The Bad Girl: Chapter 15 - Commencement

The sun was giving a spectacular show, its last hurrah for the day. Hues of red, orange, and gold announced dusk's arrival. The chilly wind, a signal of a cool night that lay ahead, passed the trees and beckoned them to dance and sway with it. Crickets started their singing. Birds were flapping their wings, heading to find shelter for the night.

The ambiance suggested of a peaceful and relaxing evening.

So was the sight in Vimanmek gardens. Everything was perfect down to the triumphant smiles of two women. They had just parked their cars to view the sunset.

"I still can't believe you did that to Matt's prized toy," Reina said as she lazily got out of her car.

"I don't know what possessed me.... My blood just boiled when Mike told me that a drunken Matt announced to the whole of Bangkok about his cousin's so-called feat," Chrissie answered as she got out and checked the damages on her car.

"I didn't plan to wreck his car, really. I just saw red when I saw him showing off his new Corvette as I was to park by the cafe. He was so cocky and awfully tacky that the idea dawned on me."

Reina looked at her friend. She was now seated on the hood of her car and said, "Never cross Chrissie Yan!"

"Exactly!" Chrissie agreed and proceeded to sit beside Reina.

They both laughed at the memory. Then all of a sudden, Reina became quiet. Chrissie turned to her but did not pry.

A long uncomfortable silence passed between the two.

Reina hugged her knees, shut her eyes tightly and sighed loudly. She smirked and whispered loud enough for Chrissie to hear. "He called me a bitch, you know."

Anger surged through her body. "The nerve of the guy!" She shivered at the thought and blinked back the tears that gathered in her eyes.

She sighed heavily and hugged her knees closer, drawing strength from them. "I wish I can make him feel as much pain as I did."

She was now oblivious to the tears that flowed freely down her face. "As much shame as I do now..." Her voice trailed as sobs rocked her body.

Chrissie could only gather the sobbing Reina in her arms. The pain in Reina's eyes is also reflected in her eyes. But all she can do and offer is her presence and a shoulder to cry on.

"Yang, you don't need to get even. I think that today's episode is enough to stop all the talk," She whispered while continuing to rub Reina's back.

Reina tore her body away from her friend's embrace and waved her hands, "It's not about the gossip anymore!" She took a tissue and blew her nose. "It's about Sherwin and his accusations!"

She took another tissue and wiped away the traces of her misery. "He wants a bitch. I'll show him what a bitch really is," with that, Reina sat up defiantly and stared back into the horizon.

"Yang, a word of caution, if you take matters in your hands, rumors will fan anew," Chrissie warned. She knows that once Reina has decided she will do it, no amount of lecture can make her change her mind.

Reina moved her head slightly to Chrissie's direction and with a hard voice, she said, "I know. But I really want to get even...."

"I know! I want to see Xu flat on his face, too!" Chrissie reiterated. "But let's wait and see what happens next before we do something again."

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Reina felt a little better after a few hours of sleep. She showered and felt fresh after a long night. She hurriedly ran out of the penthouse. Chrissie will be fuming mad if she's late!

They arrived in ABAC a few minutes before the bell. When she thought that nothing could be worse than what happened yesterday, boy, was she wrong! As she was trying to park in her usual space, the first thing that greeted them was Matthew Li. He was standing in the middle, making it impossible for Reina to park.

Her eyes narrowed but never made an attempt to slow down.

"Move!" Reina hollered at him.

Chrissie joined in, yelling "Get out of the way GIRL!"

Matthew didn't call their bluff. He even threw his cigarette butt and stepped on it.

"Can't say we didn't warn you!" Reina stepped hard on the accelerator.

Matt moved away in the nick of time.

Reina was not bothered and just looked at Matt challengingly as she and Chrissie got out of the car.

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Sherwin was quite amused to find Matt gone when he woke up. He could still remember how furious his cousin was. Although he blamed the girls, he was still quite amused on how Matt reacted.

"Argh!!! I could kill her!" Matt was in the gym in their bungalow.

Despite of the grave situation Matthew was in, Sherwin can't help but chuckle at his cousin's reaction. "Calm down! You've been beating the daylight out of that bag for the past couple of hours."

Matt stopped killing the bag and went over to Sherwin and pushed him on the chest. "What the fuck did you say?! Calm down?!"

"Dude, did you see what that bitch did to my car?!" and proceeded to whack the bag again.

