One Wild Night with My Future Enemy

Zora's POV

"Do I really have to come?"

Lorraine raised her gaze at me and looked at me with an incredulous look, and I couldn't blame her since I probably asked that question for the twentieth time already.

Ever since I learned about our class reunion two months ago, I tried everything just to forget about it, and I was also hoping that Lorraine would forget about it as well, but I guess Lorraine was so determined this time that we should both go to this year's reunion.

Honestly, I forgot how many times we had a class reunion since I didn't bother to check on my classmates or schoolmates during high school; it was only Lorraine who I let be in my life still since she's my best friend.

As a matter of fact, I wanted to forget almost everything about my high school life, and if it weren't for Lorraine, who became my classmate, I would have completely removed any memory I have of that school.

Way back in high school, I was the main target of bullying from my schoolmates and classmates, and I couldn't blame them.

I was really unattractive during those years; I had a lot of breakouts, and people tended to call me a pimple girl, which now I think was such a lame insult. Aside from having an unattractive face, I was on the heavy side as well, so imagine the bullying and ridicule I was getting back then, but I think the primary reason why they targeted me was because they felt that I didn't belong to our school.

Compared to them being rich and all, I was a charity case. I only managed to get to that school because of the scholarship I got when I graduated valedictorian in elementary school; it was a privilege granted to every valedictorian in my old school back in the province.

I can still remember the joy and pride on my grandmother's face when I got accepted, and I was excited too, until I realized and experienced how difficult and cruel the students in that school are.

Being born with a silver spoon, they felt they had every right to bully whoever they deemed unfit to be in their presence, and unfortunately, I was that person.

I did everything to tolerate and be resilient to the torment I was getting, but I came to the point that I wanted to give up and just drop out, so I went home to tell my grandma about it. When I got there, I saw her beaming with pride while she told our neighborhood how proud she was of me, and I didn't want to disappoint her if I continued dropping out.

I came and went without her knowing about it, and I endured it all just for my grandma to continue to be proud of me.

The only family I have is my grandmother. Ever since my parents died when I was still a baby due to an accident in the sea, it was she who took care of me, and I promised myself that I would always make her happy. If seeing me go to that school made her happy, so be it. I will face any cruelty that the people in that school throw at me.

I continued to bear all the hardship, and I already accepted that I would graduate without any friends, and then Lorraine transferred to our school, a Filipino-American whose parents decided to stay in the country for good.

When I first saw Lorraine, I thought that she was an angel. With such an angelic face, crowned with a golden lock of hair, anyone would mistake her for an angel.

When she saw me being bullied, she didn't hesitate to intervene and protect me, and ever since she transferred to our school, the bullying and torture I got, lessened, and for once, I learned to appreciate my time in our school, but of course, there were times that Lorraine couldn't be with me, so some of my schoolmates and classmates tend to take advantage of those moments.

Lorraine helped me get through high school, and when we both graduated, we decided to go to the same school and share a house near the campus. I wanted to share the rent and other bills, but Lorraine refused, telling me that her parents gave her so much money that she couldn't think of how she could spend it all, and when she still didn't want to, I decided to do all the housework instead.

And ever since then, we became inseparable; we're not just the best of friends, but you could say that we were like sisters.

"Is it how they treated you back then?" I heard her ask.

For a moment, I temporarily forgot her presence while wallowing in my painful past, and when I looked at her, I could see a knowing and understanding look in her clear blue eyes.

Yes, she witnessed some of the bullying I experienced, but compared to the hardship I endured before she transferred to our school, it was only the tip of the iceberg, so she was unaware of how bad my life in that school was.

I just watched her as she stood up and walked towards me, and when she was just a foot away from me, she stopped.

"I met them, and they seemed to mature during those years that we didn't see them, so I think they would stop bullying you. Besides, I bet they wouldn't recognize you once they saw you, and once they learned of the accomplishments you achieved, I bet they would look at you with admiration," she said confidently.

"I doubt it," I thought to myself, but I decided to keep it to myself since I didn't want her to know how pathetic I was way back then.

I couldn't stop myself from looking at my reflection in the mirror, and I guess my looks improved over the years; there were no traces of pimples I had, and I had slimmed down a lot ever since I decided to hit the gym when we started going to college.

Lorraine kept telling me that I looked so beautiful, but I didn't believe her, thinking that she was just giving me compliments since she was my best friend.

Even though I was seeing the changes in my looks, I still couldn't stop myself from seeing the old me. I had such low self-esteem that I didn't know if I would manage to outgrow it.

I had some suitors, especially when I started working, but I couldn't erase the possibility that they were just toying with me, and they weren't serious at all, and I was scared to get hurt, so I didn't let any of the opposite s*x have a chance to hurt me.

