Mr. and Ms. Arrogant

Revati Miller (Part II)

Revati’s POV

Even though I was 15 my body was looking like a boy. Lillian used to abuse me for my figure. Bruce would bring his girlfriends and tease me saying, “Hey, my friend Julie is younger than you. She doesn’t have a boyfriend, will you be her boyfriend.” “Ester, doesn’t have a date for the school dance would you be her date.” Sometimes he would call his friends and together they would say mean things. I had to do all the household chores and continue my studies. I also joined wrestling classes and karting. 

On my 16th birthday Arjun uncle came and gave me gifts and took me to a restaurant. We celebrated my birthday. As usual, my dad was busy with his new family. I opened my gifts and saw an envelope from my mother. In the letter she wished me and told to take care of myself and dad. She also mentioned Lillian and Bruce. In the video she said the same as in the letter with a code message for me. The message was, ‘Chinnu, I hope you are fine living with your new family. Is Lillian working on the ranch? If so keep an eye on her. She is planning something big in the shadow of the ranch. You take care of yourself.’ Also my 17th birthday was celebrated with Arjun uncle. He gave me mumma’s envelope. There was a photo of her. The letter had the same things as before. In the video she said, “ Chinnu, I know everybody will be teasing you for looking like a boy. I am in the photo when I was 17 years. I also looked like a boy. But when I was 18 sudden changes came. Don’t bother what everybody says. Keep training to be strong.” This time there was no hidden message.

I was a brilliant student in school. I topped all the exams. Everybody in school was mean due to this. They would stick bill in which I would be with girls. Rhea and Julian were my best friends. They would support me whenever I feel low due to the harassment. One day I lost my control when I saw a bill in which me and Julian’s photo was there with the caption ‘Hottest Gay couple’. I searched who posted the bill and punched his face till he fainted. Dad was called to the office and the principal told him the incident. He said, “I don’t have any relation with her. She is a maid in our home. You can do whatever you want with her. If you want to call cops do it with pleasure. Never call me for any problems created by her. You can call me for Bruce, he is my son.” His words shattered my heart. Till then I thought he avoided me for Lillian. But now I know he never loved me. I moved to Rhea’s house. Everybody there loved me and took care of me. After a week I shifted to Rhea’s place, Lillian came there and apologised for dad’s behaviour. Rhea’s parents believed in her crocodile tears and told me to go with her.

I couldn’t figure what made her do this only when I reached home, it was all messed up. The house hasn’t been cleaned or anything after I left there. They wanted me to be their maid. Dad also apologised for being rude. I started to apply for college. I was selected by MIT with scholarship. Dad made a fuss saying he wouldn’t allow me to go outside for studies. Arjun Uncle came and supported me and warned dad that he would sue him for mistreating me. It was only then I knew I was the rightful owner of the house. Mumma had written a will in which all her properties belong to me. He threatened to sue him for living here without paying rent. Dad was silent, because he knew within one month I will be 18 and I have the power to decide whether he and his new family should stay or leave from the house. 

It was prom at school. Everybody was excited except me. I didn’t try to find me a date nor any guys approached me to be their prom date. Rhea was so excited that she asked her boyfriend Vivan to be her prom date. He accepted her. Julian also had a prom. I just avoided the hype and concentrated on studies. The day before prom Rhea and Julian came to my house and convinced me to join them for the prom. On prom night, I got my biggest blow. Rhea was having fun with Vivan and I sat in a corner watching everybody. Suddenly Rhea teases me for not having a date. She took the mic and said, “Dear friends, I am here to clear all your doubts about me and Revati. Revati isn’t my boyfriend, Vivan is my sweet darling. I befriended her to improve my grades and it worked out. Even though I had to suffer insults due to her, I have got admission in Texas university. So thanks for your help.” Some were looking at me in disgust, some pathetic and some of them looked at me with sympathy. After all, the person who I considered to be my best friend became no one to me. Julian came towards me when his date said, “Look, I got a gay guy.” He lost his cool and slaps her in front of everyone. “Don’t you dare to speak anything against her. She is my good friend and will always be like that.” That was the last thing I heard, my heart was in pain, hearing my best friends insulting me and making fun of me. I went back home and cried till the pain eased out. The rest of my senior year went normal since I didn’t mingle with anybody and stayed invisible. Finally the graduation day arrived and I was happy to leave the school and decided to bury all the memories related to the school. 

I changed myself to be bold and not to depend on anybody. Soon I turned 18 and Arjun uncle took me to India to celebrate my birthday. I went to see the Buddha statue inside Hussain sagar lake, necklace road, NTR gardens, Charminar, Golconda fort. The view from Birla Mandir was amazing, you could see the whole twin city from there. We even went to Ramoji Film City.  After a week we went to Gudru which is nana’s hometown. They took me to a place where there was a school. It was named after me. I looked at Nana and uncle in surprise. Nana said, “Geeta had a friend named Vidya when she was in school. Vidya was a bright student and she was first in every subject. When Geeta was in seventh grade, Vidya didn’t come to school. She went to her home and asked why she wasn’t coming to school. Her parents said they were poor and Vidya was working as a maid in their landlord’s house. Geeta was shocked hearing them. She came to me and told to help Vidya to continue her studies. I went to her home and they didn’t let us see her. They were adamant in their decision. Geeta was heartbroken and she pledged to help every child who couldn’t continue their studies because of poverty. She was planning this school when you were 2 years old. This land is her share, which I gave, as it belongs to my family. My father was landlord of this area. He was rich and had 75 acres of agricultural land.”

I was amazed to hear what Nana said. My mumma was rich and she left all these to live in a country where she had to work hard to earn. I asked Nana, “Why did mumma leave here and settled in America.” 

Nana: “She followed my path. I also left my parents and settled in Secunderabad to pursue my career and give my family a comfortable life. She was ambitious and went to America to pursue her career and give you a good life.” First time I felt angry with my mumma for leaving this place where I would have been happy with my big family. This time also I had an envelope in which mumma said, “Chinnu, I always dreamed of bringing you here on your 18th birthday and together we would inaugurate the school for poor kids and differently abled kids. My dream came true, but unfortunately I’m not there to see my dream come true along with you. There is enough fund for the school. You will need to find brilliant kids among the poor family and support them to fulfill their dreams. Love Mumma.”

The secret message was, ‘Chinnu, leave your dad and pursue your education and earn a good job. When the right time comes Arjun will give you the next clue to solve my murder. Till then,take care and stay safe.’ I joined MIT and majored in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. I earned a job at Techtronic which was a rival company of Luca’s Itronix. I joined the company to destroy Luca.