Sherwin smiled at the memory. He looked at the clock. "Holy shit! I'm gonna be late!"

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It was Wednesday and the first day of the examinations.

Chrissie rubbed her temple. Her head throbbed from thinking too much. She felt drained!

"That exam was hard," she thought. "Damn! How can I forget this? In an underemployed economy, an increase in investment leads to a rise in consumption. In a fully employed economy, an increase in investment leads to a fall in consumption. Damn! Why did I forget to include this in my explanation? It would have nailed my answer to the national income accounting question!"

She kept on walking and collided with something hard. She staggered backwards and almost lost her footing.

Never bothering to look up she said, "Next time, watch where you're going, dumbass!"

She tried to pass by him when he grabbed her arm.

"Pay for the damages, Yan!" Matt ordered harshly, his face hard, his eyes blazing with anger.

"Damages?" Chrissie asked sarcastically. "Then we'll sue you for moral damages. The case is defamation of character."

His gripped on her tightened.

Chrissie didn't flinch. "Don't threaten me Li. I'm not afraid of you." And she jerked his hand off and went on her way.

Matt just stared at her.

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"Smoking again?" Matthew smiled at his cousin.

"Business law sucks! Want some?" Sherwin offered his cigs to Matt.

Matt lights up, shook his head and said, "I don't know why you kill yourself for good grades."

"Hell! In case you've forgotten...we came from a prominent political family not to mention that your father rules the banking industry."

"Fuck that!" Sherwin retorted. "I don't want to take the reigns of the family business just because I happen to be an heir. I want to rise through the ranks on my own credit."

"Hey, cool it, man! You're too enthusiastic about the future!" Matt just chuckled.

"You should be, too," Sherwin pointed at him. "I heard that grandpa is eyeing you to follow his footsteps."

"Me?! Get in to politics?!" Matt was incredulous. "That would be the day!"

Sherwin flicked his cig and stepped on it, "Well, you have the so-called charisma. You could even charm a snake! Everybody falls at your feet!"

"Yeah! Except Chrissie Yan!" Matt did the same.

Sherwin gathered his books before answering, "Yeah! Except Chrissie Yan!" And patted Matt on his back and left.

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"Thank God, it's Friday! The exams are finally over!!" Reina screamed as she stepped out of the St. Gabriel building.

"I can't believe it! We're done with our first year in college!!! Woohoo!!" Chrissie joined her.

"So, wanna hit Gold Coast this summer?" Reina glanced at Chrissie. They were on their way to the parking lot.

"Sure! But isn't your mother expecting us to fly to Puerto Rico on Sunday?" Chrissie inquired.

Reina shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I don't feel like going Latino..."

Chrissie nodded knowingly, "Hmmm...but you feel like going Chinese...specifically Taiwanese!!!" She teased.

Reina whacked Chrissie on the head with her book. Chrissie fortunately avoided it. She ran away from Reina and headed back towards the side of the St. Gabriel's. Reina ran after her, both were laughing all the way.

Reina has reached the side and was scanning the place for her friend, when she was suddenly pulled into the far corner, hidden from the front view.

"Hey!" she shouted in surprise.

"Sshhhh!!" Chrissie instructed and mouthed "Matt!"

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"Matt!"

Matt quickly turned his gaze to his caller and said, "Hey!"

He turned his attention back to the building and thought, "I'd know that laugh anywhere. That was Chrissie."

"Hello, gorgeous!" and reluctantly walked over to her.

"Hi yourself!" Diane flirted, biting on her lower lip and looking seductively at Matt. Her right index finger is rubbing at Matt's lip and tracing it down his chest.

Diane is a looker. Beautiful, tall, voluptuous body and lovely legs. It is a pity she is not as intelligent as she looks.

"I'm having a party later. It was a spur of the moment idea! I want you to be there. You could bring your nerdy cousin along!" she purred all the while twirling her finger on Matt's shirt button.

"Uh-huh." Matt replied absentmindedly. His eyes were scanning the area hoping to find Chrissie.

"Promise?" she pleaded.

"Yeah." He looked at her and gave her his best smile.

She smiled back, "Don't forget to bring Sherwin. I wanna see the guy who claims to have slept with Reina Yang up close!" and kissed him on the lips.

"I won't." He broke free from her arms and looked around. After a few more minutes, he gave up looking for Chrissie and left.