"When will you finally see the real you? For some reason, you didn't want to accept that you're no longer the girl you were before, that you're no longer the pimple and chubby girl from high school, but instead, a very beautiful and successful lady that everyone admires."

Her words rang in my ears, painting a less-than-ideal picture of me in her eyes, and a sharp anguish tore at my chest. All the same, I was used to being called names like "fat girl," "whale girl," and other disparaging phrases by both classmates and fellow students, so these descriptors were nothing new to me.

I looked straight into her eyes and saw the honesty behind her words, but again, it didn't stop me from doubting her; I just kept it to myself.

"Fine!" I finally conceded, and you looked so silly while jumping up and down, as if she just won the lottery.

I can't imagine life without Lorraine, and if this makes her happy, then I would do it. Besides, it was just for a couple of hours, and after that, we were back to our regular lives.

"When was the reunion again?" I asked after she finally calmed down, and a look of disbelief was written on her face after hearing my question.

"You're really planning on not attending, aren't you?"

"Duh! Of course, I didn't plan to attend the reunion, and if it weren't for you, I would rather be stuck at work than attend that. So when is it?" I asked.

"It's tonight!" She exclaimed.

"Tonight?! Why didn't you tell me?" I asked in shock.

"Oh, sorry, didn't I tell you about it? Oh wait, I think I told you about the date once... twice, at least three times a week ever since I told you about our reunion!" She answered sarcastically.

"Geez, sorry, I was so busy," I answered, which was just an alibi, and based on Lorraine's reaction, she knew it as well.

"I'm guessing you didn't have a dress yet," she said, and she was right—aside from hoping to miss the reunion, I didn't have any plan of changing my fashion just to impress anyone.

"I was thinking of just using some of my office clothes," I answered nonchalantly.

"That's a negative, Z. Since we wanted everyone to marvel at how gorgeous you are, we couldn't settle for your old and boring clothes; we will go shopping!" She excitedly said.

Z was the nickname she gave me, and honestly, I liked it, it sounded interesting and mysterious, very far from who I really am.

I couldn't help but grimace when I heard her, and before I could even stop myself, I found myself asking. "Do we have to?"

"But of course! And we're not just going to shop, but we will also go to the salon, so you could have a complete makeover," she said, getting more excited by the minute.

I wanted to refuse, but I stopped myself, knowing that Lorraine was just trying to help me, so I had no choice but to get ready to leave.

I quickly showered and changed into my usual attire, only to have Lorraine's cold stare beg to differ from my taste in clothes. I could almost picture those vital ideas that were going through her head at that exact moment, as well as the plans she had for me thereafter.

I tried to talk her out of leaving by suggesting that we should eat breakfast first, but she was not going to spend any more time and told me we could eat only after we finished the task at hand.

A few minutes later, we finally left our two-bedroom apartment and rode her Tesla car, which was a gift from her parents when she got herself a job.

While waiting to reach our destination, I couldn't stop myself from sighing at the plan Lorraine had for me, mostly because of my pending meeting with my bullies and tormentors at our reunion.

"Can you at least act like you were excited about this reunion?" I heard her ask.

"Why do you think I wasn't excited?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"I don't know; maybe it has something to do with the way you sigh ever since we left home," she replied sarcastically.

When we arrived at a high-end mall in Makati, she just parked her car and got out of the car, motioning for me to follow her.

She decided that we should look for a dress first, and since I already agreed to it, I just let her decide what we should do.

She brought me to her favorite boutique, the one that only the wealthy go to, and when they saw Lorraine, they immediately approached her like she was a VIP.

"Good morning, Miss Lorraine. We have the dress that you ordered two months ago," one of the employees happily announced.

"Do you mean the champagne pink dress?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, as a valued customer, we made sure to have what you requested as early as possible, and if you flew directly from Paris," the same employee answered.

"That's great; I've been wanting to wear that."

I was confused when she suddenly stopped talking, and out of curiosity, I looked at her and realized that she was looking at me with a mysterious smile plastered on her red, thin lips.

"What?" I asked, not liking how the smile on her face widened when she saw me looking at her.

Zora's POV

"Are you sure you want me to wear this dress?" I asked.

"Of course, I think it fits you better," she said, smiling.

I looked at myself in the mirror and looked at the dress that she ordered that she intended to make me wear for tonight's reunion.

Even if I don't have a strong interest in fashion, I can nevertheless appreciate this dress's exquisite appeal and probably its costly price tag.

Based on the exquisite feel of the dress—which was as silky as honey—I could tell that this one was exquisitely made, which is what made Lorraine wait so long to get it, so how could I have the heart to wear this dress for which Lorraine patiently waited for two months?

"Sorry, but I can't wear this," I said while trying to return the dress to her.

"Why not?" She asked, her left eyebrow raised.

"Cause! You ordered this dress for yourself, and I know you