Little Red Riding Hoodlum

Enzo's Ultimatum

As the first light of dawn crept over the distant horizon, the figure of Olivia emerged from the shadows. She stumbled out of the dimly lit building, her black Versace leather jacket worn and dirtied from being tied. The once polished leather now bore smudges of dirt and dust, a testament to her escapades.

Her hair, once styled with care, now hung lowly in tangled locks, reeking of musty hair and neglect. A faint bruise on her ribcage throbbed with each step.

Despite Olivia's disheveled appearance, she clutched several shopping bags in each hands. The bags’ surface slightly crumpled but she kept dragging them with her while muttering curses.

“Bastards.”

“Is that even how to treat a human?”

“Am I the first person to do something wrong?”

She gazed up at the sky which was slowly turning blue and a sigh escaped her parted lips. Her thought raced back to what she'd endured.

“I guess karma doesn't believe in giving girls a break. I was hoping for a break! Like a year or ten! Next time, can I get a warning sign or something?!” She shouted at the sky.

The man had insisted that she will work for him until every last cent is paid and to be honest, she didn't really mind. As long as she get to keep the money.

‘Damnit! How sure I am that he's really the owner of that account.’

‘No no.’

Olivia's mind ran a hundred miles a minute, her mouth spewing curses. She knew she couldn't run and even as she walked, she can feel eyes boring into her. She glanced around wildly.

The streets’ lights are on and the street of Paris is still bustling with people from different walks of life. She stood still, her gaze fixed on the effifel tower in the distance. The tower seemed to fill the entire street, its silhouette towering over the rooftops and building.

She hurried in her steps towards the nearest bus station and sat numbly on the beach, her eyes fixed on the floor as the hustle and bustle of the bus station swirled around her.

As she sat there, a taxi pulled up in front of her, its engine idling. The driver's eyes met her and for a moment, she froze, her heart skipped a bit and the pain on her ribcage throbbed again.

‘Was this another trick? Another kidnapping attempt. No. No.’

Like someone being chased, she packed her shopping bags and sprint to another bus station near her. Her chest heaved up and down as she searched inside all the shopping bags for her phone. She's sure it will be somewhere there.

Her hand rummaged through her shopping bags, her hands trembling in anticipation before her fingers brushed against something familiar - the smooth surface of her phone.

Her eyes widened as she pulled it out, relief washing over her like a wave. It was still intact, though with cracked screen but functional nonetheless. She quickly turned it on. The screen flickered to life as she scrolled through her apps. The light from the phone's screen illuminated her dirt covered face and her swollen cheeks and forehead.

Her gaze landed on the student ID app-her ticket to boarding the school's bus. She packed her bags again and stood at the edge of the road where a bus is fast approaching. When the bus finally stood before her, she held it to the front of the door and after a beeping sound, the door slid open and she finally entered.

She dragged her bags to the end of the bus and sat down. Her shoulders slacked in relief. She reached into her leather jacket inner pocket and brought out her new phone and a sigh of relief escaped her lips when she found out that it's still in perfect condition.

With a mix of excitement, she powered on the device and quickly logged her iCloud account into it. She watched as her contacts, photos and files seamlessly synced to the new phone.

At the same time, the bus stopped at the entrance of Sorbonne. Olivia dragged her bags and exited the bus.

She dragged her weary body and shopping bags towards her dormitory building, climbed flight of stairs until she reached her room.

She turned the door knob and stepped into her dimly lit room. With only a sliver of dawn's light peeking through the curtains. Mia, Olivia's roommate, had taken it upon herself to paint and decorate her side of the room in pink but had left Olivia's side untouched.

As Olivia entered the room, she dragged her Versace goodies behind her. The rustling of fabrics and Olivia's steps filled the air as she walked towards her bed-if it can be called that- across the room.

She spared Mia's pink covered bed a glance and as she reached the spot where the pink paint ended, giving way to the charred yellow paints of her own side, the room was suddenly bathed in light. The sudden brightness caused Olivia to squint her eyes before turning back. There, Mia stood on her bed, her hand hovering above the switch.

“Thanks for the warm welcome, Mia. I see you are trying to illuminate your presence in my life, literally.” Olivia said, flashing her a toothy grin then threw all the shopping bags on her rock-hard bed before flopping on it.

“Oh, look at the time you finally decided to show up bitch.” Mia said with a smirk before her gaze shifted to the shopping bags on Olivia's bed.

“Where did you get those, huh? Got f****d by some rich guy or stole them?” She asked sneering.

“Wow, your curiousity is almost as impressive as your tack.” Olivia started, lifting her feet to take off her boots.

“I got them from the I'm-a-better-person-than-you collection. It's exclusive, sorry, you can't afford it because they don't attend to people with rotten behaviour.” she added, finally taking off her boots and shifted into her bed, her hands pushing the bags to a side.

“f**k you b***h! Isn't that Versace?!” Mia shouted enraged.

Olivia picked up her duvet and started unfolding it.

“Only those who cannot express themselves intelligently would resort to such crude substitutions in the vocabulary. But I guess that's what happens when your wardrobe has taken too much part of your intellect.” Olivia muttered, feigning sadness before covering herself with the duvet and turned her back to the enraged Mia with the aim of taking a rest.

Her phone let out a shrill ringtone which shattered her attempt on a peaceful slumber. Her heart was racing as she threw off the duvet, revealing a tangled mess of sheets. She scrambled to locate her phone, her hands flailed wildly, patting and disrupting the bed.

“Oh, look who's getting a call. They finally catch up with you?”

Olivia turned to Mia, who was covered with her pink duvet from waist to feet, her hand holding her phone and the light illuminated her grey eyes.

She clenched her teeth and ignored her jab then kept searching for her phone before her hand finally grasped it.

She glanced at the name and found out it was an unknown number. She began to sweat profusely.

“The store owner wanting to ask about the five-finger discount you took?” Mia asked again in a mocking tone.

“Shut the f**k up Mia.” Olivia muttered slowly before lifting the phone to her ear, her voice barely a whisper as she answered.

“The number you are trying to call is unavailable, you will be directed to voicemail. The number you are trying to call is unavailable, you will be-”

“-cut the crap, Ladra. Orly private terminal. 48 hours. Don't bother showing up .” A cold voice said from the other side and immediately hung up, leaving Olivia staring blankly at the wall.

She recognised that voice. The voice which had haunted her and threatened her not less than six hours ago. The man who called himself, Enzo.

She dropped the phone on her bed and sat down numbly on the bed with a shaky breath.

‘s**t, here we go again.’

“Cat got you tongue?” Mia's voice broke the silence.

“Just… shut up, dimwit.”