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"Whew! That was close!" Chrissie sighed in relief as they reached Reina's car.

"He's still hounding you for damages?" Reina asked.

Chrissie grinned, "Hounding is definitely the term!"

They both laughed and eventually sobered up.

"So the witch is having a party," Reina thought. "Wanna crash?" she had this mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"You're so evil!!!" Chrissie reprimanded. "But I like it!!" she finished enthusiastically.

"Then again, Yang, I don't think it's Diane's party you're after..." she raised her eyebrow.

"Of course it's her party!" Reina answered defensively. "What better way to infuriate that hag than to show up and steal her limelight?" she fumbled with the keys and eventually succeeded and turned on the engine.

"Come on, Yang. This is Yan, remember? You don't have to pretend..." Chrissie teased, a huge smile is on her face.

"Okay, okay..." she conceded. "So I wanna see him... I still want my revenge," and shrugged her shoulders. She backed up and out of the school they were.

"RIGHT!" Chrissie drawled, still smiling.

"Fine! I wanna see him... period!" Reina finally admitted.

Chrissie laughed heartily. "So much for "I wanna make him hurt as much as I did!" And she laughed some more, obviously enjoying Reina's discomfort.

"Okay, so there's something I have for him that I want to explore..." Reina defended herself.

"You don't have to explain, Yang," Chrissie cut in. She wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.

"I'm actually glad that one of us has considered behaving already or else we'll totally be the epitome of the proverbial rich spoiled brats," Chrissie said seriously.

Reina laughed in disbelief, "All it took was one drooling dork to make the Reina Yang behave."

Chrissie faced her, "So what does Reina Yang have in store for delectable dorky tonight?"

Reina looked confused and said, "Nothing! I'll just talk to him and then if I'd get lucky I'll get laid!!!

"Sweetheart, use some imagination!!!" Chrissie suggested.

Reina smiled as realization dawned on her, "Ohh, seduction!!!"

Chris eyed her carefully, "Okay, who are you? And what have you done to my best friend?"

"Damn! You weren't like this before! You used to come up with the down & dirty ideas!!!" she added and shook her head.

Reina grinned, "What can I say? Sherwin is the catalyst to my metamorphosis."

"Hahaha!! I sound like a science project," and continued laughing.

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Reina is soaking herself in the tub overflowing with bubbles. She cupped some bubbles and inhaled the delectable scent of vanilla oil and orchids. She smiled at the thought. "Mmm! Innocent and yummy!"

Standing up, she let the water drip from her body as she reached for her terry robe and towel.

She gets out of the tub. Her body shone from scrubbing at the spa and her face is luminous from the facial treatment she had earlier. She removed the pins that held her hair up. She let her soft mane tumble down her back and dried it.

She walked toward her dresser and sat on the stool. She chose a Crabtree and Evelyn Vanilla scented lotion. She squirted some on her palm and rubbed in on her lovely legs and arms.

She glanced at the clock. It is almost two hours after the party call time. She just smiled and put on her make-up, nude and gold shades, which gave the effect of a no make-up look, only flawless and radiant skin.

She opened her closet and took out the Victoria's Secret bronze lace bra and thong, held it up and smiled at Chrissie's excitement when they saw the set on display earlier. She put on thong first, feeling the material graze against her soft skin. Then, she slipped on the bra and clasped it on the front.

She then took out her gold slip dress she bought from Chloe by Stella McCartney to accentuate her tan. It clung to her body like second skin, revealing her soft curves. It had an almost nude effect if not for the black lace accent.

She then went to her shoe racks and chose a stiletto slip-ons.

Reina faced the mirror for the last minute, "Ready or not, here I come!"

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"Hi beautiful!" Eric whistled. Chrissie blew him a kiss.

"Hey Chrissie! Looking hot tonight!" Jesse went to her and whispered in her ear causing her to giggle.

"Is she wearing something? Anything?" Aries asked, his eyes roaming her body.

Chrissie was grinning from ear to ear, "I wish I could see Diane's face now! Have you seen her?"

"Yan, you know I don't care where that hag is!" Reina replied impatiently.

"Right, you're looking for hunky dorky," Chrissie started to concentrate and scanned the crowd.

"Hi Reina! Wanna dance?" Jay asked Reina, cupping Reina's butt.

She removed his hand and placed it on her waist and said, "Later, Jay, I promise!"

