for her to call at this hour, especially when it was past midnight. I quickly picked up, thinking it might be an emergency.
"Hel-
"I told you nothing good would ever come with that job of yours!" She instantly screamed before I could even greet.
"What are you talking about-
"Don't play dumb. It's all over the internet! Were you in need of so much money that you had to seduce a rich guy?!"
It didn't take me long to understand where she was coming from. After all, it was the modern era, and there were cameras everywhere.
"But mom, I didn't do anything. He inappropriately touched me."
"Whatever it is, you should've quit that job when we told you to! Now, we're losing our faces here because of you!"
My heart was already wounded from what had happened today. So, her words were nothing more than rubbing salt on my wound. Maybe worse.
"What about me, Mom?" My voice cracked.
"I'm the victim. I was taken advantage of here, and now false allegations were on my head. Don't you want to ask about how I am feeling right now? If I'm okay after the harassment?"
I started to cry, shakily holding the phone.
"If you had listened to us in the first place, this wouldn't have happened! You had it coming from this start, Nilima!"
Every one of her words cut through me like a knife. The people who I needed by my side at such moments were my family, but hearing my own mother say that finally ripped me apart. Before she could curse me further, her voice was replaced by a deep, muscular voice.
Dad...
"You're done studying there. Pack your things. You'll study back home under our supervision."
"You can't do that!"
"I damn well can. You're coming back and that's it! I'll send the driver to pick you up tomorrow."
I couldn't take it anymore. I was done with life. People were rotten, parents were too controlling, life was too cruel, and the world revolved around power and money.
"No need to send the driver. I'll go where I belong."
"What gibberish are you spouting right now hah?!"
"I'm going back to God."
I hung up and blocked both of my parents' numbers. My tears had stopped. It seemed, my existence only brought headaches to other people and was nothing more than a burden to my parents.
I scrolled through my social media and easily found the semi-viral video of the thing that happened at the bar. However, it was heavily edited, which made me look like a complete villain. The caption also made me look like a broke hoe who climbed on rich guys for money.
In the comment section, people called me slurs and some even wanted me to unalive myself.
I chucked at those comments. Your wish was going to be true. Have a good fucking life after knowing that tomorrow.
I then looked at Google Maps for pharmacies around me. It was good that quite a few were open at this hour in my area.
I put on a mask and took my bag, ready to leave my studio.
Let's end this shit once and for all tonight.
TO BE CONTINUED...