Illusion or Reality

The loud clatter of objects colliding shattered the silence. Laughter rang out in unison, sounding discordant to Grace’s ears. Meanwhile, tears streamed down her cheeks; she couldn’t hold them back. “You deserve it.” “Disgusting. Absolutely pitiful.” “Are you still hoping a bodyguard will come to your defense? Wake up—you’re no longer a wealthy young lady.” The pungent smell of broken eggs wafted sharply, filling the air around them. Her small, trembling back was now covered in flour. Drops of dirty, blackish water trickled slowly from the hem of her T-shirt. “I can handle this,” thought the woman who had now become the target of campus bullying. The metallic taste of blood greeted her tongue—the result of a hard bite on her own lower lip to suppress her pent-up emotions. A student clad in a designer miniskirt and a tight top gave a hand signal. “Selly, hand it out to them!” she commanded haughtily. She leaned her back against the brick wall of the faculty building, pulling one corner of her lip into a condescending smile. She regarded the suffering before her as a visual treat. The bang-haired student named Selly deftly reached into the plastic bag in her hand, distributing the remaining rotten eggs to the other students crowding around the former young lady. “Come on, throw some more!” Selly cheered enthusiastically. Who knew how many eggs had already flown through the air and struck her frail body. Grace simply clenched her fists, not daring to fight back. Standing up to this gang of campus elites was tantamount to suicide. It was better for her to stay silent and let them have their fun than to get into a longer confrontation. That would only be more painful. “Tsk! So weak! Just leave her. Let’s go, guys!” ordered the blonde student named Emma. As soon as Emma’s group strolled away, the crowd of students who had been watching began to disperse. Today’s free show had ended quickly. Grace Charlotte Clarke. Once, her life was a miracle that many people envied. Now, she was just a fragile woman who had lost her family’s warmth. A lone college student who had fallen into poverty and become the target of ridicule at this prestigious university. She had nowhere left to turn. Her suffering was complete. Grace roughly wiped away the tears that kept streaming down her face. She released her bite, and fresh blood slowly seeped from the corner of her lip. She didn’t know when it had started, but enduring pain alone had become her new habit. With great effort, Grace steadied her trembling body to stand. She picked up her backpack, which lay on the grass. There was only one thing she could be grateful for: the bag was waterproof. Her lecture notes hadn’t gotten wet. The cost of her books was equivalent to a month’s rent in her cramped apartment. She leaned against the wall for a moment, taking deep breaths to gather her strength. She couldn’t give up! She should be grateful she was still alive. At the very least, she had to hold on for her family, who could now only watch over her from above. She had to make them proud! Grace’s eyes widened as she glanced at the watch on her wrist. “Damn! It’s already 4:00 p.m.!” She slapped her forehead in panic. The distance between campus and her rented apartment was quite far. Not to mention, she had to get ready for work right away. She didn’t have much time. Her long legs, stained with egg and flour, began to run swiftly across the campus courtyard, which was starting to empty out. But suddenly, her steps halted. “Wait, there’s no way I’m getting on the city bus looking this disgusting, right?” she muttered. She had no choice but to turn around. At the very least, she had to rinse her hair and clean her clothes a little in the nearest restroom. Her body odor was truly unbearable. With her remaining strength, she ran to find the women’s restroom on the ground floor. In her haste, the restroom door slammed hard against the tiled wall. Standing in front of the sink, Grace hurriedly wiped away as much of the flour and egg as she could. She stared at her reflection in the large mirror with a dazed expression. She looked a complete mess—a pitiful sight. Not wanting to get caught up in self-pity, Grace sped up her movements. As a final step, she reached into her backpack and put on a black mask, covering part of her petite face. At least with this mask, the bus passengers wouldn’t immediately recognize her face. Visually, she looked a little better, but the foul smell seemed to have clung to her skin. “Come on, hurry up, Grace!” She ran out of the restroom, taking wide strides until she was out of breath. The campus hallways felt completely deserted at this hour. Upon reaching the bus stop, Grace bent over, clutching her trembling knees. “Oh, come on! Why isn’t the bus here yet?” She shuddered in horror at the thought of her emotional café manager’s rage. She might get fired on the very third day of her probation! As soon as the city bus pulled up, Grace hurried over and climbed the steps. The bus seemed empty, carrying only four middle-aged women and one man. Grace breathed a sigh of relief; at least she wouldn’t have to squeeze in and spread her body odor. She glanced at her watch again. She still had plenty of time. Considering how unlucky her days had been lately, catching a bus without having to wait for hours was a small stroke of luck. “Oh my God, what’s that awful smell?” grumbled a woman with curly hair sitting not far from her, reflexively covering her nose with her palm. “Exactly, whose smell is this? It’s so overpowering! Disgusting!” chimed in another female passenger, followed by murmurs of agreement from the remaining passengers. Grace’s heart was racing. She clenched her fists as panic began to set in. A man sitting fairly close to Grace narrowed his