章節 80: A Harsh Experience for Michelle and Clark

It was a rainy Monday morning. Storm clouds hovered on the horizon and traffic was extremely slow.

Inside Michelle's car, I stared idly towards the window and seriously thought about the unpleasant events that took place last week. All of these personal distractions weighed too heavily on me, and my studies suffered terribly as a result.

"Christine, you look serious today," Michelle commented while slowly manoeuvring her car.

"Sorry Michelle," I replied uneasily. "It's like the same old routine. What has happened to me the past few days represent a microcosm of my entire life. It has been nothing but trouble all the time."

"Don't think like that," Michelle sternly countered. "It will only get worse. Set your family issues aside and focus on school work. We've missed so much academic time, Christine. You better hustle or risk repeating the same subject."

By the time Michelle uttered these passionate words, the clock inside her car read '8:00 a.m.'. Basketball practice usually commences at 7:00 a.m. but the horrendous Manila traffic combined with the harsh rain prevented Michelle from arriving on time.

Thirty minutes later, we arrived inside the campus. Michelle and I swiftly ran to the gym and upon arrival, her coach sternly came out for a brief talk.

"Captain, why are you 90 minutes late?" she angrily said. "Didn't I inform you about punctuality?"

"My apologies coach," Michelle humbly responded. "I ran into heavy traffic and severe rain, and my car got stuck for an hour waiting for that to dissipate."

"But still," the coach replied with a straight face. "Getting stuck in traffic is no excuse to show up late. Better figure this out or else I strip you of your captaincy. I'm terribly disappointed with you today."

Humiliated, Michelle walked back at me with a downcast look on her face. We sat down on the bleachers, but just as our conversation began, Michelle suddenly wept.

"Christine, sorry if I let the whole team down," Michelle tearfully said. "Coach was extremely hard on me today. I thought my explanation was good enough to satisfy her, but she didn't care. Perhaps quitting the team would be a better option for me."

"No Michelle," I replied. "You can't quit now. This was already your last year. There's no turning back. Your teammates, especially Kyla, depend on you. Even I wanted to see the team hoist the championship. Please, Michelle, reconsider your decision for me and the team."

Just then, my cellphone suddenly vibrated. As I briefly turned back to look at the phone, Charissa had just texted something important.

It read:

"Christine, I got some terrible news. Your father just got fired by hospital management. He is at home now throwing a fit, and I can't stop him."

My day could not have gone any worse. Michelle had just got scolded by her coach for showing up late and now this.

"Michelle, my dad just got fired from work and he's upset," I sobbed upon announcing the news. "When will these unfortunate tragedies ever end?"

Michelle and I tearfully hugged just as basketball training drew to a close. At that critical moment, Kyla walked in and looked despondently towards us.

"Girls, is there something wrong?" she questioned. "Why are you two crying?"

"Christine's father just got fired," Michelle tearfully answered. "And I wanted to quit the team because the coach scolded me for showing up late."

"Michelle, don't do that," Kyla yelled at her. "We're a few weeks away from the season. Don't turn your back at us now."

Shortly after, Kyla promptly accompanied us to the locker room. Upon changing to a fresh set of clothes, she went back towards Michelle and offered a suggestion.

"Why don't you live inside my condominium?" Kyla graciously said. "After all I only live 30 minutes from school and it's a conveniently short trip."

"What about me?" I walked back and intervened in their conversation. "If Michelle is going to live with you, then who will fetch me from then on?"

At that moment Michelle promptly made up her mind.

"Kyla, I appreciate your suggestion," she uttered. "But Christine and I have been friends for a long time. Today was just a minor hiccup. But I promise to show up early on the next practice and set an example to you and the whole team. My apologies for all the trouble."

"I understand," Kyla commented on the matter. "Now let's go talk to our mentor and settle this matter."

After Michelle and Kyla had approached the basketball team's coach for a short conversation, we walked straight to campus. Along the way, Michelle told us that her coach did not mean to be mad and was just trying to prove a point regarding leadership.

In the end, cooler heads did prevail. Back home, however, it was a different story.

Upon arriving inside the unit later that night, I was greeted by shards of broken vases all over the floor. An empty bottle of whiskey was also left on the counter top along with a few shattered glasses.

As I sat down on the dining room surveying the terrible mess, Charissa wandered downstairs and joined me for a little conversation.

"How's father?" I asked her.

"Clark is a little calmer now," Charissa promptly replied. "But what he did earlier was so reckless. Clark was very unhappy about the firing, and he almost destroyed everything. Then he got drunk, and I couldn't stop him."

Charissa stopped briefly and when she began speaking again, tears started flowing from her eyes.

"Christine, I feel so terrible," she said. "Clark had been an accomplished doctor for so many years. He didn't do anything wrong. His unexpected firing doesn't make sense since Clark simply lost his phone and wallet and wound up missing for days. I don't understand this decision so much."

Charissa sobbed upon recalling that terrible moment. Even I could not hold back my own tears.

"Mother that was downright cruel," I bitterly commented on Clark's fate. "They didn't even care about his personal welfare. Those doctors should have given Clark a chance to explain but instead they stripped his whole pride. It sucks mother. It sucks."

We both embraced tearfully at the table, tears still flowing incessantly from our eyes. After that, Charissa swept the floor of debris caused by Clark's outrage.

In the end, we chose to move on. However, it became clear that some people all over the world are power-hungry and cruel; they represent the ones who grew extremely harsh and disregard the welfare of their subordinates.

Which reminded me of another terrible childhood moment, one that persistently haunts me to this day.