"Yang!" Chrissie pulled her away from him and discretely pointed at Sherwin.

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Sherwin was dancing with two beers on each hand. He was drunk. He purposely got drunk on the mere fact that although school's over, he knows that tons of responsibilities await him. Not to mention that he'll see Florence again and women like her flocking him for his money.

He finished his beers and tried to sit on the couch. He could not help thinking about Reina. He expected more from her. Had she taken up his offer, he would have done everything to make it work.

He's feeling dizzy already. He tried to stand up holding the back of the couch for support. Everything's swaying but he still had the presence of mind walk up the stairs to find a room to sleep in.

"Fuck! Where the hell are the rooms? This is a house, for chrissakes!" Sherwin thought.

He tried a door and it opened. He barely made it to the bed. He fell flat on his face. He heard the door open again and he tried to sit up. But the woman did not let him. She turned him over and now, he was facing her. She straddled him and kissed him passionately.

Sherwin kissed her back. She felt so soft all over.

His hands roamed down her body and found the hem of her dress. He slipped his hands inside and moved his hands upward, lifting the dress off her.

She took his hands and placed them on her breasts. He kneads her mounds and he could feel her tips hardening.

She helped him remove the front closure of her bra and he suckled her nipples. She hissed from the pleasure coursing her body.

Now it's her turn. She took off his shirt and pushed him back on the bed. Then, she trailed kisses down his chest then to his stomach. Her fingers found the waistband of his pants and popped the button and opened the zip.

She removed his pants and slid her body up to him. She was sprawled on top of him and continued to kiss him fervently.

She failed to notice that his kissing and touching has stopped and that his breathing evened!

Just then, she heard the door slam shut!

"Who was that? OH MY GOD! I hope nobody saw this guy falling asleep on me! Oh my God!!!" Diane thought.

She picked up her dress and put it on.

"I really can't blame Reina for wanting this guy though...He's hot!!!" Diane looked at Sherwin regretfully.

"Damn! My plan's fizzled out! I can't believe I put this party up for nothing!" she sat on the floor, afraid to come out.

She covered her face with her hands and talked to herself, "Stupid plan! All I wanted was to seduce Sherwin and find out how he is in bed. Now what am I supposed to tell everyone? We didn't even do it!" She sighed loudly.

"I can't just say he sucked in bed and tell the whole world that Reina Yang's first sucked in bed. Can't also say that he's good, when we've never finished it!" she babbled.

"Think, Diane, think!"

"I know!" And her eyes lit up. "I could just say it's a secret between the two of us! Yeah, that's it." For the first time, Diane made a right decision.

She stood up and was ready to go out. "Well maybe not for nothing," she looked at Sherwin and touched him. "There's always a next time..." and smiled.

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Reina can't breathe. She's extremely shocked and upset. She felt nauseous and chilly all over.

She hurriedly ran to find the restroom, locked it, and vomited.

She cried...no, it was more like a wail. But the people outside couldn't hear it. The music drowned her wails and moans. And she puked again and sobbed uncontrollably.

She stayed inside for a good 30 minutes before calming down.

"Damn you, Sherwin!" she thought.

"So you're enjoying your brush of fame now, huh?" she brushed away the remaining tears.

She stood up, washed her face, and fixed herself. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears and yet, their gaze is piercing right through you.

"It's time to pay the piper, Sherwin Xu," Reina thought and smiled evilly at her reflection before opening the door.

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Sherwin was awakened by the morning sunshine streaming down him. He looked around found himself in that strange room.

"Ow!" Sherwin thought, supporting his head. "How did I get here?"

He tried hard to remember...

He remembered a girl...but very vague.

"Stop thinking about the Yang bitch, idiot!" Sherwin reprimanded himself.

He got up and wondered why he's half naked. He shrugged and gathered his clothes.

He opened the door and searched for his cousin. He didn't find Matt but found some people on the floor, steps, and couch---all asleep.

He thought, "Matt can take care of himself."

He went out to his car and drove away from that place.

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It was the much awaited day for the graduates. The Thai Pavilion, overlooking the Lagoon and Green Zone gardens at ABAC, was flocked with excited graduating students, spectators, proud parents, respected mentors, and dignified guests, one of which is Thailand's Princess Ubol Ratana.