eyes, immediately realizing the source of the smell. “Hey, is that your smell?” he snapped. “Why are you riding public transportation looking like that? Even homeless people don’t smell this bad! You’re filthing up the bus!” Grace looked up, locking eyes with the driver through the center rearview mirror. The driver’s eyebrows were sharply furrowed, his forehead deeply creased. Grace understood exactly what that look meant—a look of disgust toward a presence that needed to be removed immediately. The screech of brakes pierced the air. The bus came to an abrupt stop at the side of the road. “Get off, miss,” the driver ordered firmly. Grace’s eyes widened. They were still halfway there. It was too far to walk. She couldn’t be dropped off here! “Don’t make me get rough. Get off now! I don’t want passengers to complain and lose my job just because of you,” snapped the driver, snapping Grace out of her reverie. “That’s right, get off now!” chimed in the four middle-aged women without a shred of compassion. Grace looked at them pleadingly. “Sir, I beg you… I’ll be late for work if you drop me off here. Please, don’t drop me off,” she pleaded, her hands clasped together. “I already told you to get off, so get off!” snapped the woman with curly hair impatiently. She was extremely annoyed with this girl. “Get off!” The other two female passengers ruthlessly shoved Grace, causing her to stagger and fall face-first onto the asphalt. “Come on, drive off, sir!” the woman shouted as she wiped her hands with a tissue, acting as if she’d just touched a contagious disease. “What a nuisance!” The roar of the engine faded into the distance. Once again, her frail back trembled. Both her knees were badly bruised from falling down the bus steps. It hurt. But the pain wasn’t as deep as the wound to her pride and heart that had been trampled on today. Was she not allowed to live in peace, even for just a moment? Did she really look like a worthless piece of junk that deserved to be humiliated like this? "Father, Mothed, Brother... why didn’t you take me with you? I’m suffering here..." Grace sobbed sadly. For some reason, the sky joined in, pouring out its own sorrow. Rain began to fall heavily, blurring the tears of despair streaming down her face. Refusing to give up, Grace forced herself to stand up even though her knees ached terribly. Could she complain about this pain? No. After all, she no longer had anyone left to confide in. This had become her fate, and she had to be brave enough to face it. Grace shook her head vigorously. This wasn’t the time to wallow in self-pity. She had to run! Ignoring her knees trembling with pain, she kept plowing through the rain with long strides. She had to make it on time! She couldn’t get fired! Come on, hang in there, Grace! When she reached her destination, she was gasping for breath. Her hands rested on her aching knees. Her almond-shaped eyes glanced briefly at the clock. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized she wasn’t late. She’d arrived two minutes before her shift started. Thank goodness. In the break room, she placed her black backpack into locker number twenty-one. With a deft motion, she slipped a white apron over her slender frame. While biting down on her black hair tie to keep it from falling, her hands busily gathered her long, wavy hair. “Grace! Hurry up and help me out front!” shouted her coworker. As usual, this trendy café was always packed with customers, most of whom were college students. The place was very aesthetically pleasing and featured a special photo corner, making it one of the most popular cafés with many loyal customers. Grace hurriedly tied the apron strings at her back. “Okay! I’m on my way!” Grace replied, half-shouting. She walked hurriedly, grabbing a tray filled with food and drinks from the serving counter, then headed straight for the table number indicated. Throughout her shift, a constant whimper escaped her tiny lips. With every step she took, excruciating pain shot through her knee. The denim of her jeans kept rubbing against her oozing wound. Since she didn’t have time to even treat or bandage it, Grace could only leave it as is. “Grace! Hurry up! The orders are piling up!” her friend scolded. “Yeah! I’m coming!” Grace carried an empty tray in her hand and walked over to her friend at the counter. “Take this to table fifty-five.” “Okay.” Grace carefully arranged the tiramisu latte, red velvet cake, and two slices of green tea cake on her tray. Her stomach suddenly started growling loudly at the sight of the mouthwatering treats. She realized she hadn’t eaten all day because she’d been busy juggling her college assignments and work. She glanced around the room. A faint smile formed on her lips as her eyes landed on the number fifty-five in the corner of the room. A few young men and women were sitting with their backs to her. Grace bowed politely, carefully setting the food and drinks down from the tray. “Please enjoy,” she said kindly. Just as Grace was about to turn and leave, her steps halted. Someone suddenly grabbed the collar of her T-shirt tightly. Instinctively, Grace turned to look at the person. Her body jerked. Grace closed her eyes as she felt a cold, sticky liquid suddenly splash across her face. The sweet scent of red velvet instantly filled her nostrils. With her shoulders slumped in resignation, Grace mustered the courage to slowly open her eyes. “Well, we meet again here, Little Miss Has-Been,” Emma teased, folding her arms across her chest. The woman’s gaze shifted to the young man beside her. “Look, honey. Just how pathetic and pitiful your ex-girlfriend looks.” Grace froze. Of all the people in the world, why did fate bring her face-to-face with the woman who loved to bully her—and the man who had once been her boyfriend?