The Premium Cover

In the past, life was a brutal, simple struggle. People barely earned enough to eat, yet they called it a decent life. No one cared if your clothes were tattered or caked in dirt; everyone was too busy surviving their own day-to-day hardships to judge you. Today, most of us have enough money for bread. It is rare to see someone genuinely starving for days on end.

Yet, a different kind of starvation has taken over.

I watched her at the school reunion. She looked gorgeous, radiant in a brand-new dress that had cost her ten grand—the first time she had ever worn something so expensive.

When she ran into her old classmates, she gasped, “Oh my! Look at how beautiful this dress is. I just picked it up for thirty grand.”

Her friends showered her with praise. Some eyes filled with genuine admiration, some with jealousy, and others with empty desires. “Yeah! It’s absolutely beautiful on you,” they echoed.

She passed them a smooth, effortless smile. “Haha, well, I guess I’m just beautiful like that. Honestly, I wear this kind of stuff normally.”

The entire venue was stunning, draped in an elegant flower theme. Everyone at the reunion was busy judging the beautiful cover of the book. No one bothered to look inside the pages. They all just assumed the cover was premium—far out of their reach.

But beneath that cover, she felt as though a thousand eyes were monitoring her every move. She couldn’t take it anymore. Slipping out of the party, she made her way back home.

She reached her apartment in a low-class neighborhood. When she pushed the door open, a harsh, metal screech echoed through the hall. The door was old, choked with rust, and practically screaming on its hinges. Inside the small apartment, a chaotic mess swallowed the space.

She collapsed onto the sofa, patting her completely empty belly. “Ah...” she sighed heavily.

A memory flashed in her mind. She was back at the party, sitting on a chair, gossiping with her classmates. What the hell was I thinking? she thought bitterly. Why didn’t I grab that plate of sushi? It looked so yummy, and now I’m dying of hunger. She remembered a classmate asking her why she wasn’t eating, and how she had softly smiled and lied: “Hehe, actually, I don’t really eat that type of stuff.”

“Oh my god, why did I say that stupid shit?” she muttered to herself.

She dragged herself into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. There was nothing inside but a single slice of pizza. She couldn’t even remember when she had bought it. It looked at least two nights old. I can’t eat this, she thought, but I can’t buy anything else right now either, because I spent every last cent on this dress.

She looked down at the expensive fabric. “Ah, no problem,” she whispered to the empty room. “This dress is so beautiful, I can go days without food.”

She pulled the stale slice out, put it in the microwave to heat it up, and poured herself a glass of water, gulping it down all at once to quiet her stomach. A sharp ding signaled the microwave was done.

“Ooo, my pizza is ready, I can’t wait!”

But when she opened the microwave door, a foul, turned smell hit her face. Ugh, it’s so bad. I’ll choke if I breathe this in. Holding the plate, she stared at the food for a long, miserable moment. Maybe I can wait. I really don’t want to eat this, eww.

Setting the plate aside, she began hunting for snacks. Finding nothing in the kitchen, she searched her bedroom drawer and finally dug out a single pack of biscuits. It wasn’t nearly enough to calm the roaring hunger in her gut. She hadn’t eaten a proper meal since yesterday, and her body was losing control. Desperate, she walked back to the kitchen, pinched her nose with one hand, and forced the foul pizza slice down her throat.

Trying to distract herself, she lay back down on the sofa, opened her tablet, and started a movie.

Suddenly, her phone rang. It was one of her classmates.

“Hey, hi! Sorry to disturb you,” the voice said.

Instantly, her voice shifted into a polite, elegant tone. “No problem at all! Is everything okay?”

“Yes! You actually forgot your ring here.”

She looked down at her hand. She hadn’t noticed when she was changing, but her gold ring was missing from her bare finger. “Oh my! Thank you so much. I thought I had already put it away in my drawer.”

“No need to thank me,” her classmate replied, a sharp smile audible through the phone lines. But just then, a violent, burning cramp gripped her stomach. It felt like a current of electricity tearing through her veins.

“Since it’s such a precious thing, tell me your address,” the classmate continued. “I’ll drive over and drop it off to you myself right now.”

She looked around her messy, cheap, decaying apartment. Her voice began to tremble. “No... no need.” The pain was so intense she could barely form the words.

“Is everything okay? Are you alright?” the classmate asked, picking up on the strain.

“No, nothing... I’m fine,” she lied, her breathing ragged. “I’ll come collect it myself. Where are you?”

“Ah, I’m with my brother,” the classmate said quickly. “But I’ll come to you. You’re alone, it’s not safe. I can just bring your ring tomorrow, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s precious and expensive,” the classmate pressed, her tone shifting. “I can’t afford to hold onto it. What if I lose it?”

With heavy, agonizing steps, she forced herself to stand up. “No... I’ll come...” her voice shook violently.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

The room began to spin. The edges of her vision blurred, fading into a hazy grey. Stumbling forward, she collapsed heavily against the lock of the rusting door. The sharp metal dug into her skin, and she screamed out in pure agony.

Hearing the scream, the classmate panicked. “Tell me your address! I’m coming right now!”

Losing her senses and fading fast, she blindly tapped her phone screen, hit send, and shared her live location. Then, the world collapsed into total darkness.

The classmate arrived in a hurry, rushing through the unlocked, screeching door. She found her lying on the floor, completely unconscious, fading out. The classmate looked around the dilapidated room in absolute wonder and disgust, taking in the mess and the poverty hidden behind the ten-grand dress.

Without trying to revive her, the classmate picked up her phone and dialed an ambulance. Then, she walked over to the table, set the gold ring down, and looked at the girl lying lonely by the door.

She turned around and walked out.

Without looking back. Without saying goodbye.

......{The End}......