Dr. Prathip M. Komolmas, Assumption University Thailand's president, was saying, "Ladies & Gentlemen! Parents, Graduates! I'd like to give the floor to Assumption University Thailand's number one graduating student. He has impressed the academic community of not only ABAC but also the rest of the country if not for the whole of Asia with his paper on Uniting the Asian Economy through One Money, Battling the American Dollar and Euro Currency. Thus, earning him the Magna Cum Laude honors with his degree in International Business Management.... Mr. Sherwin Xu...."

A loud applause was given as Sherwin proudly took his space by the rostrum.

"Thank you very much!" Sherwin said and started his prepared speech.

"Her Royal Highness, Princess Ubol Ratana, esteemed rector Emeritus, Dr. Komolmas, revered mentors, parents, graduates, good afternoon!!!"

"Here we are at the beginning of a new life..."

He looked around for emphasis but he noticed that some people are looking at him in a strange way.

"...facing crossroads filled with challenges and uncertainties. Uncertainties which, hopefully, we could calculate through the knowledge we gained with our studies on operations research... difficulties which we could overcome through strategic planning... crisis which we could solve through linear programming."

His eyes fell on a group of graduating girls giggling like 12 year olds.

"We have learned so much. We have gained comprehension within the four walls of our classrooms..."

He was beginning to sweat; suspicion was rife in his mind. Something wasn't right at all!

"...harvested discoveries through our interaction with our fellow students... our mentors... cultivated convictions as our souls communed with faith."

A guy to the left was whispering something to a girl beside him. The girl's eyes were so full of mischief and malice as they fell on him.

"However, as much as we have been equipped..."

One guy in the front row said, barely audible, "Yeah, you should know about being equipped!"

"...by this institution with all the tools necessary to unravel life's complications. There will be certain objects that we cannot fathom. Thus, we need to dig deeper..."

Someone said quite loudly, "Yeah right! Two inches deep!"

Some were actually laughing openly.

There was this bad sensation in the pit of Sherwin's stomach yet he can't put his finger on it!

"...in our hearts and minds...recall all memory...use our intuition...nurture our creativity...pick out all potential elements that would enable us to conquer the battles ahead."

As he looked at the back of the rows, he noticed four guys raising a banner, made out of what seemed like computer paper, 4ft. long with bold block letters printed "WAY TO GO, SHORTY!"

He was wondering what it meant.

"However, academic learning is not enough as Robert Frost said..."

Before he could figure it out, his attention was caught by the girls in the front row. They had their lipsticks out in the open.

"...the woods are lovely dark and deep..."

And they pointed at it and at him.

"...but I have promises to keep...and miles to go before I sleep... and miles to go before I sleep..."

And one of them boldly gesticulated putting the lipstick in and out of the hole she made with her thumb and forefinger...while giving him a nasty look.

"However this institution has refined us..."

He couldn't focus on his speech anymore. Is he going out of his mind? Then he could detect giggles coming from the guests behind him.

"What was so funny?!" his mind screamed.

"Prepared us for the perplexities at the forefront..." Sherwin nervously continued, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

Then he noticed that most, if not all, the graduating class kept looking at a piece of pink paper that he himself didn't have.

"Life is beckoning..."

All of a sudden, from the far right of his visual field, he heard somebody shout, "Hey Sherwin! Is it really true that you have a small dick?"

After which, there was a stunned silence...his words got caught in his throat.

A couple of seconds later, which seemed like an eternity, there was a domino effect of giggles that turned into a full blown laughter until all of the auditorium was roaring with it.

"No wonder I didn't feel anything that night!" Sherwin heard Diane said to her friends.

Matt handed him a copy of the pink paper. He turned as white as ash when he read what was written on the paper.

He went down the stage to gather the papers but there's just too many of them!

Seemed like a dam burst and everybody was heckling him about his inabilities in bed, but most of all, the potshots were directed at the size of his manhood!

"How the fuck? What the fuck?" seemed to be the only words going around his head. He felt dizzy.

"Where the hell did these come from?" He demanded from one of the laughing student.

Matt was still trying to collect all the papers he could.

Sherwin looked up and saw Reina by the entrance of the walkway!

She waved at Sherwin mockingly... smiled sweetly... turned.. and walked away....

She went to her car with Chrissie in it and sped off... out of his life....

Sherwin's eyes narrowed. "That Bitch! Just you wait, Reina Yang! Just you wait! You haven't seen what Sherwin Xu is capable of!"

With that, he stormed off the Pavilion, leaving the laughing crowd.