The Secret Billionaire

The Past

I slammed my textbook shut and began stuffing it in my bag before the bell could ring, signaling the end of class and my impending doom. I hated walking out of classrooms. It was like walking out of a safe zone and I hated the cloud of danger always hovering over my being.

“Alright class, make sure to do submit your homework by tomorrow. It’s fifteen percent of your grade,” Mr. Carlton said. His brown eyes connected with mine but he instantly looked away, like if he pretended I wasn’t there then I would disappear. This was how it was with all of them.

Well I couldn’t care less. If they wanted to pretend I didn’t exist, they could continue doing so. I had no desire to be here any more than they wanted me to be here. Stupid, pretentious elitists; all they cared about was their money, as if that was enough to prevent their shit from stinking.

Slinging my bag over my shoulder I made a beeline for the exit only to come face to face with Nina and her crew. Three boys and two girls, including Nina, they were the richest among the student body. I hated these people with a vengeance I couldn’t explain. Not that they didn’t deserve it. They all did. The entire upper class deserved to be hated.

“Well well,” Nina said as she gave me a once over with disgust painting her surgically modified face. “If it isn’t the school trash showing up like she belongs here.”

“Can you step aside? I have to get to my next class,” I said in a dull monotone. I was actually free for the next two hours but nobody needed to know that. It would just give them the opportunity to show me how I didn’t deserve to be here.

Her blonde eyebrow arched with an attitude only money could buy before she gave me a hard push and my side collided with the metal lockers. My ribs exploded with pain but before I could straighten myself Evan and Thompson stepped forward from where they were standing behind Nina and slammed me against the lockers once again—this time causing my head to collide with the metal doors. Stars exploded in front of my eyes just as Evan snatched my bag and tossed it towards the end of the corridor.

I blinked as fast as I could in an attempt to clear my vision but it didn’t work. Stars swam in front of me, making it impossible for me to take charge of the situation. Not to mention the pain burning through one side of my body as I tried to get up but failed to find my balance.

“Well that’s pathetic, but not something unexpected,” Nina remarked as I laid sprawled on the marble floor as students walked past me as if I didn’t exist.

“Trash being put in its place, you mean?” Marina said in a saccharine tone that made me want to claw at her face just so I could shred the layers of makeup she had on and reveal her ugliness to the world.

“Oh no, I think her Mother will put her in the dumpster she pulled her out from. Let’s go and let her know she missed a spot while cleaning the floors,” Nina replied followed by a chorus of condescending laughter as she and her friends walked away.

I really hated the rich, I thought as I forced myself to get up by placing my hand against the lockers for support. I knew I’d have fresh bruises by tomorrow morning, which was insane considering I got a slew of them two days ago.

This was all what the rich was capable of. They thought they were better than the rest of us who didn’t have as much money as them, so they treated us like insects—even worse than that. They treated us like we had no right to live, to breathe the same oxygen that was available to them. And no matter how hard we tried to fight back, we always lost because the rich were powerful. Everybody had a price and the rich were more than capable of affording it.

That’s why it was easy for Nina and her friends to do whatever they wanted. They had the school administration in their pockets, so the principal knew exactly what was happening but did nothing to stop it. At least when it came to me.

As soon as the world stopped spinning somewhat I stood up on shaky legs and dragged myself to the end of the corridor, while keeping my hands on the lockers for support, to where my bag lay with the zipper opened and the contents strewn haphazardly around it.

I dropped to my knees and sighed in relief before picking up my notebook and my journal along with the lone textbook from the previous class and began putting them back in my bag. I picked up my pens and dumped them inside when a shadow fell over me before a boy, who I was sure was a grade higher than me crouched in front of me and picked up the remaining stationery from the floor.

“Here, let me help—“ I snatched my things from him and shot him a glare.

“Get the fuck away from me!” I snarled. “I don’t need your fucking help!”

He blinked and I couldn’t help but notice how strikingly blue his eyes were. I’d never seen eyes so incredibly blue before.

He probably paid a good amount to get his eyes to have that color.

I didn’t know if eyes could be altered with money but considering the students in this school I couldn’t discount the possibility.

“I just want to help. You don’t look so good. I’ll take you to the nurse,” he said, his soft masculine voice pissing me off.

“Get the fuck away from me before I break your surgically perfect nose,” I threatened, hating that my vision still hadn’t righted itself. I had to blink continuously to keep him in focus. If I had the money I would’ve gone to the doctor myself and made sure everything was alright with me, but myMom was a janitor here so she couldn’t afford to get expensive medical tests done for me.

The boy was taken aback by my outburst and I bit back a smirk. Serves him right. I bet he never had anyone tell him to fuck off. That was the problem with the rich; they always thought the world should worship the ground they walked on. They felt entitled to respect and submission as if they were the ones feeding us. But no, all they did was take. They took from the poor—bled them dry and then blamed the poor for being poor. I hated the whole lot of them. If I could, I would wring their necks until they coughed up all they’d taken and balance could be restored.

“Hey, no need to be so rude. I just want to help,” he said and shuffled forward only for my glare to freeze him in place.

