Trapped

Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

A stepping stone for success, part two.

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choose courage. 

choose peace. 

choose to trust that 

when things don’t turn out 

like you expect them to, 

you are still becoming 

who you were meant to be. 

― morgan harper nichols

»»—♡—««

Envy is such a strong word.

In this world, a lot of people will do everything they can to grad other people down. They don’t care if other people are getting hurt by the process. As long as they are at the top, it doesn’t bother them. 

People are greedy.

Greedy for love, greedy for care, greedy for recognition, greedy for accomplishments, greedy for money, greedy to authority, greedy for power, and many more.

In this world, only you can be there for yourself to lean on.

Good thing I have Maxwell by my side to encourage and uplift me whenever I needed it the most.

»»—♡—««

[Seven years earlier]

I lowered my head down in embarrassment. I could feel my hands shaking and my lips were trembling in fear. This is the very reason I have few friends. I don’t do well with groups of people. I am in a constant fear that everyone secretly hates me.

At this very moment, I was proven correct.

My mind began to bother me as thoughts flood inside my head.

I quivered, remembering their words. Aside from me being the granddaughter of Luciano Corporation’s founder; the rest of their statements were false. Despite my dread, I had managed to coherently hear all their words.

I would be lying if I say that it didn’t hurt me.

My anxiety began to brew at large, taking control of my emotions as my breath became ragged.

“Look at me, Chandy. Don’t listen to them, okay?” Maxwell muttered, shaking me gently out of my trance. She had probably noticed that I was lost in thoughts.

My eyes were still glued to the floor, I could see her white sneakers with few doodles on it.

My doodles.

I have done it because I thought that it would look cute for a white sneakers to have colorful doodles on it. My father scolded me since he gifted it to Maxwell. However, my sister’s reaction was different. She praised my little doodles, telling me that I drew a unicorn so adorably. She wasn’t upset that I had ruined her shoes, just like what our dad told me. Instead, she flashed a proud smile at me and hugged me in reassurance that I did nothing wrong in her perspective. 

And at that moment, I had forgotten that my father was even rattled by what I had done.

“Ohh, kiddo.” Maxwell cooed, pulling me for a hug.

The tears swelled up my throat, making it hard for me to speak. I wanted to tell her that only hugging me would make me more emotional than I already was. And as if she had heard my thoughts, she released herself from the embrace. I know she had acted on instinct. However, I never fully liked it whenever someone hugs me while I’m emotional. I only needed them to be by my side. I didn’t like crying in front of someone else, it made me feel weak.

But between me and my sister, I knew that I was the weaker one.

May it be because I was younger than her or just because my mind and body was built like it.

Something that I had always hated from myself.

“You need to get it together, Chandy.” She advised, making me cast my eyes to her. Our eyes met, a worried expression never left her face. “I need you to be strong. You still need to present your project later.” She added, encouraging me and calming down my nerves.

I swallowed hard the lump in my throat and pushed past the tears that were forming in my eyes. Now, all I ever wanted is to prove to them; to anyone that dragging me down only drives me to success more.

I wanted to prove them all wrong.

This is my project. No one else's. I take pride in what I did, not because I am a successor of my grandfather. This is my day and nobody’s going to ruin it for me.

“I can do this.” I claimed with much determination than ever. Confidence striked up through my entire being, creating sudden bolts of willpower inside of me.

Maxwell’s lips curled up into a smile because of the sight before her. She let go of my hand and stood tall in front of me. “That’s my sister.”

The event had commenced even while Maxwell was reassuring me. The panels were still at the first presenter. They were a group of five and everyone was busy with the tasks that they were assigned to. Their science project was about which planet aside from Earth would be considered to live in if our own planet continues to suffer from land degradation; air, land, and water pollution; effects of climate change; and the ozone layer depletion—and how people must prevent and manage further risks and disasters from happening by putting priority to the care of the environment. In the future, without changes made, the situation appears to be bleak for all of its inhabitants. And soon after, Earth can no longer be available for humans and animals to live on.

My mind drifted to my own project. I gazed towards my display board where all of my important information was located. I began reading every topic, seemingly examining whether something seemed out of place. But my worries died down when everything appeared to be right. 

I glanced over my sister who was busy watching through the huge monitor at the stage while other students were presenting. I softly poke her sides and she immediately turned her attention to me.

“Should we try it again?” I asked her, pointing towards my prototype.

She laughed, eyes beaming with amusement. “We already tried it numerous times but okay, Chandy. Let’s try it again for your peace of mind.” She offered a smile then stood up.