NOT AGAIN

ETHAN

Why would someone like you do that to my car? Do you even know how much the car is worth? It's not like you'd even know, cause I can tell you've never been in one your entire existence!" I yelled, annoyed.

She just stood there, staring at me as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Are you even listening to me?" I half yelled.

"Erm... what? What did you say again?"

"Oh, so you're not just dirty, you're deaf too, right?" I asked, fuming with anger.

"How dare you call me dirty when you were the one that splashed dirty water on me?" She yelled back, causing me to flinch.

How did she go from being a deaf scaredy-cat to this yelling maniac?

"Do you actually think you have the right to yell at me?" She asked, pointing to her ruined dress and hair .

I sighed gently seeing how badly her clothes are ruined, and I strangely feel bad for doing that to her. Am I crazy? Why should I feel bad for her? How much can the dress be worth compared to my car's windscreen? Judging from the way she looks, it's obvious she's one of those poor countryside girls.

"Cat got your tongue?" She asked, bringing me back to reality.

"Fine! I ruined your little cheap dress, but that's not a good enough reason for you to commit a crime. You broke a windscreen worth hundreds of dollars, and you're here nagging over this cheapskate."

"Crazy jerk! That's what you are! You're a good-for-nothing spoilt crazy jerk!" She yelled at me more loudly this time, but I could hear her voice breaking.

Is she crying? Why is she crying? Is she trying to get my attention?

I brought out my wallet, picked out a few dollars, and pointed it at her.

"I know money is all you want. Take it and never show up in front of me ever again," I said harshly.

She paused for a while, then took the money from me. I turned to leave when I felt all the cash fall over me from head to toe.

"Are you cra—"

"I don't need your stupid money! I can see you have no respect for other people's feelings! I hope you walk and hit your foot, jerk!" She yelled and walked away.

I paused for a moment, watching her storm off angrily. I hissed and turned to leave, only to hit my leg on a rock.

"Witch!" I yelled, feeling the pain shoot through me.

CLAIRE

I stared at my dress in frustration as tears gathered in my eyes. How could he ruin the one last gift she gave to me?! How did I even find such a crazy jerk cute in the first place? I must be crazy! I brought out my cellphone from my bag to check the time, and my chest almost flew out of my mind when I saw that it's just five minutes to the start of the audition.

What do I do with my dress? It's so ruined I cannot audition like this. I saw a boutique opposite and I quickly rushed in. I picked out one of the dresses on the hanger, but the price threw me off. Clothes in the city will definitely be expensive compared to clothes back at home. Maybe I should have swallowed my pride and just collected the money he offered me. That stupid jerk! It's all his fault.

After the long process of searching, I finally found a "cheap" mini dress according to the sales rep that took away all the money I had on me. I changed into it in the dressing room, repacked my hair, and rushed out because I need to trek to the venue since I have no money on me.

After asking for descriptions from various people, I finally got to the venue. I rushed into the supposed waiting area, but it's empty, and I'm just seeing a lady sitting in front of a desk.

I walked towards her.

"Hi."

"Hi ma'am, how may I help you?" she asked, smiling brightly, but her questioning gaze made me uncomfortable.

"My name is Claire... Claire Cassie. I'm here for the audition."

She paused a little bit, taken aback. I sighed, trying to stop myself from screaming out of frustration because the whole staring was starting to really get to me.

"The audition ended already, Miss Claire," she replied. Her response sent shivers down my spine.