“Did I ask for your help?” I asked, my voice dangerously soft. Anyone who knew me, knew they should run for their lives when I used this tone with them. “I don’t need anything from you. But if you suffer from a god complex like the rest of the students in this godawful school, then do me a favor and go jump off a cliff. That’s exactly where you belong—at the bottom of the ocean.”

His perfectly sculpted face tightened as rage darkened his eyes. I knew I should get away before he lashed out and I ended up with more bruises than what Nina and her posse already gave me. So I got up, glad that my legs weren’t shaking like before and ran away from the boy who sat crouched on the floor with quite a number of students surrounding him.

I half expected an entire mob of angry students coming after me and driving me out of the school grounds but thankfully no one was there and I found myself alone in the enormous courtyard which was one of the attractive points of the school.

My eyes darted left and right, trying to find some place to sit and acknowledge my pain which was screaming for attention. After a couple of minutes I found my favorite tree void of any students and hurried over to it before it could be taken. I dropped my bag and slumped down before leaning my back and head against the thick trunk of the tree and closed my eyes.

A familiar pain began thumping through the side of my head and I was glad I was free for the next two hours so I could rest and hopefully the pain would go away.

I loved being out here, especially when everyone was busy inside because they wanted to take care of their skin and clothes, so most of the times the students preferred to remain inside; they were perfectly okay being cooped up in the student lounge or the library. And with the sun shining so beautifully, I could relax knowing that no one would come out here to torment me.

Once my head stopped spinning, I opened my eyes and exhaled in relief when I no longer saw stars dancing in front of my vision. I straightened my spine before grabbing my bag and taking out my journal. I was glad Nina and her buddies didn’t read it. But then again, why would they? They’d probably hire someone to do the reading for them. And reading was something they wouldn’t waste their two precious braincells over.

Fucking rich people.

I opened my journal to a fresh page and pulled out my pen and started writing. There was nothing new to write. The same torment which I experienced everyday. The same thoughts about telling someone but knowing the world was against me because I wasn’t rich enough to buy their loyalty or empathy.

My pen danced over the pages as I poured my rage and frustration on the paper. My pain which people thought I didn’t feel. Money tended to do that. It made you see others as less human; someone who couldn’t feel pain.

But then again, not all rich people were like that. There were some generous souls out there but I came across the terrible ones.

I had no desire to be like them. I didn’t want to be rich. I didn’t want rich friends or boyfriend. If I ever dated, I’d make sure to be with someone who had the same socioeconomic background as me. I wasn’t like those girl who dreamt of a rich man coming and solving all their problems with money and loving them as well. Oh no, I preferred to live in the reality and wanting someone who wouldn’t lord his wealth over me in the pretense of love.

The rich pissed me off. I hated the rich. And I hated money. If money wasn’t necessary for survival, I’d prefer to live without it. People did crazy things for money and then spent the rest of their lives trying to justify their actions. I didn’t want to be like that. I didn’t want to be a slave to money.

My pen stopped moving after half an hour and I closed my journal and quickly popped it in my bag. I caught a few students coming out of the school building and was glad no one was around to see me journal.

I took out my lunch which was wrapped in a brown paper bag and licked my lips when I saw the sandwich my Mom prepared and packed for me. I could see the tuna and the turkey with tomatoes, pickles and lettuce before quickly removing the plastic wrap and taking a giant bite. I moaned in delight and took another bite. I was hungry, but more than that I wanted to finish the sandwich before Nina or her friends caught me with it and decided to keep it for themselves. It had happened before. It made me wonder why people stole my lunch when they could afford an entire feast for themselves.

You’ll never understand the rich.

Good thing I didn’t want to. I just wanted to graduate from this pretentious school and go to my local community college for my undergrad and then get a job like my Mom. I had no interest in being around the rich to try and understand them.

Once I’d finished my sandwich, I relaxed back against the tree and willed the throbbing headache to go away. The entire right side of my face hurt and I didn’t understand why.

As soon as I realized the pain wasn’t going to go away on its own, I took out my cellphone and opened the camera app and gasped when I saw the right side of my face pink and swollen.

“Ugh, no wonder I’m in so much pain,” I groaned and winced when I touched my battered face with my fingertips. “Mom’s going to kill me.”

She wouldn’t really. But she’d be concerned and I hated seeing the helpless look in her eyes when she realized she wanted to give me the best of the world but couldn’t save me from the consequences of being poor. No, I couldn’t let her see this bruise. I had to go to the nurse’s office or find some way to get rid of the redness.

Not wanting to waste another second, I dumped my phone in my bag and zipped it shut. But just as I intended to get up I froze in shock when I found a boy standing to my side.

Had he been here all this time and I failed to notice?

However, this was no random guy standing in front of me. Those piercing blue eyes didn’t just belong to anyone. No, they belonged to the same guy who was trying to help me. I scoffed internally. As if I’d ever take help from the rich. But right now I was shocked that he showed up again. And it could only mean one thing.

He was here to take revenge.

And I was in big trouble.